- CCCH Christmas Newsletter
- Good Grief Weston – Super Culture
- First Community Network Meeting, Hastings, 09/10/24
- Good Grief Weston – Reflections from a Medical Student
- First Community Network Meeting, Blackpool 24/09/24
- First Community Network Meeting, Weston-super-Mare 09/07/24
- Coastal Community & Creative Health project launch 12/06/24
CCCH Christmas Newsletter
Here is the project newsletter for the Coastal Community and Creative Health project, which flags some of what we have been up to since April – you can have a read here.
Good Grief Weston festival celebrates love and loss
By Julie Peel – Super Culture
A unique programme of events and activities across North Somerset opened up conversations around death and bereavement, with honesty, compassion, joy and sometimes with humour.
The Good Grief Weston Festival 2024 (10 – 13 October), produced by Super Culture in collaboration with the University of Bristol and the Weston-Super-Mare Community Network, welcomed over a thousand people to the area for a four-day festival exploring love and loss in safe, inclusive spaces and connecting people to support networks and community resources where they live.
A specially curated and diverse programme of over 30 events offered multiple touch points, with content including immersive theatre, music, film, book clubs, gardening, cooking, talks from health professionals, creative offers in the high street, bespoke activities at Weston General Hospital and a public discussion on assisted dying involving Dan Aldridge, MP for Weston-Super-Mare.
A new film about the festival featuring people who took part as well as experts on death and grief, had a timely launch as Kim Leadbeater’s Billon Assisted Dying entered debate in the Commons. The film is made by nicksuttonfilms, with music by Harry Purvis.
Good Grief Weston takes its inspiration from the award-winning Good Grief Festival, started in 2020 by Professor Lucy Selman and Dr Lesel Dawson at the University of Bristol.
Fiona Matthews, creative director at Super Culture, said: “It’s a privilege to be part of Good Grief Weston. The honesty and bravery that members of the community bring to the event is humbling, and every single story shared and connection made is hugely valuable. Creativity can play such an important role in navigating challenging issues and a vast emotional palate was in play across the weekend.”
Professor Lucy Selman from the University’s Bristol Medical School added: “When people are provided with opportunities to learn about grief and bereavement and share their experiences, it is incredible to see what unfolds. Good Grief Weston shows that grief and loss can bring us together in our shared humanity. Our thanks to everyone who made it possible.”
Community Network Meeting: Hastings, 9 October 2024
by Kate Gee, Research Fellow and Programme Manager, University of Kent
The inaugural Coastal Community and Creative Health Community Discussion Forum took place on 9th October 2024, at Hastings Commons Observer Building. This half day workshop brought together partners, collaborators, communities, advocates and supporters across the Creative Health landscape within Hastings and Rother. In bringing organisations with creative health interests together, we aimed to discuss what needed to be done, and what could possibly be done, and what was missing from creative health in Hastings and Rother.
This initial Discussion Forum is part of a three-year national initiative; ‘Coastal Community and Creative Health Partnership’, which explores coastal inequalities and the place that creativity holds in supporting wellbeing within such environments. Facilitated by ‘Collaborate Outloud’ and organised by researchers across the Universities of Kent, Brighton and Sussex, it introduced the project, showcased the work of some of the partners and theme leads, and highlighted opportunities to become involved in the project. We heard from Teresa Salami-Oru from East Sussex County Council about the creative health agenda in East Sussex, Teresa Flower from Hastings Voluntary Action about the Mr Hastings & St Leonards project, Elmien Brink from St Michael’s Hospice, Stephanie Edmonds from Fellowship of St Nicholas and Shar Elie from STAR Change Grow Live.
Small group discussions took place throughout the morning using table sheets to explore what people were excited about, how to grow the network, and sense-making of the morning (what happened today? so what? now what?). The thoughts and suggestions collected on these table sheets will inform the development of the project in Hastings. Conversations and connection continued over coffee and lunch.
The discussion forum provided a safe space to freely talk about projects, existing communities, organisations, successes, failures and local need. As well as the very real difficulties that have faced creative community and health projects, not least a lack of sustainability and dearth of national funding for supporting real change.
