On Monday evening I was at the Festival Theatre as I am part of a group looking at how the programme for the King’s Theatre will develop for those with a lived experience of dementia. The King’s Theatre is going through a restoration and development period. It was interesting to be together with other like-minded people to explore what might be possible. It took me back to Covid times when we were able to deliver some online sessions from the stage of the King’s Theatre. We all had to be socially distanced, but it enabled those who were listening to be a part of something that helped sustain them through a difficult period.
Kenny and I were at Open Door on Tuesday. It is like a breath of fresh air working alongside the staff there. On the wall were the beginnings of the group scrap books for the Monday and Friday groups. The theme was people and relationships, and Gill had written up the comments that people had made during the sessions. It was good to read and understand the energy that this had created. We have been developing plans for a third year of our project together so it is important that we get the funds for what we believe is an exciting project and what could become something that changes the way we deliver support to people.
On Thursday we were back at Saughton Park. The weather was changeable so I wasn’t sure who would turn up. We had 45 people on Thursday which was another great turn out and a lovely session singing amongst the plants in the greenhouse. This is our last session in the greenhouse as we will be in the bandstand on our next visit on the 1st May. We laughed at the idea that this would be when the rain and the winds would arrive. It is often windy in the Bandstand but surprisingly still in the park itself (weird).
We are in rejoicing mode at Forget Me Notes because we have secured the money that we need for our five Choirs for this financial year. Thanks to the Weir Trust we can now plan with growth in mind knowing that the core of what we provide is secure for another year.
The situation we find ourselves in within the charitable sector means that finding funding like this is more difficult to access, so the positive thing is that we are cooking on gas for this coming year. I don’t suppose that’s a very green comment perhaps we should be cooking on hydrogen!
Have a great week.