Hidden Stories 3

Hidden Stories creative writing is now available on the Arts and Crafts Hammersmith website. It's inspired by the stories around 7 Hammersmith Terrace and the people who lived there, their friends and colleagues. 

The writing is by year 8 and 9 students at Fulham Cross Girls' School. It was produced during eight workshops held after school in 2016. Inspirations came from artefacts, original diary entries and letters, a visit to the house, improvisation, sounds, and our own stories around the journeys we've made. 

Thanks to Amie, Holly, Nabilla, Noor, Shahida, Siobhan, Yara, Uriela, Victoria and Wadad for the stories they wrote; thank you to Fulham Cross, for hosting the workshops and teachers Amy Barlow and Anna Michanou for their support. 

This coincides with the reopening of 7 Hammersmith Terrace - the Arts and Crafts home of Emery Walker until 1933 which was preserved by his daughter, Dorothy and her companion Elizabeth de Haas, exactly as he had lived in it. 

The house overlooks the Thames just along from Hammersmith bridge towards Chiswick. It is of interest because of its decor and because of Emery Walker's friendship with William Morris who lived nearby and whose designs are present in the wallpaper, furniture, art and rugs.  It's well worth a visit!

At Ty Newydd Writers Centre

I arrived in a sea fog which made the beach invisible and muted the sounds of Easter Monday holiday makers. Thereafter it was a perfectly sunny, warm week at the The Nawe / Lapidus Writing Retreat at Ty Newydd Writers Centre in North Wales - ripe for gentle distraction activities like winding the coastal path to Crricieth.

I was co-hosting the Retreat this year with Nawe's Chair Liz Cashdan. It's essentially an unstructured opportunity to get away from everything and write. The environment is calm and conducive with delicious and healthy meals provided (all dietary requirements catered for!) by Gwynn and Erin who live on site, and a congenial office staff on hand to help with anything from printing to taxis and local info.

Optional workshops were also available including one on poetry and a novel writing workshop from a published author.   

Liz and I also offered one to ones which allowed time for individual participants to explore aspects of writing and writing for wellbeing.

A highlight of the week was the visit from Jill Teague of Lapidus, who lives nearby in the North Wales forest, to facilitate her Writing in Nature workshop. This gave us an opportunity to focus on the landscape around the centre, encounter nature and its inhabitants and process the experience in writing and words.

Robert Graves' The Welsh Incident begins with the lines


‘But that was nothing to what things came out
From the sea-caves of Criccieth yonder.’

The Retreat is held each year in April at Ty Newydd.  More details are available from Nawe.

Latest news from Lapidus: The Writing for Wellbeing Organisation

It was Lapidus: The Writing for Wellbeing Organisation's 2014 AGM on 29th November and the room was alive with energy and positivity from Lapidus members passionate about writing and words for wellbeing.

It's been a challenging year for Lapidus and as Chair I'm pleased to report the organisation is now solvent and stabilised. 

Member numbers continue to grow but as all funds derive from membership we need to look for other sources of funding too. This is one of the challenges for the coming year. Another is to ensure a place for Lapidus and writing & words for wellbeing on the National Wellbeing Agenda. Over the next few months the Lapidus Board will be looking at ways to promote Lapidus as the 'go to' organisation for writing and words for wellbeing.

Earlier in November I attended the National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) Conference in Bristol. This was an inspiring  event with workshops and seminars from 9am to 9pm. 

Roger McGough and Deborah Moggach were both interesting and hilarious. I learned about notebook poems, lines as inspiration, celebrating mother tongues, poetry improvisation, wild writing and creative approaches to change and renewal. 

Lapidus is a partner organisation with NAWE and holds an annual joint Writing Retreat at Ty Newydd, North Wales. Next year it will take place from Monday, April 6th - Saturday April 11th, 2015. I'm happy to be co-hosting with NAWE's Liz Cashdan. There will also be a guest workshop from Jill Teague entitled, Treading Softly - Writing in Nature.  

Here are my new Write 2Be Me postcard flyers. They highlight the different ways Write 2Be Me can be used in school and the results. Just look at those happy sunflower faces! There's also a quote from a student and teacher there too.

The artwork is by Jim Browne of Doodling Jim. He's an excellent illustrator and very versatile as you'll see by the range of work on his website at Doodlingjim.com.

Thanks to Colourfast Brighton for a good deal on printing!

Come On In, The Water's Lovely

The other week I dipped my toes into Brighton radio - on the Paul Stones InBrighton on Mondays show for Radio Reverb, Brighton's local station. I felt a bit nervous as I approached the basement entrance of Reverb HQ, off the New Steine, that chilly March Monday. 

Paul opened the door and led the way along a dark corridor to the studio.
Sue Bartlett from Rottingdean Writers group was already there in front of a large microphone. Paul put his headphones on and I sat down next to Sue. We exchanged greetings and chatted politely. I looked through the notes on my lap. I'd made a list of things I wanted to mention - my workshops, the benefits of writing, the link between writing, health and wellbeing, Lapidus - the writing for wellbeing organisation. Just then the door opened and Pete Sanders, from Coastway Hospital Radio arrived and the seductively inviting, intro music was playing. It was 5 O' clock and we were on air! 

Like many things, it wasn't half as gruelling as I thought it would be. Thanks to Paul and Pete for their gentle interviewing technique. And to Sue with her excellent cache of stories. I've just got round to listening to it and after my initial embarrassment realised I'd mentioned most of the things on my list. I didn't realise how many times I'd said Ummm - that was a surprise!

Despite this, the lovely Pete invited us to Coastway the following Sunday. This was a wonderful experience with Pete and Ruth, who host a regular Sunday morning programme for people in hospital, complete with quizzes! 

I even got to read a poem. It's National Poetry Writing Month  and I was inspired by a friend who told me there is a planet made of water. Apparently he'd heard about it on the radio.

Here's the Reverb show and the poem too:  

Thought Bubbles

They've found a planet
made of water,
like a great big bubble
suspended in sky.
I wonder what it would be like 
to land on?
Or bump into - 

like a bouncy castle
or those balls you squish for stress?
Perhaps you'd bounce right off it 
into space,
or fall into it
and it would fold around you,
like a lovely big hug.   

Christine Hollywood, April 2014