Stolen Goodbyes

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes.

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If Boris Johnson had locked down earlier, Peter Owen would still be alive today, this is the firm belief of his daughter Becky. Instead, this beloved father and grandfather caught Covid 19 shopping in Sainsbury’s on March 19, three days before Johnson belatedly put the country into lockdown. 

Becky vividly describes the void left behind by the death of her father, a proud Welshman from Aberystwyth who “always made time for people.”

Equally as powerful is her description of the surreality of his death and feelings of distorted grief because all the rituals that usually go with death were denied. 

“I have nothing in my head to say that it’s really happened,” Becky explains. “I’ve gone from seeing my dad before lockdown to seeing a pot of ash, there was nothing in between. That’s a pretty abnormal thing

“There was no proof that he died. I have no idea where he died, what the hospital ward looked like that he was on, or the bed, I don’t know where he was cremated, I don’t know any of the circumstances around his death.” Heartbreakingly, the nature of his death meant: “I’ve no idea what his last words to me were meant to be.”

As with so many people in the Covid-19 bereaved community, Becky has only recently faced her loss and grief: “Coming out of lockdown was very difficult. I felt if I stayed in lockdown, he might somehow come back again and I wouldn’t be leaving him behind.” 

Created, produced, and hosted by Karen Rice, the Stolen Goodbyes podcast won gold in the fiercely competitive Best Lockdown category of the British Podcast Award 2021.

Stolen Goodbyes is described as: "outstanding ethical and trauma-informed journalism. Karen Rice manages to capture a historic event in real-time by listening with empathy. Future generations will listen to this podcast and know what it felt like to live through this pandemic." Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma.

Please listen to, review, and share this podcast with your network, it really helps!

If you would like to make a donation (no matter how small) to the running costs of this passion project, please visit: https://karen-rice.com/podcast/ or http://bit.ly/3kMSKLg

You can follow Karen on Twitter @Ricekmc and Stolen Goodbyes on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3ITXSFC Facebook: https://bit.ly/3kGGwnG and Youtube: http://bit.ly/3Yq0jW5

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a beautiful and wide-ranging interview, Sam Levy brilliantly articulates how distorted grief is impacting her world three years after the love of her life Pete died in the blink of an eye. “His life ended and nothing happened,” Sam says. “I can say I’m a widow, but I don’t believe what I’m saying, it’s just a word. Knowing and understanding that he’s gone are two different things.”

Sam walks us through the colourful and fun life she shared with Pete, a larger-than-life, funny, grumpy, loveable, cider-loving character who sometimes liked to shock with his potty mouth. 

Sam also explores the importance of voice recordings, legacy, and how: “It warms my soul to see him in my dreams.”

This is a must-listen episode for anyone who is experiencing Covid grief and for anyone who is interested in people and life stories. 

Sam is the founder of the Covid Bereavement Support Group on Facebook.

Credit The Cure, Love Song.

Created, produced, and hosted by Karen Rice, the Stolen Goodbyes podcast won gold in the fiercely competitive Best Lockdown category of the British Podcast Award 2021.

Stolen Goodbyes is described as: "outstanding ethical and trauma-informed journalism. Karen Rice manages to capture a historic event in real-time by listening with empathy. Future generations will listen to this podcast and know what it felt like to live through this pandemic." Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma.

Please listen to, review, and share this podcast with your network, it really helps!

If you would like to make a donation (no matter how small) to the running costs of this passion project, please visit: https://karen-rice.com/podcast/ or http://bit.ly/3kMSKLg

You can follow Karen on Twitter @Ricekmc and Stolen Goodbyes on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3ITXSFC Facebook: https://bit.ly/3kGGwnG and Youtube: http://bit.ly/3Yq0jW5

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a couple, Anne and David Morrison, 71, did everything together, living life their way, never letting obstacles stand in the way.

But their plans to retire to Australia were never realised after David was hospitalised with Covid 19 in early 2020. Worried sick about her husband, Anne, who had received the all-clear from cancer a year earlier, died at home from sudden death on April 7. On hearing he’d lost his lifelong partner, David died from a Covid-induced heart attack 10 hours later. 

In this episode, their only son Paul Morrison bravely tells how he struggled to fill the void left behind by his parents, battling feelings of guilt, anxiety, and reliving torturous moments from the past. 

