18 July 2020

Posted by Charlotte Waugh

End of year showcase!

Group one-19 in attendance

Group two- 11 in attendance

This week’s session was sadly a chance to say goodbye for the summer and celebrate the amazing pieces of work written over the year! Before the invited family members and friends joined us, we of course had to include some writing in the sessions and so a small activity was initially set.

Inspired by the Lighthouse Poole short story competition, we looked at bedtime stories, reminiscing on our childhood favourites. We discussed many examples, from ‘A Tiger who came to tea’ to ‘ The Jungle Book’, understanding what makes them so popular. The Young Writers were then tasked with the challenge to write their own, specifically focusing on setting.

Full details of the competition can be found through the link below, although a warning the closing date is very soon!

https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/creative-engagement/bedtime-story-writing-competition/

Although a little different than we had originally planned, we held a virtual ‘End of year showcase’ inviting parents and friends to join our zoom call. The Young Writers then had the opportunity to perform their favourite written pieces from across all sessions, in front of our virtual audience! It was lovely to be reminded of the variety of topics we have covered and of course offered a great opportunity to really celebrate the talents and achievements across both groups.

The pieces shared with our audience and many more from across the sessions will be collated to create our very own ‘Mayflower Young Writers anthology’ that can be purchased very soon. More details will follow but keep an eye on our social media for updates!

Any additional, last minute entries can be emailed to youngwriters@artfulscribe.co.uk

Alina kindly shared her poem based on her experiences of Mayflower Young Writers. It really encapsulates every aspect of our sessions, from the very early start to the varied activities over the weeks.

Mayflower Young Writers

On a Saturday morning at 9 O’clock,

My mum woke me up but I was filled with shock.

“Quick!” she said, for I was still in bed.

“You have a new lesson on zoom”.

“Hurry up, it is not all doom and gloom.”

So as I sat myself down in front of the computer screen,

What greeted my eyes was such a scene.

A sea of unknown nervously grinning faces,

Oh no, I thought I might have to take a few paces.

Then Susmita started talking,

She seemed happy for she was smiling.

“The theme for this week is a film synopsis!”

Film synopsis? I heard myself hiss,

What is that I wondered oh how I’d like to know!

She told us what it was – a snippet describing a film.

We had a go at writing some,

And we told them when we were done.

We had to put our hands up if we wanted to share,

I really liked the others especially the one about a bear!

Lots of people shared,

But I did not want to as I was still a bit scared.

But nearing the end of the session,

I couldn’t wait for the next lesson.

So the next Saturday,

I came back ready.

I carried on attending every week

And the next lesson I plucked up enough courage to speak.

The themes were always different

So there is no point in having a rant.

One lesson we did a poem based on a familiar object,

And all the things that describe it.

I did mine about a clock,

And it was called tick tock tick tock!

One time we had to write a letter to put in a bottle,

As if we were stranded on an island

With nothing but just grains of sand.

We watched a trailer of a film to give us some sort of idea.

The film was called Life of Pi and the chance of survival was a little unclear.

I read the book.

And WOW what a turn it took!

We had a task to do for next lesson,

To write a film review during the session.

I wrote mine on life of Pi,

I got to share – I was not shy!

We carried on writing each Saturday morning,

And I liked it more and more, it never became boring!

I learnt lots of things that I never knew before,

So to my surprise the following week was all about a door!

I wrote about doors and the places they take you into,

And lots of doors did we visit too!

The grand doors of the entrance hall,

The quirky little home down a Hobbit hole,

The magical telephone box of Dr Who,

Even the place were monsters live too.

But the best of all...

That hidden door on the wall,

Behind the wisteria and the creepers all overgrown,

Where little Mary and Dickon made it all their own!

Alas the penultimate Young writers group came.

Would it be about another film? Or a secret place? No, no, nothing so tame!

Food, Food, glorious food that’s what it was all about.

Write about school dinners! I watched in doubt.

Then I remembered the best school dinners, the Christmas ones of course.

We talked about so many things, so much to discover,

I won’t forget, no I will never!

Especially the lesson all about the story of Habib the refugee,

Trying to live and make a life in this country.

But I fear my poem is getting long,

So before I say so long,

I must say thank you to all of you.

Faith and Haley,

For their reminders, weekly.

Charlotte,

For writing on the blog, a lot.

I loved all the stories and rhymes from everyone.

They were all my favourite, I could not choose one.

The ideas, patience, kindness and thoughtfulness of Susmita,

I am grateful to all and I cannot wait to see you in September!

By Alina Leoni

As mentioned beautifully by Alina, our sessions could not be run without the amazing team and so I would like to give a massive thank you to Susmita, Faith and Hayley for all the hard work and support they have given our Young Writers over the previous weeks!

Although the specific details are still uncertain, we cannot wait to welcome back some familiar faces in September! The sessions have been an amazing escape especially during these circumstances, and the amazing poems and stories have brightened up many gloomy Saturday mornings.

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End of year showcase!