This event was a wonderful start in shaping a new project, encouraging discussion and developing the visibility of networks within Hastings and Rother. One of the attendees emailed to say, “it’s always inspiring to be in a room with so many others undertaking good practice and passionate about Hastings”.
If you are a member of the public with lived experience in one of our priority focus areas: young people’s mental health and wellbeing, substance use, and serious illness and bereavement, and would be interested in joining our Lived Experience Group, please email Sarah Hotham S.Hotham@kent.ac.uk for further information.
It is the first of many forums. If you would like to take part in future events and be part of our project mailing list, please contact project manager Dr Kate Gee K.A.Gee@kent.ac.uk
Good Grief Weston – Reflections from a Medical Student
by Stephanie Palmer, Medical Student, University of Bristol
As a final year medical student, I had the privilege of attending Good Grief Weston, a three-day festival that brings people together to have open and honest conversations about dying, loss, and grief. My medical elective focuses on palliative and end-of-life care, and this festival offered a unique opportunity to deepen my understanding of the emotional landscapes surrounding these topics. Yet, I attended Good Grief Weston not only as a student and researcher but also as someone recently grappling with a personal loss. This dual role allowed me to engage with the festival in a profoundly personal way, both as an observer and as a participant.
Walking into my first session, I carried the weight of my own bereavement—a grief that had been quietly residing inside me for weeks. I didn’t initially realise just how much I needed the space Good Grief Weston offered. In our fast-paced society, where deadlines constantly loom, commitments pile up, and others depend on us, grief is often something we push aside, hide, or rush through. There’s an unspoken expectation to “move on” or “get over it,” but the truth is, grief doesn’t follow a timeline. And yet, I had been guilty of making my grief small, compartmentalising it to fit into the margins of my busy life.
Good Grief Weston gave me permission to slow down and sit with my grief. The festival provided a safe, welcoming environment to honour my feelings without the pressure to conform to society’s expectations. I was deeply grateful for the community the festival created—a community where vulnerability was not only accepted but encouraged. There, I met people from all walks of life, each carrying their own stories of loss and grief, and we were able to connect in a way that felt genuine and supportive. The shared experience of exploring these deeply personal emotions was transformative.
The facilitators at Good Grief Weston were instrumental in guiding these explorations. Their warmth and openness created a nurturing space for introspection. They introduced new ideas that shifted the way I viewed grieving—not as a problem to be solved or an inconvenience to be hurried through, but as a natural part of life. Grief is not linear; it can change, grow, and take on different forms. This realisation was empowering. It made me more aware of how grief manifests in myself and in others. I began to recognize that feelings I might normally label as stress or frustration were, at times, grief in disguise.
Through this newfound awareness, I have learned to be kinder to myself and others. I now understand that grief deserves acknowledgment and attention, not suppression. Good Grief Weston has given me tools to carry forward, both in my personal life and in my future career as a doctor. It has shown me the importance of creating spaces where grief can be honoured, shared, and explored, rather than hidden away. For many, this festival may be a single event, a weekend of reflection and connection, but for me, it feels like just the beginning of a longer journey of understanding.
I found that this was not only a festival about death and grief, but also about life—about honouring the emotions we so often push aside in our rush to move forward. It gave me the permission to slow down and to embrace grief as a natural, evolving part of my life. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to everyone involved in organising, facilitating and supporting Good Grief Weston. I will carry the lessons learned at Good Grief Weston with me for the rest of my career and my life.
Community Network Meeting: Blackpool, 24 September 2024
by Ben Hawkins, Research Administrator, University of Liverpool
We recently held our first discussion forum event to launch the ‘Making Waves’ community & creative health network in Blackpool.
We were joined on 24 September at the Solaris Centre in Blackpool by around 40 attendees – including members of the project team, partner organisations and members of the local community. Representatives from local creative organisations, charities, NHS Trusts, local government and education providers were present.
