In January 2019, Anne Elliot and a group of 10 women, who use the REH or are part of Artlinks community projects have had the unique opportunity to work with the Soul Food Sisters Community Kitchen in a series of workshops in Glasgow. We wanted to make links for women outside of the hospital and mental health community, providing them with the opportunity to experience something entirely different. The Soul Food Sisters introduced them to Turkish, Polish and Algerian foods, working together to make breads, dips, sampling soups and gluten free recipes. These workshops were inspirational, encouraging all involved to be more adventurous in their food choices, building new friendships, learning new skills, and most importantly having the opportunity to learn new cooking skills from some amazing teachers.

‘’It was fascinating meeting women from different countries and learning how to cook their local delicacies. It was always a lovely atmosphere, there was a good camaraderie. Whilst we were learning something it was always great fun at the same time.’’ Sue

‘’It was a privilege for soul food sisters to share a great experience with Artlink we really appreciate your time and your support. Personally I enjoyed meeting them all, it was a friendly and comfortable atmosphere, and I hope to see you all again. It was very encouraging working with you and your group we got the impression that we knew each other very well, we were all comfortable, confident and relaxed we learned and shared our stories. We have a new great networking group and we hope to continue working with you in near future.’’ Soul Food Sisters

Other news from the Royal Edinburgh:

• In Stitches: Grace – Cat - And to keep the bad puns going we think this cat by Grace is just PURRRRFECT!
• In Stitches: Anne Elliot – Forest - Anne is currently working on this forest piece and was inspired by a David Hockney painting. We think that Anne can definitely see the woods for the trees! Anne says, ‘’The Hockney landscape paintings are vast in size and on viewing them I felt drenched in colour. They have had a lasting impact on me. […]
• In Stitches: Anne Elliot – Meg - Anne has lovingly captured her Mum’s dog Meg in this beautiful piece. As Franklin Jones said ‘Scratch a dog and you’ll find a permanent job’! Anne says ‘’Thanks to lockdown and Laura Lees this was my first venture in sewing for 3 decades. I was surprised and encouraged by this perfect tonic to lockdown. Homemade […]
• In Stitches: Dorothy – Bass Rock - Dorothy: Bass Rock Dorothy is currently working on a new piece which is inspired by a painting she has of the Bass Rock. We love how she is capturing the monumental form of the rock itself. Dorothy says, “The Bass Rock is inspired by childhood memories of holidays and weekends spent in a caravan at […]
• In Stitches: Dorothy – Owl - Dorothy: Owl Is Dorothy a wise old owl? we think so, though she may dispute the old part of that! We love the character Dorothy has managed to capture in the Owl. HOOT HOOT HOORAY! Dorothy says, “I have an affinity with owls and elephants for some reason!”
• In Stitches: Anna Becker – Kilimanjaro - Anna Becker – Kilimanjaro Anna is currently working on a piece inspired by Kilmanjaro. It’s not finished yet but you can see how its progressing and we will upload images of all the finished pieces at the end of the project. From a humble teapot to a vast landscape!
• In Stitches: Anna Becker – Teapot and Cup - Anna Becker – Teapot and Cup For this piece Anna took inspiration from the things around her, things that most people have like a teapot and a mug. We love the finished cushion, and it shows how everyday objects spark joy! Anna said, “I was really not sure when I started this. It wasn’t something […]
• Edinburgh Landmarks – Drawings and Paintings from The REH Open Art Studios - The Edinburgh Landmarks exhibition has just finished at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital and we decided to create a small publication to celebrate the creativity of the participants. Each of the people who took part in the exhibition received a copy as a thank you for taking part, as most were not able to see their […]
• Lost for Words -   Lost for Words is our creative writing project. The first phase has just finished, and we were delighted to have author Laura Marney as our first writer. Laura is a Scottish writer with a great sense of humour, as anyone who has read her second novel, ‘Nobody Loves a Ginger Baby’, will know!  Laura […]
• Maggie’s Magical Moments - Maggie is another long-term friend of the Artlink Hospital Arts Programme and has been a regular attendee at the workshops over many years. In the workshops Anne can hardly keep up with the paper supply for Maggie’s artworks and it proved no different during lockdown. Maggie has been super productive producing a vast array of […]
• Crafting with Joan - Joan is a long time friend of the Hospital Arts Programme and has been attending the workshops at the Glasshouses for many years. For anyone who knows Joan, they will know that lockdown is not going to put a stop to her creativity. Here you can see Joan displaying some of the works she had […]
• Creative Hub at the REH - Most of the patients and staff of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital will know the Artlink Creative Hub at the Glasshouses are temporarily closed and all workshops stopped during lockdown. However this did not mean that people creativity stopped! During our temporary closure we have kept in touch with everyone who attended the workshops and set […]
• Glasshouses Garden Group - During lockdown the Royal Edinburgh Glasshouses volunteers have been catching up round a virtual kitchen table using Zoom. They have been sharing gardening stories, tips and cake, all in the virtual stratosphere of course! We are pulling together their latest ideas in a magazine which you can view and download below. We found that during […]
• Edinburgh Landmarks - Staff and patients at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital will have noticed a new exhibition called Edinburgh Landmarks in two sites there. Some works are displayed in MacKinnon House in the Link Gallery and some are displayed in the corridor in the new Royal Edinburgh Building. The works were all done in the workshops at the […]
• Welcome to the Blog - First of all, we want to acknowledge the amazing work that NHS staff have been doing over the last 5 months in what are incredibly challenging times. THANK YOU. Although Anne and Trevor have not been able to work on the wards during lockdown, they have been busy. Anne has kept in touch with various […]