Scotland remembers absent friends
Scotland remembers absent friends
A new festival remembering ordinary people who have died takes place across Scotland this week (1-7 November).
To Absent Friends, a people’s festival of storytelling and remembrance is a mix of high profile events and also chances for everyone to join in some way. The festival is the brainchild of Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief, an alliance of organisations and individuals working together to raise public awareness of ways of dealing with death, dying and bereavement.
Mark Hazelwood, Chief Executive of the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care, said: “People who have died remain a part of our lives – their stories are our stories, yet many Scottish traditions relating to the expression of loss and remembrance have faded over time.
"The To Absent Friends festival is about reigniting some of those traditions and creating new ones - giving people across Scotland an excuse to remember, to tell stories, to celebrate and to reminisce about people we love who have died. We are delighted that so many people and organisations are planning to join in the festival.”
The festival runs from 1st – 7th November. Many local grassroots activities are taking place, and in addition the festival is being supported and promoted through some high profile events and partnerships including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Scottish Rugby Union, the Luminate Festival of Creative Aging and Falkirk Football Club.
The festival is also encouraging people to share their memories and photos on social media with the hashtag #ToAbsentFriends.
Mark Hazelwood added: “In Scotland many of us struggle to know what to say or do around someone who’s been bereaved. All of us experience loss of some kind during our lives, and many people get something really positive from sharing memories and anecdotes of their dead loved ones”.
To find out more about To Absent Friends visit: www.toabsentfriends.org.uk
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