Participants attending the event
The event was introduced by Dr Barbara Mezes, co-principal investigator for the Coastal Community and Creative Health project, as well as co-investigators, Laura Albury, network coordinator and Mike Crowther, CEO of Empowerment Charity, a Blackpool-based advocacy organisation serving marginalised communities. A project overview, including aims, priority areas and activities, was provided and Mike and Barbara emphasized the importance of collaborations and uniting key partners from the different sectors to improve the health and wellbeing of the local community.
Following lunch and networking, co-investigators Sue Flowers, a local artist and director of Green Close Studios, and Helen Shearn, an independent consultant in creative health, discussed their previous community work and their involvement as project work package leads. This included an outline of current findings on the positive effects of creative practices on health outcomes, and how this aligns with future strategies to tackle public health challenges in the region.
Project poster illustrated by Kremena Dimitrova and co-produced with Green Close and the Boingboing Foundation
Local project partners were then invited to deliver presentations on their work across the Fylde Coast area to raise awareness of the great work they do in our priority areas of young people’s mental health and wellbeing, alcohol and drug use and recovery, and serious illness and bereavement.
We were grateful to welcome the following talks:
- An overview of Citizens Advice Blackpool’s work in children and young people’s social prescribing, delivered by Fiona Williams and Lauren Sutton
- David Wilson and Nicola Plumb, who both work for Horizon Blackpool sharing stories of their lived experience and of addiction and recovery services in Blackpool, and how they had come to work in positions supporting fellow members of the community.
- An introduction to the Public Health Data work package by project co-investigator Dr Sophie Wickham, who is a research fellow in the Institute of Population Health at the University of Liverpool.
Following the presentations, attendees were invited to answer a variety of questions in small groups. The discussions were wide-ranging and brought together a range of different perspectives from across sectors.
We were pleased to be able to hear the group’s thoughts on the impacts of creativity on health in Blackpool, the current gaps in services and training, and the various strengths each individual and organisation could bring to the project. We then collated the responses, which we hope will inform the future direction of our work across all 3 of our project sites – Blackpool, Hastings and Weston-super-Mare.
The discussion forum was overall a great success and we are looking forward to hosting another early in 2025. This will be an important opportunity for the research team and project partners to share their latest findings and update on their work, which will no doubt develop in the coming months.
If you would like to keep up with the latest Coastal Community & Creative Health project news, follow us on Bluesky @coastalcch.bsky.social and X @CoastalCCH
Community Network Meeting: Weston-super-Mare, 9 July 2024
by Alice Malpass, Senior Research Fellow, University of Bristol
39 members of the Community Network met in Weston at The Campus on Tuesday 9th July.
The morning began with coffee and time to catch up with those we hadn’t seen for a while, before settling down at 10am for a great line-up of speakers. We first heard an update from Dr Lucy Selman about what had been achieved since the network started and the aims of the new AHRC-funded Coastal Communities and Creative Health three year project.
Weston team joins forces with Blackpool and Hastings
The new project links Weston to a national partnership to tackle health inequalities in coastal communities. The Weston team is joining forces with teams in Blackpool and Hastings, with a combined focus on mental health inequalities in coastal towns in three priority areas:
- young people’s mental health and well-being
- drug and alcohol (substance) use
- serious illness and bereavement
Blackpool, Hastings and Weston-super-Mare
The importance of collaboration
We heard from two co-applicants, David Moss from the Weston and Woodspring Locality Partnership, who talked about priorities and goals of the partnership in the areas of young people’s mental health, substance use and end-of-life and bereavement services. David’s description of the ecosystem was a thread running throughout the next talk by Alison Bancroft from The Other Place, who talked about what is needed to collaborate in a complex world. Alison’s talk opened up discussion in the room about what compassionate collaboration would look like and what the network needs to achieve it.
Alison Bancroft, The Other Place/Race Equality North Somerset
Our new priority areas
We then heard stirring talks from those working in the new priority areas, substance use and young people’s mental health – Adrian Riley from With You, Bev Gustar from Humans of Weston and Sophie Shepherd from Off The Record. Sue Stone from VANS shared updates about the North Somerset CYP Network and Wellbeing Fund, which will be distributing funds to the community sector.
