Buses and bookshops

In interesting morning at NHSound last Thursday; Karenne Griffin, a writer from Pontypool, was my guest on "The Writer's Room", talking about her travel books "Bus Pass Holiday - A Short Circuit" and "Bus Pass Holiday # 2 - The Long And The Short Of It". In the peak of the holiday season it was a timely reminder that you don't have to go to far-flung places to see a different world, to meet new people, to widen your horizons. And those of us of a certain age and stage are lucky enough to be able to travel cost-free around our beautiful country! How fortunate we are. Karenne is also the author of two novels - "Beyond The Island" and "Return To The Island" - do check them out; some good holiday reading there.

I spent Sunday afternoon at Octavos Bookshop in Cardiff, relaxing in their great cafe and wine bar and listening to the Bristol poet Elizabeth Parker. The monthly readings and open mics there are well worth getting to - they're free, really welcoming and have some excellent visiting poets. Rhian Edwards will be there in November - something to really look forward to.  If you've not heard her before you can get a flavour of her work listening to her reading on YouTube; she has to be one of my favourite contemporary poets.

Shw'mae Caerdydd!

A great couple of days at the Eisteddfod in Cardiff. I've been learning Welsh (the language of my grandmothers and their forebears) for a year or so, though I'm not a natural linguist and progress has been slow. But the Eisteddfod was a great opportunity to listen and to practice, to enjoy and to play with the language; there was great encouragement for learners and being in such a vibrant, inclusive community has certainly spurred me on.

I spent hours - and a fair amount of cash - in the book tents. I was delighted to find several novels for beginners, proper adult ones; much though I enjoyed reading Fireman Sam and Spot the Dog to my children, I'd rather not have to read them in Welsh for myself now! And Thursday evening saw a tremendous concert with Pendevig - the whole evening in Welsh, no concessions for learners there, but with the music of that band no concessions are necessary!

Even the ice cream cones bore Y Draig Goch
(the Red Dragon)!

In Flanders Field

I've just come back from a fascinating four day trip to Belgium looking at the role of non-combatants (medical and nursing personnel and chaplains) in the First World War. I could certainly have done with the temperature being ten degrees cooler for standing in unshaded cemeteries and the exposed ploughed fields that had once held casualty clearing stations, but I certainly wouldn't have missed the opportunity to go to research the topic. A great deal to think about now and to follow up on for a project on which I'm just embarking.

Whilst I was away I was lent an original copy of the training manual used by the Royal Army Medical Corps at the time of the Great War. I was amazed at the breadth of subject matter covered - in fact, it didn't look that different from the syllabus I covered in my initial nurse training fifty years later! I was saddened to think though how Article 1 of the Geneva Convention - that "ambulances and military hospitals shall be acknowledged to be neutral and as such shall be protected and respected by belligerents so long as any sick or wounded may be therein" - was so blatantly disregarded by both sides (as indeed it is all too often in conflicts to this day). I visited the graves of many medical and nursing personnel killed on duty by shellfire or in air raids. A hundred years on, all of their stories still merit telling; how much we could learn if only we would listen.

On the grave of John McCrae, Canadian surgeon
and "In Flanders Field" poet 

Human vs. machine

Having heard an item on Radio 4 this morning about computer generated poetry (and the apparent difficulty some people have distinguishing between that and the "real thing") I thought I'd try out one of the generating websites. If you have five minutes to spare and want to feel a whole load better about your own work, do try one out. I entered random words on my chosen topic as requested (I'd been looking at the picture below so chose "fields") and the resulting sonnet was hilariously awful ... It certainly gave me a good laugh to start my day!

Writers and radio

I think the idea expressed in that last post - that life was getting back to normal - was just too tempting for Fate! Instead life continues on something of a roller-coaster here and the protracted heatwave doesn't help productivity either, but I know all writers go through fallow patches and usually live to tell the tale ...

Positives over the last couple of weeks though have been visits to local writing groups to talk about opportunities to take part in The Writer's Room on NHSound. It's been great to sit in and listen to some excellent poetry and prose - my thanks to both Caldicot Writers and Newport Writers, who have made me very welcome at their respective meetings. Alyson Rees, a talented young poet from Caldicot and quite a newcomer to the local scene, took part in last Thursday's programme and read some very thought-provoking and insightful work. I'm very much looking forward to contributions to the programme in the next few months from several other writers in both groups. The Wye Valley Writers will be launching their anthology on the programme on August 30th too; Monmouthshire appears alive with creative energy just now!

Ways to Peace

A fortnight of chaos, which I hope is coming to an end! How I envy writers who can work despite the heavens falling in or life aiming a wrecking ball at them ...

But this afternoon I sat looking out over the Wye Valley planning out (very belatedly) my contribution for the three day Ways of Peace event to be held at Tintern Abbey in September in support of the UNESCO International Day of Peace. There will be speakers, music from many cultures, workshops and readings of poetry and prose, much of the weekend free and open to all. The setting could not be bettered - if you're not familiar with the Abbey, a centuries-old ruin that draws pilgrims and tourists alike, do look it up and think about joining us then. It'll be a great event.

Writing the unwritten

A huge "Thank You!" to Nilima Raichoudhrey, who ran a superb writing workshop yesterday at the Abergavenny Arts Festival. We were a small group but benefited enormously from her experience in Zen writing, her time as a scriptwriter and her infectious enthusiasm for words and their expression. So much to think about after the session: about stories under stories, about "essence" - the unspoken in the spoken, the unwritten in the written - about writing as uncovering what you deeply know rather than what you think you know. A fascinating afternoon.

Nilima Raichoudhury (third right) with
Festival volunteers

Moments

My mother calls.
I do not reply.
Watching him walk out of our home, our lives.
The script ripped up.
A car engine overheating on the hills.

What about me?
Suddenly the motorway is empty.
No sadness at the melting doll.
The sky dark with a million stars...

copyright Gill Garrett 2018