Back home.
Over the course of the last few weeks, we've been collecting information about people's reading habits whilst organising events and workshops, book giveaways and exhibitions.
One interesting result of our research is how important grandparents are in encouraging reading amongst young children. Many of the older people we spoke to said that they were the only people who read to their grandchildren, or bought them books as gifts. It was also interesting to note that people thought that libraries were one of the best ways to promote reading, even though they didn't necessarily visit libraries themselves!
The most positive result was a resounding 'yes' to the question: Is reading important? When asked to explain why, comments included:
broadens your horizons
teaches you about new things
helps you get on in life
relaxing
enjoyable
inspirational
I hope the Stori Sydyn/Quick Reads continue to be all of these things to whoever picks one up.
Day 19 - Friday, March 23, 2007
The last day of the Reading Communities project in Swansea.
It's been a busy few weeks, but today is the last day. We're at the Quadrant Shopping Centre again today, and I'm looking forward to it as the response we got yesterday was fantastic.
It was a great idea to tie in with Swansea Libraries, as people got a chance to ask questions about local library resources and even sign up for a library card. Lots of people are concerned about the library moving to the watefront, so it was also a chance to reassure people that the move was going to mean lots of new resources and a wonderful view of the sea.
On the Quick Reads stand, we explained to people all about the Quick Reads series and described the individual books. It's great to have a range of books to talk about, and the importance of having a range of different genres showed during the shopping centre exhibition as some people preferred romance, whilst others liked autobiographies or thrillers. It was great to show the range of Welsh language books on offer as well.
It's been a busy few weeks, but today is the last day. We're at the Quadrant Shopping Centre again today, and I'm looking forward to it as the response we got yesterday was fantastic.
It was a great idea to tie in with Swansea Libraries, as people got a chance to ask questions about local library resources and even sign up for a library card. Lots of people are concerned about the library moving to the watefront, so it was also a chance to reassure people that the move was going to mean lots of new resources and a wonderful view of the sea.
On the Quick Reads stand, we explained to people all about the Quick Reads series and described the individual books. It's great to have a range of books to talk about, and the importance of having a range of different genres showed during the shopping centre exhibition as some people preferred romance, whilst others liked autobiographies or thrillers. It was great to show the range of Welsh language books on offer as well.
Day 18 - Thursday, March 22, 2007
We decided it would be a great idea to try and reach a lot of people by taking some exhibition space in a shopping centre. The idea was that people who visited shopping centres weren't necessarily readers or people who visited libraries, and that this way we could promote the Quick Reads series more widely to the general public.
With this in mind, we booked some space at the Quadrant Shopping Centre smack bang in the middle of Swansea, and invited Swansea Libraries to join us to showcase what libraries have to offer these days. People are still a bit stuck with the old image of libraries being a stuffy place with a bossy librarian, and this is a difficult image the libraries are trying to shake off. These days libraries are really more about being a resource for communities to use for all kinds of things, and there's rarely a 'no talking' rule any more.
In the afternoon, Lleucu covered my post on the stand as I had to rush up to the Dragon Arts and Learning Centre where Lynne Barrett-Lee, author of one of last year's Quick Reads and ghost-writer of Fiona Phillips' book A Day to Remember, was doing a workshop with a creative writing group.
The Dragon Arts Centre provides free arts and training classes and opportunities to anyone who has experienced homelessness or social exclusion and who may have difficulty accessing mainstream education. They do this through a wide range of activities and events both on and off-site. They are also a member of "Open College Network Wales" which enables their members to gain nationally recognised accredited qualifications for the work they do and produce at the centre.
Lynne talked to the creative writing group about how she goes about putting a story together and gave them handy hints about how to get those creative juices flowing. Lots of the members were keen to know how to go about getting their work published, and Lynne gave an insiders' view on the best way to go about this.
The group was very enthusiastic, and whilst Lynne had a break, they came up with their own ideas for stories. As with the prisons workshop, the work was very honest, and sometimes shockingly so. Some stories included description of violence and homophobia, drug and alchohol abuse and feelings of alienation. Although none of the group mentioned explicitly that the stories were autobiographical, it was obvious that they wrote from first-hand experience.
At the end of the session, Lynne got a lovely surprise when a member of the group who had taken photos at the start of the session presented her with a beautifully framed picture of herself with the group as a momento of the day. Thanks to everyone at The Dragon Arts and Learning Centre.
With this in mind, we booked some space at the Quadrant Shopping Centre smack bang in the middle of Swansea, and invited Swansea Libraries to join us to showcase what libraries have to offer these days. People are still a bit stuck with the old image of libraries being a stuffy place with a bossy librarian, and this is a difficult image the libraries are trying to shake off. These days libraries are really more about being a resource for communities to use for all kinds of things, and there's rarely a 'no talking' rule any more.
In the afternoon, Lleucu covered my post on the stand as I had to rush up to the Dragon Arts and Learning Centre where Lynne Barrett-Lee, author of one of last year's Quick Reads and ghost-writer of Fiona Phillips' book A Day to Remember, was doing a workshop with a creative writing group.
The Dragon Arts Centre provides free arts and training classes and opportunities to anyone who has experienced homelessness or social exclusion and who may have difficulty accessing mainstream education. They do this through a wide range of activities and events both on and off-site. They are also a member of "Open College Network Wales" which enables their members to gain nationally recognised accredited qualifications for the work they do and produce at the centre.
Lynne talked to the creative writing group about how she goes about putting a story together and gave them handy hints about how to get those creative juices flowing. Lots of the members were keen to know how to go about getting their work published, and Lynne gave an insiders' view on the best way to go about this.
