WE were very proud to be among the organisers of York’s Dead Good Festival which ran alongside Dying Matters Awareness Week last week.

As a hospice, we know the importance of talking openly about death, dying and bereavement and see daily the issues that arise when families haven’t had these important conversations about their loved ones’ end-of-life wishes. Of course they can be very difficult topics but speaking about them early, before emotions are running even higher, is surely the key.

It was heartening to see lots of people at events and even more so to hear the fantastic conversations and discussions taking place and questions being asked. It was wonderful working with other organisations across York and clear to see that we can achieve more when working together. With well over 50 events across 10 days and an overall audience size of around 1,000 we really feel that momentum is growing.

Thank you so much to all of the organisers, venues, hosts, speakers, supporters, volunteers and audience members that came together last week. Here’s to next year.

Theresa Barrett and Sarah Gilbank,

St Leonard’s Hospice

Tadcaster Road, York