Tommy Whitelaw to host concert for dementia carers

A dedicated campaigner is embarking on a new campaign to raise awareness of people who care for a family member with dementia.

Tommy Whitelaw’s ‘Letters, Life and Love Stories – A Celebration of Caring in Scotland through Music and Words’ initiative also pays tribute to professionals and volunteers involved in care support networks.

For the last six years he has travelled around Scotland collecting letters from dementia carers, detailing their experiences and helping him paint a picture of what life is like for people who dedicate their lives to looking after someone with the condition. Now, he wants people to send him songs or pieces of music that evoke memories of happier times or comfort them during tough moments.

Mr Whitelaw will put these memories and experiences together and use them at an exhibition on 20 January next year, celebrating the work of carers, health professionals and volunteers, who will all be invited to attend a concert at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow later that evening, where performers will pay tribute to the caring community.

His own personal story with dementia began in August 2007, when he returned home from London, where he had been living, to visit his “loving, magnificent mum” Joan and noticed something was not quite right.

He said: “I went back to visit my mum and what I walked home to was, in my eyes and my heart, the beginning of a broken heart and a tragedy.

“Dementia was doing everything in its power to affect my mum’s greatness, her awareness.”

Mr Whitelaw immediately gave up a successful career in the music industry and moved home, where they fought his mother’s battle with vascular dementia together until she passed away in September last year.

During the five years that he cared for her, he only took one week’s respite and used that time to travel around Scotland collecting letters from other people who were in similar situations as part of his Tommy on Tour initiative, which he still carries out today. He has taken the stories he has received over the years to the Scottish Government, the NHS and other organisations in an attempt to raise awareness of dementia and change policy.

Mr Whitelaw still wants dementia carers to send him letters and stories of their experiences but he also now wants them to share songs and music that help them through the tough times. Speaking about his idea, he said: “It’s allowing people an opportunity to talk about somebody they love or care about. The idea with the songs is to tell the story behind it because there is a personal reason behind them. My mum was unable to talk for the last six months of her life but if I sang a song, she would sing the last line and that was the only time I heard her voice.”

In order to give carers the thanks he feels they deserve, Mr Whitelaw has teamed up with the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE), Regular Music and Celtic Connections to deliver the project, which will culminate in the concert early next year.

Clearly excited about the event, he said: “There’s going to be a pre-reception and exhibition where I’m going to go out and invite people whose stories I’ve heard of, people I’ve nominated and invite them to the reception. It’s a celebration of caring and then after we will all be going over to the concert – 500 people have been invited as special guests.

“I’m on a mission now to put on this exhibition and I’ve been speaking with the NHS and I’ll invite them to nominate people and invite them to be special guests at the exhibition.

“It’s a ‘thank you’ and celebration of caring whatever shape – professionals, volunteers or family – I just want to say ‘thank you’ to them.”

Mr Whitelaw is currently keeping the names of the artists performing at the concert under wraps but says he has been in talks with some “great bands” and will gradually reveal the line-up from September.

Ian Welsh, chief executive of the ALLIANCE, is “excited” about working with Mr Whitelaw on the project. He said: “The concert is a great opportunity for us to celebrate and thank carers for their tireless and all too often unrecognised work. We are excited about this great partnership opportunity and to showcase the ‘letters, life and love stories’ of carers in Scotland.

“At the ALLIANCE we aim to provide a stronger voice to carers and ensure they enjoy a right to live well.”

If you would like to nominate a carer or you are a carer who would share a special song with Mr Whitelaw, email lifestories@alliance-scotland.org.uk.