Save the date for Performers Night 2019

I'm back!
Sorry I've been away so long - been busy - you know how it is I'm sure.
It had to be something VERY BIG to get me blogging again and it is. Stop the presses!

We have a date and a venue for the 2019 Creative Doctors Performers Night.

Put it in your diary NOW:

7.00pm THURSDAY 15th August 2019 
CAMELOT LOUNGE (Have you been before? - its a great venue with lots of camels!)
Cnr Marrickville Rd and Railway Parade Marrickville

Yes, we have had illuminated hoops
at a previous performers night!

NSW

Entry is free for network members and all their friends and relations (thanks to our sponsor Judith Babich of Active Locums) and food and drink are available to purchase from the bar 

Please try to come along - even if you aren't one of the performers you will enjoy seeing our "performing doctors" (and medical students) sing, dance  (possibly with illuminated hoops), play musical instruments and do stand-up routines - maybe even all at the same time!
Our doctors are able, on this one night of the year, to do all the things they can't get away with on the wards or in the office.

RSVP If you'd like to perform on the night, or just want to tell us that you will be in the audience, please contact me, Jan, at creativedoctorsaustralia@gmail.com


And while I have your attention....


The NSW Doctors Orchestra; Musicus Medicus also has exciting performances which may interest you as well. Their next performance is at 2.30 pm on Sunday 16th June at the Concourse Concert Hall in Chatswood.
You can find out more from the Musicus Medicus website 

A website to help support your creativity

I've never quite been able to understand why I am on LinkedIn, thinking, as I do, that it's mostly about people networking to find their next job. I'm not so keen on getting another job, as it happens! However,  every now and again something comes to my attention that makes me pleased I am there.

This week I got a contact request from fellow named Richard K Potter. The name meant nothing so I looked him up and got a pleasant surprise. 

 Richard is an artist who also runs a website called Creativity 4 Wellbeing (C4W for short). The site is all about promoting health, wellbeing and a sense of belonging through creativity.  It's about sharing creative ideas and about supporting people who want to start an activity group or an art workshop in their own community.

Richard is actually a visiting lecturer in Narrative Writing at the university of Brighton so his skills are not limited to visual arts. He seems to be particularly interested in using creativity to help people with mental health needs.

Take a look at the site. Here's the link again if you missed it the first time: Creativity 4 Wellbeing. If you don't get inspired to start a community group I'm sure you'll  be personally inspired by some of the fabulously creative ideas.

Here's a link one of my favourite project ideas on the site, the treehouses.

Creative Docs in the media

Much as I don't want to draw anyone's attention to the terrible photo of the Creative Docs committee that appears in the article I do want you to know that we have had some very nice attention from the media as a result of our publicity campaign for last week's Creative Docs  Performer's Night. (More about the night in a later post)

Here's a link to the article by Amanda Lyons from the RACGP Newsletter

Bringing Your Stories to Life

Creative Doctors Writers Night 2018 is on Thursday April 12th at Moore Park Golf Club and this year we are taking a slightly different look at story writing.

It is true that we all have personal stories that just won't leave us alone - stories from our work and stories from our lives. Drawing on both oral and written traditions we hope with this event to encourage Creative Doctors members to bring those stories to life - and maybe even to create something tangible from them.

Some of our number have already volunteered to tell a first person story in the campfire tradition. They will have 5 minutes to tell their story in an engaging and entertaining way. "Story slamming" like this  has been made popular in recent years by organisations the US  the Moth but, it has to be admitted, the tradition of storytelling around the campfire goes back a whole lot further than when the Moth began in the 1990s. It's even possible that it started before the campfire was invented!

You can listen to  some great examples of oral storytelling on The Moth website by clicking here.  

On Writers Night  2018 Dr Hilton Koppe will come to listen to our stories with us. He will lead us in some exercises to help us find ways of making our real life stories into something more than just dinner table conversation. Even the greatest raconteurs amongst us can do with a little extra help from time to time!

When: 6.30pm 12th April 2018
Where: Heritage Room, Moore Park Golf Club
RSVP please to Dr Howard Gwynne howard@aya.yale.edu

Snippets from Camelot - Nick Brennan

Nick Brennan joined us again the year at the Camelot Lounge to sing and play two more of his original compositions. Usually Nick sticks to his guitar, but this year he hauled his banjo out of the attic for one of the songs and showed us just what a versatile musician he is!

Nick's day job is as a geriatrician at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney and at War Memorial Hospital in Waverley. Each year he organises a concert at War Memorial Hospital with special guests and proceeds to charity. This year the concert is on Saturday 23rd September from 7.00pm to 11.00pm with special guests "Naomi and James" and proceeds will go to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

If you were unlucky enough not to have seen Nick perform at Camelot here's a link to some of his music Nick Brennan in Triple J Unearthed (beware if you go looking on the net for him. There is another Nick Brennan who is a young country music artist - that's not our Nick. Follow my link to find him!)

If you'd like to be at the concert give Nick's secretary a call on 93690238 and she'll be happy to sell you a ticket or two for $25 each. You can also email Nick on nicholasbrennan@health.nsw.gov.au
For the price of your ticket you get drinks as well as the concert and you get to share the food everyone brings as well as share yours with others. You can buy tickets at the door but I do recommend you book in advance as these concerts are very popular and usually packed to the rafters.

As a bonus you can CLICK HERE to find the lyrics of one of the very moving original songs that Nick performed for us at Camelot.