Our Stories of Home is a series of works by writers from the NHS Restart Project Writing Group in Bridgeton, Glasgow. As part of Arkbound’s Bridging Divides During the Cost of Living Crisis project in early 2025, one of our authors, John McGlade joined the NHS Restart Project’s long-running Writing Group for two sessions to work with the group on developing a piece of writing on a theme of their choosing. Together, they decided to focus on stories of home and produced some beautiful, personal pieces about places they call home.
Here is Carol’s piece about Castlemilk:
Castlemilk With Caz
My flat had a filled-in veranda. This turned out to be a dining room. There were two bedrooms, which were very spacious. I bought bean bags for the dining room, it had windows all the way round the room like a sun-trap.
Then I got Caz! She was a Jack Russell-pug cross: a pug. She was eight weeks old. And then my flat became a home— right next to a park for me to walk her.
I miss it, the neighbours were wonderful.
During covid, I got my neighbour paracetamol when it was scarce, and she made me a tray of mince and tatties. It was beautiful! Cathy up the stairs would come in for a tea, or brought her vodka and would sit for a chinwag. Maria downstairs was very ‘crafty’, and made my wee cousins a fairy-house—it was so cute!
But the support workers stopped, and I started having panic attacks: I’d be in a whole week without seeing someone.
Then I got TD, and the doctor took me into hospital to change my meds, and he couldn’t find support workers, so I gave up my flat.
When I went into hospital, I couldn’t have Caz back, so Joyce adopted her. Joyce fostered Caz from Fostering Pets Scotland, because now I’m in the process of moving into supported accommodation.
Joyce lives in Anstruther, and Caz walks along the beach every day.