Home and Away

 What an idyllic venue for a poetry group AwayDay! Dumbleton Hall near Evesham has Downton glamour, fantastic food, stunning grounds, bright and airy rooms and very pleasant staff. It was my second visit there with Cheltenham Poetry Society, who kindly let me still tag along although I haven't lived in the area for some time now. Last Wednesday's topic for the day was the Four Elements and seventeen of us had a very productive day, with hugely varied takes on the subject making for a wide spectrum of poems. Many thanks to Sharon Larkin Jones and Roger Turner for organising and running such a great event.

And talking about a broad spectrum - about ten years ago I worked for some time with Somewhere Else Writers in Cirencester. To celebrate their tenth anniversary they've published an anthology of poems and short stories by present and former members in both written and spoken word format. Many congratulations to them on their anniversary; they've spawned some excellent writers who have been prize winners in several fields. The anthology is available on Amazon - search for Somewhere Else Writers and it will get you to the listing for "Off The Wall". Definitely worth a look at!

Writing to boost mental health

Mental Health Awareness week was started 21 years ago by the Mental Health Foundation and you've probably heard and seen a lot about this year's week (centering on Loneliness) in the media in the last few days. One excellent resource I'd like to shout about is the WriteWell Community, an on line provision that aims to "boost mental well-being, resilience and happiness". There's plenty of research that shows the benefit writing can bring for people's mental health and also the value of belonging. For a small monthly fee WriteWell offers a variety of writing classes (ranging from individual exercises to four week courses), a book group, forums for sharing work and excellent workshops with guest speakers (all well established writers and trainers) each month. It's very well run, the content is available 24 /7 and there are community guides who are mental health first aiders. 

A few years ago I saw enormous benefits in several groups of older people living in nursing and residential care when I ran creative writing sessions with them each week - I learned a lot too! And the life story work I did with a number of older people was a revelation. Do have a look at the WriteWell website and check out their provision if you haven't come across the organisation before - and do spread the word to anyone you feel might be interested.