Headingley LitFest: Florence and Jem

Saturday, 19 March 2016

Florence and Jem - The Wooden Dragon

James Nash writes:

Jem and Ric Neild

I didn’t tell my dog I was going to the launch of the latest Florence and Jem book at the impossibly cute Meanwood Institute. Jem had come to his birthday party in December and he really likes Florence. Instead I sat among the audience on my own while the latest story was read on stage by Rick Neild to many children and all of us slightly, misty-eyed adults. A lovely tale about the wooden dragon in Meanwood Park, it kept us enthralled while Jem pushed up and down the rows of chairs amongst his many fans, keeping a watchful eye on the table laden down with delicious home-made cakes.

For me the book has everything a truly brilliant children’s book should have, a good story, characters I like and a strong sense of place; [it’s always a thrill to find mentions of parts of the city you live in]. And last but not least, with its lovely illustrations by Clare Morgan and its terrific story-telling, it’s as clearly entertaining for an adult to read out aloud as it is for its young audience to hear.

I loved the whole event.

Audience Comments

Great setting and really enjoyed the reading. Reader was very good.

Really well organised, friendly atmosphere. Great cake!

Julian Oxley

Glad there is a sequel to Whale in the Woods. Lovely reading

Fantastic book. Great atmosphere. Looking forward to the next!

Very well attended event. Kids loved it - good reader

Excellent

Organised and well run

Excellent presentation and lovely book

Clare Morgan

Lovely event. It would be useful to include what time the doors open on the flyer in future. With kids it helps to hone a window of arrival time.

A lovely event!

It's been lovely

Note: one feedback form had no writing on it just a drawing of a dragon!

No comments:

LITERARY HEADINGLEY

Headingley is just the place for it! Don't expect a big circus with marquees, though: we're not at that stage yet. We're all volunteers as well.

Our venues include the HEART Centre on Bennett Road, the New Headingley Club on St Michael's Road, friendly cafés, historic local cinemas, Headingley Library, people's houses and the historic Leeds Library in Commercial Street, city centre.

Headingley's Literary Links

Headingley has strong connections with many writers:

Arthur Ransome was born in Headingley, J R R Tolkien lived at 5 Holly Bank and also at 2 Darnley Road, West Park when he was reader in English Language at the University of Leeds 1920 - 25, Alan Bennett lived over a butcher's shop opposite the Three Horseshoes, now Royale Dry Cleaners.

Lucy Newlyn has published poetry about her early life in Headingley, George Orwell stayed at 21 Estcourt Avenue with his sister Marjorie and her husband Humphrey 'Humpy' Dakin (with whom he visited the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth), T S Eliot used to visit his mother-in-law in Weetwood Lane, William Fryer Harvey was brought up in Spring Bank, Trevor Griffiths lived just off Victoria Road on Winstanley Terrace, Jon Silkin's first office of STAND magazine was his flat at 144 Otley Road, Sir Geoffrey Hill lived in Shire Oak Road, Peter Redgrove lived in Headingley between 1962 and 1965 when he was Gregory Fellow of Poetry at the University of Leeds, and playwright Kay Mellor still lives near The Hollies in Far Headingley.

Wilson Barrett, the charismatic first manager of the Grand Theatre, Leeds (a prolific playwright as well), lived in Beech Grove Terrace, Woodhouse in the 1870s. His house was a meeting place for many writers, artists and visitors to Leeds - such as W. S. Gilbert, George Grossmith and Atkinson Grimshaw.

Headingley LitFest 2020 was the thirteenth. The fourteenth will take place from March 2021 and will be adapted to the rules of the Covid pandemic. We are now a proud part of the annual Leeds Lit Fest.