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The Magazine of The Federation of Worker Writers & Community Publishers £2 •3 $3

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FederationFederationMagazineMagazine

Issue 29 New YIssue 29 New YIssue 29 New YIssue 29 New YIssue 29 New Year 2005ear 2005ear 2005ear 2005ear 2005

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Celebration ofGatehouse BooksCelebration ofGatehouse BooksCelebration ofGatehouse Books

New FEDWebsite!New FEDWebsite!New FEDWebsite!

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Federation Magazine 29Federation Magazine 29

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Cover

Feditorial

The cover is an illustration by Ivor Arbuckle from Born Twice with a spider on herhead, by Stephen Harber, published by Gatehouse Books in their CoolBooksseries. CoolBooks are written by and for prisoners with basic skills needs, as partof a project in conjunction with The Writers in Prisons Network.

The FWWCP

Contents

The FWWCP was formed in 1976, and nowhas a Membership of over eighty independentlyorganised writers’ workshops, communitypublishers and organisations in Britain, andaround the World. It is an umbrella organisationfor those who wish to share their skills and workwith their communities.

The FWWCP aims to further working classwriting and community publishing, and theMembership share a belief that writing andpublishing should be made accessible to all.

As well as publishing this Magazine and

Broadsheet; we run an annual Festival of Writing;organise training; develop networks; encouragepeople to express themselves; offer advice, work withother literature organisations; fund-raise to helpsupport people attend events.

Membership is for groups only. For informationwrite to:

The FWWCP,Burslem School of Art,Queen Street,Stoke-on-Trent ST6 3EJ

By e-mail: [email protected]

Gatehouse Books .......................................................................... 4Taking Grimsby to Athens ............................................................ 7Songs of Freedom/Canu’n Rhydd ................................................ 9Brides .......................................................................................... 11Weather Report ........................................................................... 14London Writers Day.................................................................... 14The FWWCP Broadsheet ....................................................... 15-26Southwark Mind Newsletter ........................................................ 28Workshop Ideas ........................................................................... 29New Writers Wanted ................................................................... 30Bitch Lit ...................................................................................... 31Reviews:

Het Lopend Vuurtje ................................................................................... 32Painted Souls ............................................................................................. 32Lost Found Time ........................................................................................ 33The past & now.......................................................................................... 34Hands ........................................................................................................ 34Books from railway workers in Nord-Pas-De-Calais .................................. 35Loves Bouquet ............................................................................................ 36Mapping Memories .................................................................................... 37Voices Talk, Hands Write ........................................................................... 38

New Fed Website! ....................................................................... 39Letter from Labor Heritage Foundation ........................Back Cover

What is community publishing?

This afternoon I’ve been talking to a friend about creative writing activities, andtrying to explain the Fed. My friend, a prolific producer of creative handbooks,resource packs and tools for use with people with literacy difficulties or dementia,had just dismissed a large pile of recent work as ‘pathetic and home-made’. Butlooking at them from a Federation perspective this was their enviable ingenuityand beauty.

It’s a little hard to understand the Fed’s diversity of approaches, working in farflung localities and many of them not actually making books or magazines, but it’sthe home-made aspect which unites them, for me. The other weekend, at theLondon Writers’ Day featured on page 14, sitting with what must be a typicalselection of the membership, I attended a workshop run by Roger Mills. He wasexplaining how he had run a journal about life in the East End, which he recruitedwriters from some of his mates, met with them down the pub and from thediscussion articles and even a series photographs emerged to give a side of Londonwhich had not seen print.

And Doreen Ravenscroft, on page 5, describes how the four founder membersof Gatehouse sat round an electric fire talking about their lives. It’s not the imageyou imagine of writing and publishing. Perhaps the best example is Lynne Clayton’sdescription of putting together the Southwark MIND newsletter with lots of tea,coffee and biscuits. There seems to be a lot of community in the process ofcommunity publishing. I’m often accused of only going to Fed meetings to havea good time. It’s hard to answer that with, “no, no, we do a lot of work”, and saythis convincingly. How else can you celebrate community, except by enjoying theprocess of deciding what it is you are going to portray... This point is made by theGreek ‘ragazzi’ on pages 11 to 13.

At the same time, our easy familiarity with the knowledge of our communities,with each other as we put together our publications and the very homespun natureof some of the things we produce should be, as Lynne Clayton says on page 28, asource of ‘love and pride’. It’s this committed facilitation which makes the thingswe set out to do achievable, enables the diversity that was reflected at the LondonWriters Day, and which will, to quote Mo Mowlam (page 9) ‘save language andculture from oblivion’. Home-made, but well made.

Nick Pollard

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audio versions contain a normal speedreading for learners to listen to andenjoy, and a slow read which they canuse to help them read the story wordby word themselves.

The writer is actively engaged inevery stage of the publishing process.Once their work has been published,we encourage writers to stay involvedwith Gatehouse through joining themanagement committee orvolunteering for another Gatehouseproject. We also support them infinding other classes, writing groupsor courses.

The two most recent Gatehousepublications are from the ‘Food forThought’ series:

Fresh Pickings by Carol Barrow(isbn 1 84231 011 9)Fresh pickings, changing seasons,vibrant colours and newbeginnings.“Took me back to the days whenwe knew where our food camefrom. We bought our spuds wholewith the mud still on and you knewit had all been picked fresh thatmorning. Not like now wheneverything’s processed, packagedand frozen.” A Basic Skills TutorFunny What Smells Can Do byKathleen Claffey (isbn 1 84231 0100)Different smells, different meanings– one whiff and it’s a trip downMemory Lane.“This story reminds me of myself inwinter coming home from school,

Gatehouse BooksGatehouse Publishing Charity inManchester is one of the original FWWCPmembers. Here we celebrate its work withan interview with Publications Worker Stephanie PriorTell us about Gatehouse…

Gatehouse is a registered charity,which began 27 years ago as acommunity publisher. We work withadults to improve their reading andwriting skills, mainly to encourageand help them to develop pieces oftheir own writing, which we thenpublish as beginner reader books foruse by other adults who aredeveloping their skills. This ensuresthat the writing is both interestingand easy enough to engage otherbeginner readers.

Does Gatehouse just publish books?No, we also produce a range of

talking books on audio-cassette,narrated by professional actors – andwe are embarking on a series ofmultimedia publications with aninteractive CD-ROM version ofsome of our most popular booktitles.

Gatehouse also does a lot of workaround community magazines,which can open up more writingopportunities to more people moreoften. These also provide a meansof reaching a wider spectrum ofadults with Basic English needs outin the community than the relativelysmall number attending formalclasses. Recently, we have workedwith writing groups to develop web-based magazines.

Tell us about the Gatehouse team…Gatehouse employs a manager, a

publications worker, a marketingcoordinator, an administrator anda part-time accounts clerk. We alsobring in project and publicationsworkers to lead individual projects.

How is Gatehouse funded?Gatehouse receives some

funding from the ManchesterAdult Education Service. This issupplemented by a continuousfund-raising effort and throughthe sales of our books.

Tell us about a typical Gatehouseproject…

We find the people with whomwe are going to work in a varietyof ways. As well as asking tutorsto look out for potential writersand putting leaflets out throughbasic skills classes, we use whatevervisual, audio and word-of-mouthchannels are available and hold ourown taster workshops to advertiseand network out in thecommunity.

We may encourage students towrite about a particular theme.Gatehouse then holds readingcircles consisting of other adultsfrom Basic English classes, whoread all of the pieces of writing sentin and eventually select the beststories for publication.

All of the writers whose piecesare read by the reading circlesreceive the feedback from thereading circles. The selectedwriters then go on to work closelywith Gatehouse, going throughthe editing issues and suggestionswith them. The writer works withthe illustrator, who adapts thewriter’s ideas into a series ofdrawings to illustrate the story.

The writer might also choose anactor to narrate their work for atalking book version, and go intothe recording studio with them,usually reading their ownintroduction to their work. The

In Federation Magazine No.7 (Spring 1996), founding member Doreen Ravenscroftdescribed the early days...

“...Four women did it, had a bit of time on their hands from The Abraham Moss Centre in Manchester,to get together to do a bit of writing. So the ICI... offered us the gatehouse, the front of the ICI.Anyhow, it was empty... and we just had an electric fire and these four women. There was Julia, Tricia,Josie and I, and we all were in there and started talking - you know - how our lives was as women.That was in 1977....We’ve all got a story to tell haven’t we, they’ve made my life bearable - I’ve done workshops, I’vebeen taught how to do workshops and all sorts of things through Gatehouse......I’ve grew through that, if I wouldn’t have had that I don’t know where I’d have been”.

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The Hilton hotel in Athensis not, perhaps, where you’dexpect to find a worker writer.250 euros a night, 8.80 euros abeer... and in fact, although thiswas the venue for the 7thEuropean Congress ofOccupational Therapists, whereI was presenting a poster on theVoices Talk and Hands Writecommunity publishing projectin Grimsby, you can rest assuredthat I actually stayed at the ZeusHostel, near the market, whichwas under 60 euros for threenights. The Conference cost600 euros withoutaccommodation, which ratherputs the Festival of Writing(around 200 euros!) into sharpperspective . The gap betweenthe incomes across Europe is animportant and growing divide,and for those coming from theEastern edge of the community- not to mention those workingin UK public services - thesecosts must have beenparticularly prohibitive. For afurther sixty euros there was anovercrowded gala dinner on a

ferry boat which had been billedas an evening cruise around theSaronic gulf, but hardly got outof the harbour - this was beyondmy budget.

However, there wereoccupational therapists fromsome 32 countries attending,and over the course of the threedays, Occupational TherapyWithout Borders gave sixpresentations... not a lot of timefor sight seeing. The Federationfeatured as an example in severalof these, because of the work ithas done with Voices Talk andHands Write, and the relevancethis has for current internationaldebates in occupational therapy.At a time when manyoccupational therapists arereappraising their professionand exploring taking a moreactivist and politically involvedstance, developing work with acommunity base, the Federationproject in collaboration withVoices Talk and Hands Write,Grimsby Writers, Pecket WellCollege and the support ofothers offers an enabling and

empowering vision of how thisnew direction might beachieved. Sharing stories aboutourselves is a good basis forbuilding community. Writing issomething which can fit into arange of community basedprojects irrespective of the kindof health and social issues, andalthough it is an activity whichcan demand preparation, skilland time in acquiringtechniques, it can also have animmediacy where people wantsomething to take home withthem at the end of a session.

The presentation on VoicesTalk and Hands Write,“Occupational Benefits ofCommunity Publication”,attracted an audience of about10, but 40 copies of theanthology and 75 handoutsdescribing the project weredistributed to occupationaltherapists from all over theworld during the course of themorning. Some of theanthologies, which have beenwritten by people with learningdifficulties, will be going to

Taking Grimsby to AthensNick Pollard takes the Voices Talk, Hands Writeanthology to a conference in Athens

To contact Gatehouse Books,order a catalogue, buy books:Gatehouse Publishing Charity,

Hulme AdultEducation Centre,

Stretford Road, Hulme,Manchester M15 5FQ

Telephone no: 0161 226 7152Email:

[email protected]:

www.gatehousebooks.org.uk

being cold and my mum having thefire on and dinner ready. It was lovelyto have those memories comeflooding back.” Sarah Williams,Clayton Sure Start“After reading this story I feelinspired to write after years ofstruggle.” Jayne Morton, ClaytonSure Start

Both Carol Barrow and KathleenClaffey went on to win achievementawards. A third title in the ‘Food forThought’ series will be published soon.

Above and below are examples of pages from GatehouseBooks showing Gatehouses’ typical rich use of text andillustration in In the Doghouse by Angela Roscoe (top), andtheir outstanding dual language publications in Taking SomeHoney Home by Zahida Affridi

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Songs of Freedom/Canu’nRhydd

The Esplanade Hotel, Llandudno, 25-27February 2005.

Mo Mowlem, October 2004: “Wales knowsall about the struggle to save a language and aculture from oblivion in the face of a morepowerful political and linguistic neighbour. Allacross the world there arc people struggling tomake their voices heard above the backgroundnoise, above the chatter of governments, abovethe sound of guns ... this Conference will belistening. This weekend will be au extraordinarygathering of writers and critics from some of themost damaged countries on the planet, sharingways of staying alive - literally, culturally andemotionally. This Conference won‘t be easy. ThisConference will change the way you see theworld.”

The names of the killing fields change and wehave built new prison camps for the stuff of ournightmares. The weapons may be different; death,apparently, only takes forty five minutes to crossa continent, but David’s sling can kill, too. Forevil to flourish, they say it isenough for good people to donothing. Well, on the streets ofBirmingham, Barcelona andBrussels good people tried todo something, but no-onereally listened.

Strange days indeed and totry to make sense of it allFWWCP Members, theAcademi - the Welsh NationalLiterature DevelopmentAgency and Society forAuthors is organising thisbilingual conference to hearsome of the frontline voices.How exactly is a whisper heardwhen the big people areshouting? Songs of Freedom/Canu’n Rhydd will be

Gwesty’r Esplanade, Llandudno, 25-27Chwefror 2005

Mo Mowlam, Hydref 2004: “Mae Cymru’nymwybodol iawn o’r frwydr i achub tranc ei hiaitha’i diwylliant yn wyneb cymydog llawer grymusachyn wleidyddol ac yn ieithyddol. Ledled y byd maepobl yn brwydro i leisio’u barn dros y twrwcefndirol, dros gleber llywodraethau, dros su’n ygynnau....bydd y Gynhadledd hon yn gwrando.Bydd amrywiaeth hynod o lenorion asylwebyddion, o rai o wledydd mwyaf difrodedigein byd, yn ymgynnull i rannu eu profiadau ooroesi. Ni fydd y Gynhadledd hon yn hawdd.Bydd y Gynhadledd hon yn newid y ffordd yrydych yn edrych ar y byd.”

Trais Abu Ghraib, carcharorion Guantanamo,dinistr Iraq, etholiadau America, celwyddau’r 45munud... Yn ein hoes ni heddiw, mae bron ynamhosibl herio’r grymoedd mawrion a chodi llaisyn erbyn yr holl anghyfiawnderau. ‘Does neb yngwrando. Gall miliynau brotestio ar strydoeddMilan, Madrid a Manceinion - ond anwybyddu’r

bobl wna’r arweinyddion ynamlach na pheidio.

Fel ymateb i’r pryderon dyryshyn, mae’r Academi - yrAsiantaeth Genedlaethol erHyrwyddo Llenyddiaeth - weditrefnu cynhadledd a fydd yncanolbwyntio ar agweddau arbrotest, propaganda a rhyddidbarn yn ystod yr hanner canrifddiwethaf. Bydd Canu’n Rhydd/ Songs of Freedom yn dwyn atei gilydd gasgliad rhyfeddol olenorion, newyddiadurwyr asylwebyddion - rhai ohonyntwedi profi erchyllterau rhyfel acharchar yn uniongyrchol - ermwyn trafod sut y gallwn godillais a chael ein clywed.

Carcharwyd y bardd o

Cynhadledd ddwyieithogyr Academi ar brotest,propaganda a rhyddid barn

The Academi’s bilingualconference on freedom ofspeech and the literature ofprotest and propaganda

Jack Mapanje

university libraries as aneducation resource. The poster,which featured a piece of workfrom everyone in the anthology,described how the project hadcome about through the Fedwanting to develop work withpeople who had not had accessto community publishing inpartnership with its writinggroups, and how people fromthe Queen Street Centre atGrimsby had formed into awriting and publishing groupunder the guidance of Pat Smartand volunteers from GrimsbyWriters and Pecket Well College.The development of supportworkers and volunteers into‘writing hands’ and Voices Talkand Hands Write’s continuitywere stressed as key outcomesfrom the project, along with themaximum use of theirpublication and performances toobtain publicity for the group.The ways in which the grouphad come to form their owndecision making process, usingflip charts to record proposalsand choose activities, the socialaspects of the group and thegrowth in individual selfconfidence were described - inoccupational therapy terms - as‘occupational spin offs’, i.e.additional outcomes from thecommunity publishing process.One of the key results from theproject is the way Voices Talkand Hands Write handle issuesconcerning their ownrepresentation; one of thequestions asked was about howthe group were actively involvedin the project - I pointed outthat the presentation had beendiscussed with the group andcouldn’t be made without theirparticipation, indicated by theirgroup authorship with the othercontributors to the poster andhand out.

Nick Pollard

Voices Talk and Hands Writeanthologies are available at £3+ £1 p&p from:FWWCP, Burslem School ofArt, Queen Street, Stoke-on-Trent ST6 3EJphone 01782 822327e-mail [email protected]

Occupational Benefits ofCommunity Publication,Pollard N, Smart P, Diggles T,Voices Talk and Hands Write,7th European Congress ofOccupational Therapists,Athens, September 22nd-24th, 2004Handout text available [email protected]

Voices Talk and Hands Write,Pollard N, Smart P, VoicesTalk and Hands Write will bepublished in OccupationalTherapy Without Borders,Learning from the Spirit ofSurvivors, Kronenberg F,Salvador Simo Algado S,Pollard N, Edinburgh,Churchill Livingstone on 17thDecember 2004

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IntroductionThe release of a new film by

Voulgari, ‘Brides’, a story ofGreek migrants has one actorwhose entry into the filmindustry has been a story worthyof a film script itself. During themaking of ‘Brides’ Vasilis, whoplays one of the grooms waitingto identify his bride who heknows only from the photo shehas sent him, was an actor byday, and the resident of asheltered community home forpeople with mental illnesses bynight. He is one of a group ofpeople from the formerPsychiatric Hospital of PetraOlympus (PHPO), in Katerini,Greece, who have found ameans to creative expressionthrough the stage.

“Pleusi”, a theatre groupwhich began in PHPO’s closedasylum, began in 1999, when itwas recognised that theinstitutional conditions and theisolation was leading to apathyfor the patients and burnout ofthe occupational therapistsworking with them. From 1999to 2004 three plays weredeveloped which wereperformed in different Greekcities and village communities.

The groupThe theatre group now has

fourteen members, a numberwhich has steadily grown fromthe first production, in which 7patients participated. All ofthem were previouslyhospitalized in PHPO’s closedinstitution and had seriousdifficulties in socialisation andintegration in the community.These people, from smallcountry towns, had fewinterests, were deprived of

experiences and had a low socialand financial status. Everyone isinvolved in decisions andchoices, and though the playswere initially chosen by thetherapists, later on people in thegroup rejected plays if theydidn’t like the parts, andadapted the dialogue to suittheir own performances.

Co-operationOur first goal was to get the

group to trust us and then todevelop trust and co–operationamong themselves. We workedaccording to the group andindividual needs and endurance.We read the scripts aloud to geta first impression. Using“touching” exercises, withoutany group pressure, we enabledmembers to accept physicalcontact so that they could acttogether. The most importantaspect was that all theparticipants exchangedmoments of pleasure and ofentertainment.

C: “I want to tell you that Ihad a great time. As an actor Imade some friends for company.I would like to tell you that Ihad a great time with you.

S: “I did it! We had a very nicetheatre group. We becomeknown as performers.

Ca: “ I would like to thankeveryone who gave us theopportunity to be able to playas a team, doing the play inCrete gave me a boost.

Ca:” I had a nice time in allthe performances. I like theatrea lot and I want to do it again.It lifted me up, everything”.

Ns: “It gave me one greatexperience in my life. What elseto say? I have no words to thankeveryone. I will remember it allmy life, that’s why I cried”.

Using theatre and cinema,gave us a better understandingof the abilities of the people wewere working with. We realisedthat diagnostic labels and theirlimitations can be demolished,broadening the possibilities forthe ‘patients,’ enabling thetherapist to look at the personnot the illness.

Getting into filmThrough the theatre work the

opportunity arose for two of thegroup members to take parts infilms. We just went to a directorin Athens and gave him sometapes of our communityperformances. We didn’t haveany great expectations but thenwe were contacted to seewhether some of the groupwould participate in a film.

BridesFrom psychiatric ward to clapperboard

Malawi, Jack Mapanje, yn ei famwlad am dairblynedd a saith mis heb brawf. Cyhoeddwyd eigyfrol gyntaf o farddoniaeth tra’r oedd dal yn ycarchar. Yn ymuno ag ef mewn darlleniad bydd ybardd ifanc o ogledd Iraq, Choman Hardi, syddwedi gorfod ffoi droeon o Iraq i Iran. Meddai:“mae 25 miliwn o bobl Cwrdaidd yn y byd - ynifer fwyaf o bobl sydd heb wladwriaeth.”

Bydd siaradwyr o Gymru’n cymryd rhan hefyd,gyda’r Arglwydd Dafydd Elis-Thomas, yn trafody don newydd o lenyddiaeth sy’n ymwneud â’rCynulliad – beth yw barn y Llywydd am nofelddychanol newydd y “dyn du’ad” GoronwyJones, tybed? Billie Holiday yn y pumdegau,Dafydd Iwan yn y chwedegau, y Clash yn ysaithdegau: Iwan Llwyd, Gwyneth Glyn a HefinWyn fydd yn trafod hanes canu pop a phrotestiodros y ddeugain mlynedd diwethaf.

Yn cloi’r Gynhadledd bydd y bardd a’rgweithredwr gwleidyddol Benjamin Zephaniah.Bu llawer o sôn amdano’n ddiweddar – ynenwedig yn y papurau tabloid Prydeinig – am iddowrthod O.B.E. oherwydd ei wrthwynebiad idderbyn anrhydedd gan Ymerodraeth aadeiladwyd ar gaethwasanaeth. Ers y Saithdegau,erys ei farddoniaeth yn heriol ac ysgytwol o hyd.Bydd llawer mwy yn cymryd rhan, ac yn sicr mifydd yn amhosibl peidio â gwrando ar y lleisiauhyn.

Canu’n Rhydd/ Songs of Freedom, Gwesty’rEsplanade, Llandudno, 25-27 Chwefror 2005.Pecyn y gynhadledd: yn dechrau o £120.

Am fanylion pellach, cysylltwch â:Peter Finch,Academi,Tw Mount Stuart,Sgwâr Mount Stuart,Caerdydd CF10 5FQffôn: 029 2047 2266e-bost: [email protected]

listening, willhear whetherwriters canever changethe world,whether thepen ismightier thanthe WMD;will hearwhat to saywhen allaround you is

unspeakable. Through the Conference we will be

interweaving the Welsh cultural struggles -personified by Iwan Llwyd, Gwyneth Glyn, HefinWyn and Dafydd Elis Thomas - with the fightsfor their very lives fought by Choman Hardi inKurdistan and Jack Mapanje in Malawi. BenjaminZephaniah has struck his hardest blows withhumour like a stiletto between the ribs; his almostunique world over-view will give shape to thewhole. He is not, you will recall, an OBE. NeilAstley of Bloodaxe Books, political analystAndrew Hussey and Rough Guide author MikeParker will come in from other directions. MoMowlam’s right: this Conference will not be easy.

Songs of Freedom/Canu’n Rhydd, takes placeat The Esplanade Hotel, Llandudno, 25-27February 2005. Conference package: £120 perperson (based on two people sharing).

For further information, contact:Peter Finch,Academi,Mount Smart House,Mount Stuart Square,CardiffCF10 SFQtel: 029 2047 2266e-mail: [email protected]

Iolo ap Dafydd

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wondering what all these peoplewould do when we arrive at theharbour of Pireaus where thefilming would take place. As wewere arriving at the harbour thefirst thing that I wanted to dowas to meet the director. Beforeleaving my hometown I askedwho he was: everybody wassaying that he was a big director- but I didn’t know him. Iwanted to go and meet him andsee how he lives, how he makesthe films. At first I smiled andsaid “good morning”. I met allhis family that was there. Wetalked the way people in smalltowns speak, in a simple way,and Mrs. Ioanna, the wife of Mr.Voulgaris and scriptwriter of thefilm. She asked me what I enjoydoing and I said that I love“birds”. All that long nobodyhad given attention to what Iwas saying - she gave to mehanging birds as a gift.

The filming started; I wastrying to do my best. I becameattached to the rest actors -older and younger - during thefilming. During the filming Iforgot everything, all of myproblems, my illness and I feltthat if anything happened theother actors would stand by me.During the filming the weatherwas hot and that was quitetiring. There was water offeredto everyone and we drank a toastto Mr. Voulgaris and Mrs.Ioanna. These two are so closeto one another - I realised thathe wouldn’t do anything just byhimself.

I wish I would do somethingin my life that will endure too. Imade new friends; I talked withmen, women and learned fromeach one something different.In the second scene that Iplayed, there were fewer people.In the wedding party Iremember the dancing and thetable full of food. Mr. Voulgarisencouraged us. My bride and

partner helped me a lot, wedanced together. On the set, theactors were telling me “havecourage, don’t feel embarrassed,let yourself feel free” and I wassaying to myself “Vasilis you arenot ill, prove it”.

I dedicated myself to thecamera and to the role. Mirandastood there for me, discreetly,at first more closely sheexplained to me what I shoulddo, she gave courage to me.Slowly she left me by myself andI liked that. I was feeling that Icould work independently. Oureyes crossed a few times. I knewthat she was there, proud forme. When I got back at myhometown, at first I keptthinking what had happenedand felt very calm inside of me.I was thinking of going backthere with the rest people.

I started to talk about myexperience with other people. Iwas proud of me. I feel gratefulto Mr. Voulgaris and Mrs.Ioanna for inviting me to thefilm in order to take part. I wishto them to be successful always,and to meet with them againand take part to a film. I wishalso that there will be otheropportunities for other kids aswell because it is good for thehealth. It revitalised me.

Film Premier 18 October Ienjoyed seeing Thessaloniki. I

expected to meet Mr. Voulgarisand the actors; I saw aphotograph with the grooms inthe brochure of the film with mein it. Once the people of the filmarrived, we had photos taken, Iwatched the press-conferenceand I liked what they said. Thefilm began and I enjoyed it, itwas touching. A very good film,very emotional, although Idon’t know much about films.

Mr. Voulgaris introduced meto people from the arts; I met alot of people. I had a very goodtime. I didn’t’ care how much Iwas appearing on the screen. Iwatched the other actors, myfriends play and it was like theywere myself. When I saw ournames at the end I cheered, butI would be glad mostly to seeagain the moments of thefilming. I was feeling proud thatI was lucky to be among thosepeople. I wish that other kids*will also live such experiences. Iwill tell everybody to go and seethe film, my friends and relatives- I will send them the brochureswith the photograph and thegrooms with me in it.

* ‘kids’ is a literal translationof the term by which survivorsrefer to themselves.

In Voulgari's film "Brides"about the emigration of 700brides to America to marry menunknown to them except for aphotograph which each of themcarries, V plays the role of agroom searching for his ownbride (pictured above third fromright), and C participated in thefilm "Dog' s Dream", directedby A. Frantzi, playing the roleof a father in a series of strangeincidents which occur in a familyhome.

The film directors picked outthe actors on the basis of theirappearance and ability. Duringthe filming, the occupationaltherapists remained in eyecontact with the actors and gaveencouragement during breaks infilming, a link which was veryimportant.

The results of theintervention with theparticipation in films theyovercame their limitations andparticipated in the long processof the filming with greatenthusiasm. They wereintegrated with the film crewand the actors quickly andef fectively, helping us toovercome our own fears abouthow this would work. Lookingat themselves on the screen withother professionals, as equalmembers of the film team, theyhad the sense that theybelonged to the wider societyonce more.

The results were very positive.Their self esteem was reinforced.They star ted to take more

initiatives in their every day life.For example, Vasalis travelled forthe first time alone by bus toAthens. The attitude of theirfamilies has changed. Theyshowed greater interest andattention and felt proud of their“own” people.

V: “I went in Athens, I metMr. Voulgaris and Miss.Karistiani, very nice people, theyhelped me a lot. We shot amovie there, it was very good Ithink, I danced, I shout, Ihugged.”

BalanceAfter the filming process,

there was a need to maintainbalance among all the othermembers so that theirparticipation did not become asource of competition. Weexplained to them that theselection of specific people forthe film was based on themhaving traits that suited theroles. It was not a case ofselecting the best. At the sametime, we took care to ensuretheir expectations were realistic.However, there is a possibilitythat other members of thegroup may be able to act infuture films.

ConclusionArtistic activities based in

theatre and film can be veryef fective and therapeutic.Through theatre these actorsmade local communities awareof their abilities and needs,improved the quality of theirlives, changed their own

attitudes about their skills andtheir place as equal citizens, andshowed that occupationaltherapy intervention can worksocially at both local and widerlevels.

Through our experience wehave decided to continue oureffort, hoping to motivate andinvolve more people, enrichingour mutual work andcooperation with organizationsand arts professionals. Theparticipation of our “patients”in the movies will continue inorder to reinforce our belief inthe reality of integration. All themembers of the theatre groupbelieve that: “It is not importantwhat I could do if I wassomeone else. But with myabilities, I can do better!”

Miranda Pouliopoulou, O.TDimitra Petridou, O.T

Voura Panagiota, PsychologistPsychiatric Hospital of

Katerini, Greece

Vasalis’ storyWhen I was told that I was

selected to take part in the film“Brides” although I wanted verymuch to try, at first I did notunderstand where we weregoing to go. At first I was afraidbecause I didn’t know what Iwas going to meet, I was afraidof Athens because I pictured itas a beast with a big figure andteeth that eats people, becauseI grew up in a village in Kilkis.

When we were arriving andgot into the bus together withthe other extras and actors I was

14

Federation Magazine 29 Br

oa

ds

he

et

15

Broadsheet publisheswriting by membersand supporters of TheFWWCP.In this issue are piecessent to us and aselection from HeeleyWriters in Sheffield.If you wish to haveyour writingconsidered forBroadsheet 16, send itto us by May 31st2005, if possible by e-mail:[email protected] orby post to:FWWCP,Burslem School ofArt, Queen Street,Stoke-on-TrentST6 3EJ

If you belong to anFWWCP membergroup and would likeyour group to edit afuture issue, pleasecontact Tim Diggleson 01782 822327,and arrange how youcan undertake this.We look forward toreceiving your writingfor consideration.At the end ofBroadsheet are someguidelines forsubmitting writing.

MotherAn incident in Raffah, Gaza

Um Hisham Qishta cradled a young Israelisoldier, “ It was like my son dying in frontof me”.

That nightAngry buldozers had a banquetOf bricks mortar and menTwo hundred houses pulverisedTransformed into a giant shroudFor ones once living now dead

In a half-destroyed apartment’s doorLike a matriach sentinelStood Um Hisham Qishta

In crashed three maraudersAnd set up a sniper’s nestA scream went up from one of them-A bullet found its guestWhose bullet was it?Was it a friendly fire?

Um Qishta nestled her almost-sonPerhaps her tears mingled withThe wasted blood of the youth

At that holy momentShe wasn’t Arab or JewShe was the mother of PalestineShe was the mother of IsraelShe was the mother of the sufferingShe was the mothered of the wrongedShe was THE UNIVERSAL MOTHER

All glory to herHomi Framroze

London Voices

Clever

Psychiatrists are very clever -when there is something they don’tunderstand -they medicate it.

Carol Batton

London Writers DayOn December 4th 2004, London Voices organised theirannual day of workshops and performances, hereparticipants write about the workshops they attended.Writing & Performing Poetry convened

by Agnes Meadows

"The ten faces sat there expectantly. We werehere to learn something that struck terror intomy heart: how to actively perform poetry, ratherthan just recite it. I've always been sensitive aboutmy voice. A voice coach once pronounced it flat,monotone, 'junior' and a 'ghastly mish-mash ofaccents'. What would Agnes make of it?

The theme of the day was Journeys - journeysinto the soul, back home, back to a loved one -and we were each given 10 minutes to conjure

something out of nothing. There were gasps of:"No-one is going to enjoy this!" and "I can'tthink of anything!" But Agnes was having noneof it: "Do you think anyone is going to beinterested in your poem if you say that about it?"she asked.

The first victim was a man who'd announcedhe would have to leave early. He stood up andread out his poem. Agnes plucked out a line whichhad beauty and resonance. "What did you feelnext/what were you thinking then/what colour

Weather ReportSampad’s International search for young writers begins

FWWCP members sampad SouthAsian arts, have re-launched theirsuccessful local project The WeatherReport internationally to include thecities of Lahore, Calcutta, Dhakaand Vancouver, amongst other citiesand regions of the World. Theproject, is part of sampad’s long-term strategy to encourage, identifyand nurture writers has beenlaunched by BBC Midlands Today’sfavourite weather girl Shefali Oza.

The Weather Report is a writingcompetition for writers agedbetween 12-18 years with an interestin South Asian Culture focusing onthe theme of weather. Have you evernoticed how a stormy day can make you feelgloomy, or a sunny day make you feel bright? Howthe weather can remind you of a special place, orhelp you imagine somewhere you have neverbeen? Applicants are to think about the weatheras a starting point for their writing. They can writein any style they want – stories, poetry orreportage .The winning entries will be publishedin a book in Summer 2005.

Guest Editor Shefali Oza will be helped in

selecting the winning entries byplaywright Gurpreet Bhatti,former Birmingham PoetLaureate Julie Boden andLondon based poet DaljitNagra.

Shefali says, “I’m so pleasedto be involved with the WeatherReport as it goes global and tobe working with sampad SouthAsian arts, who are committedto developing talented artists.I think it’s really important toget young people involved withliterature and this is such afantastic opportunity for themto have their writing published

and express their thoughts creatively. This is surelygoing to be a fun and challenging experience forme as guest editor, especially since the theme ofthe project is now the international weather!”Deadline for entries is 28th February 2005. For anapplication form visit www.sampad.org.uk; [email protected], or phone 0121 446 4312

Turn to page 18 in the Broadsheet for some ofthe entries.

continued on page 27

Broadsheet 15 Broadsheet 15

1716

Some Early MemoriesI was born at St. George’s Hospital in

Knightsbridge as a result of a caesarianoperation. I was an only child.

I lived at 163 Tachbrook Street, Pimlicountil I was 3 years. My parents and I livedon the 1st floor in 3 rooms but we livedmainly in one room. It was a kitchen,living, dining room. And was also the roomI played in every day. It was a verydilapidated house, full of mice. It was sobad the landlord used to let cats run wildall over the house to try and keep themdown. My mother put down a trap withcheese on it in front of a hole. She wasquite bloodthirsty as when she caught oneshe used to put it on the table and stare atit. When I saw it I felt sick. But our motherkept our rooms spotlessly clean, she wasalways working on it. She never used toplay with me but she got my toys out sothat I would get on with it.

One day I remember I had all my dollsincluding my dog with the poorly paw andmy teddy bear all bandaged up and I waspretending to give them medicine it washospitals. And when my dad came homehe took one look and started shouting atme to take all the bandages off. Later onhe explained that it had reminded him ofthe war and upset him.

One day my dad brought home a birdand put it in a cage. I was pleased andkept going over to it and talking to it. Theytold me not to open the door. But I wantedto let it out of the cage. And one day I let itout and it flew out of the open window.Then I got upset and started shouting outof the window for it to come back.

Sometimes my mother took me up thepark with a fishing net and a jam jar. AndI used to enjoy fishing. When I caught onemy mum put it into the jar and we took ithome. But they did not last long so we hadmany fishing trips. But I liked them and Italked to them a lot.

Sometimes I was allowed to play out. Myparents brought my doll’s pram down withme. I started playing with a little girl who

A temporary lover

Anger rose and ceased to quell,I saw a painting of his stealing lies.

He led a life of stolen nightsand pumped veins of drawing poppies.

Flat he rifled for his next hit,to numb the vacant truth of reality.

A certain sense of peace,that only poppy fixed.

Absence of mothers love,crushed his spirit,

tore him apart.

Moonflower was his bride,he lay with her night after years.

He lay on her arm to die,Moonflower was his bride.

Soon his veins lay flat and hard.So he looked to the mirror with one eye.Needle in hand he pierced his last eye.

This could be the way you die.

He was white but his face was black,from the pressure of haemorrhage.

Dried blood crispy and cracked,made it’s last track from his nose,

mouth and ears.Sure thing is smack.

The smell of death never leavesand the stench of formaldehyde,

is always rememberedAnd never dies.

Moonflower was his bride,he lay with her night after years.

He lay on her arm to die,Moonflower was his bride.

Sarah Lee GrayMeshaw Writers, Devon

Changing Seasons

I love to walk the lanes on wintermornings when it’s cold and frosty:when the leaves, dressed indiamonds, shimmer in the early sun.The spider’s web can be seen in allits glory and the mist clings to theevergreens making patterns thatshift and change.

I love walking in the springtimewhen the rain clouds, dark andbrooding, form a backdrop for arainbow. The hills, standing proudagainst the grey sky, anticipate therefreshing rain to come. The trees,in different shades of green wavetheir branches, waiting for the rainto quench their thirst.

I love the lanes in summer whenthe sun shines in an azure blue sky,and the bright colours of the flowersstand out against the ever-changinggreens and browns of the fields andhedgerows. The buzzard, floatinglazily on the breeze, and the skylarksings her song, while the swallowsswoop and dive, feeding on theinsects as they go.

Then, when autumn comes and thetrees change their dress to coloursof red and gold, their branchesbowing as the wind dances amongstthem, I begin to think of nightsdrawing in and log fires blazing inthe hearth: the flames makingpictures as I gaze into the depths,dreaming of the days to come whenthe summer sun once more shinesand brings new life to the deadbranches.

Sue Smith

Meshaw Writers

also had a pram but much smaller thanmine. She said, “Let me push yourpram and you push mine.”

“All right,” I replied.

Then she said, “Why don’t we swapover prams altogether?” I said no. Thenext minute she started running downthe street with my pram. I chased herand pulled the pram off of her and shestarted crying her eyes out and hermother came out and took her indoorswith her pram.

After that I saw a boy with a dog. Iwas a bit afraid of it. So when he said Icould stroke it I said no so he said Iwas a baby and walked off. Anothertime I was out minus my pram, I sawthe coalman. He kept shouting out,“Any old coal!” and knocking on doors.When he was finished he saw mestanding there and said, “Would youlike a ride on the cart?” I said yes. Sohe picked me up and sat me on thecart. It was quite high up. He hit thehorse on the back and took me for aride round the streets. I enjoyed it verymuch and saw things I wouldn’t haveseen on foot. After that he took meback where we started and carried medown. Then he said I could stroke thehorse. Well, it was very big and I wasscared so I stood and stared at it for along time before I gave it a pat. Heturned his head round and I got scaredagain but I didn’t run away, I juststared at it.

Suddenly I heard my mother callingme in and I went up immediately. Mymother had been looking out of thewindow and she saw me talking to thecoalman. She was worried about me,and she said I should never speak tostrange men as it is very dangerousand that if they spoke to me I shouldrun away.

Lily Cole, Southwark Mind


1918

Can I Go Home Now Please?

I did not know these days would be so black,That terror would rattle round my bones like a magazine of vagrant bulletsKeeping me awake through the small hours,Souring my mouth with dread more bitter than hatred, making me retch.And when I dream,There's nothing familiar there,No young men's foolish fantasies replayed nostalgically,No home, or warmth, or anything that I have loved,Even for a second.

Instead, I see limbs abandoned in the streets, eaten by wild dogsScavenging the bombed-out craters,Here a school, there a home once filled with warmth,

and everything that had been loved,For a lifetime.And there is blood on women's breasts,Faces filled with pain and incomprehension,Resentment just below the surface, anger in the dust and stones,Children's mouths imprisoning the silent shriek of horror.This is not the freedom they were promised.

I see the boys of my battalion grow grey and old,Old before their time, and worn out with waste.At night, when the bombs cease for minutes, sometimes hours,When time stands still, when clocks stop,And mothers crawl from out of the rubble to feed their still-breathing sons,At night,We soldiers of the Queen disguise our fear,Sharing crass tales of a different type of conquest far from here,Down by the railway tracks, in piss-soaked alleyways,Of faceless, warm-thighed girls, whose names we never knew,And, oh, I'd go home to any one of them nowInstead of dodging death hereEvery single day.

And we do not look into the eyes of those we kill.We would find too many mirrors.

Agnes MeadowsLondon Voices

Its Raining Chaat and Dahl!

"Its Raining Chaat and Dahl!" My mother used to sayWhen Aunty went into the kitchen on a cloudy day.Knives against countertops and spoons around the pans.A hurricane was quieter than the sound of the extraction fans!

The sorcerer of saag, the conjurer of chutney.Ninety-nine different names for Aunty who worked abruptly.

Aunty’s sheer power smashed the four-minute mile.As she kneaded the dough typically desi style.Yet perfection were the roti that she made.This from the woman that killed her first husband with a garden spade!

Thunder would roar and lightning flash,But aunty continued even though sweat dripped from her tash!

Tremendous she was, stupendous she is.When it comes to making meals aunty is the biz!Her samosas are always piping, refreshing is her tea.I can’t tell you how much I love aunty’s gi!

She’ll put on a show and always will heavily laden the table.This is why from behind she looks like she belongs in a stable!

But as the weather settles and the puddles dry up.You wont get no more chaay, not even a second cup!As aunty believes that you should eat whenever it rains plenty.This is her excuse for moving to England where you always get a drenching!

Saeed M. HussainAn Underground Home

The rain pounded on the dirt above me,an occasional drop falling through thegap between the wood and the groundabove. By that time the hole was about4 foot something, which meant I couldsit in it. It was the only place where Iknew I was safe, my hole, dug by myown hands. A safe paradise, where Icould live all my life and no-one wouldknow. My safe, cosy hole, protectingme from the hardships of life, shieldingme from the driving, stinging rain thathad made my eyes and ears burn as Iran home. The black clouds above mewere laughing, looking at me hiding,jumping whenever I heard thunderrumbling in the distance. They weretaking immense pleasure in my fright.

I’d never liked rain, it makes me angry,especially when it feels like it’s there justto ruin your day, just to make youpersonally feel miserable. I hate thethunder and lightning even more though,the way the lightning illuminates where ithits, the way thunder rumbles, like athousand timpani players in an orchestrawaiting for the final clash of cymbalsthat never come. I like it here and notthunder, nor lightning nor a tornado itselfwill keep me here, I’m staying no matterwhat, till hell freezes over and time stops.I’ll stay here and watch all the seasons andthen I’ll die and what’s left of me will stillwatch. I’ll never go, not ever.

Gioia Barnbrook


2120

The train market

Boys are so different, my wife says, when she calls us from the loft.In a girl’s world the stuff of little boys is hard to find,four Tammy-girl crop tops and pony tails and him,and me, wandering in the malls, in a world of our own.What we find interesting surprises me. Victorian drainpipesand iron work. Clocks. Roofs. The shape of the hill.Pylons and telegraph wires. Outside the shops we stand,musing. We might look over a parapet, at a stained window,and then, in the wide square, to the market. The stallholderlounges with a fag and his tea; we jostle with granddadsand collectors, and bicker, while he makes his choice,always anachronistic in the steam age I predestined for him.Their bags bright pink in the dull and damp and tawdry,“what is it with trains,” the girls mutter, moving on.The man takes our money, smiles knowingly;he has torn up many worlds and sold them on piecemeal,second hand plastic pylons and cardboard roofs,he could tell me that the diesel electric will soon be kingand after that comes dust. But I know, in the bag he holds,his other hand in mine, and my other in my wife’s,her indulgent fingers linking as we catch up the girlsat the next fashion shop, it’s our time in the carrier,our short time of difference, rattling in the wind.

Nick Pollard

Star

They show no response whenI’ve been to a dance

Won the title “The Belle of the Ball”.

I appear in a film, they think I am dimWhile I’m excited and stunned by it all.

I’ve admirers galore,who keep asking for more,

“But you’re old” they all start to say.

“Where is she now?” they ask,mopping their brow

I’m conspicuously absent each day.

On a flight with a friend, I’m told“Where will it end?”

They despair of my antics of glee.

Though I’m having my flingThey must wait in the wingsI’m definitely, outrageously, ME!

Audrey Bradley

Infanticide

When I first meet godshe is sucking herthumbin my armsI watch hereyes watching mefor the meaning of lifeis deatha mythI createdeternity

John Malcomson

Heeley Writers

In Case of Fire

The night of the first daythat they banned

the drinking of smoke in public places,he knelt by his back door beneath

the security lightand caged in his hands a nest

of wet tobacco,to wedge in the gaping trouser

of a drainpipeas his insurance. If ever his house

burnt down,this secret breath would rise

through colder airand spill from the guttering like a flood.

Oliver Mantell

Heeley Writers has been running for some twenty five years. We meet onSunday evenings at the Ann’s Road Community Centre in Heeley, Sheffield. Thegroup is a varied mix of writers, with interests ranging across poetry, essays,biography and autobiography, and extending to short stories and full lengthnovels.

Attendance at the weekly meetings varies widely, sometimes as few as three,and occasionally climbing to a dozen, but with an average of around seven.

The emphasis of the group is very much on helping members to improve thequality of their writing, using the medium of constructive comment. We try toavoid using the word ‘criticism,’ as in many people’s minds it implies negativity.However, we do have a reputation with some of the other Sheffield writing groupsfor making our members work at writing.

Several members have had work published in various forms, includingchildren’s stories, short stories in both short story and mainstream magazines,and even an autobiography. Several members have published their own work,mostly poetry. We participate in the annual Off The Shelf writing festival held inSheffield each autumn, and last year were part of a very successful all day eventfeaturing a number of Sheffield writing groups.

Heeley Writers usually send several members to the FEDfest. Over the years anumber of our members have served on the Executive Committee in a variety ofroles. Currently Nick Pollard serves as Editor of the Fed Magazine, and JohnMalcomson holds the post of Treasurer.

Pole Dancing

Its Pole Dancing on the no. 50 bus -There’s Alice, Dot, Bren and good old GusGet on your mark, it’s such a lark,Alighting can be dangerous!Press the bell, one and allGrab the pole, or you’ll fallThe old dears are twirlingWhile others are lurchingThe driver looks scorchingAt pensioners dancingOn the new fangled pole dancing busWe lean on our railsStep off into space“It becomes quite a race” says old GusThe step is quite steep, fall flat in a heapBodies pile on the pavementIt’s the transports arrangementDon’t know where you’re goingGets adrenaline flowingOn the new fangled Pole Dancing bus“They’re really quite charming, butit is most alarming” says Gus.

Audrey Bradley


2322

‘Are you saying that you are going touse the new regulations to stop peopleretiring?’

‘I wouldn’t put it like that. We now havemore flexibility on retirement age. In thelong run, when the strength of the fundhas recovered we may be able to begenerous on retirements.’

Mr Sandiwell, still standing, askedanother question.

‘And in the short run?’‘I’ve already said, we want you to be

patient.’

Mr Sandiwell sat down. He thoughtabout his dreams of long lazy days bythe river, fishing, of country walks, ofsitting in the garden with his wife in thesunset of their years. Dreams, justdreams, he thought, the only thing I canlook forward to is to work till I drop. Hegot up and went back to his flexibleworking life.

Mike Coxon

Words, Stoke-on-Trent

Street Statistics

Bright and sunny but really quite coldShadow and light as the

white clouds rolledClicker in hand I’m feeling so boldKeeping count as the story gets told.

Down from the north blowsa strong cold wind

The Vagrant’s warmth, it’s beerand it’s tinned

He sips the brew ’till informedthat he’s sinned

A swearing shout and theempty is binned.

Which says about him a whole lot moreThan the careless, feckless litter whoreWho drops the wrapper

by the shop doorAs teeth tear at a big calorie score.

I count all the people who walk about,Among the stalls the bargain scout,And customers who show and floutDesigner labels,

they’ve nothing without.

Though wrapped up well theyboth look swell

Two girls on the stall, it’s fruit they sellSharons and pears and oranges as wellLizzy and Sheila, neither named Nell.

Afternoon and the grey light fadesConsumers begin to end their raidsTheir assault on ‘Goods’

under the shadesOf Emporiums attended by pretty maids

And suited gents with nice brown tansPlaying leader to shopaholic fansWho’s desires fill up the delivery vansWith all sorts of things,

even pots and pans.

By five their interest starts to waneThey make their way toward the trainTo their home where they may feignThat they are ‘normal,’

completely sane.

Of all such thoughts the Vagrant is freeBut his shelter’s a doss

in the dark cemetryThe satellite TV’s not his to seeNot for him is the culture of ME.

The story, you see has now been toldI’ve counted all those

who spend so boldFolk that for whom the lucky dice rolledBut not for Vagrants,

they’re out in the cold.

Dave ChambersNewham Writers

Work Till You Drop

‘Retire? Retire! You can’t retire you’retoo young!’ said Mr Hardman, the ChiefClerk in Accounts. Mr Sandiwell, the 64year old accounts clerk, looked away tohide the pain and embarrassment he felt.His eyes filled with tears as he summonedup the courage to turn and look the chiefin the face.

‘But why not, I’ve been here 44 years,I’ve done my time. Every year it getsharder for me, what with new computersand reporting changes. I just can’t keepup. Now you are promoting theseyoungsters, little more thanschoolchildren some of them, you areputting them over me and expect me todo as they say. This company isn‘t thesame any more, why can’t I go?’

‘You know perfectly well why not’ Thegovernment has just scrapped thestatutory retirement age which means itis at the discretion of the company andthe pension fund when we let you go.Look, Mr Tolley has already said that untilthe pension fund Trustees have decidedhow the new regulations affect thescheme there can be no retirements inAccounts.’

‘Its all so unfair. When will they havedecided?’

‘We are not sure, we don’t think it willbe long, two weeks maybe. Until thenthere is nothing that can be done. Youwill just have to wait. Now go back toyour desk and get on with you work.’

The miserable Mr Sandiwell turned totrudge back to his desk. All those yearsand what was there to show for it? Hewondered.

Two weeks later the Accountsdepartment was summoned to theconference room for a presentation by theTrustees on the changes to the pensionfund. Mr Sandiwell found a seat near thefront and sat down trembling withanticipation. He was hoping that the newrules would allow him to retire; in facthe was banking on it. Surely the companywould be fair with him? The room was

filled with an expectant hum ofmurmurings, which quickly quieteneddown when three of the trustees filed in.Two sat down and the third, Mr Caron,remained standing and arranged slidesby the overhead projector.

‘You will recall from earlierpresentations that the recent falls in thestock market have reduced the value ofthe pension fund. Also, the recent roundof early retirements on generous termshas placed a great burden on scheme. Iwill not hide from you that on an ongoingactuarial basis we are under-funded. Butwe can learn from our mistakes. In time,with the extra contributions that you andthe company are making and with theexpected stock market growth, the capitalstrength will recover. The recent abolitionof the statutory retirement age gives usextra flexibility in managing the flow ofnew retirees. There are a few of you whomight have expected to retire soon. Toyou we say, be patient. Our new flexibleretirement policy will be based on thediscretion of the manages and thetrustees on a case by case basis with fullaccount being taken of the funding level.’Mr Caron was interrupted by a questionfrom the back of the room.

‘What do you mean by ‘a case by casebasis’?’

‘It used to be that that every one had toretire at 65. All that has been swept away.Each application for retirement will bedecided on an individual basis. The meritsof each case will be examined.’

Then someone nearer the front spokeup.

‘What does ‘full account of funding’mean?’

‘We can only pay out what the schemecan afford. I’ve already explained that it’sunder-funded.’

Mr Sandiwell thought about what hadbeen said and then stood up to ask aquestion.


2524

Sleaford

The close mown mounds meet thehanging mist where

the Slea rolls its weeds andevening ducks stand

contemplating the agonies ofBad King John,

poisoned, writhing in plainsight of the windows

lighting up along the bank. A lonequack sympathises,

one who would also bewary of pears, cider

and French perfidy. Nothingbut misery,

to go to Newark and die,bereft, tumbled

like the north east wall,stripped of all but folly.

A man spins on his heel, hisdog strains in a dip;

complacent at the staggeringpoop bin, he calls

“C’mon boy, c’mon”. Clammyunder his coverlet,

John Lackland turns from spectresof his drowned men

Fire Mountain

Inspired by a mystical experience threedays before Mount St. Helens blew 18th

May 1980

The prophet saw the earth, travail,and heard the world, agape,arraigned by a golden flamewhere tides of blood forward

backward flowlike faces in their shape;

hordes of karmic souls, migrateto the affluent northern shore,a beam on a wire, watched,a sea of frightened dreams,all the earth and world at war;

devils whirlwind brain and stem,deaf, dumbstruck root eyebread and tree were dustdesert noise had silenced them -

in the signsin the soilin the air and the water, soared by painand the mad behaved normaland the normal insane.

And so it was that Twmbarlum* dawninspired hope and awesome joy rebornspiralling visions took

shape given form

on a great highway of light, saw:a lame figure, crawling,

walking, marching,houses pouring, showering, stormingstreets of voices and armies

of flags, imploring

the council of ten would-bekings of the keyat the gate - the great white towerwore a frock of stone, wherein,

a clatter of bereft shadowy creedsthe eighth justice asks, never answerschoice confusion weaves its task

as the candle slow burning on a hillwhere dark messages

across continentsstar crossed by an oath,

brew - proclaimwhat hearts and minds already knewin the land and sea and skyriven things to come, all the whilewhy the fire mountain blew.

David Lloyd-Howells

Abergavenny* ancient hill site in south Wales

Nietzshe Leaves Buxton

That which is done out of loveAlways takes placeBeyond Good and Evil

But nor beyond Hope,Which is a villageIn Derbyshire

Kane Oliver

Words, Stoke-on-Trent

or those they slaughtered, bluemarshlights in back rooms

across the river flicker in thefaces of children

and workdone parents falling ontelevision pizza.

The agony will soon be over, althoughit seems an age,

next ignominy, then a cartoon evilthat won’t sustain

an audience given to ninja combat inunknown worlds.

“What word is this?”“Assassination, sire”, I explain

to the man’s deathly, beaded head,but even that

is anachronism. He shudders,nonetheless.

And there is nothing more. Even theinformation boards

have been obliterated with jack knivesand cigarettes.

I return to my car, by the supermarket,follow the A17 to Newark and

the North.Nick Pollard

Heeley Writers

Autobiography

I have 19 plants,and I do water them.Their Average Age Estimation(Their A.A.E.)is around 5 years.

I say “Hello” on buses.I cry when people don’t say “Hello” back.

I have no sartorial sense.I am musically, tone-deaf.

I doubt. I doubt everything.I despair.I listen. I look. I know.

On using a dictionary I learn.(Or re-learn)Other words beforeI find the one I was looking for.

I sense the seasons in my soul.

I hate injustice and lies...They make me scream.Especially when I am naked tocriticism.

I over-react; I panic!And it is not just for dug-up-Bluebells.

My imagination is off the scale.(It actually is!)(I did the test).

I cry daily.

I am normal, for a poet.

Carol Batton

27

Federation Magazine 29

is the feeling?" she asked gently.And so began the liveunravelling of a poem.

Within seven minutes thepoem was teased out, with someinput and ideas from the rest ofthe workshop. Then it was timeto perform. Inflections weresuggested, pauses inserted,words pulled out with lusciousenjoyment. And before oureyes, Agnes pulled off her firsthat-trick. The man wastransformed in front of our eyesfrom a nervous, shy reader intoa confident per former ofperformance poetry.

Eventually it was my turn. Igot the same treatment amidstblushes and giggles. Standingup was the hardest bit - learningto own what I had written. Itsounded lovely, however, mostlybecause Agnes knew how to askthe right questions, buildconfidence and inspire. I satdown to claps and murmurs ofencouragement. Bingo! Mythird poem in 18 years hadhatched!"

Esther OxfordLondon Voices

War with Words -convened by Bob Dixon &

Deborah Levin

As a long-standing fan of BobDixon's biting and wittypolitical and anti-war poetry, Iwas very much looking forwardto his "Writing War Poetry"workshop at the 2nd LondonVoices Writer's Day. And I wasnot disappointed.

Bob had prepared a sheaf ofhandouts of the work of variouswar poets such as Wilfred Owenand Rupert Brooke that drew ingraphic detail the horror andfutility of war. He had plannedthat we would read theseexamples, and use them as aspringboard for inspiration to

write poems of our own. But webecame so heated in our roundtable anti-war/anti-US debatethat the results of ourdiscussions became the focus ofour writing time instead.Inevitably, the occupation ofIraq was prominent in ourdebate, and the suffering ofmillions of innocent civilians atthe hands of the oil/power-hungry super powers.

Some of the participants hadserved in the Second World War,and had their own emotionalmemories to explore. Otherscontinued to be active in theanti-war movement, and whatthey wanted to say had anequally emotive hub. The piecesthat were produced round theworkshop table concentratedprimarily on the futility of war,each coming from a differentperspective, and engaging thefull spectrum of humanemotion.

Bob, with decades of teachingexperience at his command,guided the workshop with a surehand, giving us time to bothwrite a fresh piece, and thenshare and discuss it afterwards.We all found it a useful andinspirational workshop, and wecame away with a freshperspective on writing aboutwar that will hopefully translateinto more poetry in the future.

Agnes MeadowsLondon Voices

Sound, Vision, & Artconvened by Jane Deakin

& Rolf Dragstra

I went to this workshopwondering what it was about.The title gave a few clues but Iwas surprised to learn that wewould be doing MongolianChanting. We were instructed inthe body’s chokras, theircorresponding colours and howto chant using the relevantsound associated with each

chokra. We were also shownhow to beat our bodies to getthe energies flowing. We weretold to do it gently but I sawmore than one member of thegroup attacking their body withvigour.

When we all started chantingthe resulting sound wasstrangely pleasing and relaxing.We practised the soundsindividually before joining themall together to make onecontinuous sound, quite trickyif you haven’t mastered thebreathing. Looking up I sawsome of the faces turning thecolours of the chokras with theeffort involved. A little moreinstruction may have beenbeneficial.

We then went on to maketonal pictures in pastels, usingthe chokras’ colours. I am afraidI became so absorbed increation that I didn’t noticewhat everyone was doing untilI had finished, then I wassurprised to see the array ofpictures and patterns displayed.Whilst I had been painstakinglycareful in getting my pattern tobalance tonally and getting it alljust right, other people had beensimply having fun and goingwild with colour. Sayssomething about me I think.

It would have been nice tohave had another session ofchanting at the end of theworkshop to iron out anyproblems and bring us all backto earth, but on the whole it wasvery enjoyable and I wouldrecommend it to anyone. It hascertainly wet my appetite forboth pastel drawing andMongolian Chanting and Iintend to learn more aboutboth.

Linda KennedyShorelink Writers

continued from page 15

We welcome receiving all forms of writing for theBroadsheet, and would appreciate more shortstories, life histories, essays, and other prose.Original artwork and photographs are verywelcome!The size of Broadsheet necessitates that we usuallycannot publish anything longer than one A4 page.Shorter poems are more likely to be published thanlonger ones!We generally have a policy that in each issue nomore than one or two pieces are published by anywriter. However we do keep writing on file that isnot published, and consider it for later publication.We try and publish something from everyone whomakes the effort to submit their writing, as it is ouraim to encourage people to write and read otherswriting. Being published and sharing writing is animportant part of that process. However if thewriting is viewed as contravening our EqualOpportunities Policy, or the ‘spirit’ of the FWWCP,it will not be published.The contents of Broadsheet are usually chosen bymembers of an FWWCP affiliated groups. It is opento their interpretation what is suitable.If possible we ask for writing to be sent by E-mail([email protected]), or on disk, which saves usconsiderable time and cost retyping. If that is notpossible, please ensure that the piece is clear to read.We accept cassette tapes or sound files, which wewill transcribe. Ensure you put your name, address,and contact number on each piece, so we can referany query regarding your text, credit your writing,and send you the printed copy. If you wish to usean alias or be published anonymously, we will onlypublish if we have your actual name and address.We do not return writing sent for consideration,so please do not sent the only copy you have.Copyright remains with you the author, however,by sending a piece of writing to us, you agree togive us the right to reprint the piece at any time,for non-profit making purposes, such as in ananthology, or read as part of a talk about the workof the FWWCP. You will be credited and wherepossible notified of these occurrences.To discuss what to send or any other issues, phone01782 822327 or e-mail [email protected] look forward to receiving your writing.

Some guidelines forsending work forconsideration forpublication in Broadsheet

No write to right

I an’t got no right to writeCos evrythin I do is shiteI cant make my words fit into a neat rhymeAnd novels just take too bloody long

I tried once you knowstwrote me life story, took nearly a weekAn I typed it out all nice n neatAn posted it to London to a big book

company but it must ave got lost

So a year laterI was visiting me sister thereI took a copy to the building on the addressAn spoke to a bloke at the front desk,

he were a right ponce

He says to me I need an appointmentThat I had to leave,And calls over this handy looking

security guardName on the badge says Steve

He looks pretty hardSo I make my way to the doorAn ah says to him“What they treating people like

that for?” he inna a bad sort after all

An he says to me,“I guard the building mate,but they guard British culture ‘rate”I didna ave a fuckin clue

what’d just happened

And that was ma writin days doneI gave up there n thenI an’t got time for smarmy gitsI went back home n called it quits -

put telly on

But ah can wax lyricalAn I no all the big wordsI use em to confuse emDine at the Birds - that’s ma local

Steve OakleyWords, Stoke-on-Trent

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ReflectionsAs I sit, yellow leaves fallaround me. A young couplepass, their eyes lost in eachother. I remember your facelocked in that “foreveryoungness” that is now yours.The world disappears into agolden pond. If only we hadmet on another day, inanother lifetime.

Maria Garner

Options“You have six months to live.”His voice was kind. “You haveoptions.””There’s no escape?”“No. You can die naturally orby my hand now.”“Today Doctor.”Mary felt less brave whenDoctor Dye approached withthe mask. She rolled awayscreaming. Falling to the floorwakened her.

Joan Barker

LostCold rain fell sharply and Timwas lost and frightened. Onhis voyage of discovery, he’dwandered away from theothers and struggled toremember the way, when heheard familiar sounds.

Joan Barker

AgonyThey were killing her slowlybut surely. She couldn’t waituntil the time came when theagony would end.The pain was unbearable now.It wouldn’t be long before shecould feel relief. Finallyreaching her front door, sheopened it, once inside shekicked off her new shoes.

Gwen Kershaw

FearThe light shone brightly onhis face. The man in front ofhim yelled. “Open up, let’s getthis over with.” The weaponwas threateningly close to him,but he wasn’t giving in untilthe last minute.He hated dental fillings. Ohwell, time to open up.

Gwen Kershaw

ResurrectedSmall, black and cute. Victimof expansion. Ejected from myhome, imprisoned andabandoned. Hauled into thelight, interrogated andcategorised.Now: a miracle! Among myfellow captives, in ourredundancy and degradation, Iam chosen and ransomed andnow I am to be paraded intriumph.

Maggie Macdonald

DeliveranceJanuary, the ice and snow, anopen fire and a worming glowFebruary, the wind anddriving rain, buds and leavescoming to live again.March, a brightness above thehills, the sight of waltzingdaffodils.April, lighter days and longerhours, and morning dew onnew-born flowers.

Fred Walker

EncounterMaisie was waiting for herhusband when the werewolfcame in.She bridled. “Take off thatsilly mask Graham.”The werewolf growled.“Stop it, it isn’t funny.”The telephone rang. The voicesaid, “Hello dear, this isGraham. I’ll be late hometonight.”Masie’s scream echoed roundthe room.

Fred Walker

Workshop Ideas“50 Word Stories” from Grimsby WritersA newspaper ran a competition for short stories using only 50 words including the title. The storieshad to be complete and make sense. This prompted one of the members of Grimsby Writers to usethis as part of their workshop. It is a great exercise in imaginative writing and minimilisation. It isquite amazing how many unnecessary words we actually use to tell a story. The result of the workshopwas excellent and people still bring in stories to read out at our meetings. Why not try it; you will besurprised at the way you look at your writing afterwards.

Jim White

If you or your group haveideas for workshops/writingexercises, with examples of howthey came out, let us have themto share with others. E-mailthem to [email protected] orphone 01782 822327.

This local rag for mental health service users isnow in its 7th year, during which time it has comeout without fail every month, with a current printrun of 800. Incredible stuff, especially when youthink it’s not funded, and is produced anddistributed entirely by volunteer users fromSouthwark Mind.

Actually, I remember theearly days, when RobertDellar was Southwark Mind’sfirst Development Worker.The Newsletter was one ofthe first things he started, ashe wisely realised that wecould reach loads morepeople in the Borough thatway. Anyway, the editorialsub-group would meet in ourtiny office to decide on whatwould go into it each month.Pete Shaughnessy was verymuch involved – one of myfavourites was his “LilyLargactil” series - hilarious!Rob would cut & paste mostof it by hand - when Ipolitely pointed out that hecould use the “computer” for all that nowadays,he laughed and said he liked the “amateurish,zany” feel to it! We still cut & paste some of it -bet you can tell!

(It reminded me of my earlier involvement withanother, what we used to call “underground”,rag, “The Peckham Jemmy”, produced by thePeckham squatters in the ‘70s. That thrived onair, too, though it didn’t last as long.)

The Editorial sub-group are all unpaidvolunteers from Southwark Mind. We meet twicea month, once to decide on the content of thatmonth’s edition, and once to distribute it. Thesub-group has strong links with the Writing Club,which supports users who want to write, but don’tfeel confident enough, or who want to improve

Southwark MindNewsletterFWWCP Executive Committee Member, LynneClayton, writes about the joys of putting SMN togetherfor more than 7 years!

their writing skills, etc.The “Contents” meeting is usually very lively,

as we have a lot to juggle, and sometimes it’s hardto choose from all the contributions that we get.So we’ve got a sort of priority list, though this isflexible. We’re also aware that many of our readers

feel isolated, and so we try tomake it a “mixed bag”, notjust up-to-date informationand reports, but also creativestuf f, mostly poems andartwork (with the provisothat it can only be reproducedin black & white).Sometimes we get upsetwhen we read a submission,and we might decide not toput it in as we don’t want tomake anyone feel sad! (Wedo have obituaries, though,to honour our dead.) If wethink something’s offensive,we throw it out, usually,unless we think it’ll offendthe right people! What wedon’t do is to interfere withsomeone’s work. If we like

it, we put it in as written, except for spellings (eventhis is hard, sometimes), and the odd, hopefullyhelpful full stop. Sometimes we put things inthat sound nice, even though we’re not quite surewhat it means - perhaps our readers will get it!

When we’ve finally made all these choices, acouple of us work hard to get it print-ready –(“oh, well, at least you can read it”) and it goesoff to our wonderful Catford Printers whomiraculously send us back 800 copies within afew days. Then we all get together again, withlots of tea, coffee and biscuits, and mail them allout. How do we manage to do all this?

With love and pride.Lynne Clayton

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30

experience to continue developingat the end of our time with us, andare working on plans formaintaining some support forwriters when they move on.”

Yorkshire Art Circus has a longhistory of working within andalongside the wider community,and the programme reflects this,developing collaborations andpartnerships with other literaryand arts organisations. As part ofthe Wakefield Readerfest, readers’groups and emerging writers arebeing brought together for adiscussion of genre, an event thataims to begin building linksbetween writers and committedreaders, and to encourage writingevents in libraries across Yorkshire.

Writers on the programme arealso encouraged to get involvedwith the Creative LearningProgramme, the short coursesthat the organisation runs forbeginners in creative writing. Itis a valuable opportunity forthem to gain experience inworkshop facilitation, and tobuild up their CVs.

Kath Powlesland, a writer onthe programme, is enthusiasticabout what it has to offer. “TheWriter DevelopmentProgramme has been thecatalyst I needed to develop aprofessional approach towriting. I now have anachievable plan for completingmy novel, and the knowledge

that the support I need will beavailable along the way throughconstructive critical workshopsand one-to-one guidance. It isexciting and rewarding toregularly work with other writerson the Programme, sharingexperiences as we developalongside one another. TheProgramme has opened my eyesto the difference between seeingwriting as a luxury for my sparetime, and developing thediscipline, the self-belief and thepassion to write for a living.”

For information about the YACWriter DevelopmentProgramme, please contact Lucyon 01977-522661,[email protected].

Bitch LitCrocus Books are looking for submissions

FWWCP membersCommonword/Crocus Booksplan to publish an anthology ofshort stories by women fromNorthern England. We arelooking for stories thatfeature women anti-heroes: women whorefuse to be victims,who defy society’sexpectations, who puttheir own needs firstand don’t feel guilty.They can be sinful,amoral or just plainevil.

There are many fine examplesof women anti-heroes to be foundin history and literature: Jezebel,Lady Macbeth, Medea, The Wifeof Bath, Imelda Marcos, PhoolanDevi, Cruella De Ville, ScarletO’Hara, Thackeray’s Becky Sharp,Weldon’s She Devil and all thoseother divas and bunny boilers. Wewant you to get in touch with yourinner bitch, create your own badgirl persona and indulge in some

vicarious wickedness.Stories can be in any genre

but should be contemporary invoice and provide an originaland refreshing antidote to

Victim/Chick Lit.Editors include

Mary Sharratt andMaya Chowdhry.Mary Sharratt has hadtwo novels published:Summit Avenue(Coffee House Press)and The Real Minerva(Houghton Mifflin),plus many short

stories included in literaryjournals. Maya Chowdhry is anaward winning writer who hasbeen produced and publishedwidely. Her most recent workwas a two minute film for theBBC, and she was a contributorto the Lammy Finalist - TellingMoments.

We plan to publish the bookin Summer 2006.

All contributors will receive

complimentary copies of thebook and a small fee.Submission Guidelines* You can submit up to 3stories (each between 1,000and 5,000 words in length).* All stories must be your ownoriginal work and previouslyunpublished.* Do not send originals, makesure you keep copies of allwork submitted.* Stories should be typed onA4 paper, double-spaced onone side only.* Please send an S.A.E if youwould like your work returned.* You must live or work inNorthern England to submitwork for this collection.* The closing date forsubmissions is 30th April 2005.Send your stories to: BitchLit, Commonword, 6 MountStreet, Manchester M2 5NF.For more details phone CathyBolton on: 0161 832 3777 [email protected]

New Writers WantedYorkshire Arts Circus have set up a scheme to supportYorkshire based writers in all aspects of their work.

As many writers who’ve spentyears toiling over a hot keyboardwill testify, sometimes it feels likebeginners have it easy. Mostcolleges these days run creativewriting classes, and there’s noshortage of groups and writers’circles to support comparativenewcomers to the craft ofwords.

But what happens to the restof us? An Arvon course mightbe an inspiring experience, butby its nature it doesn’t comealong very often, and only lastsa week. The rest of the time,we’re thrown back on our owndevices and what support we candrum up among friends,workmates and family, most ofwhom haven’t the faintest ideawhat we’re doing or why wespend so much time doing it.

Over 25 years, Yorkshire ArtCircus has encouraged plenty ofpeople to start writing, and haspublished a good few books. Butit’s always been aware that thereare skilled practitioners out therewho just don’t get theopportunity to develop theirskills to the highest level, or thesupport in learning how topromote their work. A new YACinitiative, funded by Arts CouncilEngland, aims to change all that.

YAC Director Phil Simmonshas been involved in formulatingthe project from the beginningstages. “The WDP is the kind ofthing I wish had been aroundwhen I first started thinkingabout writing for a living. In fact,if I weren’t involved in managingit, I’d probably apply!

“Of all the artistic callings,writing is almost certainly the onefor which there’s the least

preparation available. You’reexpected to just get on with it,sacrifice years of your life for noguaranteed return, persuadejaded agents to work for you,negotiate your way throughevery passing fad of the

publishing trade, and even if youachieve what passes fleetingly for‘success’ in this business - usuallymeaning publication - you haveto keep on running very fast tomaintain even your initialmomentum.

“The WDP aims to put inplace a form of intensiveapprenticeship to help writersthrough some of those initialbarriers, combined with creationof an artistic community toprovide longer-term peersupport. We’re intending tosupport 30 writers a year initially,based in the Yorkshire region.

“As well as traditional printpublication, we will be workingwith participants to exploreother means of getting theirwork out into the world. We’relinking up with other interestedorganisations to promote this. Asfar as I know, this is the onlyproject of its kind in the UK, butI’d love to be proved wrong. Ifthere’s anyone elsewhere doingsomething similar, let’s shareideas!”

The Writer Development

Programme started in June 2004and currently supports 22 newwriters in a wide variety of genresand styles, encompassing prosefiction, poetry and scriptwriting.Participants work one-to-onewith YAC staff to define their

aspirations clearly, and worktowards them using their ownpersonal development plan.This allows each writer towork through a programmeunique to them, and helpsYAC to tailor activities to theneeds of its participants. Theschedule of workshops isbased on the areas that writers

identify for improvement. Theyare also expected to submit newwork monthly for structuredcritical discussion in seminargroups; experiencedpractitioners also present regularworkshops on aspects of writingand publishing. Professionalwriters involved so far includeDave Sheasby and SophieHannah.

A mentoring scheme will bebeginning shortly, that matchesparticipating writers withestablished authors for intensivepersonal support over a periodof six to eight months. Therewill also be a programme ofmaster-classes open toexperienced individual writersfrom outside the programme, atvarious locations aroundYorkshire.

Programme CoordinatorLucy Macnab says: “Thisprogramme is all about creatinga structure in which individualwriters can look at what they arehoping to achieve with theirwriting. We hope that we canequip them with the skills and


33

R E V I E W SR E V I E W SFederation Magazine 29

32

Lost Found TimeLost Found Time, Stockport Arts and Health,Stockport NHS Trust, St Thomas' Hospital, ShawHeath, Stockport, SK3 8BL, ISBN 0-9539367-2-4

Me, iceOnly kids, hadn't got muchholes in our jumpers.Tripe works next to the market(black tripe, white tripe).Sneaked in when they were breaking the iceup.Nicked it, big lumps of ice - just suck up aslollipopswhen it was hot.No colouring or flavouringwrap the end in cardboard or what ever youcould find.Just as good as the ones you can buynowit's too rich and creamy -too cold for me nowcan't eat it - gives me ear achehave to wait it till goessold melted'til it's like milk.Andjust suck.

Ann Newton

This ambitious book and CD is a marvellous and

rich compendium of glimpses into otherpeople's lives, memories of holidays andloves, the wars and childhoods of the lastcentury, complemented by art work inpencil and embroidery, felt and collage.

It's a fresh and colourful collectionwhich is a pleasure to dip into and readagain and again, a labour of love, andclearly real physical effort, somethingwhich frames the economy and intensityof the poems. Sometimes when workingwith a group of people it is tempting tomake compromises, to take materialwhich could really benefit from morework; here the writing is not only goodand sharp, but boldly experimental,making a beautiful publication in whicheach page is a surprise, affective ordelightful, and a valuable resource forstimulating writing, or art work, in others.

Nick PollardHeeley Writers

Het Lopend Vuurtje, PSC StAlexius Elsene, VU: TomD'Hertefelt, GewidjeBoomstraat 102, 1050 Brussel,32pp 0.50 euros.

Het Lopend Vuurtje is aquarterly magazine based in amental health unit in Brussels,containing poems, illustrations,reviews and articles in Flemish,French and some dialect. Thereis a lot of variety, although someof the material is clearlyintended for a day centre basedreadership with workshoptimetables, announcements, andinterestingly, accounts ofeducation sessions aboutschizophrenia and Rorty'sphilosophy. Wim Decorte givesan account of collecting leavesfor primar y school sciencelessons, Robrecht Druwe writesabout Australia. There is a gooddeal of enjoyable verse and weliked these especially:

Marc Van Leeuw writes aboutnature anticipating snow(Sneeuw), the beauty of whichis immediately transformed bypeople with skis, boots andsledges:

Maar daar stormt demens naar buitenmet skis en slees, enbokshandschoenen,laarzen, borstels,scheppen, strooizout,gejoel, getier, gevloek,gejammer.

Jean-Marie writes a wistfullament for his father who is sofar away, and yet so close in his

memory through the seasons,looking for some momentwhen:

Comme un mytheje me rappelle de toi sitendreaussi beau de coeurqu'un matin deprintempsou les oiseaux chantaientet ou un pere etait la...

Petra Klompenhouwer Nick Pollard

Het Lopend Vuurtje Painted SoulsPainted Souls, A collection ofpoems by MACA (Music andCreative Activities) andIllustrations of Hope byExpressive Art, 20pp, contactThe Willows, LincolnshirePartnership Trust, Grantham.

This pleasing and lavishlyproduced volume of poetryfeatures glorious colourillustrations and illuminated textfor a collection of anonymousverse from a community basedmental health project. The artwork, which is mostly based onthe accompanying poetry, oftenalso incorporates pieces of thetext, and in a lively performanceby the group held in Sleafordthis made an excellentsupporting exhibition: some ofthe original pieces are threedimensional. A lot of the verseis uplifting, with a vein ofhumour:

"Oh Heck", "Fight the BlackHole with Sunshine". Thesimple effectiveness of this oneparticularly struck me:

You...

You don'tyou don't haveYou don’t have toYou don't have to beYou don't have to begoodYou don't have to begood enoughI don't have to be goodI don't have toI don'tI don't have to beI don't

Nick Pollard


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34

Books from railway workersin Nord-Pas-De-Calais

Paths of Iron: publications from Le Comited'Etablissement des Cheminots de la RegionSNCF Nord-Pas-De-Calais

Conflictualite, conflits, et tissu cheminot enNord-Pas de Calais, Olivier Kourchid, Ifresi,128pp, ISBN 2-911975-29-4, 2003

This is a sociological study of industrial actionin North West France, taken from around 50witness accounts, covering a twenty year period.The accounts explore the development and thecourse of key periods of industrial action, andoffers some interpretations of the consequences.The text is - as one might expect in a study oftrade union history - fairly dense and requiresfrequent exploration of the dictionary ofacronyms given towards the rear, but there is alsoan extensive reading list for those wanting to knowmore about the lives of those working on theFrench railway system.

The memoirs here are often frank and revealing,telling for example of the changes in the workforcewhich have occurred with the developments inrailway technology and efficiency, the nature ofthe solidarity between various unions involved,

or the challenges presented by world events sincethe 1950s to workers who adhered to thecommunist party.

A series of photographs show images of strikeaction, and people at work. I was amused to seethe sticker on the console of the switch operatorfor the Lille goods yard, saying "I am a Toys RUs kid", where indeed from his vantage pointthe track below looks like a big train set.

Memoire Cheminote en Nord-Pas-de-Calais,cheminots et chemins de fer du Nord (1938-1948), Le Comite d'Etablissement desCheminots de la Region SNCF Nord-Pas-De-Calais, Editions Tiresias, Paris, 168pp ISBN 2-908527-68-5, 1999

This is a collection of papers and transcriptionsfrom workshop discussions from a conference atthe Centre des Archives du Monde du Travail atRoubaix in November 1995. The materialpresented here covers the period fromnationalisation, immediately before the secondworld war through to the reconstruction phasesimmediately after it in one of the largest and moreconcentrated railways systems in Europe. Thereare discussions of the heroic part railway workersplayed in the resistance movement, engaged insabotaging the very system on which they worked,and of railway operations under the Germanoccupation and under bombardment; it is thestory of a railway in the service of its nation, andindeed the cover features a Paul Colin poster withthe legend "a public service for the service of thepublic". There is plenty of factual detail, whichincludes an overview of the historical developmentof the railway system in the north of France,discussions of the part union organisation had toplay in organising anti-fascist action before thewar, during the resistance and in thereconstruction. The sheer scale of the works,rolling stock, and material being moved just priorto the war on this system through one of Europe'smore densely industrialised areas is stupendous,but against this there are many testimonies ofhuman interest.

The book contains examples documentationfrom the war including notices issued under theNazi regime detailing the deportation or shootingof hostages in response to acts of sabotage. Thereare pictures from La Voix du Nord and variousarchives showing the massive extent of the

Italian immigrant families, suffered terrible facialand other diseases. Some authorities even had thegall to say that syphilis was a contributing factor!In the end the families received some smallcompensation, but US Radium did not have toadmit guilt. Sadly this book has a series of similarstories that make you wonder why the revolutiondidn’t happen in the USA!

However there are many insights into thecreative depth of working class culture, such asthe paintings of Ralph Fasanella, lots of poetryand writings, and some interesting reflections onhow her students in Rochester NY react to thiswork.

As you would expect it has a huge index andreference section. Try to get hold of thisimportant book; it is well worth the effort.

Tim DigglesFWWCP Co-ordinator

The past & now

The Past & Now – Young Voices of BrokenHearts. Published by Hertfordshire CountyCouncil, 01992 556971

This booklet is the culmination of a project withHertfordshire Social Services in 2003, involvingyoungsters in care and care leavers. It is a verymoving collection of poetry in which the writersgive expression to feelings about their past andpresent circumstances, and their hopes andanxieties for the future.

In 13 year-old Donna’s two poems, “Go” is areal outburst of anger at the way she has beentreated, and the real hurt she feels comes rightthrough, while in contrast “Happy” is a joyfulflood of mutual affection.

14 year-old Josh gives vent to feeling ofloneliness in “To Mr & Mrs No-one” and ofisolation in “I can’t hear anything.” The rawemotion of these two poems hits the reader sohard it is impossible to avoid the writer’s feelings.

21 year-old Nadine writes in a moresophisticated style, but even so her “Lost” acheswith pain and bewilderment, but also, tentativelyreveals a sense of hope for the future.

The overall impression, is the need felt foraffection and permanence in order to escape fromrejection and insecurity. The heartache isapparent, but frequently this is tinged withanticipation, and in some cases even a positiveexcitement, that the future can bring somethingbetter.

John MalcomsonHeeley Writers

Hands

Hands – Physical Labor, Class, and CulturalWork by Janet Zandy, 225 pages, $21.95,published by Rutgers University Press, NewJersey, isbn 0 8135 3435 6.rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/

This is a fascinating collection of essays by along time FWWCP supporter Janet Zandy. Thisbook is at the heart of Working Class Studies,and although an academically aimed book, it isaccessible because of the strength of feelingbehind the writing, and I am pleased to say thereis even an essay featuring the FWWCP!

The use of the title Hands is central to thetheme. Hands can often be a sign of your class;hands are a central part of creative and workinglives; hands are people who are workers, and asseen too often in this book, are totally disposablewhen profit is foremost.

There are many harrowing tales of theexploitation of workers over the past century,including her own father’s story, who worked fora chemical company after he left the army, therewas little protection from the all envelopingchemicals, and the factory site, now derelict willbe a place of contamination for many years.

Another essay which stuck in my mind, andreminded me of the appalling lives of potterypainters in my local area, was that of the dialpainters. This was seen as a ‘good job’, in the1920’s and 30’s young women painted watch dialswith luminous paint, and to make an accurate jobthey ‘lip-pointed’ their brushes. What they wereusing and ‘consuming’ was radium. The youngwomen, who were mainly from first generation


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36

Mapping Memories, Reminiscence with EthnicMinority Elders, edited by Pam Schweitzer,Age Exchange, 204pp plus CD ROM, £15,www.age-exchange.org.uk

This is a valuable multi media resource whichaims at developing life story work around thediversity of cultural experience now available inUK society. An introduction gives a basic overviewof the approaches and techniques used, but thisis supplemented by the material on the CD ROM,which allows you to view examples of how creativeactivities evoke memories and enable people towork with them. A short series of geopoliticalbackground pieces give a context for thememories which follow in the subsequentsections. These explore themes of childhood andfamily, schooldays and growing up, courtship andmarriage, leaving home, settling in Britain, andgrowing old in Britain, so that dif ferentexperiences at the same stage of life can becompared. Each section concludes with suggestedactivities for older or young people using thebook, and there are useful resource lists at theback of the book.

