Monday 16 June 2014

Happy Belated Father's Day

Image from liagriffith.com
Happy belated Father’s Day for yesterday, to those of you lucky enough to have spent the day with someone close to you. Father’s Day is a time where you can take a moment to show a parent that you care. Whether you have a father, a father figure or are one yourself, we should make the most of every day and let the ones near us know they are loved, special and contribute a great deal to our lives.
 
Yesterday however, will have been a very difficult day for many people across the world whose Fathers are sadly no longer with us. I was close to losing my own father two years ago and was lucky enough to be given a second chance to tell him how special he is and how much I appreciate everything he does for me and the rest of my family. Unfortunately, a family close to my heart recently lost their father, a man who was often the centre of attention and always the life of the party. I am sure Father’s Day will have been extremely difficult for them, though I hope they were able to reminisce about the good times spent together as well as mourning their loss.
 
Enjoying quality time with my dad
Image by author
In time for Father’s Day, Marie Curie started a #DadMemories campaign, encouraging people to share memories of their dads accompanied by a picture. They are asking for donations to ensure more fathers are 'fathers for longer' and help those with a terminal illness to spend their final days surrounded by the people they love. Hundreds of people joined in to share their love and respect for the important men in their lives, you can view the pictures at http://www.pinterest.com/mariecurieuk/dadmemories/ .
 
Even though officially it was Father’s Day on Sunday 15th June, why not continue showing the people we care about that they are important? Let’s take a moment out of our busy schedules to let someone know we appreciate them, whether it is a Father, Mother, sibling, partner or friend. You might just brighten their day.
 
Marie Curie is launching the Blooming Great Tea Party 2014 this month. Find out how you can get involved and host your own tea party HERE.

What did you do for Father’s Day? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

Friday 13 June 2014

It's Friday 13th!

Image from ravenblackcat.com
Batten down the hatches, the most superstitious day aside from Halloween, Friday the 13th is upon us. Not only has the supposed ‘unlucky’ 13th landed on a Friday, but it just so happens to coincide with a full moon, which won’t happen again until August 2049! Legends dictate that a full moon on Friday 13th will create the most misfortune and be the unluckiest day of the year. Many people will be too terrified to even leave the comfort of their own homes today as there are a number of superstitions attached to this date. Having a fear of Friday 13th is called Paraskevidekatriaphobia.

The origins of the superstitions surrounding this date are unknown, but attributed to a variety of possible sources worldwide. The number 13 is regularly thought of as unlucky, which may have a religious explanation.  There were 13 guests at the last supper, where Judas betrayed Jesus, who was supposed to have been crucified on a Friday. It was also speculated that Cain killed his brother Abel on Friday 13th, possibly giving an explanation for death and misfortune being closely linked with the date. A quirky interpretation is that numerologists view the number 12 as a ‘complete’ number (12 months in a year, 12 apostles etc.) which then makes 13 unnerving and ‘incomplete’.

There are many other mythical explanations for the unlucky association with 13. In Nordic myth, 12 gods attending a party were interrupted by a 13th, Loki an evil God who caused the death of a member of the group. In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Friday was referred to as a very misfortunate day and was reportedly ‘hangman’s day’ in Britain creating an explicit link with death.

Similarly, there are a number of superstitious beliefs attached to a full moon, some are positive such as asking a full moon for money in your wallet will supposedly bring you wealth. Though famously, the full moon has been used in works of science fiction as a trigger for supernatural beings such as werewolves to transform and wreak havoc in the world. Many superstitions surrounding the full moon coincide with those of Friday 13th. Check out this list below of popular superstitions and spooky ‘facts’:

-    A haircut on Friday 13th will cause a family death
-    A passing funeral procession on Friday 13th means you will be next
-    It takes 13 witches to form a coven
-    Sleeping under a full moon will mean serious harm or death
-    Tarot card 13 is the death card depicted by a grim reaper
-    If 13 people sit at a table, the first to leave will die
 
Image from gaizy.hubpages.com
So why are we obsessed with death and superstition? People purposely avoid driving and other activities on Friday 13th as they truly believe it is a day full of misfortune and danger. These beliefs seem so rooted in modern society that many high rise and apartment buildings to this day omit the 13th floor and some airports do not have a 13th gate.

A psychology professor, Stuart Vyse suggests "If nobody bothered to teach us about these negative taboo superstitions like Friday the 13th, we might in fact all be better off”. Interestingly this statement applies to the taboo surrounding talking about death. Children are very matter of fact when it comes to this subject; it is only when as adults we impose our fears and superstitions on younger generations that issues become forbidden and taboo. One superstition that affects many people is the idea or fear that talking about death will make it happen sooner; in a sense you are ‘tempting fate’. But this is simply not true. Death is not a subject that we should think or talk about all the time, we should enjoy and make the most of life, however, we should not be afraid to discuss such an important topic and prepare for that certain eventuality we all will face.

Monday 9 June 2014

A Successful Dying Matters Awareness Week!

Dying Matters Awareness Week 2014 was a fantastic success for The Bucket Project, with a number of events held across a wide range of venues. We met some very interesting and insightful people along the way who have been helping us to keep the topic of death alive. In case you didn’t get the chance to visit any of our events, here’s what happened during the week.
 
Monday 12th May
 
There were two launch events, at the Central Library and the Walker Art Gallery debuting our Remembrance Tree and ‘life’ and death’ interactive lettering, respectively. It was fantastic to see so many people contributing to our displays, building a better picture of what life and death means to the community in Liverpool. A number of school groups got involved and enjoyed writing and drawing on the 4ft lettering throughout the week, leaving some valuable interpretations.
 
