London is "a buzzin"!

London cold????? No way! I arrived in London after a long flight from the U.S, gathered my bags and walked out of Heathrow bracing myself for an icy wind and grey, miserable sky and guess what? First I took off my coat, then my scarf, then my cardi.........(don't worry, I stopped at the teeshirt) and I was still hot! Who said London is dull, cold and gloomy? Lucky for me I had booked a shuttle transfer to my hotel in Bloomsbury and there were number of other people on the bus who got dropped off first, so I got a free tour around town before I'd even checked into my hotel! (well it wasn't actually free, but I could have been dropped off first and seen nothing). Spent a relatively quiet day unpacking and wandering around the local area getting my bearings. Found a nice pub and sat outside for an early dinner before heading back to bed. I couldn't work out why my face felt tight, until I looked in the mirror and saw I was sunburnt!!!! Me? I'd just come from 25-35 C in North Carolina and Florida and then got burnt in London, "I don't believe it!!"

Must mention I'm staying just up the road from the home of my favourite British author. Imagine my delight as I walked down the street to find a plaque to Charles Dickens, the voice of the ordinary people! Wow this place is cool! I wonder when there will be a plaque on the home of my favourite Australian playwright? Mmmmm, wonder who that could be (hint, his photo is below)!
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My amazing friend Alan Hopgood as "Clarrie" in Four Funerals in One Day

Plays all over the place! While I was at the theatre with Cathy watching "Shipwrecked" in Florida, "Four Funerals in One Day" (sometimes known as "Four Footprints") was playing in my hometown and surrounds. It was great to hear that it went so well with bucket loads of people turning out to performances across Gippsland. I must admit I was really sad I couldn't be there, particularly at the Leongatha and Wonthaggi shows, but wanted to make sure my thanks go to all who organised the tour, my dear friend Alan Hopgood and the wonderful cast Michelle Hall, Jenny Seedsman, Margot Knight and the ever vigilant production manager Erin Prater, Anthony Hooper, Consortium Manager for Gippsland Region and my mate Mandy Geary (who spent many a sleepless night counting ticket sales, wine bottles and blocks of cheese). Would love to do a reprise when I get home! Thanks also to my brother Matt who sent me this wonderful photo!
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TOODLE PIP UNITED STATES... THANKS FOR HAVING ME!

A few random shots that were too good not to upload.
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A stack of frisky butterflies!

Oh how I love butterflies! Thought you might like to share my experience?
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Last day at Shands, "Clowning around"

My last day at Shands saw Paula Patterson push me well beyond my comfort zone! The day started easily enough, after meeting and talking about our common ideas and issues around grants, programs and the future of arts in health with Kris Sullivan, I joined the rest of the AIM team for their weekly "Artist Rounds". This was a wonderful opportunity to meet members of the team I hadn't met to date and to listen to their reflections on the work they had been doing with patients during the week. All of the artists use this meeting as a peer support and mentoring opportunity as well as a time for critical reflection and planning. I was thrilled that Tina invited me to talk about our work in the North and West Metro Region Palliative Care Consortium, the Churchill Trust and my Fellowship and of course I took the opportunity to "plug" "Four Funerals in One Day" and "Jelly Bean's Secret" (when you're given the floor you need to make the most of it!). The team were all very interested in all of the above and conversations continued during lunchtime in the garden. It was then that I had to put "professional me" in the cupboard for an hour as I walked around the hospital dressed as a "goofy" waiter with Paula and one of her volunteers, handing out chocolates to staff in celebration of International Nurse's Week. I must say it was WAY beyond my comfort zone, particularly walking into the nurses stations impersonating the John Cleese "silly walk" (all part of the routine, I'm told). I must say I never realised that "clowning" was such a serious business! But I think I'll leave it to the professionals in the future, I don't think I'd make a very good living if I had to depend on my clowning skills.

