The Bird Man of Kent

Through one of our wonderful Hospice Day Service volunteers, we were contacted by Peter, The Bird Man of Kent!  Peter came with his birds of prey to pay a visit to our patients.  There were beautiful owls and scary looking eagles amongst many others.  Pat, a patient of the Day Service, was staying in the InPatient Unit for respite that week, she wrote the following to tell you what the visit meant to her.

‘Whilst I was on respite at the Hospice in the Weald, what a wonderful surprise it was when I was taken to see the birds of prey.

I had my photograph taken with a beautiful owl, which now sits on my bookshelf at home for all to see.

It was also a nice surprise for all who attended the Day Service that day and who, like me, enjoyed it very much.

I felt the birds gave me a welcome distraction, which took my mind off my illness.’

Our Schools Project

Every school term we have a class of students join us in the Hospice Day Service.  They attend for four weeks, working on a Creative Arts project with the patients. They also get the opportunity to learn more about different roles and services in the Hospice.   

This Monday was the first session for Year 5 from Brenchley and Matfield Primary School at the Hospice.  The children were eager to get started on their art project!  Last week Nell Mellerick, our Creative Artist, went to visit the class to discuss any concerns and talked about a poem.  The poem is called ‘The Elephant in the Room’, written by Terry Kettering and it forms the start of our art project.  It goes as follows….

‘There’s an elephant in the room.

It is large and squatting,

So it is hard to get around it.

Yet we squeeze by with,

‘How are you?’ And, ‘I’m fine’

And a thousand other forms of trivial chatter.

We talk about the weather;

We talk about work;

We talk about everything else

Except the elephant in the room.

There’s an elephant in the room.

We all know it is there.

We are thinking about the elephant

As we talk together.

It is constantly on our minds.

For, you see, it is a very big elephant.

It has hurt us all, but we do not talk about

The elephant in the room.

Oh, please, say her name.

Oh, please, say Barbara again.

Oh, please, lets talk about

The elephant in the room.

For if we talk about her death,

Perhaps we can talk about her life.

Can I say, Barbara to you

And not have you look away?

For if I cannot,

Then you are leaving me alone

In a room with an elephant.’

The children were each given a line from the poem and for half the session worked with the patients in the Hospice Day Service to produce a pictorial design representing that line of poetry.  They will be painting their designs next week on large pieces of wood.  At the end of the four weeks this artwork will be on display in the reception of the Hospice, please come and have a look!

One student reported ‘It was much better than I thought it was going to be, less scary’.

Another reported ‘I can’t wait to work with Hayley next week!  She was the patient I designed my artwork with’.

The other half of the session was spent with Liza Waller, our Chaplain, who explained about the use of the Quiet Room and the importance of Spirituality within the Hospice.  At the end of the session the children were able to colour a butterfly for someone they were thinking of and put it on our butterfly tree.  Some of the children took the butterflies back to the Day Service and gave them to the patients!  Next week the students and patients will spend the second half of the session with our Music Therapist, Rachel Harris.

The importance of the Schools Project is to de-mystify the Hospice for the children, to open up to the wider community and to facilitate open and honest conversations about death and dying.

New Sculptures in the Quiet Garden

This week we celebrated the new metal work on the walls of the Quiet Garden and to say thank you to the volunteer who made it.  Situated between the InPatient Unit and the main Reception, outside of the Quiet Room, the garden is open for everyone to use.

Although the garden and water feature are very beautiful, relaxing and colourful the outer walls of the building looked a little bare.  Liza, our chaplain, asked one of the very talented Hospice Day Service (HDS) volunteers if they would create a piece of artwork to display.

'Brian has decorated the white walls with beautiful metallic 'branches ' and HDS patients are now going to add butterflies to finish it all off. It has made a real difference to the Quiet Garden and I have been delighted. Helen McGee the Medical Director and Rob Woolley the Chief Executive also came down briefly to join us and express their thanks.  The Quiet Room and Quiet Garden are enjoyed by many of our patients and the Midday Gatherings of prayers take place there Monday to Friday.' - Liza Waller, Chaplain at Hospice in the Weald

Brian came to the rescue!  Brian volunteers in HDS one day a week and works with patients on our very own metalwork table to produce some beautiful sculptures. 

This is an example of a garden sculpture Brian has made with one of our young patients, Charles, as a gift for his Dad.

Working with metal can be just like any other form of creative expression, it is the creation of a project that stimulates and focuses the patients.  Tom is a patient who has worked with Brian on several projects and said ‘I can design and create the projects myself, with the supervision of Brian.  I find it interesting and immensely satisfying.’

We held a small celebration for the launch of the metalwork in the Quiet Room where everyone could admire it!

Sue's Story

Sue attends the Hospice Day Service once a week and would like to share with you her story..... 

I was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in March 2013. This was devastating news. Although I had just retired from my life long job as an art teacher, I was still incredibly active. I loved running as a form of therapy and had completed two London Marathons to raise money for breast cancer. Everything I love doing was now impossible such as, painting, sewing, walking, and knitting. My doctor suggested that I visit the Hospice in the Weald.  Like most people I imagined a hospice to be a rather grim place, with patients who were very ill. But I try to always treat every new experience as an adventure, so I came along one morning as a guest to the day centre. My apprehension was completely misplaced. What I found was a lively, happy place.

Sue working on a screen print with the help of one of our volunteers.

While you are at the day centre you are looked after by the Hospice nurses and a group of kind people who are volunteers. Everyone is welcoming which makes you feel relaxed and part of a community. Each member is assigned a particular nurse who talks to you each week to check how you are. There are different activities you can join but also art and music therapies. If metal work is more your thing then that is available as well. If like me, you can’t move your arms then someone will help you, under your instruction, they will be your hands. If you are not keen on these kind of activities you can just relax in a reclining chair and read a newspaper.

The Hospice also offers you reflexology, massages and alternative therapies not only for you but your carer. One of the marvellous volunteers is a hairdresser.  She will wash, cut, and blow dry your hair, and you can even have a manicure. So some of us leave in the afternoon feeling pampered and looking fit for anything. Added to this, when I’m at the day centre it gives my husband a break from looking after me.

We have a three course meal with a menu to suit all tastes, and there is plenty to eat with a selection ranging from a traditional roast to a round of sandwiches.

Above all the Hospice nurses and the volunteers are cheerful, caring, and fun.

All these experiences are welcome but the real reason why I keep attending the day centre is to keep my own illness in perspective and remind me that I am not alone. There other people who have just as serious conditions and we all support each other.