Group Discussions
The Q&A sessions after each speaker raised important points, with members sharing contacts and suggestions for how to overcome different types of barriers for organisations (e.g. accessing GP team meetings) and individuals accessing services (e.g. those in recovery feeling unable to access primary care). Weston Hospicecare invited network members to get involved in their new Advance Care Planning document – please contact Kyran Hawkes at the Hospice: kyran.hawkes@westonhospicecare.org.uk
We ended the morning with small group discussions, exploring three questions on a tablesheet (see below). The ideas collected in the group work will inform the project going forward and will be shared with the network in due course.
Worksheet for small group discussions
Small group discussions
Feedback from the event
After the event, some network members got in touch to say, “It was a fantastic event – so good to hear how people are working to support others.”
Find out more
If you are a member of the public with lived experience in one of our priority focus areas, are from the health and social care sector or VCFSE sector or are an independent artist/creative, please email Alice Malpass a.malpass@bristol.ac.uk to be added to the mailing list or for further information. If you would like to feed in ideas and suggestions in response to the questions on the worksheets on behalf of your organisation, network or community, please get in touch. Everyone’s views are welcome, and everyone is welcome to the next network meeting on 26 March 2025!
Coastal Community & Creative Health Project Launch
by Ben Hawkins, Research Administrator, University of Liverpool
CC&CH Project Group
Our first Annual Project Meeting was held this summer in Hastings, the South-East site of the Coastal Community & Creative Health research project. Held on Wednesday 12 June 2024, members of the co-investigator team from across England travelled to the town for the event.
The Coastal Community & Creative Health project will collect research evidence and create resources to enhance how community assets – collective resources which are available to individuals and communities – are both delivered and accessed. Our particular focus is the impact of community assets on mental health and associated inequalities in three focus areas: young people’s mental health and wellbeing; drug and alcohol use; and serious illness and bereavement.
The project will build research and practice capacity to tackle mental health inequalities, strengthen local partnerships and engage communities in the three regions. Ultimately, a model will be produced for how community assets, including creativity and culture, can be integrated in health and social care to support people living in coastal communities.
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the project involves academics, researchers, and industry staff from across three English regions: North-West (Blackpool), South-West (Weston-Super-Mare) and South-East (Hastings). Co-applicants represent lived experience experts and diverse sectors including Local Authorities, health and social care, charities and voluntary organisations, and academia, with five universities represented: Liverpool, Bristol, Kent, Lancaster and Brighton.
Attendees exploring the Hastings “Old Town” area streets
The three-year project started in April 2024, with the first six months a development phase to build relationships and find a common language (crucial in a project of this size), as well as co-design the study protocol. The meeting in Hastings, generously supported by East Sussex County Council, was an important milestone, bringing together co-investigators and selected project partners for a cross-regional discussion.
Attendees arrived in the afternoon of Tuesday 11 June and checked in to a guesthouse on the Hastings seafront. Following this, attendees embarked on a group walk and tour of the town, including the Old Town area, an (optional!) climb of the East Hill cliff, and historic fish smoking huts.
Tomato bruschetta at La Bella Vista
Following the walk, attendees sat down to an evening welcome meal at La Bella Vista, a contemporary Italian restaurant facing the English Channel. Team members were able to discuss their work and involvement with the project so far, as well as getting to know each other.
A view of Hastings from the East Hill Cliff
On the day of the meeting, attendees met at the Observer Building, a local landmark recently converted to include conference facilities, a bar, co-working spaces, and rent-capped residential properties. Hot drinks, refreshments and a buffet lunch were provided by the venue and went down a treat with the group! Some colleagues who were unable to attend in-person attended the meeting virtually and participated in discussions.
Fishing boats and smoking huts near the seafront
The meeting started with an ice-breaker. Attendees were asked to bring with them a picture or object that represents how they look after their own wellbeing. One group member shared videos of their powerlifting progress (including a very impressive deadlift!), describing how their newfound relationship with exercise and the gym has had a highly positive effect on their mental and physical welfare. Another talked the group through their meditative practices and demonstrated the use of a “singing bowl” – having made prudent use of the seafront balcony in their hotel room to take a few relaxing moments.
