This video includes some clips of our Taiko Drumming group and Choir.
Clips of our Guitar and Drama group performances and some photos of our Embroidery and Visual Art group exhibitions
This project was started by Bridget Crossan, a Castlemilk resident who participated in our visual art group. Bridget started to realise how important food – or rather meal time – had become throughout lockdown for her and her family. She suspected this might be something shared by other families, so started a Facebook page in order to share recipes and memories of food and the Castlemilk area.
The page took off and members engaged extremely well with the concept. Through this Bridget developed the idea of a book, this would contain costed recipes along with stories, poems and memories. This is where Nemo Arts was asked to be involved, we provided the technical and design skills to make this project a reality. Each week we worked with a core group of people from the community to work on the design and content. This project culminated with a printed book and e-book for distribution throughout the community and beyond.
“Last year around August time I was approached by Cassiltoun Housing Association regarding funding that had become available for residents to come up with ideas of things that could benefit the community.
I have always loved cooking and baking and feeding people and I love how food can make people come together and talk. People sitting around a dinner table is a great social ice breaker. I had originally thought of a small booklet of people’s meals that promoted memories for them from family, school or about the community of Castlemilk.
I started a Facebook page, and it became very popular. Paddy McKenna from Castlemilk Community Chest Fund told me there was a possibility of more funding and an opportunity for Hugh McCue to bring his expertise to the project. Wow, I could never have imagined this would be happening to my wee idea. A block of 12 weekly Zoom classes were started each week and members of the Facebook page were invited to join in if they wished.
Hugh spoke through what he planned and honestly my booklet idea was becoming an actual book!! Hugh worked out the layout and look of the book, he would give me tips on how to take pictures of food and when people sent recipes to the page, I would save them and reprint them into a better format which I would then share with Hugh, he taught me so much by explaining it with great patience and time (I even learned how to use OneDrive and Spreadsheets for Food Costings!! GO ME) each week we agreed on the content and he would add it to each page making it look honestly amazing.
Then the printing was beginning. Hugh set up an order form on the Facebook page for me and orders were coming in fast. Finally my wee idea of a wee booklet to give out around the community full of memories, recipes and good old Glasgow banter and humour became what it is now a beautiful book. We had a launch night and Hugh gave a lovely talk. The book has been going crazy, with requests for both printed and e-book copies, the orders from local residents have been amazing and even requests and orders for copies from all across Glasgow and further afield John O Groats, Aberdeenshire, Skye, London, Ireland, Northern Ireland, America, Canada, Spain, all being ex residents of Castlemilk.
The success of my ‘wee book’ would never in a million years be like this if it wasn’t for Hugh from Nemo Arts with his talent and experience in publishing my ideas. I would honestly not be who I am today without Nemo Arts. As well as teaching me what they have, the biggest thing for me is they have shown me how to feel comfortable within myself, and that even if I’m not good at something it doesn’t mean I can’t, I can still do it my way. Losing my career to ill health my confidence went also, but through Nemo Arts I’ve found confidence in myself again I had completely lost. The project is amazing, and I cannot speak highly
enough of it, it has even had an impact on my family dynamics because it has helped me. I cannot thank them enough and hope that one day I can get to the studio”
Bridget Crossan
Working in partnership with an already established writing group in Castlemilk we supported them to publish a book of their stories and poems. Our art tutor Rachel Toner worked with the group each week over zoom teaching them the skills of illustration.
As a group of writers there was a great deal of hesitation and anxiety felt towards learning this new skill, and it would be fair to say the group were way out of their comfort zone. However, through encouragement and a lot of laughter, the group soon relaxed into the weekly sessions. The end results were remarkable and the final printed book is something that we are all very proud of.
“I really enjoyed the experience and was delighted with how good the book was. We could not have done it ourselves. I am very proud of our book with the illustrations. Everyone loves the cover picture. The illustrations project was fantastic.”
“I felt a bit sad this was our last session. The art class was a great opportunity. Rachel was very encouraging to everyone and praised our work. The class came at a good time with all the COVID restrictions. I had not done art since secondary school. I would say to everyone to give art a try. Since doing the art class I look at the sky and trees in a different way. We are all looking forward to seeing our book.”
