27 November 2021
Posted by Beth McKeeman
Junior Writers - 7
Young Writers - 10
Scone rhyming with cone or scone rhyming with gone? Jam first or cream? Or, which seemed to be blasphemy to both sides of the argument, sandwiching the two together so you can turn it to your hearts content? The timeless battle raged as the Young Writers diverged from what is and is nit ‘British’. In fairness, though in no way settling tensions, Susmita and I pronounce the offending word differently.
Even though it was incredibly amusing to watch (and admittedly sometimes stir the pot) the passion of the Young Writers opinions does make me think fondly back to an hour earlier, when we were cutting and sticking with the Junior Writers.
Next week we’re presenting our Discover Awards to each other, each choosing a piece that they have written this term to read out. That meant we had to finish our portfolios this week. We gathered together all our work, filled in our paperwork, stuck in pictures and did some decorating.
To finish off we played ‘I went to the shop…’, a memory game. We had some excellent players and had to cut the game short before we had an ultimate winner, they were so good.
Back in the war zone, the spark that set it all off was a discussion in the British stereotypes in the music video for Vindaloo - a parody of The Three Lions. The song is a bit random, full of kitchen sink ideas. It also makes out that vindaloo is inherently British, but it’s curry, and is that Indian? But no - it’s not. Vindaloo actually comes from Portugal, transported when the Portuguese colonised India. British vindaloo doesn’t even taste like Indian vindaloo, all of which just goes to show the complete melting pot of cultures that Britain is.
That mixture of influence on British cuisine can be seen in the Young Writers descriptions of their favourite food, using the five senses to make our mouths water. From an Asda style Christmas dinner and sausage and mash, through to the americanised chicken nuggets (or nut guts as a familial nickname), homemade pizza and pesto pasta, Cameroon cooking and Pret’s Swedish meatball wraps - we’ve got a global palette. Of course, there was also the obligatory scone.
All this was to get our minds thinking about the Orwell Youth Prize. The deadline is a while off yet, but if you have something you can in someway relate to the climate crisis, have a look at the competition.
Archive
Storytelling and Escalation or Rising Action
Junior Writers Club Acrostic Poem
Notes on Intention for MAST Collective - Year 3 - Facilitation Focus
Earthquakes & Dominoes - MAST Collective Blog #4
SUPER MARIO AND POP CULTURE POEMS
Receptionists & Inky Voids - MAST Collective Blog #3
Saying No and saying YES on National Poetry Day!
There's a Dragon in the Wardrobe...
House Warming Party (The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known) - MAST Collective Blog #2
Intern Blog 5 - The Publishing Process
POEMS TO SOLVE THE CLIMATE CRISIS
On The Streets With Theresa Lola
Intern Blog 4 - The Internship Journey
NEW DIRECTIONS, STARTING SMALL - THE ORWELL YOUTH PRIZE
LIGHTHOUSES, HOPE AND METAPHORS
on workshop and transformations: frogs, lions, and the duck that becomes a larder...
Poetry Ambassadors - Interview with April Egan
Intern Blog 1 - Finding a Voice
World Poetry Day: Fluffypunk and the Invisible Women
On Being a Writer: A Conversation by Beth Phillips & Sam Morton
Poetry Ambassadors - Interview with Kaycee Hill
UNHEARD VOICES: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, AND STORIES OF CONFLICT
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