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~ Acquired Brain Injury (ABI): from the acute hospital to early rehabilitation – more on: www.CaringforPadraig.org and www.ansaol.ie

Hospi-Tales

Tag Archives: Music

Stayin’ Alive

07 Sunday Dec 2025

Posted by ReinhardSchaler in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

germany, life, Music, travel, writing

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don’t grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.
Alan Watts

Pádraig is going to a pool as often as possible. It’s one of our favourite days of the week.

He stands, he walks with a little assistance, and he floats. He really enjoys his time in the water.

For the first time since his accident, he recently relaxed so much that he managed to float on the water just by himself and just supported by a “swim noodle” under his arms and legs.

It was an impressive and a massive first. There were no uncontrolled movements, no spasms, just pure and balance.

Staying Alive

Feel the city breakin’ and everybody shakin’; And we’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.

This weekend I am at a seminar for parents of those with a brain injury. I’ve been going to them for some year now. They are organised by the ZNS Foundation and they are completely free.

I got to know a few parents by no. When I am back in Germany, getting a bit of a distance helps me to see our situation at home more clearly. I am always learning something new.

This weekend’s seminar took place in Bad Bevendsen, a smalll sleepy spa town in the north of Germany , but a town with a difference.

The local cultural and music association run concerts and events that are out of this world. This weekend, there was a concert by a band that played the best of disco and Motown music.

Germans go dancing. Even Germans over 50. And the place was packed.

One of the best songs of the night the band played was Staying Alive.

What a powerful message on the eve of the second Sunday of Advent.

Woodstock

11 Sunday Aug 2024

Posted by ReinhardSchaler in Uncategorized

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Tags

history, Music, new-york, news, woodstock

If you remember it you weren’t there.
Charles Fleischer

I told someone last week that one of my regrets was that I hadn’t been born 10 years earlier because then I could have attended Woodstock. “Woodstock???” – was the reply. For a moment, I felt like a relict, out of time.

But last Tuesday, Woodstock came to Garding. In the summer of ’24.

I pulled into Nazareth, was feeling ’bout half past dead
I just need some place where I can lay my head
Hey, mister, can you tell me, where a man might find a bed?
He just grinned and shook my hand, “No” was all he said

It was our last week on the road. One with millions of sheep. One with endless beaches and horizons. One with many family and friends visiting. One with poles indicating the highest tides ever measured. One with really narrow passageways, only for pedestrians, “Nur für Fußgänger”. One with uncountable footprints in the sand. One with tremendous help from an OT working like the best of physios. Where the water was warmer than the air. The food was “Labskaus” although it looked like “Steak Tartare“; or “Futjes“, both of which you only get north of Hamburg. Road signs looked like “I’m Bad” but meant “In the Spa” – one weirder than the other. And the local “Feuerwehr”, the voluntary firefighters, were as present on the muddy fields of the Tating village festival, as they were a few weeks earlier on the equally muddy fields in Wacken, the world’s biggest open air heavy metal festival, just over half an hour from here.

We were here. We were living the most amazing, challenging, exciting, weird and wonderful life in the Summer of ’24.

We won’t ever forget it.

It will carry us through any dark days of whatever kind of winter that might lie ahead of us.

Take a load off Fanny, take a load for free

Take a load off Fanny, and you put the load right on me

The Best Friends Anyone Could Have!

02 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by ReinhardSchaler in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#AmhránDoPhádraig, Dream Boat, Music

Killybegs_Harbour_2007_08_21 copyWho would ever have thought that close to forty people would spend weeks practicing, organise a great night of music, and then go into overdrive and play, sing, and dance their hearts out in a recording studio in Smithfield? No doubt, Dream Boat will be topping the charts and everybody will be humming the tune on the streets of Dublin this summer! Even the fishermen in Killybegs and around the coast of Ireland will be singing: “…And it floated like a dream, on those waves just you and me …”

Pádraig had another ‘blockage’ today which, while diagnosed and cleared ok and in time, must have been causing considerable pain. On the bright side, he got back to answering the yes/no questions using his tongue, and the antibiotics he’s getting since last Saturday seem to be working. He was on ‘Raumluft’ only today and was managing really well.

