The Whale in the Woods

Kate Baldwin writes:

Back: Clare, Dave/  Front: Jem, Julian, Florence

The atmosphere in the Meanwood Institute for the Julian Oxley event was just lovely. With the hall decorated in bunting and an abundance of tea and cake, Dave Robertson’s reading of The Whale in the Woods entertained the gaggle of children at the front as well as the grown ups at the back, especially the local dogwalkers that knew Meanwood Park and the Hollies well. We were even honoured to have the real life counterparts of the characters Florence and Jem in the room – Julian’s daughter and family dog – which were adorable and worked the room with Florence sitting on the stage, occasionally waving to her fans.

After cups of tea and slices of delicious cake kindly provided by Julian’s family, he then read a section from his upcoming Florence and Jem book about the Meanseas pirate ship. Florence clearly knew she was the star of the show when she came to sit on her father’s lap in the middle of the reading, while Jem sat patiently wagging his tail.

The Florence and Jem stories were great, passing the hardest test of keeping children occupied for more than two minutes! The Whale in the Woods also had a delightful message at the heart of it: don’t be scared to use your imagination, no matter what others think. The local setting and the characters materialised in front of our eyes also helped to make the book and the event as enjoyable as they were.

Audience comments:

Photos: Richard Wilcocks

I really enjoyed it when they were looking for the whale – J (aged 8)

It is lovely to have a story about the park, thank you a lot.

Taylor really enjoyed the storytelling and receiving the book. Mummy and daddy loved the tea and cake.

Delightful and interesting event. I feel inspired to seek out more LitFet happenings. I especially enjoyed coming to Meanwood Institute – an intimate and friendly experience.

A most enjoyable event – a lovely book (great illustrations). Thank you. PS good cake too!

Enjoyed the reading and book. Good support for local writers. Well done. Good luck Julian.

Excellent reading. Thoroughly enjoyed the story which was made all the better being in the local vicinity.

Very busy event – extremely well attended. Good reading by David.

Fantastic event, fab story, great reader.

Really enjoyed it. Well done Julian!

Kids loved the stories. Great event. Would definitely come to similar.

Lovely event, wonderful atmosphere (and cake!). really enjoyed it.

Excellent event – very enjoyable.

Very enjoyable!

Delightful

Trio Literati - Censored

Audience participation in a Shaw premiere                       Photos: Richard Wilcocks

Serene Leong writes:

Known for their intelligent and witty performances, Trio Literati charmed me tonight with their take on censorship in the UK. They took on a light hearted and entertaining approach towards this sensitive and controversial topic. 

The trio, Maggie Mash, Jane Oakshott and Richard Rastall performed snippets of prose and poetry and were joined by musicians Eleanor Rastall and Jonathan Drummond. Taking the audience on a wild ride, the trio entertained with their versions of censored plays. A few lucky ones in the room were even given a chance to join in the fun, taking up characters in The Shewing Up of Blanco Posnet by George Bernard Shaw, a play which was originally banned by the Lord Chamberlain because of its references to God. 

It was a night of comical banter and intimate sharing, all within the playful perimeters of censorship. I’m glad I joined in the fun! 

Shhh! Shall not elaborate more, because.. CENSORED! 

Jonathan Drummond

Eleanor Rastall

RW writes:
One memorable highlight of the evening was Eleanor Rastall's superb rendering of the Brecht/Weill classic Nannas Lied (Nanna's Song), in the original German: "Meine Herren, mit siebzehn Jahren/ Kam ich auf den Liebesmarkt/ Und ich habe viel erfahren..." Her translation appeared in the programme - "Gentlemen, at seventeen years/ I came onto the Love Market/ And I experienced a lot..." More!

Audience comments:

Brilliant as ever. Entertaining, thought-provoking and innovative. Outstanding communication with and engagement of the audience. Wide range of material skillfully woven into a coherent and engaging presentation.

How wonderful it is to be able to nip on a bus for 10 minutes and then watch such a fantastic show. Well done to organisers and performers.

This superb show combined cabaret, dance and comedy. The script ranged over the history of censorship … but never did the content obscure the performance. Brilliant research matched by wit, song and dance.

Innovative, entertaining show.  Very funny. Love the songs and lighthearted treatment of serious issues which is also thought provoking.

Highly professional compilation, well written, usual high standard of performance. Should be banned!

A joy and delight. Totally original. Amusing and instructive.

Full of energy and life. What we need to make us think with joy and …

Delightfully witty handling of a serious topic which is no less relevant today.

A witty and lighthearted history and exposé of an insidious plague.

Excellent choice of material with contemporary relevance – Eleanor R’s singing included for first time in my experience added a splendid extra dimension.

Original- thought provoking, funny and surprisingly topical. The music complemented the play beautifully.

Entertaining performance.  Very ‘English’, and that’s still okay? Singer had a very appropriate voice, with sympathetic accompaniment.

A thought provoking and enjoyable evening. The musical interludes were particularly enjoyable part of the evening’s event.

Very enjoyable in their inimical style, thought provoking, well presented. Songs and music a welcome surprise. Professional.

Wonderful mix between literature and music with a well balanced note of comedy and knowledge …

A lively funny entertainment with an especially engaging musical performer.

Well performed – very clear and audible at the back.

A nice selection of scenes. Very original and entertaining.

A wonderful selection of songs and prose. Really entertaining.

Very enjoyable, but with a serious undertone.

Excellent mixture of song and spoken word, with lots to think about.

A beautiful show, entertaining, thought-provoking, witty, very well performed.

A highly entertaining evening of humour, satire and music.

What a super evening! I didn’t realise how censors ruled our lives!

A great idea, brilliantly executed. And very funny.

First class in the cabaret tradition. Very well put together and with a top class vocalist.

Brilliant show, very original and though provoking. Wonderful acting and singing.

Brilliantly done and lovely singing and music – most enjoyable.

Good fun (thoughtful) good music.

Very entertaining.

An excellent evening!

Very good!

Thoroughly informative, original and fun.

Great fun.

 A witty and clever script. Perhaps there was a slight imbalance, the first half seeming to have more ‘zing’ than the second which we wanted to go on and on! Eleanor was (is!) a charming addition to the group.

A very slick performance enhanced by so many of the audience living locally and knowing the cast. The interspersing of the drama with music from Eleanor Rastall and Jonathan Drummond worked very well. The fact that some of the Trio Literati team were reading from a script part of the time did not matter. It was a great evening.

The show was entertaining, although the fact that the performers mostly read from the script rather than recite from memory, was distracting – and detracting from the pleasure.

Jo Shapcott and Colin Speakman

Sally Bavage writes:

Most things in Nature come in pairs – and each of our splendid poets took an aspect of the natural world to explore when they read their most insightful poetry to us tonight.

Colin has based most of his poetry on the ecological and geological, taking delight in celebrating the Dales through its landscape, its rivers, its wildlife and its inhabitants.  Does a landscape have a memory of the walkers who have passed by – has Emily Brontë left her mark on the very stones of Haworth?  The ‘rivers of life’ in the Dales flowing to the sea through the ‘Ouse-ing mud a mile wide that divides Mercia from Northumbria’, playing ‘beck music’ as they find their way through the clints, sykes, hags and runnels.  The ecology of words across the ‘four seasons, as in the different moods of the movements of a symphony’ give a flavour of Colin’s view of his beloved land. We have our Shards – in millstone grit. We have our secret places – in the limestone caves with their hidden memories of life trapped in time.  “May setting suns still fleck dark waves with gold” gave us a vision of his reflections on a sunset. 

Jo Shapcott and Colin Speakman               Photo: Richard Wilcocks

Jo, too, reflected on the natural world, with a light, witty yet perceptive view of some of Nature’s best-loved representations.  Bees formed an early theme, from waggle-dancing to colony collapse disorder, stings to wax, ending with “It’s over now, honey”.  A buzz of delight hummed round the audience.  Sorry.

The Slender Loris reaching gracefully for the lunch long since flown, like us reaching for memories.   Spring roses, feminists all, that demonstrated attraction for butterflies, spilling pollen wantonly, exuding a rich and sexy essence, distracting bees, sometimes overblown and blousey. Petal power!

From Of Mutability, her latest collection, we heard of diagnosis, being an ex-roommate with a scorpion, the confusions of life with dementia and finally, passing water.  Not the Colin Speakman kind, something more basic.  Such eclectic topics are handled with such brio in Jo’s easy delivery style that both lulled and challenged.  Something Else indeed in an entertaining and absorbing evening. 

Audience comments:

A lovely event – Colin’s poetry was beautiful and he painted beautiful images with his speech. Jo Shapcott was great, very clear presentation of her poems. A really enjoyable event!

Terrific event.  Enjoyed both Colin Speakman’s poems and Jo Shapcott’s. Jo Shapcott drew me in with her personal yet surreal and witty work. Good that she read new poems as well.

A fantastic evening of poetry by the two poets! Colin Speakman’s poems were a celebration of nature and the dales, and Jo Shapcott’s poetry was sophisticated and witty!

