DVD Launch Date - 29th June 2pm St Mary's College Hobart

Today I watched the final edit for our documentary, it is so exciting and an enormous body of work that we are looking forward to sharing with everyone. Mr Michael Ferguson, our health minister will be launching the 13 minute DVD at St Mary's on June 29th at 2pm. We hope that many community members, family members and particpiants can attend. I am really proud to be part of this exciting project and to see all your work come to life.

Student Responses

How rewarding it was to read and view the very meaningful and thoughtful responses I have received from you so far. It is so affirming for Calvary that you have obviously learnt and grown from our program. Some comments and snippets from the responses are below. Please feel free to email or post other comments and responses or share your work.
THANKS EVERYONE

"Before I went to Calvary Hospital, I was so scared to talk about death with my family members or just my friends. I have learnt that it is OK to talk about death because everyones time will eventually come.The picture of the tree, especially at the bottom shows how uncomfortbale  I was going to Calvary because I thought that everything was going to be depressing. As the time went by, my tree began to untangle itself with guidance from the teachers and the staff at Calvary. I felt free and comfortable to talk about death. I have learnt so many things that I didn't know about and that is what the leaves on my tree represent. My tree is flourishing in this knowledge. Thank you for a great experience."  Innocent Michael

"This course has definitly helped me prepare myself for an eventual death that I know is coming"
Lucy Bauermeister

"To me death, dying and palliative care can't be anything but personal. ..For me I experienced this recently with my dad and it was very full on. We never really got a break from the medical environment because we had to surround ourselves around it, hospital life became our home life not only for my dad but for the whole family. I feel that this course outlined death, dying and palliative care in the best way you could when it comes to explaining this topic"  Brianna Pirere

"No-one knows what it is like to die, but what we do know is that there is a way that you can change your mind set about end of life... We can choose to accept death and see it as something beautiful or we can remain scared of death and wanting to avoid it"
Emily Vince

 "Watching the patients at St John's really inspired me to write this, along with the health care team that assisted throughout the ward. Seeing Virginia and what she had to go through, was also an inspiring experience. She was a positive person who didnt mind at all being treated, because she knew she was in the right place. She also inspired me." Madison Car

The piece I have drawn and written shows how talking about death/dying does not have to be a "hush/hush" topic. That it is OK to talk about it. There is no need to feel awkward or scared about bringing up the conversation. People need to be educated and have a better understanding of Palliative Care. The conversation needs to happen, no matter how hard it is. The more knowledge people have the easier it will be on the individual and families" Nadia Dandolo.

- painting by Lauren Baker

A sewing response!

The month after my family moved to Tasmania in 2010 my Nanna, Theda Witter died. Nan was my Dad's mum, she was a stylish and at times formidable woman who loved the finer things in life including opera, red wine and pearls! Interestingly, Nan was quite a contradiction as partnered with her luxurious taste were her serious frugal tendencies. Like many women of the depression Nan hated waste, of any type. She was an amazing home cook and also a magnificent sewer; upcycling anything she could,  as nothing, well nothing much was ever thrown out. In their 1950s home in Carlingford they had a magical sunny room upstairs dedicated to sewing. I have very vivid memories of sneaking up to this sacred room, drawing open the green curtains and riffling through her haberdashery and material delights with my sisters. My Nan's husband, my Pop, was a self made entrepreneur who was a charming and charismatic man. He made a living amongst other mad ventures, by selling recycled clothes and rags with his company Witters Australia which my Dad later ran. While second hand clothing and "the factory" were not a passion for my Dad, Witters was a fantastic business which as well as funding our family, was a source of great pride and joy for me and my siblings. We, along with Mum grew up loving second hand clothes. Sorting bags of rags was a fabulous past time for us and for periods in the 1990s fuelled a Glebe Market stall for the Witter kids. These throw-outs from Sydney were treasure troves of sometimes smelly and sniffy but always potentially magnificent and highly prized pieces. I still get a shiver of delight rummaging on $5 tables at second hand clothing markets, searching for that not so elusive bargain.

My response to the project has been to rekindle and weave some of these memories of my Nan into my Tassie life. Soon after we started the project I got out a sewing machine that was new but unopened in its cerise Husqvarna box. Not since school have I sewed a stitch. Inspired by memories of my Nan I started sewing, nothing major just bits and bobs using my husband Andrew's old shirts. It appears that like my Nan I also hate waste, and love to upcycle. I had never thought we were similar but I must say through this project I feel her genetics or memories or fragments of her life ebbing in me. When I told my elder sister Jane what I was doing she said she had salvaged some fabric from the magical Carlingford sewing room which I could have. With the sewing machine, fabrics and old materials and tablecloths that I have been accumulating for years I have set up my own "sewing room". It is not as sunny, but it is starting to feel a little magical. I can sneak away to the room and sew, or dream of sewing, or sometimes just sit at the sewing machine. As part of my response to the project I have made my two daughters: Beatrix and Florence a skirt each, made from some of the remnants that my sister gave me. As I sat at the machine stitching away I smiled and laughed at how much free and whimsical joy I was getting out of making little gathered skirts for my daughters, in honour of my Nan.

Part II Update

I was excited to hear from Ms Wong this week who said the participant responses are coming along and are impressive. I'll be going to St Mary's on the 9th May to collect them. As for our DVD we have done the last piece of filming. Dave and Rob from our Hype team are busy cutting and editing to make our doco! I can't wait to review the takes. I'll keep you all posted.

I was in Gibson this week and saw Virginia she was keen to hear how you were all going and our date for showcasing the works. At this stage we will look at early June.

The surveys have been coming in with really worthwhile feedback. I hope to share this in early June as well.

Be good to catch up on the 9th I can't wait to see your responses.