Below are some short case studies from people who attended this group.
A. came to our taiko group because she was already doing voluntary work with Cassiltoun HA. She has a long background as a carer, especially for a young person. For six years she had cared for family members, a task that took all of her time and energy, leaving little if anything for her. She had fulfilled that role from when she was fifteen years old. She had not recognised how important and useful she was as she had felt a failure at school and more or less stopped going at that age. Another thing that contributed to her leaving school early was bullying. She had been bullied because she was a carer. She was bullied because she devoted herself and her time to looking after her family. “Coming to Taiko has given me confidence” she said. She also reported that her communication skills had improved and her willingness to speak up and ask questions. Previously she had always thought she was stupid and her questions were “not the right ones”. A. reported that the artist/teacher was really important. She compared him very favourably with all other “teachers” she had experienced. His supportive approach and ease with the group was especially important to her. Another aspect that A. highlighted was the benefit of working in a group and how supporting she found that dynamic. She emphasised the importance of the group not just seeing everyone as individuals. One of the most telling things that A. was keen to tell us was that the confidence that she has gained is not only for the time she is with Theatre Nemo and the group, it is a permanent change that she now feels in every aspect of her life. “Confidence sticks with people you know.”
L. has recently moved to Castlemilk having grown up in one of the leafier suburbs outside Glasgow. She knew that she was not part of the traditional community of Castlemilk and wanted to engage and feel involved. L. has had a variety of jobs and voluntary positions over the years but had primarily been a carer for her parents. She had no siblings to support her in that and did not have a partner either. She had felt very alone. When she moved to the Castlemilk area she realised that there was a real possibility of community spirit and that she could seek ways to join in with that or in effect be isolated. “You can live anywhere but need to do more” she said. Theatre Nemo and the Taiko drumming was an important part of that new engagement, in meeting people, having fun, enjoying being part of something and not being alone and isolated. L. brought more than she realised to the group as she had a wide range of experiences that she did not seem at first to have the confidence to value. Previously she had worked as a volunteer with Scottish Action for Refugees and had also worked in HMP Barlinnie. L. said, “This is a very big part of re-joining life” “It makes me feel alive” “It is not just banging drums, it is making friends”. L. complimented Hugh on his skills as a facilitator and teacher and mentioned that the collaboration with Cassiltoun Housing Association (CHA) was important too as through it she met Paddy the CHA outreach officer. That again provided her with more opportunities to engage with the community and feel part of things and valued. L. came to Theatre Nemo and the Taiko drumming with a positive attitude and felt that it had done what she hoped it would do and more. She said “I moved house to get a new start, and this is an important part of it” L’s last comment was that she was “also feeling the benefit of the physical workout” referring to the very physical nature of Taiko Drumming.
B. is a retired person who has experienced a stroke. His mobility had been severely impacted. He had been in hospital for 6 weeks recovering from his stroke but even than he left with limited mobility. Since retirement and prior to his stroke he had been very active in national Church matters making frequent visits to Edinburgh for meetings. He would walk from Waverley station to George Street with ease but his stroke made that difficult. He came to Taiko because he knew that it had both a fun musical side but was also quite physical and felt that the exercise would do him good, as would engaging with other people form his community. He had previously seen Taiko at Proms in the Park in 2005. At that time he had broken his leg and thought then that it could be good exercise. His house is 1.25 miles from Cassiltoun HA where the Taiko took place. At the beginning he very much struggled to make the journey on foot with the aid of a walking stick. After 10 sessions he was able to walk back and forward without the use of a stick. Whilst at the taiko sessions he had originally to sit for periods but found that after a few weeks he could stand throughout the session of 2 hours, with a short break for refreshments. He also reported a noticeable improvement in his balance after the drumming sessions. That balance improvement gave him further confidence and acted as a catalyst to more positive activity. B. really enjoyed the camaraderie of the sessions but he also reported that because of it he was able to return to the voluntary role he had with the Church of Scotland. No doubt that national role had benefit to the country’s wider community but it also gave him personal pride and a reason for being. His wellbeing was improved and it meant he could help improve life for others. Who would have thought so much could come from banging a drum?
