About Anam Alba
<Gaelic for the above?>
SIOBHAN – Our Creative Force
Siobhan is the composer and writer of The Little Iceberg musical and the driver behind Anam Alba Creative CIC.
Siobhan has had a passion for music and songwriting, and Covid unexpectedly provided the opportunity for the resurgence of the importance of it in her life.
The pandemic and lockdown unexpectedly provided the space for it to re-emerge as something essential, and a powerful life force.
The endeavour turning into a bank of over 200 songs which not only recorded the highs and lows of that period, but captured something of the experiences that we all shared, and give voice to the difficulties and challenges that many people faced.
This achievement was recognised when Siobhan was name as one of the TES people of the year for 2020 with further recognition coming when she was asked to travel to London and perform at Drapers’ Hall for ArT1st, a celebration of the creativity of type 1 diabetics.
In March 2022, Siobhan put on a concert in The Piping Centre Glasgow, turning all of these songs into a musical memory of lockdown to raise money for Diabetes UK. This charity is close to Siobhan’s heart since she herself has been type 1 for 35 years. She credits music as the saving grace in her own relationship with this chronic illness.
Quick Shivie Facts
- She completed Gabor Mate’s Compassionate Inquiry Course in Sept 2021
- Passionate about all things music and songwriting
- Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese (and has a good working knowledge of French and Italian)
- Has a ceilidh band and is often called on to play piano or flute for funerals, weddings, events
- Has a deep love for Scotland and it’s poetry, landscape and culture
- Has a cat called Fingal
More About Siobhan
Siobhan has had a packed and wide-ranging career in education, holding lecturing posts in both Glasgow and Newcastle Universities in languages and literature, moving to the FE sector where she held posts in student engagement, learning and teaching and curriculum development and quality leadership.
Siobhan has always had a special interest in supported learning and additional support needs, and believes passionately in inspiring learners and educators to be the best they can be, irrespective of age, status or demographic.
She believes in the healing and transformative power of music, and was a therapeutic music specialist for Drake Music.
Most recently Siobhan has moved from New College Lanarkshire to take up a post as Education Manager with the tigers group, who embed relationship-led practice into everything they do.
FIONA – Our Craniosacral Therapist
While Fiona, as a young person had interests in art, anatomy and biology, she headed off in
entirely the wrong direction and accidentally trained as a teacher. This took her on a long-
convoluted path through various classrooms, ASN bases and (as it was known then) the EBD
(emotional, behavioural difficulties) sector, to discover that what fascinates us and what
stirs our souls, can ultimately be presented to us in many different ways.
Fiona trained in an innovative and still relatively unknown approach called CUSTTAD;
Combined Use of Sand Trays and Talk and Draw, developed by Sheila K Cameron. She is unequivocal in her belief that the core principle of CUSTTAD – to create an environment which is conducive to the sharing of emotional concerns if a child wishes to do so – is essential to most homes, workplaces and relationships.
In 1997 the Yorkhill NHS Trust Department of Child and Family Psychiatry carried out and evaluation of CUSTTAD for their Strategic Planning Group. More information can be found at www.custtad.com.
South Lanarkshire Council, and various key people in post at the time, supported the establishment of Custtad as a principal component of Tier 1 assistance for schools dealing with children who were unsettled for whatever reason.
That was 21 years ago and custtad is now embedded as a valued resource within SLC. Fiona has seen countless children over that period of time, overseeing the setting up of rooms as well as training and supervising Custtad workers.
In addition to being a Custtad worker, Fiona trained in Craniosacral Therapy, reflexology and QEC, driven by her unending fascination with the inherent and constant attempt that our bodies, hearts and minds make to resolve and heal what troubles them.
Fiona is a passionate defender of the magic of childhood, protector of imagination and an advocate of storytelling. It was on this basis that she decided upon home education for her son. She believes that tenderness and touch are essential to wellbeing, that caring and homemaking are happiness components for all generations and that food should be shared around tables where everyone is welcome.
As part of Epione Training’s #SeeMeHearMe series, Fiona wrote a powerful blog called “Be humble, for you are made of earth. Be noble, for you are made of stars…”, and you can read that here.
Her vision for Anam Alba is that we connect and build community with each other, on our doorsteps, in the time and place that we find ourselves alive and breathing.
FRANKIE – Our HeartMath Therapist
Frankie’s closest friend and lifelong companion is St John of the Cross, (or as he is known in the house – Johnifor) The love of his poetry, his commentaries and the wisdom held in the pages of books written by this 16th century mystic inspired a journey of dedication giving way to a process of learning, applying and experiencing what it means to walk your own spiritual path.
Frankie was illiterate until the age of 33. A working-class background, dyslexia and schooling where being belted was the stand out memory, Frankie had no option but to forge his own path in the world. He taught himself every trade and skill needed to run his own building business. Later on, he learned to cook and run a café, where he was famous for creating a soup for every day of the year!
As a mature student he reclaimed his education and graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Divinity from Glasgow University. He also completed a diploma in Clinical and Pastoral Counselling.
Frankie’s interests lie in the psycho-spiritual journey from pre-conception to death, inherited family trauma, birth psychology and the importance of the autonomic nervous system. He is a Certified Heartmath Coach and QEC practitioner, and has a particular interest in healing through the process of the Dark Night of the Soul.
Frankie wrote a gripping blog for Epione Training entitled “There’s a place in the soul where you’ve never been wounded”, and you can read that here.
He is presently writing a book, following a long period of both home educating his son and caring for his late mum. He loves gardening, cycling, dancing, cars, speaking Italian, baking and you are lucky indeed if you are invited to enjoy his coffee and soup around his table!