After my clowning performance, the pace changed somewhat as I spent some time with Nancy Lasseter looking at the mind/body renewal program.......far more my speed, especially sitting on the massage chair as I really needed it by then! Nancy runs a great program where staff can book in for a massage in addition to providing yoga, meditation and guided visualisations. Most impressive. Finally I met the Palliative Care CNS, who I had a long chat with (and I hope I convinced to come and visit us in Melbourne).

My stay at Shands @UF Arts in Medicine sadly finished and I said goodbye to a stack of new friends with whom I know I'll keep in touch in the future. I was so grateful for their generosity, their honesty and their interest in my work. All in all I have met some wonderful people in the U.S, in Buffalo, North Carolina and now in Florida and I know I've established relationships that will be ongoing in addition to learning heaps about how others use the arts in a mainstream health facilities.

I finished my Shands visit with a night at the theatre and funnily enough, the play, "Shipwrecked" was about a French born Englishman "Louis de Rougemont" who ran away to sea and (of course) was shipwrecked somewhere off the coast of Australia. How much of his story was true and how much delusional, we never found out, but it was most entertaining and I am very grateful to Cathy DeWitt, who took me along as her guest. Also funny, at the reception prior to the performance (for the local PBS radio station), I met a woman and her husband who'd lived in Melbourne for 10years, she taught in Ascot Vale and he in Broadmeadows and they lived in Carlton (right by Princes Park), it sure is a small world!

Before I packed my bag to head to London, the lovely Madeline took me out to the Harn Museum, where I not only saw some wonderful art, some gigantic skeletons and a great floral art competition, but got to spend time in the "butterfly house"..........just my sort of place, extremely hot and humid, lush and filled with colourful flying things.........AH, HEAVEN!

So "toodle pip" United States, thanks for having me...........it's been a ball!
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Patchwork, featuring Cathy DeWitt

Entertaining patients, family and staff!
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On to music and literary arts

My second day at Shands started very early, visiting the adult Dialysis Unit with the wonderful Madeline Austin. It's so obvious the joy these patients get from the work Madeline does with them. Some of them have been coming to the unit three to four times a week for dialysis for over 20 years! Madeline does a variety of visual arts based projects with the patients and the ward is decorated with cranes the patients have been folding in addition to making cards, writing personal reflections and decorating Madeline's funky stuffed gloves on a stick ( I guess you had to be there!). From there I went with Mary Lisa to the paediatric Dialysis Unit, where she was working with the kids on a variety of different projects. I must say the kids I met were all amazing artists.........their drawing and painting skills were very impressive! In addition they were a really friendly bunch of kids who seemed to enjoy the fact that I "talk funny"!

Lunch was in the Wilmot Healing Gardens where Cathy DeWitt (Musician in Residence) and her band "Patchwork" entertained an audience of patients, staff and carers. This provides a great opportunity for people to get out of the hospital and relax amongst the trees, with some great music and just reconnect with nature........a rare opportunity for some of them. After the concert Cathy took me over to AGH, which is another campus of Shands, but was originally the local community hospital. Here I met Barbara Esrig (Writer in Residence) and we talked a lot about her Oral Histories program........something very close to my own heart! The three of us spent some time with an extraordinary patient who is an author and poet and who entertained us by reciting a very moving poem he had written and then talked about his own personal story..........people really amaze me sometimes......how talented they are and how ready to tell their stories, all they need is someone to listen!
Barbara showed me the AGH history installation she had put together, which documents the development of the site from its beginnings and we talked a lot about the importance of history and legacy......a woman of my own heart!

My day finished with a trip to the Farmers Market, downtown and then I met up with Mary Lisa, her husband Lance, Cathy, Annie and her hubby Keith and Barbara for a lovely relaxing dinner and a couple of wines at a local Japanese restaurant. A fitting end to another extraordinary day. Photo of Barbara at the AGH History installation. Photo 2 of Barbara, Anne, me and Mary Lisa at dinner.

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