In an inspiring story of redemption, Paul describes how he brought himself back from the brink, recovering from a year-long illness, quitting alcohol, and embracing exercise in order to: “find the new version of me…I am doing it for my parents…and I will get there.”

Credit Snow Patrol, Chasing Cars.

Created, produced, and hosted by Karen Rice, the Stolen Goodbyes podcast won gold in the fiercely competitive Best Lockdown category of the British Podcast Award 2021.

Stolen Goodbyes is described as: "outstanding ethical and trauma-informed journalism. Karen Rice manages to capture a historic event in real-time by listening with empathy. Future generations will listen to this podcast and know what it felt like to live through this pandemic." Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma.

Please listen to, review, and share this podcast with your network, it really helps!

If you would like to make a donation (no matter how small) to the running costs of this passion project, please visit: https://karen-rice.com/podcast/ or http://bit.ly/3kMSKLg

You can follow Karen on Twitter @Ricekmc and Stolen Goodbyes on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3ITXSFC Facebook: https://bit.ly/3kGGwnG and Youtube: http://bit.ly/3Yq0jW5

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Treasured by her family, Anna Gibson may have been 94 but she was still a feisty, independent, and private personality who loved nothing more than being outdoors. 

But after a fall, Anna was admitted to a care home where her daughter Ruth believes she was denied basic care when the Covid 19 pandemic broke out. 

In a heartbreaking interview, Ruth explains how she has been left traumatised and haunted by her mother’s treatment and her own subsequent fight for the truth.  Miscommunication meant Ruth missed out on seeing her mum in ‘window visits’ at the care home for four whole months. When there were Skype calls via a computer, Anna’s hearing aids weren’t fitted for the calls. 

When Covid hit, Anna could only look longingly at the outside world. When the care home took food away from her, Anna was so upset that she refused all care, Ruth explains.  And when Ruth got a call to quickly come and see her mum to say goodbye, Ruth later discovered her mum had already been dead for almost two hours when the care home called.

Today, more than two years later, Ruth says there is no transparency, no answers and so many inconsistencies she can’t get to the truth of what happened to a mother who ‘always had my back.’  But Ruth will continue to fight until she can piece together the complete picture of what happened to her mother in her final months when she believes she received no medical or palliative care or dignity in care.

Created, produced, and hosted by Karen Rice, the Stolen Goodbyes podcast won gold in the fiercely competitive Best Lockdown category of the British Podcast Award 2021.

Stolen Goodbyes is described as: "outstanding ethical and trauma-informed journalism. Karen Rice manages to capture a historic event in real-time by listening with empathy. Future generations will listen to this podcast and know what it felt like to live through this pandemic." Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma.

Please listen to, review, and share this podcast with your network, it really helps!

If you would like to make a donation (no matter how small) to the running costs of this passion project, please visit: https://karen-rice.com/podcast/ or http://bit.ly/3kMSKLg

You can follow Karen on Twitter @Ricekmc and Stolen Goodbyes on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3ITXSFC Facebook: https://bit.ly/3kGGwnG and Youtube: http://bit.ly/3Yq0jW5

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It may be just over two years since Rab Sherwood lost her beloved parents father Sucha Singh Hothi, 85, and mother Gurdev Kaur Hothi, 75, to Covid 19, but this double loss combined with the manner of the loss and the family’s brutal treatment in hospital still haunts Rab. 

Emigrants from Punjab in India to the British midlands in 1965, Sucha was forced to work in a factory despite being a qualified lawyer, qualifications not recognised in the UK. These incredibly hard-working, family-orientated and honest people, made a good life for themselves and their four children who they encouraged to aim high in life. 

But this precious family unit is bereft after witnessing how their parents were left dehydrated, hungry, and allowed to die alone in a hospital even though they deserved the very best of care.  Instead of being apprised of how her parents were progressing, Rab was repeatedly confronted with aggressive demands to sign Do Not Resuscitate forms, while learning that anyone over the age of 75 with one health condition didn’t qualify for intensive care treatment.

Created, produced, and hosted by Karen Rice, the Stolen Goodbyes podcast won gold in the fiercely competitive Best Lockdown category of the British Podcast Award 2021.