The brilliant news is that his speech therapist came back today and she was still so impressed and happy with what they found in the FEES examination, when they checked out his swallowing. It looked really really good, she said, and they will work towards removing the tracheostomy. It’s take time and there can always be setbacks (yes, no news here), but we are very hopeful and keep our fingers crossed.

Unlike the dozens of friends who all got their fingers moving over the last days, playing all sorts of wonderful magic instruments for Pádraig. First, there was last night’s event of songs and music for Pádraig in the Conradh, and then today, the recording of Ireland Summer Hit 2014 began.

First, the night of all nights or: warming up for the Studio tomorrow!

Here comes the Age of Aquarius!
Here comes the Age of Aquarius!
Nemo?
Nemo?
Where is Nemo?
Where is Nemo?
Don't worry, be happy!
Don’t worry, be happy!
Maitiú requiring some repainting
Maitiú requiring some repainting
Getting ready...
Getting ready…
What's going on here?
What’s going on here?
SILENCE!
SILENCE!
And it was PACKED!
And it was PACKED!
THE World Premiere of DreamBoat!
THE World Premiere of DreamBoat!
Dream Boat!
Dream Boat!
Captaen an tSnámha, Aodhán
Captaen an tSnámha, Aodhán
Ár gcaptaen Aindriú Mac An Rí ag stiúradh ár mbáidín
Ár gcaptaen Aindriú Mac An Rí ag stiúradh ár mbáidín
Isabelle the Dream Boat:)
Isabelle the Dream Boat:)
Nach álainn ár n-aghaidheanna!
Nach álainn ár n-aghaidheanna!
Brh9pnjCEAA4dXV.jpg-large
Ag casadh ceoil bhinn
Ag casadh ceoil bhinn
Áine & Aisling Lonergan & John Flynn playing a few reels
Áine & Aisling Lonergan & John Flynn playing a few reels
John, Maitiú & Caitlín ag casadh ceoil
John, Maitiú & Caitlín ag casadh ceoil
BrfFxLzCcAELc1d.jpg-large
A beautiful rendition of Arthur McBride by Oisín Mistéil.
A beautiful rendition of Arthur McBride by Oisín Mistéil.
Andrew, Oisín Misteil and Gabs singing their croíthe out!
Andrew, Oisín Misteil and Gabs singing their croíthe out!
Well that's a first! Oisín Mistéil you dark horse! Go hálainn ar fad.
Well that’s a first! Oisín Mistéil you dark horse! Go hálainn ar fad.
Róisín, Sarah agus Andrew anseo
Róisín, Sarah agus Andrew anseo
Lauren Ní Chasaide ag canadh 'Níl tú riamh leat féin'.
Lauren Ní Chasaide ag canadh ‘Níl tú riamh leat féin’.
Rock the Boat!
Rock the Boat!
And Dance!
And Dance!
After the song is over...
After the song is over…

And then: the first day of recording today!

The man of the hour ag tógáil sosa bhig taobh amuigh den stuideó!
The man of the hour ag tógáil sosa bhig taobh amuigh den stuideó!
Oisín Misteil just arrived at the studio for #AmhránDoPhádraig Looking well Oisín, looking well 😉
Oisín Misteil just arrived at the studio for #AmhránDoPhádraig Looking well Oisín, looking well 😉
Deirdre álainn réidh le taifead ar an gcláirseach anois.
Deirdre álainn réidh le taifead ar an gcláirseach anois.
Ag taifid #AmhránDoPhádraig (@ Sonic recording studios)
Ag taifid #AmhránDoPhádraig (@ Sonic recording studios)
Ag taifid #AmhránDoPhádraig (@ Sonic recording studios)
Ag taifid #AmhránDoPhádraig (@ Sonic recording studios)
Aisling just finished recording her piece ar an mbosca. Looking and sounding good 😜
Aisling just finished recording her piece ar an mbosca. Looking and sounding good 😜
BrjocdfIEAAs681.jpg-large

Thank you to all the tweets and pictures: Jen, Caoimhe, Rónán, Christina, and Róisín, amongst others.

There was one tweet that really captured it all: “Good luck to all in the recording studio this evening recording #AmhrándoPhadraig @ForPadraig . You are the best friends anyone could have.”

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