I’ve been writing this column for almost a year, and in that time I have written about every one of Maggie’s 11 centres in the UK and beyond. Maggie’s is an incredible charity using design and architecture to offer people with cancer and their family and friends emotional, practical and social support. I have been lucky enough to work for them as a writer, to spend time in several of the centres, and to take part in the Night Hike. I have met some incredible people and have been inspired and uplifted as many times as I have been moved to tears. So before I draw this column to a close, I hope you’ll indulge me while I reflect on the best bits…
I think I first became aware of Maggie’s when Maggie’s London won the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2009, but it was really Max Fraser Joy’s Living of project in 2011 and the passion with which he spoke about Maggie’s that made me appreciate the brilliance of what they do. You can read my interview with Max here.
The Joy of Living was a project that involved over 100 designers being given a sheet of A4 graph paper and asked to produce something inspired by a quote from founder Maggie Keswick-Jencks: “Above all what matters is not to lose the joy of living in the fear of dying.” I bought the print above by Terence Woodgate. He said “My piece is a reaction to your blue grid, very much in the same way life is a reaction to cancer.” Max added and entitled the piece “F*ck cancer.”
After that I was keen to find out more, and Adam Hollier very kindly met me at the London Centre one morning before it opened to show me around. I was early, so I sat and waited for him on a bench outside. I think I found out everything I needed to know about Maggie’s when a friendly face quickly appeared from around the front door to check I was okay and invite me in for a cup of tea. You can read the piece I wrote about that visit here.
Around that time I wrote to Maggie’s telling them just how much I’d love to work with them in any capacity. By the time we’d concluded that conversation I’d made the leap to becoming a design writer and they were looking for a writer to help them articulate their offering more clearly so they could reach more people – so I started working with them on a part-time basis and ended up staying for almost a year!
The first thing that anyone working with Maggie’s does is spends a week in one of the centres, just taking it all in. I spent my week in Maggie’s Dundee – and it was without doubt one of the most incredible weeks of my life. I spent the long train journey up there reading everything I could get my hands on from A View From the Front Line by Maggie Keswick-Jencks which has gone on to become somewhat of a manifesto for the organisation, to the 80 page Principles and Practice which explains in great detail the nuances of how the charity works. Once there, I sat at the kitchen table and just listened to people’s stories, from a man who’d held his daughter in his arms as she died, to a women who told me she was glad she’d had cancer because she was living life much more intensely as a result.
Once back in London, I was fired up and both inspired and slightly daunted by the task at hand. Often the first piece of literature people see about Maggie’s is handed to them when they’ve just been told they have cancer. Research shows that people’s ability to process and retain information at times like that is massively reduced. And yet I knew that if I could get the message across, and convince them to visit a Maggie’s centre, their journey through cancer would be much easier. So I worked really hard to write with absolute clarity, empathy and simplicity. I also started thinking about what else I could do get the word out – and so this column was born.
Over the past year, as well as the centres I’ve already mentioned, I’ve written about Maggie’s Fife, designed by Zaha Hadid and pictured above; Maggie’s Gartnavel; Maggie’s Cheltenham; Maggie’s Edinburgh, the very first centre; Maggie’s Highlands; Maggie’s Hong Kong, the first international centre; Maggie’s Nottingham with an interior by Paul Smith also pictured above; Maggie’s South West Wales and the most recent centre to open, Maggie’s Newcastle.
In September last year, smack bang in the middle of London Design Festival, I took part in the Maggie’s Night Hike, walking 10 miles through the night to raise over £2,000 for Maggie’s. It was incredible and I highly recommend signing up for this year’s Maggie’s Culture Crawl. The atmosphere, the people, the architecture, the little surprises Maggie’s had planned all the way around… definitely worth the sore feet the next day! (Who am I kidding? It was design week, my feet were sore before I started!)
Maggie’s has centres planned in Aberdeen, Forth Valley, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Southampton and a second centre in London, so watch this space for lots more inspiring architecture that really makes a difference to people’s lives when they need it the most. And before I sign off, a massive thank you to all the people I have met through Maggie’s, people I will never forget, who will inspire me for years to come. Thank you.
Further reading for the especially geeky:
