Another great Great Writing behind us. Another chance to meet with like-minded colleagues and writers and a chance to go back to my university. Interesting, that as a little girl, I always wanted to live in North Wales, I always wanted to be a writer and I always wanted to go to college in Colwyn Bay and learn to be a teacher.
Well, I got my wish eventually:
I am a writer.
I did live in North Wales for a time - too short a time probably.
And I am teaching – I’m teaching creative writing now.
But it’s even better, I guess, than I wished for: Bangor is even more attractive than Colwyn Bay, I have a PhD now as well as the teaching certificate I thought I was going to get. The writing is even more interesting than I thought it was going to be.
It was my first chance to see the new NIECI building. It was a little disconcerting. I couldn’t quite recognise the space. Still, I guess the view of the Straits was reassuring – and the Ladies’ loo hadn’t changed much. Otherwise, I had to keep asking myself where I was. Nice space, though.
The conference was the usual mix and there were some truly amazing papers, some interesting exchanges of ideas and competently chaired sessions, though there were some disappointments as well. I think my session went well and was certainly finely chaired by my good friend Nessa O’ Mahoney. My two colleagues were interesting and articulate on their panel, so Salford accounted well for itself. The session I chaired was unproblematic.
The most exciting for me were sessions about European networking of creative writing departments, digital stories, a session about creative process, some more definition of what children’s literature is about and Graeme Harper’s very full account of the state of play at the moment.
An added bonus has to be being invited to contribute a paper to a new journal about writing for children and young adults that the good folk at Winchester are putting together.
And of course, not least, being able again to touch base with my former Ph D supervisor. I rather like the German expression “Doktorvater”. It would be a little odd in our case, though, – I’m quite a bit older than him. Still, it was good to see him again and also some of my other former colleagues and fellow students from my time there.
Showing posts with label North Wales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Wales. Show all posts
Monday, 22 June 2009
Monday, 17 November 2008
Fabulous Weekend
What a weekend! I’m still buzzing.
First of all, there was the drive to North Wales. What a fantastic drive anyway, one that I always love. The way you follow the coast and then the drama the mountains coming down to the sea. I did my usual trick of allowing an extra half hour for every hour I had to travel. The journey went well and I arrived an hour before I needed to be there.
I went in search of my cousin. Well, actually, she’s the wife of my second cousin. But she ahs bought and renovated a café in the middle of Bangor. Blue Sky. It’s gorgeous. We had a chat. And it’s already running along the lines of the Creative Café. They’ve had a Poetry Wales meeting there. And the novel-writers group meet there for breakfast.
I then met up with the others who were in the Fat Cat, excited as can be. I’ve edited and published the book, Making Changes, in which three writers form North Wales feature: Debz Hobbs-Wyatt, Jean Lyons and Phil Thomas.
We made our way to the Museum and Art Gallery. It is really a nice space for a book launch or reading. The lighting is great. There’s a good atmosphere with all that art work around.
I somehow managed to end up being the one who sold the books. The entire stock went and I’ve had to order another 17 to fulfil preorders. The curator counted 53 people arriving and then was distracted. I think it may have been about 65. Two of my former colleagues for NIECI and it was good to chat to them.
The readings went well and those who hadn’t bought a book on the way in, certainly bought one on the way out. We hooked them. The readings were great, but I’ve a few ideas about how to make them even greater.
The catering worked well. The three writers paid £15.00 each and that bought wine and nibbles and various members of their writing group brought along home made cake. Delicicous!
Debz and I then went back to her place, taking one of the four bottles of wine left over – there had been twelve altogether. We chatted into the small hours and drank the wine.
The next day, we were back at the Blue Sky café. Novelist’s critique breakfast – in my cousin’s café. This is really living the dream. It was good to chat about their work and writing in general.
I had to go home eventually, but only so that I could go out again to get to the evening session at the NAWE conference in Manchester. Interesting journey through the middle of town on a Saturday night and then along the crowded Oxford Road and the Curry Mile. Then the place was hard to find. No matter, though. The speaker had the same problem. But it was all good in the end. It was good to catch up with some old friends, not least of all my former PH D supervisor, Graeme Harper.
Sunday was a choir day. We, the Ordsall Singers, an a cappella group, sang in the Salford museum where a lot of local groups were exhibiting. I found a writing group and chatted to the people from the Imperial War Museum North. But the singing. I think we did well. It was such fun. Well, it normally is. But we sang in the part of the museum which has been made into an old street. Such an atmosphere. I think we did well. Well, we have a good MD and a few good singers. And we sang three lots of twenty minutes. That felt great, but I had a sore throat afterwards.
What a wonderful weekend!
First of all, there was the drive to North Wales. What a fantastic drive anyway, one that I always love. The way you follow the coast and then the drama the mountains coming down to the sea. I did my usual trick of allowing an extra half hour for every hour I had to travel. The journey went well and I arrived an hour before I needed to be there.
I went in search of my cousin. Well, actually, she’s the wife of my second cousin. But she ahs bought and renovated a café in the middle of Bangor. Blue Sky. It’s gorgeous. We had a chat. And it’s already running along the lines of the Creative Café. They’ve had a Poetry Wales meeting there. And the novel-writers group meet there for breakfast.
I then met up with the others who were in the Fat Cat, excited as can be. I’ve edited and published the book, Making Changes, in which three writers form North Wales feature: Debz Hobbs-Wyatt, Jean Lyons and Phil Thomas.
We made our way to the Museum and Art Gallery. It is really a nice space for a book launch or reading. The lighting is great. There’s a good atmosphere with all that art work around.
I somehow managed to end up being the one who sold the books. The entire stock went and I’ve had to order another 17 to fulfil preorders. The curator counted 53 people arriving and then was distracted. I think it may have been about 65. Two of my former colleagues for NIECI and it was good to chat to them.
The readings went well and those who hadn’t bought a book on the way in, certainly bought one on the way out. We hooked them. The readings were great, but I’ve a few ideas about how to make them even greater.
The catering worked well. The three writers paid £15.00 each and that bought wine and nibbles and various members of their writing group brought along home made cake. Delicicous!
Debz and I then went back to her place, taking one of the four bottles of wine left over – there had been twelve altogether. We chatted into the small hours and drank the wine.
The next day, we were back at the Blue Sky café. Novelist’s critique breakfast – in my cousin’s café. This is really living the dream. It was good to chat about their work and writing in general.
I had to go home eventually, but only so that I could go out again to get to the evening session at the NAWE conference in Manchester. Interesting journey through the middle of town on a Saturday night and then along the crowded Oxford Road and the Curry Mile. Then the place was hard to find. No matter, though. The speaker had the same problem. But it was all good in the end. It was good to catch up with some old friends, not least of all my former PH D supervisor, Graeme Harper.
Sunday was a choir day. We, the Ordsall Singers, an a cappella group, sang in the Salford museum where a lot of local groups were exhibiting. I found a writing group and chatted to the people from the Imperial War Museum North. But the singing. I think we did well. It was such fun. Well, it normally is. But we sang in the part of the museum which has been made into an old street. Such an atmosphere. I think we did well. Well, we have a good MD and a few good singers. And we sang three lots of twenty minutes. That felt great, but I had a sore throat afterwards.
What a wonderful weekend!
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