Enjoyed it v. much. Really liked the dual nature of the reading.

Great venue – liked the set up with the tables. Fabulous bunting! Lovely evening with two fantastic poets.  

Enjoyed Colin’s poems as they embrace many things I love in the natural world with a great choice of words. Jo Shapcott – magical. Created a world of infinite possibility.

Colin’s poetry was nice and interesting on the local parts around here. Jo’s was also good particularly on the serious piece of her late auntie’s battle with dementia.

Jo Shapcott is really brilliant; her bee and flower poems are lovely. Really enjoyed her choice.

Really enjoyed Jo’s poetry – just wish we could have heard more of it!  

I liked the flowers on the table, what a kind gesture in this rather grim room. I attend the Wednesday Heart poetry and it was nice to be in a different place hearing word smiths read their work, although sad it wasn’t better attended. The poets were different obviously in style, but both excellent. Thank you.

Nice to hear poetry about our region from Colin – particularly liked the poem about the Wharfe’s journey. Loved Jo’s playful and magical poems. Funny not to react after each poem though, the way we listened in silence seemed a bit odd!  

Colin Speakman – wonderful poetry but a pity he stood behind the lectern where he was almost covered. Jo Shapcott – excellent and clearly read, and humorously introduced.

Very good. Jo’s poetry sparkled with magic and was clean. Colin’s was enjoyable but it would have been better with a microphone.

Enjoyed both. Shame there weren‘t more people. No other points to raise.   

Much enjoyed Ms Shapcott and meeting Colin, known of old. If only everybody could be better heard.  

I rarely come to the Headingley Club and there was no sign indicating how to enter the building.

Jasper Fforde in Headingley Library

Jasper Fforde          Photo: Richard Wilcocks

Kate Baldwin writes:

Jasper Fforde was a wonderfully charismatic speaker and as funny as his novels would suggest. The creator of the Thursday Next series charmed us with tales of how he came to start writing and his methods. A favourite of mine, and apparently his, was what he termed a “narrative dare”, one of which he gave the audience to chew over in their own time: Imagine a world where everyone has three legs.

What I thought particularly brilliant about Fforde’s talk was how easily he held the audience in the palm of his hand. He gave us a laugh a minute – I found myself with a constant smile on my face – while touching on subjects he thought important such as the significance of imaginative play in children. Even then he managed to elicit a laugh with an anecdote about his children setting the parameter for a game by starting with “right, all our parents are dead!”

There were plenty of established fans within the audience already, with some having travelled from afar, but Jasper definitely won a few more at Headingley Library with his books flying off the shelves and a classically British queue forming for him to kindly sign everyone’s copies! Personally, I asked him to provide his favourite pun and I got two for the price of one in return:

 “Marmalade is generally the preserve of breakfast.”

                        and

“Cowards run in our family.”

A lovely man and a fantastic author!

  Read Jasper's blog at http://www.jasperfforde.com/index2.html

Quote: "... books based upon the notion that what we read in books is just a small part of a larger BookWorld that exists behind the page"

Audience comments:

It was fun, funny and informative.  This is the first time I’ve come to an event and I think I lucked out with Jasper Fforde  (SG)

Awesome  (R)

Excellent speaker, amusing and inspiring.  I could have listened to Jasper speaking all evening!  (JB)

A great event.  Thanks for giving me a chance to meet one of my heroes.  (AC)

Really interesting, fun and very genuine  (BY)

It was an amazing experience to hear about the creative process of such a prolific author.  Thank you!  (MS)

Brilliant, lively, offbeat, everything one hoped for  (JO)

Absolutely brilliant – warm and inviting, informative and playful!  Thank you!  (BM)

Fascinating and delightful  (ER)

Wonderful event, thank you.  (JR)

Very good, really enjoyed Jasper’s talk and Q&A  (LO) 

Fantastic event, Jasper was very informative and funny.  I bought 5 books!  (NO)

Very interesting – he’s a great speaker  (JS)

It was great, thank you for organising it.  J  (T)

Excellent talk – entertaining and informative  (CH)

Really enjoyed this  (WS)

Very interesting and engaging speaker.  Would benefit from larger room and have more time (though I’m sure we went over)  (KBH)

Such a privilege to be able to hear his witty and considered talk and answers.  Must confess I did attend a Jasper Fforde event in 2011 at Edinburgh Book Festival and enjoyed that too and read some more books after it so this was event I was already looking forward to.  (SL)

Brilliant!  (PG)

V. interesting and enjoyable.

Absolutely loved it!  Very engaging and amusing.  A really enjoyable evening.

