This evening on BBC ALBA, Julie narrates a documentary which explores the work of the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland. They are the sole charity in the country who offer respite care children and youngsters with life threatening conditions. In Tèarmann/Home from Home we meet five families who depend on the hospice service for respite care and support.

This is a world where people aren’t afraid to talk about death, but prefer to focus on living life. The hospice staff and volunteers – from the housekeepers, to the chefs, to the nurses – all ensure that Rachel and Robin Houses provide a warm welcome and a home from home for families. Over 60 minutes, in a film which will make the audience both laugh and cry, we experience joy and sadness in Rachel and Robin Houses in an intimate portrayal of families coping with both life and death.

Tune in and watch the work this amazing charity does.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07y6xgt

Julie was proud and honoured, to perform a very special song as part of the Battle of the Somme Centenary Commemoration service held at the famous Thiepval Memorial in Northern France on Friday 1 July 2016.

Julie; beautifully accompanied by Tony Byrne (guitar), Patsy Reid (viola) and Alistair Iain Paterson (harmonium); performed a very moving and poignant song entitled ‘An Eala Bhàn’ (‘The White Swan’). This is a song composed by Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna (Donald MacDonald of Coruna), a Scottish-Gaelic poet from North Uist, whilst fighting in the battle of the Somme.

Speaking on arrival at the Memorial site yesterday (1 July; the morning of the Service), Julie said:

“It’s a huge honour to be here in Thiepval this morning to mark 100 years since the Battle of the Somme. It’s difficult to put into words how it feels to be here – it’s beautiful, peaceful, solemn, sad, humbling, thought-provoking. It is overwhelming at times to think of what happened here”

The BBC iPlayer  coverage of Julie’s performance is unfortunately, no longer available to view.