Co-investigators and representatives from partner organisations then delivered short presentations on their work and their involvement with the project. Organisations included East Sussex Country Council, Blackpool Council, Super Culture, The Other Place (Weston-Super-Mare) and Blackpool Grand Theatre.
Attendees were able to gain insight into different cultural strategies across the three seaside towns, the approaches used by third sector organisations to deliver creative health, and how future plans would feed into research.
The co-principal investigators (PIs) for the project, Dr Barbara Mezes (University of Liverpool) and Prof Lucy Selman (University of Bristol), then led a study review section, outlining overall progress and detailing next steps. Both PIs have been working in recent months to raise awareness of the project, its aims, and planned benefits to communities, as well as building relationships with national stakeholders.
Following the meeting, each member of the team will continue to work on their associated work package(s). The discussions at the event provided an excellent springboard for new ideas and deeper understanding of the interconnected aspects of the project, and was a great way for members of the team to catch up. The team was really impressed by all Hastings has to offer – we’re already looking forward to the next meeting, which will be held in Weston-Super-Mare in 2025.
A slice of the Hastings Seafront
Notes from a new face
Ben Hawkins (Research Project Administrator)
Hi there, reader. My name is Ben, and I’ve recently joined the project as a secretary/administrator, based in Liverpool, my hometown. I accompanied the North-West team down to Hastings just one week into my new post. Because of this, Barbara and Lucy thought it would be great to hear the perspective of a ‘newbie’ on the visit, as well as the project more generally.
Straight away I found the team to be extremely welcoming and easy to slot right into. I was able to meet a variety of partners and co-investigators from organisations up and down the country – universities, charities, local governments and more. This was a huge help, given how difficult it can be to get used to names and roles when you start a new job (and that’s without being based across the country!).
Despite the specific focus of the project, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I was able to learn about other important work across the seaside towns. Hearing about new cultural developments in local Blackpool (not to mention its impressive tourism numbers), as well as the way local organisations in Weston-Super-Mare work collaborate and innovate, was a refreshing antidote to some of the stereotypes about ‘forgotten’ seaside towns.
The funicular East Hill Cliff Railway
Having only ever visited the South-Coast once (on an exhausting pilgrimage to Brighton Pride a few years ago), I wasn’t sure what to expect from Hastings. Being from the North-West, my experience of the British seaside has generally been limited to walks along the Mersey and summer stopovers in Wales. I found the town to be extremely pleasant. The expansive pebble beach, which includes a sizeable pier, was tidy and welcoming. There is still a bustling seafood industry and harbour here, with a history museum to boot!
The town itself is filled with various small and large businesses – including a very respectable variety of bars and restaurants serving food and drink from a wide range of cultures. I also noticed the town’s diverse population (spanning all manner of social groups), a far cry from the ‘un-metropolitan’ stereotypes that have plagued UK coastal towns in the past.
Hastings’ Old Town
Attending the event itself, whilst as much a job induction as anything else, was an opportunity for me to see for myself the work of the project so far. Whilst still in its early stages, it was clear from the sheer variety of partner organisations that community assets, including creative organisations and initiatives are an (increasingly) important aspect of the social fabric of these seaside towns. As a social science graduate, the welfare of coastal communities is something that’s always been very important to me, and I found it reassuring to be able to see just how many people from across the country are committed to finding new ways to promote this.
A mural depicts the historic Battle of Hastings, 1066 AD
I ultimately came away from the event with the sense that, whilst there is much work to be done (in terms of research, policy and actual delivery of services), there is optimism to be found in coastal communities. Upcoming work includes providing usable data for organisations delivering creative health to more easily interact and share resources, as well as centring users of mental and physical health services. This feels like an important (and necessary) goal.
In sharing such a wide variety of ideas, the attendees showed me that there is a wealth of imagination at the helm of health improvement. I’m excited to see (and contribute to) where the project goes next, and how it can be useful for coastal communities.
Mosaic artwork in the town centre