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Wick kitchen ceilidh brings cheer for macular support group members





Nancy Nicolson and Eric Farquhar with Willie Mackay looking on at the kitchen ceilidh.
Nancy Nicolson and Eric Farquhar with Willie Mackay looking on at the kitchen ceilidh.

A kitchen ceilidh provided plenty of toe-tapping entertainment for members of a local sight-loss group at a time when they are unable to meet in person.

Eric Farquhar, chairman of the Caithness Macular Society Support Group, compered the event in his house in Loch Street, Wick, and recited some Caithness dialect verse.

He was accompanied by poet, singer and accordion player Nancy Nicolson and Highland councillor Willie Mackay, whose spoon-playing videos have been hugely popular on social media, while mouth organ player Angie Wares joined in remotely.

An audience of about 25 enjoyed the session through a telephone link. As well as members of the Caithness group, people from Sutherland and Shetland listened in.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK, affecting more than 600,000 people. There are many forms of macular disease but AMD is the most common, usually affecting people over the age of 50.

The Caithness support group is one of several hundred across the UK and it has about 30 members. Eric explained that they have been keeping in touch during the coronavirus crisis through monthly phone meetings.

“We can’t have Zoom because the members can’t see, but telephone conferencing came to our rescue just to keep the club together," he said. "One person told me, ‘This is a life-saver for us, that we’ve still got this one day a month.’

"Being so far north we can’t get all the experts up here, but with the telephone conferencing we can get them to join us. A month ago we had the woman in charge of research for macular degeneration down at headquarters in Hampshire.

"We wouldn’t have her up here, but through this we had her here virtually."

He said Thursday's hour-long ceilidh had been about bringing everyone together in a sociable way. People from Golspie, Brora, Helmsdale and Lerwick as well as from across Caithness enjoyed hearing the music and poetry.

"With the support group it’s half for socialising and half for medical facts," Eric said.

There is no cure for AMD, he explained.

"Age-related macular degeneration doesn’t kill you, there’s no pain, and you don’t totally lose your eyesight – you end up just seeing out of the corners of your eyes," he said. "I’m not at that stage yet, but that’s where I’m heading.

“There’s another version of it called wet macular, and you know you’ve got it if you start seeing straight lines going wiggly. If you don’t get it seen to right away you go blind.”

Anyone interested in getting in touch with the Caithness group should contact Eric on 01955 605864.

Willie Mackay said: "The ceilidh is something I would like to see repeated at a later date with Eric as compere if the group members are unable to meet because of current circumstances."


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