Festival 2023
The To Absent Friends festival took place across Scotland from 1-7 November 2023.
It was an opportunity to remember, to tell stories, to celebrate and to reminisce about people who have died but remain important to us.
Information about some of the events that took place is below.
To Absent Friends Concert
Organised by the Edinburgh Brass Band
Saturday 4 November, 7:30-9:30pm
St John's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh
This event is open to the public (free but ticketed)
Edinburgh Brass Band have performed a free concert as part of the To Absent Friends festival every year since it launched. This year will be the festival's 10th anniversary and we hope you will be able to join the band once more to celebrate and remember people we love who have died.
Taking inspiration from and honouring absent friends, Edinburgh Brass Band will perform a selection of reflective and inspiring music. This year's concert will be in the band's home venue, St John's Church in Edinburgh's West End. The church provides the perfect backdrop and a stunning acoustic for this performance.
Book your ticket on Eventbrite.
Illustration credit: Pete Ottery
Bereavement Charter Webinar: The Space Between - Understanding Anticipatory Grief
Organised by the Scotland's National Bereavement Charter for Adults and Children Working Group
Wednesday 1 November 2023, 1:30pm-3pm
Online via MS Teams
This event is open to the public
The Group which developed the Bereavement Charter for Scotland is holding the fourth in a series of webinars exploring different elements of death and bereavement. This webinar focuses on anticipatory grief. Speakers including Dr Donald Macaskill, Chair of the Bereavement Charter Group, and Steve Marshall will present on topics including facing losing a parent, and on the experience of anticipatory grief particular to carers.
Find out more here, and register here.
Image credit: The Bereavement Charter Group
Honouring our Absent Friends
Organised by Breathe Easy Clackmannanshire
Thursday 9th November 2023
This event is not open to the public
Our Absent Friends event will be taking place on Thursday 9th November. This is always our most poignant meeting of the year, paying respects and honouring members sadly no longer with us. This event will feature readings, music, our Absent Friends photos display and a white tablecloth with the names of our absent friends embroidered on it. Family members of the absent friends will join us to be presented with flowers as we pay our respects to our much-missed members.
Photo credit: Breathe Easy Clackmannanshire
A Walk with Absent Friends
Organised by Say Something Dundee, Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust and the University of Dundee Botanic Garden
Exhibition on display between 1 and 7 November
Good Grief Garden, Dundee Botanic Garden
This exhibition is open to the public
We have created a joint project between Say Something Dundee, Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust and the University of Dundee Botanic Garden. The participants working with Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust have created a body of work, including; photography, creative writing and recorded singing all with the theme of To Absent Friends. The artwork will be on display within various venues in the gardens and a short walk has been created to help us embrace the natural beauty of the surroundings and to reflect and remember those we have lost. The exhibition will be on display from the 1st to the 7th November.
Photo credit: Vanessa Kelly
Find Comfort in Conversation with the Essence of Memory
Organised by St Columba's Hospice
Wednesday 1 November, 6-7:30pm
15 Boswall Road, Edinburgh EH5 3RW
This event is open to the public but booking is required
St Columba's Hospice invites you to “Find Comfort in Conversation with The Essence of Memory”. Join us for a warming bowl of soup in the Iona Cafe and Hub to mark To Absent Friends Week. We'll have live music, reflective activities and the opportunity to meet other members of our community, share memories, and remember loved ones.
To register, email wellbeing@stcolumbashospice.org.uk.
Image credit: St Columba's Hospice
RSS