News

To Absent Friends launch event announced

The launch for this year's To Absent Friends festival of storytelling and remembrance will take place at the University of Dundee.

The University’s front lawn will be lit up by a garden of specially created artificial lilies, based on an idea devised by Napier University and installed in Grassmarket, Edinburgh, during To Absent Friends 2017 (pictured).

The grassy area in front of the Tower Building on Nethergate will play host to the illuminated memorial garden on Thursday 31 October to mark the beginning of this year’s To Absent Friends programme.

Each lily is created from a small coloured glowstick and a large plastic ‘petal’ on which people can write a message to a loved one. The initiative will take place across four Scottish towns and cities for 2019.

The lilies will be replanted at another city centre location after the launch and the organisers of the Dundee project are inviting members of the public who would like to light a lily in memory of a loved one to get in touch.

Anyone who would like to know more about the Dundee project can contact Mayra on 01382 384899 or m.l.crowe@dundee.ac.uk

If you would like to attend the launch, please reserve a place here.

New public education course: pilot dates announced

End of life Aid Skills for Everyone (EASE) is a new public education course for anyone who wants to know more about dying, death and bereavement. It has been developed by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care to explore the basics of end-of-life care and address some of the fears and uncertainties many people have about caring for those who are nearing the end of life.

Two pilot courses have been arranged - one in Musselburgh starting on 10 October, one in Dundee (dates to be confirmed). We are looking for participants to attend. It's free and you'll not only be developing your own skills, but helping to trial a course that will help others. If you're interested, please follow the link below to sign up.

Find out more about the courses here

To Absent Friends grant scheme launched

We have launched our small grants scheme for this year's To Absent Friends festival of storytelling and remembrance, which runs from 1-7 November 2019.

The scheme is to support small organisations to undertake local activities that provide public opportunities for storytelling and/or remembrance of people who have died.

Full details are available here.

Contribution To Openness About Death Award 2019

The winner has been announced for the third Contribution to Openness about Death Award. It has gone to North Berwick Coastal Health and Wellbeing Association for their long-term commitment to opening up conversations about death, dying and bereavement in their local community.

The association has a huge remit, but they have made "death" a central part of their plan to support and promote health and wellbeing in the community. Each year, they run remembrance events as part of To Absent Friends festival, and they've collaborated with other organisations including Cruse Bereavement Care, North Berwick Floral Art Club, North Berwick Writers Club and North Berwick Day Centre to help create meaningful and engaging events where important conversations can happen. For this year's Good Death Week they held a lunch as well as a creative writing workshop on a theme of death organised by the Scottish Poetry Library.

The award is made by Good Life Good Death Good Grief to recognise individual or group contributions towards promoting more open and supportive attitudes to death and bereavement in Scotland. It has been made to mark Good Death Week, 13 - 19 May and has previously been won by the likes of Hibernian FC.