Archive for December, 2009

On 9th December, Writing West Midlands’ education programme, Write On! was part of a networking event held at Symphony Hall in Birmingham. The event was designed to allow a whole range of arts organisations based in Birmingham to talk to teachers and others involved in after-school activities. We took two writers to add imagination and verve to our little stall, Philip Monks and Mandy Ross (and won the award for most creatively active stall!). As well as talking to several dozen very interested teachers and others we managed to produce some creative writing: a poem from Philip promoted by a conversation and a series of micro-stories about the journeys people had had to get to Symphony Hall. Here they are:

Tiger Balm

for Kit  

Bought for 50 rupees (that’s about 70p) in India

I feel the tension headache

about to begin:

                        creeping up on me,
                        sinister, frowning,
                        tightening it’s headlock

The curse of admin.

I open the gold-topped, hexagonal jar

and put the balm on-
                     mint, menthol, cajuput tail
                     (no tigers involved)
and slowly, slowly
I am taken up the slope of the mountain
to the snow line-
           cool, easy,
and feel the snow peaks behind
and see, below
the lights coming on in the valley

by Philip Monks

Journey ribbons from School cluster day – collected by Mandy Ross

A Journey adventure needs something unexpected to happen but when it happens make sure you’re not expecting it- look, it’s coming…

Loaded up the car with merch… boss forgot our display stands… had to get a cab back to get them… finally got here… ate a mince pie. The End.

I came by train. Pat the duck pond over the village green, down the hill and into the station. On the train, lots of trees, people looking busy, into the city- groan- absolutely.

The bus was fifteen minutes late which wasn’t a surprise as it usually comes whenever it wants with no explanation of why and where it has been!

I drove here 12 minutes past over Hockley flyover, through the Jewellery Quarter, the shops were open, people looking for xmas presents at leisure while I was coming here.

Our music teacher drove us here. We moaned all the way but it was refreshing. I got it off my chest.

Bicycled, I swang out into heavy traffic, finessing my way between cars and buses, all the time accelerating, out of the saddle, at one with the world!

The traffic was backed up all the way to Moseley but no one spoke at the bus stop or on the bus. We were silent, resigned and late.

We rang all the fours, all the eights. We struggled the corridor with our lo-tech display materials. The taxi driver on the phone in his own language, he didn’t really want to open the book, but he did. We were stuck by the re-appearance of the big wheel. We weren’t booked in thanks to some admin mix-up, but kindly THSH gave us their table…

If you turn all the way round are you back at the place you started?

I left my house in plenty of time to get to work by 9am. The traffic had other ideas… a normal 10 minute journey took me an hour. The Pershore Road was jammed and the route into town was gridlocked. Apparently there had been an accident…

I cycled in this morning, I was wrapped up warm and listening to music. I rode quite slowly because I was knackered from yesterday’s football

Travelling through time to get here in time- in the right frame of mind, time + place + mind = creative imagination!!