18/06/2026
Some of the people we support in North Yorkshire have had the best time on a recent holiday, and they have kindly shared details about their recent trip to Callen in Ireland. Thank you to Edward Sharpe, Thomas Shakelady and Charlotte Buchanan for sharing your story and lovely photos with us.
We are sharing their account, written in their own words, and we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did!
‘On 21st May Thomas, Ed, Livia and Charlotte piled into a car to travel to Manchester airport full of excitement and expectation. Steffi drove us because she is not only kind but enjoys Ikea!’
‘The journey was fantastic and ran smoothly, the hire car was a very strict car that kept bleeping at Charlotte, even though she wasn’t going too fast!’
‘We arrived at our host family who were welcoming and called Renne and Astrid. They had been Camphill coworkers in a house called the Wooden House near Callen in the Kilkenny area. The house was beautiful and in the middle of the woods. Inside were many instruments and Livia played us the piano.’
‘We all slept well on the first night in our comfy beds. In the morning we enjoyed a very nice breakfast before heading out to Callen to participate in their Open Doors town art festival. There was an opening ceremony to the festival with the local school children who had learnt a chant and were fish following a sea person, we think! Many artists were working on some very beautiful paintings in Kcat. Kcat is a big building, housing art studios, which we were shown around. Many artists were working on some beautiful paintings. We made some lino prints with bright colours, which we were able to take home. We then went to the powerhouse to draw with candle wax which was hard because we couldn’t see what we were drawing, the picture being revealed when it was painted over later with black ink.’
‘The next day we went to Kilkenny to have a look around. We went to several beautiful churches and an Abbey with wonderful stained-glass windows. Outside of the Abbey, Ed was delighted to find a fountain, which Thomas spotted first! Thomas bought a T-shirt that said ‘Out for a Stout’ and we sat beside a man who decided to tell us about the witches of Kilkenny.’
‘We were treated to a true Irish musical evening, at least for the first half of the concert. The second half was more surprising because they were musicians from Mongolia with unusual horsehair strung instruments, which they played skillfully whilst throat singing. It took a bit of getting used to the sound, but it was enjoyable.’
‘We had many more lively experiences, but the main thing Ed wants you to know is there were no clouds or cows in the sky that we could see from the airplane on our way home.’
‘It was a worthwhile trip which we enjoyed and met many new friends.’
Shared Lives brings so many opportunities for people, building friendships, experiencing new things and living a full life. We love to see the people we support living their best life, Edward, Thomas and Charlotte really are living their life to the fullest and experiencing new places and cultures with Shared Lives.
See the link below to read their blog.