Life and Death Letting @ The Walker Source: Author
 
Over four hundred people wrote touching messages to their departed loved ones and placed them on our Remembrance Tree. We made the tree out of recycled paper and packaging tape and printed a popular poem called ‘Dust if you must’ by Rose Milligan on the back of the leaves. We are currently discussing how the leaves will be displayed in the future. If you didn’t get a chance to leave your message to a loved one on our tree, don’t worry as we are planning on touring it around a number of popular venues in the near future.
 
Remembrance Tree @ Central Library Source: Author
 
Tuesday 13th May
 
On the second day of Dying Matters, we held a ‘Dead Write’ workshop at Central Library, where we discussed a wide range of topics and assessed how death, dying and loss is incorporated in works of poetry and ways you can approach this subject yourself. We were working in partnership with The Windows Project who facilitated this session. There was a small turnout for this particular event; however the discussion was fantastic, with members reading their own excerpts of poetry to the group and suggesting ideas for future work.
 
The ‘Death in Art’ tour took place at the Walker Art Gallery in the afternoon with many people extremely excited to learn about pieces of art on display that had themes of or were inspired by death. This tour then finished at our interactive lettering display, sparking discussion about life and death and the role that art can play in the formation of our interpretations.
 
Death in Art Tour @ The Walker Source: Author
 
In the evening, we rounded off Day 2 with an exclusive tour of the Science Fiction: New Death exhibition at FACT. This intriguing display dealt with themes of death in the future and was closely linked to the development of technology. This exhibition is open to the public until the 22nd of June 2014.
 
Wednesday 14th May
 
For Day 3, we held another ‘Dead Write’ session at the Central Library. We also met some interesting people at our information stands throughout the different venues, where our promotional pens were a hit, alongside our specially designed day of the dead coffin bookmarks. It was wonderful to see so many people filling in our chalk wall inspired cards, which asked ‘Before I die I want to…’ and 'In my life I want to...', producing some interesting results! From travelling the world, to finding the one, everyone has their own goals and dreams.
 
Thursday 15th May
 
Day 4 of Dying Matters Week and a busy one at that! We held another Death in Art tour followed by our very first Life and Death Café at the Walker, discussing elements of life and death whilst eating nourishing food and drinking delicious tea and coffee. It is always an enlightening experience, discussing such an important topic with like-minded strangers. You never leave without having learned something new about the world and how different people perceive death.
 
People enjoying the Death in Art Tour @ The Walker Source: Author
 
Friday 16th May
 
One of my favourite events was the Vintage Tea Party we arranged to inform people about what is happening in their local Marie Curie Hospice, Liverpool. This event was a huge success with staff, patients, volunteers and visitors enjoying our homemade cakes and free refreshments. People who don’t often come in to contact on a daily basis had a chance to get to know each other and the roles each of them play in the hospice. It was refreshing to hear patients talk about how they appreciated many different services the hospice provides, such as complementary therapy. This conversation gave us an insight in to the still prevalent issue that people do not know what services are available to them until they are in a vulnerable position. We believe that it is an essential part of the project to not only break down the taboo around talking about death, but to inform people in the community of what care and end of life care options are available to them, even if they are not necessary at the present time.
 
Some of our delicious homemade cakes at the Vintage Tea Party @ Marie Curie Hospice,
Woolton Source: Author
 
We continued serving homemade cake throughout the evening at our Life and Death Café at Siren, 54 St James Street, to celebrate Light Night. Not only was the venue beautiful but we met sixteen amazing people, from a diverse range of backgrounds who came together to discuss the topics of life and death. So many subjects were discussed, from archaeology and complementary medicine, to the symbolism of colours and the feelings they provoke inside us.
 
Our fantastic Life and Death Café discussion group @ Siren Source: Author
 
Saturday 17th May
 
It was an early start for the penultimate day of Dying Matters Awareness Week in The Garden at Fact by Leaf. We hosted a ‘Dead Good Cookie Decorating’ session for children and parents. We had some superbly decorated day of the dead- style cookies that tasted just as good as they looked! Have a peek at the pictures below to see some of the weird and wonderful designs!
 
A creatively decorated cookie
Source: Author
Decoration in action! In The Garden @ FACT by LEAF
Source: Author
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We then strolled over to the World Museum where two ‘Meet the Mummy’ sessions were taking place. These were unique performances specially opened to the public for this occasion, providing an insight in to the ancient world of Egyptian practices of mummification with the children taking centre stage, playing the roles of embalmer, high priest and Anubis.
 
Sunday 18th May
 
What could be better than a celebration for the final day of an amazingly successful Dying Matters Awareness Week? In partnership with the Treasure House Theatre at the World Museum, we put on a ‘Day of the Dead Drop-In’ where nearly seventy people attended to make masks and put a wish on the Mexican Wishing Tree whilst listening to Dia de los Muertos music.
 
Day of the Dead Drop-In celebration @ The World Museum Source: Author
 
All in all, this week was a fantastic success, with our events reaching roughly 700 people directly and potentially reaching in the region of 380,000 through our very own Rachael McKindley being featured on the BBC Merseyside Drivetime show throughout the week! Taking in to consideration visitor numbers to each venue, we estimate to have reached over 400,000 people with this years Dying Matters theme 'You Only Die Once'. We are extremely grateful to our many partners who made the events possible and thank our members and the public who continually support the project and help keep the topic of death alive.
 
Why not become a member? Email us at amy.king@mariecurie.org.uk and be the first to find out about our upcoming events! You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.