Stolen Goodbyes is described as: "outstanding ethical and trauma-informed journalism. Karen Rice manages to capture a historic event in real-time by listening with empathy. Future generations will listen to this podcast and know what it felt like to live through this pandemic." Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma.

Please listen to, review, and share this podcast with your network, it really helps!

If you would like to make a donation (no matter how small) to the running costs of this passion project, please visit: https://karen-rice.com/podcast/ or http://bit.ly/3kMSKLg

You can follow Karen on Twitter @Ricekmc and Stolen Goodbyes on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3ITXSFC Facebook: https://bit.ly/3kGGwnG and Youtube: http://bit.ly/3Yq0jW5

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With a career as an RAF engineer, and a vast vinyl collection comprising Vera Lynn to the Sex Pistols, John Leigh may have been an unconventional father but he left behind some unforgettable memories for his daughters. 

In this episode, Sioux Hill brings her dad’s memory to life through music, a passion they shared from her childhood days through to adulthood.

Sioux walks us through their special relationship, the hardship she suffered losing her dad to Covid 19, and the subsequent surreality of his loss, with Downing Street throwing two parties on the one-year anniversary of her dad’s passing on the 16th of April 2021. 

Compassionate like her father, Sioux’s happy place is the National Covid Memorial Wall where she was among the first Covid bereaved to paint thousands of hearts in the 10 days after the public mural was started on 29 March 2021. Sioux spends Father’s day and her dad’s birthdays at the wall as well as carrying out requests for people who want their loved ones remembered on the wall. 

When she isn’t caring for four children with disabilities, Sioux finds her well-being in music while summoning the energy for activism, also campaigning for the Names Not Numbers group. 

Music credits: 

'An Honest Mistake' - The Bravery. 

Rupert The Bear theme song, written by Len Beadle (also known as Frank Weston) and Ron Roker. Song recorded by Jackie Lee Music.

Created, produced, and hosted by Karen Rice, the Stolen Goodbyes podcast won gold in the fiercely competitive Best Lockdown category of the British Podcast Award 2021.

Stolen Goodbyes is described as: "outstanding ethical and trauma-informed journalism. Karen Rice manages to capture a historic event in real-time by listening with empathy. Future generations will listen to this podcast and know what it felt like to live through this pandemic." Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma.

Please listen to, review, and share this podcast with your network, it really helps!

If you would like to make a donation (no matter how small) to the running costs of this passion project, please visit: https://karen-rice.com/podcast/ or http://bit.ly/3kMSKLg

You can follow Karen on Twitter @Ricekmc and Stolen Goodbyes on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3ITXSFC Facebook: https://bit.ly/3kGGwnG and Youtube: http://bit.ly/3Yq0jW5

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is a testament to Alastair MacVicar's strength of character, that he is alive and well in the world today, improving the lives of others.

In the space of just 14 days, he lost his mother Jean, father Keith, and eldest sister Jayne to Covid 19. Alastair also lost his mother-in-law soon after. Then it was his turn. Covid 19 left him unable to string a sentence together. Alastair feared death. Then came an AstraZeneca vaccination, which left him with blood clots on both lungs. He recovered slowly but will be on blood-thinning medication for the rest of his life.

Everybody knew the MacVicars of Branston where they ran the local newsagents for 45 years, selling liquorice Catherine Wheels, fireworks and second-hand goods among other things. Now they'll be known further afield with the publication of this inspirational interview, part of Alastair's mission to honour his parents and sister by promoting his family as much as he can and fulfilling his mother's dying wish to: share your love, be kind, and each day, do a good deed.

Alastair has the chance to fulfil his plans unlike his sister Jayne who despite selling her house in Lincolnshire, never got to fulfil her dream of moving to France to live by the sea, thanks to Covid 19. Like her parents, she never had a funeral. To add insult to injury, the crematorium failed to realise that Jayne had been cremated without her family's knowledge weeks earlier, something that devastated her two sons and family.

Alastair also relates how distorted grief has left him unable to cry despite his enormous loss and that the surreality of losing almost half his family in such a short time without any death rituals means he still goes to drive to his parent's house for a cuppa and a toasted teacake three years after their deaths before realising that the house now belongs to someone else.

