Date Published: 20th May 2022

Alexander McCall Smith joined the Cyrenians charity today, along with patients and volunteers, at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital for a book reading, where he presented a new poem written for the occasion and gifted books to hospital patients and staff.

You can watch his visit to the Garden here.

The Community Hospital Garden

The event took place in the Community Hospital Garden, on the grounds of the mental health hospital, as part of the hospital’s annual Spring Fling. The Community Garden is run by homelessness prevention charity Cyrenians, and welcomes patients, staff and local residents, inviting them to work together with the goal of improving mental health, wellbeing, and community connection.

‘Sandy’, who has written at length about the importance of community, came to the gardens to meet patients and staff. He read from his recent 44 Scotland Street novel, Love in the Time of Bertie, which will be out in paperback in June, and also presented a new poem, In a Garden, where he reflected on the role of Cyrenians’ gardens.

Spring sunshine and gusty winds

Staff, volunteers and patients at the Royal Edinburgh attended the event in the spring sunshine and gusty winds, and enjoyed the reading, refreshments and conversation surrounded by the beautiful garden space. Sandy also generously provided signed copies of books for attendees, as well as donating copies for use in the hospital library.

The community garden, which is planted and maintained by a wide range of volunteers from the hospital and surrounding community, is one of 2 run by Cyrenians in Edinburgh. It provides a community growing space which is accessible and supportive, and allows volunteers to work and build community in a way which suits them. Speaking about the garden, one inpatient at the hospital said, “I wouldn’t have thrived as much in hospital without this place – it’s my haven, the centre of the world that exists to me at the moment. It has been fantastic, pure brilliant.”

“I love coming here – the people, the space, the food… it makes me happy and it’s relaxing.”

The garden provides an opportunity for patients to build connections in the local community, helping prevent the isolation and social exclusion that often leads to a higher rate of homelessness among those leaving hospital. And, being open to all, it is also a space for local residents to look after their own mental health – one regular volunteer told us, “I love coming here – the people, the space, the food…it makes me happy and it’s relaxing.”

Commenting on a wonderful afternoon

Cyrenians Gardens Manager, Hannah McCrae, said Alexander McCall Smith’s reading was a great opportunity for the hospital’s patients, staff and volunteers to come together as a community and have fun.

“We were delighted to be joined by Alexander – he has been very complimentary about our work here, and fundamentally understands the value of green spaces for wellbeing and recovery.

“His generous donation of signed books has been gratefully received and we have already been inundated with requests for another event!”

Alexander McCall Smith said, “I’m delighted to be able to support Cyrenians, and to meet all the people who take such pleasure in these gardens. Having access to a place like this can make such a difference to people’s mental health and quality of life. I greatly admire the work that people from all parts of the community are putting into this very special place.

“I’d encourage anyone who can to give to Cyrenians – they’re doing wonderful work here and at their other projects. They make a real and immediate difference to the lives of many.”

In a Garden

 The Community Gardens
 The human soul has its moods
 That gardeners instinctively understand:
 The formal order of Versailles,
 The geometric paths of the Hanover Bergarten,
 Where well-behaved plants, marshalled
 In rows, modest and undemonstrative,
 Will appeal to those who yearn
 For more order in life, generally,
 Who would arrange ebullient nature
 In such a way as to inspire
 A feeling that spontaneous chaos
 Is not the natural state of things,
 And does not necessarily have to be;
 By the same token, the suburban plot
 Allowed by neglect to become rank,
 A haven for plants uncomfortable
 Under excessive scrutiny
 Is happy, as it is, in disorder,
 And well received by those who rather like
 Weeds and dandelions and dockens,
 Growth that has established itself
 Uninvited, where seeds happened to fall
 And then lived a natural life, unchecked,
 Until winter wipes the slate clean.
 A vegetable garden is something different,
 Its role is not to entertain the eye
 With shape and form; a harvest
 Is what the cultivator of such a garden
 Has in mind; kale, tatties, onions, garlic,
 A few of the more popular herbs,
 These are things that such gardens
 Bring to our appreciative table;
 And yet, such a garden, may allow,
 Indeed may encourage flowers,
 May still be a place where the view
 Is as important as the eventual crop;
 This garden, for instance,
 Is such a place; and it is something more:
 This is a place of healing,
 This is a place where nature reminds us
 That we can, and should, still help one another
 To overcome the difficulties that everyone
 Faces in one way or another;
 This is a garden where one
 Of the most important plants is love itself,
 Cultivated quietly, watered in dry spells,
 Tended in a world where, unfortunately,
 There is never quite enough of it;
 There may be plenty of potatoes,
 There may be quite enough spinach,
 Runner beans may prove plentiful,
 But there can never be too much love,
 That plant whose botanical property
 It is to make whole, to heal the soul. 

To find out more about Cyrenians gardens and other projects preventing homelessness visit https://cyrenians.scot/donate

To read more of Alexander’s poetry click here