The Wizard of Oz, well his rainstick at least!

This week’s blog was inspired (not sure that is the right word) by a question from my youngest sister. She lives in Australia, which she has done for many years. My sister had been having a nostalgic conversation with her daughter and the subject of where a gift I had given to our mum came up.

Apparently, many years ago, I had bought my mum a rainstick. She had admired one I had and so I gave her one similar. I think I bought my rainstick in Australia. I’m not sure when though. My first trip there was in 2001, and that seems the most likely occasion – more of which in a moment. However, it appears that I told my mum the one I had bought for her came from the Lake District. So, the question from my sister was ‘why the Lake District?’. This simple question sparked off a whole lot of memories.

For those who don’t know, a rainstick is a long hollow tube about 1 metre long. They are usually made from bamboo or cactus and contain rice or tiny stones. When the rainstick is turned, the rice or stones fall to the other end of the tube. As they brush against any internal protrusions, they make a soothing sound that sounds like gentle rain falling. Rainsticks can be found all across the world including in Peru, Chile, Africa, India and Australia. In each of these countries, rainsticks have often been associated with folklore customs connected to bringing rain during times of drought.

The reason I think I would have bought my rainstick in Australia is because the aboriginal people have used them as rituals for centuries in various ceremonies, usually to do with growing food. They also use them in their story telling about the aboriginal connection with nature and as part of their ancestorial traditions, something I was introduced to on that first trip.

That first trip was to Adelaide. It is a city I have visited twice. On the first occasion, it was to present three papers at the Contesting conversations in mental health practice, education research and policy conference. My papers looked at the being and doing of mental health nursing; a re-reading of mental health care in the UK; and exploring whether team working was best caught or taught. I have continued to explore the underlying themes to these papers; ideas which helped shape my academic career. They continue to do so today.

Since that first trip, I have been fortunate to return to Australia on a further seven occasions. I have presented my research in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Cairns, plus twice in Brisbane, my sister’s home city. However, one of my favourite trips was to Alice Springs in 2006. At the time, I didn’t write about that trip. Mainly because I only started writing and posting this weekly blog in 2009! However, I did refer to it in a blog I wrote about the trip, back in 2010. Have a look here.

As well as presenting a couple of papers at the conference, my long-term fellow author and collaborator Professor Sue McAndrew, we also submitted a poster. We hadn’t done one of these before, and carrying a large, printed conference poster in its own cardboard tube was akin to bringing back a rainstick in your cabin luggage. Very difficult. Unbeknown to us, there was a ‘best poster’ competition. There was prize money. I think about AUS$ 400 for the best poster. We won for our poster on whether mental health nurses are ‘prepared’ to work with folk who had experienced childhood sexual abuse.

As nurse educationalists, we were concerned as to whether we truly ‘prepared’ nurses, in terms of skills and knowledge, (as well as ‘comfortableness’) to work with those who had been abused in childhood. The evidence appeared to suggest we didn’t on both counts. Thankfully, today things have changed, and I’m proud of the contribution we were able to make to these changes.

Rainsticks in the Lake District? Well at one time, I used to walk and climb all over the Lake District. That said, I have no idea where I would have found a rainstick for sale. I’m glad I did, and my mum got her gift. However, and somewhat spookily, Prof Sue’s Christmas present to Jane and I this year was a weekend hotel stay near Windermere, in the Lake District. On one of our walks while we were there, we walked into Windermere town centre and lo and behold there were at least three shops selling ‘authentic’ rainsticks. Thank you, Sarah, for prompting the memories.