The Pulse September / October 2009 - NHS Lanarkshire

20
thePulse ACHIEVEMENTS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009
THEY’RE A GLASS ACT
Monklands
theatre
group has
a vital
message to
get across
TALENTED mental health nurses
at Monklands have written and
produced a fascinating play which
will feature during the Mental
Health Arts Festival in October.
As if that was not enough, the NHS
Lanarkshire colleagues will also act
in the play, Alice Through the Shot
Glass, along with local drama
students and graduates recruited for
their theatre group.
Writer and secretary of the Spiked
Theatre Group Gerry Hessan
explained more about the play –
which is a modern adaptation of
Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland.
The mental health staff nurse said:
“It stays faithful to the original story
but with an underlying
drug and personal safety theme.
“The story is simple: a trusting girl
is slipped an unknown substance
and falls into a coma.
“What happens during the coma,
depends on one’s life, lifestyle and
recent experiences.
“The last thing that the girl sees
before going into the coma is a
Batman strippogram.
“The traditional characters take on
CURTAIN UP: top, from left, Sean Curran, Garry Curran, Gerry Hessan,
Martin Hannigan, Graham Kane and Patrick Stratford. Bottom row, from
left, June Copeland, Carine Lamb, Karen Collins, Stacey Bradley and
Nichola McKeown. Due to work commitments Margaret Bradley, Darren
Bradley, Philip Spencer and Katie Currie are not in the photograph
a bat-twist with the Cheshire cat
becoming catwoman and all of the
well known Batman characters,
including the Riddler, the Joker, the
Queen of Diamonds and the
Mad Hatter and Two-face making
an appearance.
“There’s a shock ending but you’ll
have to come and see the play to find
out what happens to Alice and
her companions.”
The Spiked Theatre group has
been formed especially for the
Mental Health Arts Festival and
consists of local health care
professionals and local actors.
Gerry and the group are hoping
to put on a dramatic performance
Anaesthetist shows what can be done with dedication...
each year with a mental health
issue portrayed.
The play will be performed on
20 and 21 October in the At Home
Centre, Airdrie.
For further details, email Gerry at
locutus@borgcollective.plus.com
The Scottish Mental Health
Arts and Film Festival, led by
The Mental Health Foundation and
partners, runs from 1-22 October.
Details of the festival can be found
at www.mhfestival.com and
www.lanarkshirementalhealth.org.uk
WATER RELIEF: Bill completing
the Edinburgh Marathon last May
‘Seniors’ can follow
Bill’s fast footsteps
A HAIRMYRES anaesthetist is
proving that life really can
begin at 50.
Consultant anaesthetist Bill
McCulloch, 56, only donned
his running shoes three years
ago, but has already completed
a marathon in under five hours.
Now Bill is encouraging
other NHS Lanarkshire
“seniors” to follow his lead.
He said: “I took up running
for health reasons as I was
pretty horrified by my own and
the general health level of
men my age.
“I then decided to run my
first 10k in 2007, and then a
half marathon in 2008 and I
completed my first marathon in
Edinburgh at the end of May
this year.”
Bill finished in four hours 51
minutes, not bad for someone
running in a blazing hot day,
the last seven miles of which
were completed without water
after some Edinburgh scallies
sabotaged water stations along
the final part of the course.
He continued: “Running has
given me a new lease of life,
and nothing would please me
more than finding out other
middle-aged men had followed
my example and dusted down
their training shoes.”
Bill is now planning to run
another marathon, although he
was forced to pull out of
the monstrous Loch Ness
marathon in October, due
to injury.
He said: “I wanted to run the
Loch Ness Marathon on behalf
of Macmillan Cancer Support
and hoped to raise £1000.
“It’s a shame I can’t now but
I do intend to run another
and would really appreciate
any sponsorship.”
Find out about Bill’s planned
run in future editions of
The Pulse.
High way to
get in shape
A HILLWALKING group is
looking to encourage NHS
Lanarkshire colleagues to get
in shape in time for Christmas.
The Strathclyde Hillwalking
and Activity Group is a
Lanarkshire-based group that
promotes the health,
environmental and social
benefits of hillwalking and
other outdoor pursuits.
The group has a selection
of walks running up to
Christmas – with distances
from seven to 11 miles.
For more details, visit
the group’s website at
www.strathclydehillwalking
group.co.uk or call 01698 833383.