Read to Lead

Completed a week course at Inglewood Manor, Cheshire to work as a facilitator for the library service. I will be setting up three shared reading groups in Scotswood/Benwell for the next two years. It was a very intensive programme consisting of workshops on various poets, playwrights and authors. We held our own groups, met lots of very enthusiatic trainers and ended with a mock up of a Shakespeare play based on a Big Brother theme. I took the part of Geordie Macbeth, Sylvia was Hamlet Rooney, Monica - Mark Anthony, Julia - Portia, Naomi - Cordelia. Some of the lasses were the "Rabble" voting in the winner, we had the BB voice by Ginny and Sheila was Davina. We mixed comedy with tragedy for 20 minutes performed to an audience of around 30 people. It went great, and as producer/director and part writer they bought me a fabulous present from the hotel shop Molton Brown products, oils, lotions, perfume. It was a lovely surprise. We all worked so hard to put on the show as well as carrying out the workshops and course work.

"Get Into Reading groups are led by trained project workers and volunteers, meeting each week to read books and poems together in locations such as care homes, libraries, prisons, mental health drop-in centres, community centres, schools, hostels, refugee centres and workplaces. We read aloud, slowly, taking time over each text, allowing thoughts, connections and understanding to emerge."

http://thereader.org.uk/get-into-reading/

Been a busy few weeks, went to Live Theatre to see a short film Seige and Storm of John Marlay`s defense of the city walls in 1644, question and answer time afterwards. To the Sage, Joanne Trollope - a talk of her new book set in Newcastle. The preview of Vera at Tyneside Cinema, Brenda Blethyn is perfect in the role of a Geordie detective, I was on the edge of my seat. Chatted and got her autograph, she`s really friendly. The drama was shot in and around Northumberland/Newcastle and is extremely well done. Writer Anne Cleeves should be well proud of herself.

It is the BIG Day and we have our patriotic bunting of Wills and Kate in the garden. Will be going to a garden party later today. At the moment watching the whole shebang on TV. I have my plastic goblets, party food, Wills and Kate beer and biscuits and hand made veil complete with linen flowers. I bought a huge piece of net, gathered it, sewed it onto a head band and arranged the flowers across the top. Ready to go!