The personal life stories, from China, the Indiansubcontinent, Africa and the Caribbean, are lively,with plenty of interesting detail, telling and usefulinside data about the ways in which people havemade their homes and adapted their way of livinginto or alongside British cultures. A liberal use ofphotographs, personal mementoes and moremodern images illustrates the text. This carefullythought out and designed pack will be well usedin schools or centres for older people, and inpromoting intergenerational work.

Nick Pollard

Having said this, David Marshall's 'Retrospect',a poem originally published in 1939, fromexperience of the Spanish Civil War remainsimmediate, and Houmi Framroze's 'Mother, AnIncident at Rafah, Gaza' focuses on fundamentalnature in the human response of a Palestinianwoman to a dying Israeli soldier (see page 17).

The poem which struck me most of all fromthis - aside from its reference to Burning Spear -is Rolf Dragstra's 'Senso commune - in aid ofcommon sense', an extended piece in five partsreflecting on the pace of human technological andsocial development:

We should protectThe past from the futureAnd we should protectThe future from the pastThus creating space, in between,Presence, for things to grow,And things to do.

and perhaps, as a humorous illustration of this,Richard Bell's story of 'My First American'describes the inevitable result of attempting torecord children singing indigenous folk songsbefore they are erased by transatlantic culture:

'PUT ANOTHER NICKEL ININ THE NICKELODEON...'

...but then feijoada completa is transatlanticculture too.

Nick Pollard

Mapping Memories

Loves Banquet, London Voices Broadsheet no42, 140pp, ISBN 0-9532292-9-7, £5.50 +£1.50 p&p

A rich collection from a group with a goodvintage. 'Feijoada completa - the national dish ofBrazil', by Diana Dunwoodie, is an earlyindication of the feast of material this anthologycontains. Thus we have Sally Flood's ode to the'Bendy Bus', more from Diana Dunwoodie on'Cheap Hotels' and losing bicycles, Gill Oxford's'The Snowman', and even the late Peter Masken'sconfession as to his lack of attendance at theSekforde Arms, where the group meets.

David Kessel revisits the seemingly eternalbattle against fascism amongst the other sightsof the East End in 'Life Against Death', Bert Wardgives a life to the dead American seaman he foundduring the D Day landings, and John Oxforddescribes the surreal experience of applying foran American visa, Alison Clayburn comparesgovernmental economy with truth to the problemof wrapping up cheese in 'When To Cover Up'.London Voices writers offer a lot of originalperceptions of current and significant events, buton the whole, the good number of these piecesconcerning the Iraq war seem to me to need alittle more distillation to give them more bite intheir attack on the usual suspects. It's difficult togive a gut response, which these poets need todo, and at the same time to strike home. Perhapsthere are times when speaking out and beingcounted is more important.

Loves Bouquetdestruction caused by bombing and othersdocumenting some of aspects of railway life beforeand after the war. In one of these, dated 1945,amongst a group of railway workers, some ofwhom hold musical instruments, is a man in hisstage magician's costume, about to take a year'ssabbatical in the circus.

Expression de Femmes, Le Comited'Etablissement des Cheminots de la RegionSNCF Nord-Pas-De-Calais, comprising: Songsby Les Belles Lurettes; Chemin Faisant,photographs by Laurence Verrier; Battementsd'elles, short stories and poems by ColetteNys-Mazure, 2000.

This is a very pleasing boxed set of publications- the accordion backed train fantasies of Les BellesLurettes accompany your perusal of Verrier'stwenty portraits of women railway workers, trainguards, ticket collectors, electricians, securityguards and train drivers. The cover photo,showing a woman driving in the battered cab ofa diesel electric engine gives a counterpoint tothe two uniformed stewards in the modern steeland glass Lille Europe edifice, looking as if theyare almost part of the construction. Nys-Mazure'sstories begin, appropriately for the region, withLa Bete Humaine. As in Zola's novel the railwayis ever present, but unlike most railway stories,these are short vignettes snatched between thedictats of the timetable which reflect the concernsof women railway workers caught up in therhythm of 'the train of life'.

Sauf Dimanches et jours de fete, VictoirePerdrot, Editions Sansonnet, 92pp, ISBN 2-914505-05-01

With the SNCF, anything is possible!Journeying on a train to nowhere between theboozy back streets of Cardiff, Lille Europe, and awelsh mountain, and through a collection ofcharacters such as the blues singing Gareth Gwyn,this impressionistic story centres on aconfrontation with a guard for a lost ticket.Perdrot explores the value of a hard working lifewhich leaves little promise for a future, andcontemplates a time when people might have therights to a decent retirement having given theirbest years to toil.

Nick Pollard


38

R E V I E W S

39


New Fed Website!After too long the Fed roars back with a new Websitewww.thefwwcp.org.uk. The new CommunicationsOfficer, George Richards writes about the site

To coincide with the publication of thismagazine, we are re-launching our newlydesigned and expanded Website atwww.thefwwcp.org.uk.

The aim of this new venture is to give ourwidely dispersed members a simple way to keepin touch with each other and find out what theFed and its various member groups are doing.

The site contains the latest news from the Fedtogether with reviews of its most recentpublications. We have provided a downloadablecopy of this magazine and will expand this partto include all back issues of the FederationMagazine. You can also find information aboutthis year’s Festival.

There is contact information for each groupand, if they have one, a link to their own Website.Eventually, each member group could have itsown page so start thinking about how you wouldlike your group represented on the web.

An interactive map will help people find awriters’ group in their area and there isinformation for organisations about membershipand how to join. We hope many new groupswill be tempted to join the Fed in this way.

New writing will feature on the site andsubmissions of work by members are welcomed.Please bear in mind that reading from the screen

is tiring, so pieces should be very short andconcise.

And, of course, there are plenty of links toother useful information.

As part of a long-term project to archivematerial from the Fed’s past, the Website willalso contain a virtual collection of all publishedwork by the membership. So check yourbookshelves for anything that would contributeto the history of the Fed.

Our intention is to make this Websiteaccessible to all. If, when visiting the site, youfind anything that causes difficulties or is unclearor confusing, please let us know. You can emailany comments or suggestions [email protected].

Let’s make the Fed on the Web a virtual yearround festival.

The site has been designed, built and will bemanaged by me our new CommunicationsOfficer. The content will be updated with newsand information on a monthly basis.

At the 2005 Festival of Writing, George will berunning a workshop about how your group can be

involved in the site.

Voices Talk, Hands Write

Voices Talk Hands Write, Anthology 2003-4 ISBN 0 906411 06 8, £3, Published andavailable from The Federation of WorkerWriters and Community Publishers, BurslemSchool of Art, Queen Street, Stoke-on-TrentST6 3EJ

Handsome is as Handsome does. And booksdon't come a great deal more handsome than thisone.

The Anthology “charts a project run by TheFederation of Worker Writers and CommunityPublishers at the Queen Street Resource Centrein Grimsby, aimed at giving service users a voice,and shows the remarkable development in theirwriting, from initially a few lines about things theylike, to their stories, life histories and an insightinto the daily lives and needs of people who oftenhave little or no opportunity to be heard.”

And what a voice it turned out to be. Rumi,the great Sufi poet, makes constant reference toThe Beloved. The voice of The Beloved can beheard all the way through this beautiful book.

In the gentle words of Brian, who tells us “Ilike going to the pub on my own to have a drinkof Coke”, and Jayne, who gives us a different takeon the idea of work. “I go to college two days aweek to do gardening and we dig up carrots, wedo lots of work and we work hard, very hard andit's like a proper job.”

In Trevor P's moving account of workplaceinjustice - “The boss in the factory warned meabout stealing going on - I thought, what am Iworking here for then?”

“I explained I've got Learning Difficulties andhe said, ‘Well, you won't want to work herethen.’”

In Mandy's treatise on Dress-Sense andColour-Schemes. “I've got a purple bedroomand purple quilt, a purple lamp-shade, but I'mglad to say I haven't got purple pyjamas, I've gota nice pink blue white red yellow green nightie.”

And what of Kim, on the subject of hobbies? “My hobby is going into town and I like

having a leisurely coffee, because I find it relaxingjust sitting there and having nothing to do.”

I can imagine The Beloved saying those verywords. These too - the utterances of Erica andSally on the subject of Child Care.

“To look after children you need to ... Make sure they are safe. Go to college to learn about children. Practise your reading and writing. Use Jigsaw Puzzles.”

I could go on and on about this book. I couldtell you the format is A4, simply and extremelytastefully produced; that it is divided into headedsections; that it contains an introduction by TimDiggles, the FWWCP Co-Ordinator, who put thebook together; that it contains a poem by PatSmart of Pecket Well College, the Project Leader;that there are pictures of all the contributingwriters and a list of the Writing Hands and theother volunteers; but to what avail? It would berather like offering shadows as proof that the sunis shining. Beauty must be experienced. Thisbook is quite exquisitely beautiful. Read it.Experience the beauty.

My thanks to everyone connected with theproject. To Maria Garner, former Chair of theFWWCP, who inspired it. To Pat Smart, wholed it in her own inimitable manner. To TimDiggles, who created such a beautiful book fromit. To the Writing Hands and other volunteers.And last and most importantly, the wonderfulwonderful poets of Voices Talk Hands Write.

Thank you.Roy Birch

Stevenage Survivors.

FederationMagazine &BroadsheetNEXT ISSUENEXT ISSUENEXT ISSUENEXT ISSUENEXT ISSUEThe deadline for submission of articles orreviews for consideration for FederationMagazine issue No.30 and Broadsheet 16,is April 15th 2005, for publication anddistribution in June 2005.Post to:FWWCP,Burslem School of Art, Queen Street,Stoke-on-Trent ST6 3EJE-mail: [email protected] Magazine is published by TheFederation of Worker Writers andCommunity Publishers.The contents and opinions in this Magazineand Broadsheet do not necessarily reflect theviews or policies of the FWWCP or itsfunders.All writing and visual imagery submittedfor consideration and publishing, is onthe understanding that it may bepublished on the FWWCP Website, andmay be republished by the FWWCP fornon-profit making purposes in futurepublications. It may be edited, at ourdiscretion.Do not send ‘only copies’ as we will notbe able to return them. We appreciatework on disk or attached to an e-mail, asit saves considerable funds and timeretyping.We are also always looking for originalillustrations, photographs, artwork, andpictures.FWWCP Members can have FREEquarter page adverts. For non-membersthe charge is £35 per quarter page.© Copyright remains with the authorsexcept for non-profit republication by theFWWCP.

Friends,The Labor Heritage Foundation (Washington DC) haspublished its annual Catalog of Labor Music, Art, Booksand Video with our new and best-selling items. Somesamples include:

Music: The Almanac Singers,Billy Bragg, Brooklyn Women’sChorus, Songs of Joe Hill, LilaDowns, Drop the Debt,Dropkick Murphys, AnneFeeney, Joe Glazer, WoodyGuthrie, Ella Jenkins, CharlieKing & Karen Brandow, HaroldPalmer, Utah Phillips & AniDiFranco, Paul Robeson, Pete

Seeger, Si Se Puede, Sweet Honey in the Rock, JoeUehlein, BaldemarVelasquez and manyothers.Videos and DVDS: Atthe River I Stand, Breadand Roses, Chicken Run,Christ in Concrete, TheInheritance, Matewan, TheMolly Maguires, NormaRae, Salt of the Earth,10,000 Black Men NamedGeorge and more.

Books: Activist Cookbook,Good Chants for a Lively PicketLine, Our Community ofWorkers Coloring Book, Hit theRoad Bush Parody Songbook,Huck and Konopacki Cartoons,Inventory of American LaborLandmarks, Si Se Puede, theIWW Songbook, Joe Hill, etc.

Plus: Note Cards and Buttons aswell asPosters

by Ralph Fasanella, RicardoLevins Morales, and MarthaTabor.Order atwww.laborheritage.org/catalog.html.And that is only a smallsampling.Solidarity!Peter Jones

Letter from The LaborHeritage Foundation

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