Help M.E. - Silver Voices and Red Leaves

Jo Greer with Helen Stout

Helen reached out to me earlier this year. She shared that she had found comfort in some of the messages of hope in The Red Tree and ME and requested permission to use some of the artwork generated by the Red Leaf Creative Collaborative in an upcoming Help M.E. concert. Helen’s husband, Ken, plays the flugel horn with the Wotton Silver band and Helen used to sing with the Round the Edge Choir before COVID left her with Severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis in 2020. Helen shared that the band and choir members would be wearing a red leaf during the concert as a symbol of hope for M.E. The Help M.E. concert took place in April and featured the Wotton Silver Band and the Round the Edge Choir. The aims of the concert were to raise awareness of M.E., to let people with M.E. know that they are not forgotten and to raise money for M.E, charities.

Helen’s daughter, Liz, presented the concert (brilliantly) and walked the audience through the lived experience of people with M.E. and the history regarding why it has been ignored and underfunded for decades. In the second half, the focus was on generating hope for people with M.E. through research. It was moving to see red leaves everywhere and some of the words of leading M.E. researchers projected onto the screen, while the beautiful music created a gentle and reflective atmosphere, allowing the audience to quietly absorb the messages of hope. There were some poignant moments during the concert, especially when Ken performed the flugel part in Karl Jenkins’ Benedictus, an emotionally stirring piece from The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace.

The Help M.E. Concert has already set a ripple effect in motion, with audience members conveying it has changed their perspective and left a lasting impression. Helen’s teenage grandson was so moved by the concert that he nominated ME Research UK as the fundraising focus for his school house for 2025-2026, He has since been made House Captain and aims to use his new position to inform fellow students of the reality of living with ME, recognising that that some of today’s students are tomorrow’s health care workers and researchers.

The Help M.E. Concert is now available to watch on YouTube:

During the concert, Liz explains the significance of the red leaves and introduces The Red Tree and ME ‘Messages of Hope’