Created, produced, and hosted by Karen Rice, the Stolen Goodbyes podcast won gold in the fiercely competitive Best Lockdown category of the British Podcast Award 2021.

Stolen Goodbyes is described as: "outstanding ethical and trauma-informed journalism. Karen Rice manages to capture a historic event in real-time by listening with empathy. Future generations will listen to this podcast and know what it felt like to live through this pandemic." Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma.

Please listen to, review, and share this podcast with your network, it really helps!

If you would like to make a donation (no matter how small) to the running costs of this passion project, please visit: https://karen-rice.com/podcast/ or http://bit.ly/3kMSKLg

You can follow Karen on Twitter @Ricekmc and Stolen Goodbyes on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3ITXSFC Facebook: https://bit.ly/3kGGwnG and Youtube: http://bit.ly/3Yq0jW5

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A singing prison officer, Rachael Lidgett finds solace in song following the loss of her role model dad Chris who she lost to Covid in December 2020. Growing up, her dad was her biggest singing champion, and she treats listeners to a soulful rendition of the songs that mean the most to her now, and how they help her to express her emotions.

From his legendary Sunday roast dinners with loads of gravy, Beangate, his work ethic, to him walking into Accident and Emergency in his navy blue dressing gown, to him being buried in his ubiquitous red loafer shoes on route "in his rocket to the stars," Rachael takes us on a memorable walk through life with her father and the surreality of his death to Covid 19.

Following his passing, Rachael petitioned the government to make the 23rd of March a bank holiday as a way to remember all the lives lost to Covid 19. In June 2021, the government responded by saying it was considering the most appropriate way to remember those who lost their lives to Covid but that it had no plans to create a bank holiday. Almost two years later, the government has offered nothing to mark the massive loss of life to Covid 19 in the UK.

Created, produced, and hosted by Karen Rice, the Stolen Goodbyes podcast won gold in the fiercely competitive Best Lockdown category of the British Podcast Award 2021.

Stolen Goodbyes is described as: "outstanding ethical and trauma-informed journalism. Karen Rice manages to capture a historic event in real-time by listening with empathy. Future generations will listen to this podcast and know what it felt like to live through this pandemic." Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma.

Please listen to, review, and share this podcast with your network, it really helps!

If you would like to make a donation (no matter how small) to the running costs of this passion project, please visit: https://karen-rice.com/podcast/ or http://bit.ly/3kMSKLg

You can follow Karen on Twitter @Ricekmc and Stolen Goodbyes on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3ITXSFC Facebook: https://bit.ly/3kGGwnG and Youtube: http://bit.ly/3Yq0jW5

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is an interview with Nikki Williams, a woman who lost her amazing mum Valerie and dad Hefin to Covid 19 within 11 days of each other in early 2020. Nikki was then diagnosed with incurable, secondary breast cancer. 

With great resilience, Nikki recounts the lovely whirlwind romance her parents enjoyed, how they loved to dance, her Welsh dad’s love of singing, their love of life and family, and their generosity to the many children they fostered, including Sarah who they adopted, and the big role they played in the community helping others. 

Despite experiencing a ‘living hell’ in losing her parents who were the centre of her world, battling guilt and post-traumatic stress disorder, Nikki is choosing to live as her parents did, emulating love and helping people in need in the Covid-19 bereaved and cancer communities. Her message is: "Be kind and love. My parents didn't have two pennies to rub together but they had each other, and us, the family."

Created, produced, and hosted by Karen Rice, the Stolen Goodbyes podcast won gold in the fiercely competitive Best Lockdown category of the British Podcast Award 2021.

Stolen Goodbyes is described as: "outstanding ethical and trauma-informed journalism. Karen Rice manages to capture a historic event in real-time by listening with empathy. Future generations will listen to this podcast and know what it felt like to live through this pandemic." Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma.

Please listen to, review, and share this podcast with your network, it really helps!

If you would like to make a donation (no matter how small) to the running costs of this passion project, please visit: https://karen-rice.com/podcast/ or http://bit.ly/3kMSKLg

You can follow Karen on Twitter @Ricekmc and Stolen Goodbyes on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3ITXSFC Facebook: https://bit.ly/3kGGwnG and Youtube: http://bit.ly/3Yq0jW5

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/stolen-goodbyes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.