Excellent speaker – relaxed, entertaining and enlightening.

Brilliant!

Fantastic event but that’s simply down to Jasper himself: great work to secure his attendance.  Could happily have had more time, so the member of staff who introduced him could have been more brief IMO.  You said more tickets could have been sold: there are rooms at Heart or other venues.  Though, cheap at the price!!  (RH)

The plight of the refugee - Leave to Remain - film

Kate Baldwin writes:

There are so many clichés I could use to describe Leave to Remain, all as the highest compliment: an emotional rollercoaster, an absolute eye-opener, and more. I found myself laughing, crying and feeling a warmth in my heart during a wonderful depiction of a group of teenage refugees in the UK. 

The moment when Zizidi saw snow for the first time was a heartwarming end to a thought-provoking and gritty film that tackled an issue particularly close to home for the Headingley community. I thought the theme was handled very sensitively but with the honesty required to bring the real stories the film was based on to life before our eyes. 

The coupling of insightful camerawork (particularly during Abdul's attacks of PTSD) and an emotive soundtrack (interestingly composed by ALT-J) caused Leave to Remain to exercise the viewer's mind very cleverly while appealing to the senses. A very successful film in both content and style. 

See the film's trailer here - http://leave2remainthefilm.com/trailer


Audience comments:

Heartbreaking stories but so representative.  Well organised event.  Thank you for organising this brilliant film and bringing the community groups to be a part  (JS)

Targeted this film because I used to work with refugees and asylum seekers in Bradford.  Appreciated the LitFest ‘wrapper’ with reading suggestions, and introduction from local RAS support groups.  Film itself portrayed complexity of this often misunderstood subject.  (HA)

It was thought-provoking (L C-M)

Separated from my family by the state in Britain because they are w rongly accused of keeping me as a slave.  I am fighting to get justice for them and to be reunited with them.  I have been refused any contact with them!  (JH)

 Excellent choice  (GR)

It was good – keep it up.  I enjoyed the movie.  (KP)

Well made film.  Important to screen it.  Thank you. (D)

Excellent film.  Good to be reminded what agony asylum-seekers have to go through.  (SW)

Thought-provoking film challenging misconceptions about asylum seekers (could do with cushions on seats!)  (TJ)

Good venue, enjoyed the film  (HB)

Brill!!  (JK)

Enjoyed it very much!  (VS)

Jane Williams brought the film to our attention and we were happy to support this truly independent British film.  (T)

Quarry Mount turns up gold

Sally Bavage writes:

A group of youngsters from years 5 and 6 at Quarry Mount primary school chose themselves for this year’s poetry workshops with James Nash, ably assisted by Matthew Hedley Stoppard, both established local published poets.  The finished poems were presented to parents, mainly mums who had made a real effort to get there and were sooo delighted, on Tuesday 10 March at a lovely intimate poetry reading in the Family Room.

Ryan asked year 5 teacher Andrew Howdle, who was co-ordinating the work, “Could he do it again?”  

Andrew: “I’m not sure.” 

Ryan: “It’s not a maybe, just tell me when I’m doing it!”  Such was the enthusiasm of the youngsters to get involved, and this showed in the presentation they made of their work, the lovely invitation that was sent out, and the book of all their work that will be made by the school over the coming weeks.

The young people wrote poems on the importance of family, art, sporting heroes and their best friends, taking their inspiration from the LitFest's current theme of Something Else as beyond, better, wonderful.  And they were too! 

Zeena wrote 'Books are Something Else', which is both enchanting and haunting.  Yesani talked of what he had learned from the workshops: “Drafting, trying again and trying again. Poetry makes you ask questions and the questions help you unstick yourself in life.”  I couldn’t express it any better!



James Nash adds:
Two parents came up to me after our Quarry Mount reading to ask whether we knew of any poetry schools or classes their daughters might go on to, to increase and build on their skills. They were so pleased with the project, and another had to be repeatedly assured that her son had actually written his own piece and they had not been written by Matthew and me!

Books are Something Else.

Reading is a magical life in books.

I cannot survive without reading books.

Enchantments are hidden in the bookshelf

When I am not reading the book.

My gleaming eyes open to wonder

When I turn the page of a book.

Illustrations sew through the cover

Into the pages, to the back of the book.

Adventures and detailed artistry,

Magic and mystery spread out of each book.

The dark chamber of words

Unlock emotions in a book.

Emotions, Zeena, flow through the chapters

And switch on imagination in the book.