Awards and AwayDays

I'm no night owl and, when it comes to writing, the early morning slot is definitely my most productive. But in the present heatwave dog walking has to take precedence! Much after 07.30 over the last few days and it's already been too warm. But being out first thing along the Valley paths offers a great chance to spot the local wildlife (a muntjac deer only a few yards from us on Thursday, a fox trotting past yesterday) and the bird song is fantastic. When we were first out this morning a long finger of mist hung low over the river but it very quickly burned off and the reflections in the water were beautiful.

Sadly the weather was not so kind last week for the Cheltenham Poetry Society's annual AwayDay, held this year at the Corse Lawn Hotel in Worcestershire, where their lovely garden was begging to be used but saw very little of us. An interesting day though, entitled "Away and Beyond" with some useful sessions led by Sharon Larkin, Roger Turner and David Ashbee. It was great to see many old colleagues from the Gloucestershire poetry scene and to hear some excellent poetry. Many thanks to the Society for their invitation to join them.

I was delighted to hear the news this week about one of my favourite bookshops - Griffin Books in Penarth. To add to its other awards (The UK Independent Bookshop of the Year in 2023, Wales Bookshop of the Year in March) it's been named as The Children's Bookseller of the Year in the British Book Awards. Should you be in the Penarth area the shop is definitely well worth a visit. It's owned by Mel Griffin, an amazingly energetic and enthusiastic colleague of mine at my Friday Welsh class. In addition to a host of author events and launches, she organises the Penarth Literary Festival each June, this year taking place in Belle Vue Park Pavilion. At a time when so much anxiety is expressed about children's reading, the work the shop does in encouraging young readers and supporting schools (they have their own Schools Manager and an ex-primary teacher on the staff) is tremendous. Congratulations, Mel - or I should say Llongyfarchiadau!

The year moves on

 I've just come in from my first real spring evening walk of the year. The birdsong was almost deafening, the light on the fields so atmospheric, the sun slipping down behind the hills under pink and grey clouds  just stunning. I don't doubt that by the weekend we'll be seeing more rain and probably more chill winds, but to have some respite after the dreary winter months - with the promise of more to come - seems to have put a smile on people's faces and a spring in their step.

March proved a much busier month than planned but a very interesting one nonetheless. Three workshops, an author's event, a talk to a local women's group on Digging Up The Family - and my first presentation to a group in Welsh! I lost a bit of sleep over that one I must say, but actually enjoyed it when it came to it. And staying with the Welsh - I've just had a poem in Welsh accepted for publication in a book by Carreg Gwalch, a very prestigious publisher here in Wales - a definite first there!!

April looks to be a more home based month, which I'm looking forward to. My pilgrimage project has been retrieved from the back burner where it had sat for several months over the winter. The research for that and the actual mini-pilgrimages are largely completed, so now there are mounds of notes, photographs, maps etc. waiting for transformation into a readable narrative. Of course the nice thing about writing memoir is the reliving of experiences as you relate them - the "savouring of them twice", to paraphrase Laurie Lee. And, challenging though some of those experiences on this project have been, they've all been enjoyable - so hopefully the writing up will be too.

Launched at last!

                                       

They say that all things come to those who wait - well occasionally we have to wait a little longer than we'd planned! But after a lengthy gestation and a long delivery, Writing A Life was eventually launched into the world on Valentine's Day. The staff at Monmouth library were as welcoming as ever and the sun deigned to come out to celebrate the occasion with us. My thanks go especially to Lydia Dowding, library manager, and to my five contributors, Marie Griffiths, Jennifer Harland, Tony O'Hare, Coleen Sadler and Grace Walsh, attendees at workshops I'd run who allowed me to share some of their writing in the text. It was lovely to have them taking part in the launch, which closed with Tony's rendition of his song Chips on the Mountain (Sglodion ar y Mynydd). So many folk songs over the centuries have evolved from life stories  - just one of the many and varied ways in which we can document lives and times, our own, our family's and other people's.

Thanks for the welcome - and the welcome back

A busy start to the New Year. I was delighted to be invited to speak to the First Friday group at Cwtsh Community and Arts Centre in Newport the week before last about Digging up the Family - especially as much of the action in that book took place within a stone's throw of the Centre, albeit a very long time ago! The group extended a warm welcome on a very cold night, and I really enjoyed meeting so many interesting people in such a pleasant venue. It was my first visit to Cwtsh (previously a small branch library) but it won't be my last. I'm hoping to run some workshops there later in the year.

Talking about an
aunt's Cub Mistress 
warrant signed by
Baden Powell himself

And I had another lovely welcome - or rather welcome back - at Women Aloud in Cheltenham yesterday. Over the past couple of years I've really missed the women's group that nurtured my poetry when I first set out on that path; it was wonderful to be back yesterday with old friends - and supportive critics! Some writers, I know, find writing groups unhelpful, but to me they're an integral part of a writing life and I've valued the ones to which I've belonged enormously. So, despite the geographical challenges now, I'm very happy indeed to return to the fold! 

Seasons greetings

                                                   

Perhaps this year more than ever we all need some light in the darkness. Nationally and internationally the last twelve months have seen so much turbulence, discord, ill-will and destruction; on a personal level for far too many people it's been a challenging year of hardship and sorrow. Whatever your faith or lack of it, however you're spending this Christmas season - I hope it will bring some light into your life, and for all of us some hope for a more positive future.

Looking for a Christmas present ...

                                           

.... for a writer / family history enthusiast in your life? Look no further! Writing A Life will be out in a few days now - as soon as copies are available, the details will be on my Buy My Books page. This book has certainly been a while in the coming but it's now very nearly here and I'm really excited to be "getting it out there". Having worked with so many people over the years, helping them to put on paper the stories they want - and need - to tell, I'm so pleased to now be able to get the message to a wider audience.

However "ordinary" we feel them to be, all of our stories - the personal ones and our family ones - have the potential to be fascinating, and they deserve to be told, whether for our offspring and future generations or a more general readership. There are plenty of more "academic" tomes on life writing, but this book sets out to be a gentle prompt, an encouragement and an innovative guide for those just setting out to piece together the jigsaw of a life or lives. And these dark winter evenings are a good time to start - so watch this space! 

Very nearly there!

For a short book that was meant to take a relatively limited amount of time, my present project has turned into a bit of a marathon! But the finishing line is definitely in sight now and the manuscript will be with the printer tomorrow. I have enjoyed working on it though. Life writing has been a particular interest of mine for many years now. "Writing A Life" offers guidance to people wanting to chronicle a story (their own or someone else's); it's based on the insights I've gained working with individuals and groups in the community and in residential care settings. Attendees at several workshops that I've run have contributed to the book too, and I'm very grateful for their input - it demonstrates beautifully the wide variety of styles and approaches that people can adopt.

As usual at the end of a project, there's a fair amount of catching up to do on the non-literary fronts! Things that have definitely gone on the back burners while writing fills the days. So it's time for a blitz on those before getting back in harness and picking up the pieces on the pilgrimage write-ups. Now the  autumnal weather is limiting the possibilities for the actual walks but at least I have the pleasure of doing again on paper the ones I've already done - as Laurie Lee said about autobiographical writing, that revisiting is "a celebration of living and an attempt to hoard its sensations".