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| Kitty Lord’s boots – Music Hall star |
The year began with a collaboration between ScreenDeep & Museum of London Docklands. I was brought in as the ScreenDeep Script Writer, Project Manager & Workshop Leader for a Music Hall themed project which culminated in an audio piece ‘Conversations.’ I worked with a group of older women from a Poplar Housing Association. The piece will be installed in the Many East Ends Gallery at the Museum, early in 2014. I found myself reading about Music Hall, visiting some of London’s remaining Music Halls – Wiltons and Hoxton (we recorded some of the piece in Hoxton Hall), working with professional actors and musicians in recording studios, delivering the creative writing workshops at the Museum of London Docklands – supported by incredibly helpful and skilled staff, gathering ideas from Museum of London at London Wall, the Music Hall exhibition at the V&A (along with original Walter Sickert paintings of the era) and being amazed by the ephemera & expertise we were privileged to gain access to.
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| Museum staff & workshop participants in a workshop |
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| Squeeze box |
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| Hoxton Hall, where some of our piece was recorded |
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| Writing away in a workshop at the Museum |
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| We had an inspiring tour around Wilton’s Music Hall |
EAT YOUR WORDS, PICKLED PEPPER BOOKS & MASTERCLASSES
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Early 2013 also included a partnership with Delights By Cynthia, where we ran a workshop at an Islington primary school. These fantastic cakes were baked by Cynthia herself. The workshop used the different tastes, feel, smells, and sights of flavourings and food to engage and inspire the children in creative writing.
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| Eat Your Words – creative writing and baking at a primary school |
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| Workshops with children at Pickled Pepper Books |
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| Masterclasses with adults & children continue |
The work with children continued with Pickled Pepper Books – a lovely book shop in Crouch End. There were weekly Blotted Ink Creative Writes Workshops for children aged 7-9 & 9-11. We had a lot of fun and covered a range of exercises, often inspired by children’s poetry and stories. The weekly workshops have now ended but our one to one Masterclasses with adults and children are going strong and will continue next year.
GUEST WORKSHOPS
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| Charlotte Murray Salon in Muswell Hill |
I was delighted to be invited back to Muswell Hill’s fabulous Charlotte Murray Hair Salon in Spring, to deliver another creative writing workshop for their clients. I also returned to TFL to run a staff workshop during Dyslexia Awareness week. We focussed on character this time around. Both workshops were great fun and really well attended.
SUTTON HOUSE
As Summer approached, it was back to one of my favourite places – Sutton House, for our Saturday workshops. We explored this fascinating National Trust Tudor House in Hackney, with its many stories – which inspired us to tell our own.
FRAGMENTS OF PARENTHOOD & THE OCTOBER GALLERY
As part of my collaboration with Nina Simoes from the Fragments of Parenthood Project, I ran a creative writing workshop for parents – very kindly hosted by the October Gallery in Central London. The writing and discussion focused on the group’s experiences of being parents and its impact on the different aspects of their lives.
MUSWELL HILL WEEKLY & THEMED WORKSHOPS
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| North Bank, Muswell Hill, N10 |
The year would not have been complete for me without the Creative Writes workshops at North Bank in Muswell Hill, N10!
North Bank was the venue I hired for my first Creative Writes Workshop several years ago and it is always a pleasure to return. The regular programme included our Themed Workshops on Colour, Character and Objects. We enjoyed the gardens during our July ‘Creating Character’ workshop which was fully booked. All of these workshops will be back next year!
LIMNISA GREECE – WRITING RETREAT & WORKSHOPS
I hopped off to Greece in August to hide away and write for two weeks – often thinking up ideas from a hammock by the sea!
During the second week, I attended an Autobiography workshop, where I learnt a great deal from our tutor Philip and my fellow participants. We shared our writing with the wider group at a lovely celebration evening and the words I found during that time have served as a foundation for an ongoing writing project.
AVENUE CLUB KEW & KINGSTON CARERS
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| Kew Gardens |
In the Autumn, I began working with three new creative writing groups and a book club which I inherited from a fellow Lapidus member. It has been an exciting term, trying out a range of exercises and reading material! I look forward to the New Year, when I will also begin working at Kingston Adult Education College – running an evening class in Creative Writing.
WORDS OVER WALTHAM FOREST FESTIVAL
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| Words Over Waltham Forest Festival |
I was delighted and honoured to be on board for two different projects for the first Words Over Waltham Forest Festival in November – ‘Hanging Words Out To Dry’ & ‘Stranger Neighbour’. For ‘Hanging Words out to Dry,’ I worked with Rochelle Scholar from Mendham Writers who delivered the Reminiscene part of the workshops in a Walthamstow Village Launderette!
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| Laughter & Reminiscence at the launderette |
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| Hanging Our Words Out To Dry |
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| Before the workshop – the garage on a housing estate |
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| Stranger Neighbour Writers – Winns Gallery typing pool |
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| William Morris Gallery & Gardens
Thanks for helping me reminisce on 2013 and I very much look forward to seeing you in 2014!
A list of 2014 workshops, including special offers are here:
Happy Holidays to you all and a wonderful start to the New Year!
Very best wishes,
Nichola
Creative Writes
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