The group was very enthusiastic, and whilst Lynne had a break, they came up with their own ideas for stories. As with the prisons workshop, the work was very honest, and sometimes shockingly so. Some stories included description of violence and homophobia, drug and alchohol abuse and feelings of alienation. Although none of the group mentioned explicitly that the stories were autobiographical, it was obvious that they wrote from first-hand experience.
At the end of the session, Lynne got a lovely surprise when a member of the group who had taken photos at the start of the session presented her with a beautifully framed picture of herself with the group as a momento of the day. Thanks to everyone at The Dragon Arts and Learning Centre.
Day 17 - Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Dad's 60 today - PENBLWYDD HAPUS Dad!
A total change from yesterday, and this evening I went over to Catwg Primary School in Catwg near Neath to give copies of the book to the Women's Institute, who are also helping us to distribute the Quick Reads books.
When I arrived to meet Pam Muir from the WI, I wasn't expecting to see so many people - there must have been about 100 ladies in the school hall!
The WI are going to read the books themselves, and pass them on to friends and relatives whom they think may enjoy the books. Groups in Aberystwyth and Caernarfon have also done this. One lady told be she thought she's pass her book to her mother, who used to love reading, but now had Alzheimer’s disease. She can no longer manage more than a few pages of a book, but she thought perhaps she would enjoy one of the Quick Reads and be able to finish it.
A total change from yesterday, and this evening I went over to Catwg Primary School in Catwg near Neath to give copies of the book to the Women's Institute, who are also helping us to distribute the Quick Reads books.
When I arrived to meet Pam Muir from the WI, I wasn't expecting to see so many people - there must have been about 100 ladies in the school hall!
The WI are going to read the books themselves, and pass them on to friends and relatives whom they think may enjoy the books. Groups in Aberystwyth and Caernarfon have also done this. One lady told be she thought she's pass her book to her mother, who used to love reading, but now had Alzheimer’s disease. She can no longer manage more than a few pages of a book, but she thought perhaps she would enjoy one of the Quick Reads and be able to finish it.
Day 16 - Tuesday, March 20, 2007
It was Rhodri's turn to visit prison today, as we were running a session with Niall Griffiths at Swansea Prison.
HMP Swansea is a category B local prison, which holds adult males, remanded into custody from the courts, convicted and sentenced prisoners.
When we first started to think about doing the workshops in the prison, I asked the prison education officers about the kind of books the inmates liked to read. Ironically enough, crime or true crime thrillers were amongst the favourites! So we decided that Niall Griffiths' book, a black comedy about a man on the run from a London gangster, would be a good choice for these workshops.
Rhodri and Niall visited the prison two weeks ago to give out copies of the book, and Niall introduced himself as an author, explaining what he did from day to day and talking about the other books he'd published. He then set the group a challenge of writing their own 'Quick Read' of no more than 500 words, saying that he'd be coming back during Reading Communities Week to see what they'd come up with and choose the best one to receive a prize.
Rhodri said that the group were quite honest with Niall regarding what they thought of the book - one said he liked it, but thought the ending was rubbish! I think Niall was okay about it!
The story-writing exercise was really successful. Some of them were very moving, since a lot of the group had been through some terrible experiences. It went some way to explaining how some of these articulate and intelligent men found themselves in the prison.
I hope we can publish some of the stories on this blog, once they've been collected and typed up.
HMP Swansea is a category B local prison, which holds adult males, remanded into custody from the courts, convicted and sentenced prisoners.
When we first started to think about doing the workshops in the prison, I asked the prison education officers about the kind of books the inmates liked to read. Ironically enough, crime or true crime thrillers were amongst the favourites! So we decided that Niall Griffiths' book, a black comedy about a man on the run from a London gangster, would be a good choice for these workshops.
Rhodri and Niall visited the prison two weeks ago to give out copies of the book, and Niall introduced himself as an author, explaining what he did from day to day and talking about the other books he'd published. He then set the group a challenge of writing their own 'Quick Read' of no more than 500 words, saying that he'd be coming back during Reading Communities Week to see what they'd come up with and choose the best one to receive a prize.
Rhodri said that the group were quite honest with Niall regarding what they thought of the book - one said he liked it, but thought the ending was rubbish! I think Niall was okay about it!
The story-writing exercise was really successful. Some of them were very moving, since a lot of the group had been through some terrible experiences. It went some way to explaining how some of these articulate and intelligent men found themselves in the prison.
I hope we can publish some of the stories on this blog, once they've been collected and typed up.
Later Day 15
The first event in Swansea was an author questions and answers session at The Kingsway Centre, right in the middle of the city.
The Learning Resource Centre aims to provide a welcoming, supportive environment in which all students have access to learning and IT support. There are 17 computers with a good range of up to date software, online support materials, access to the Internet, books to borrow, newspapers to read.
Lindsay's session formed part of a day's activities to open the new learning resource centre.
Lindsay read a chapter of her book to a group of students who are currently studying basic skills literacy at the Kingsway Centre. After the reading, the group had the opportunity to ask Lindsay any questions about her work.
The session went really well, with the students needing no prompting from the tutors in asking questions. I think a lot of people find the crime genre very interesting, and particularly how a mother of four living in Borth delves into her imagination to create the scenarios in books such as The Rubber Woman. Lindsay answered a lot of questions about how she goes about writing, how she comes up with ideas and her life as an author. The response was so good that in the end, we had to bring the session to a close for lunch - I'm sure the questions could have kept coming all day.
The tutors at the Kingsway Centre will be conducting a digital photo story session with the students later today, emphasising that we all have stories to tell, so hopefully Lindsay will have provided them with some inspiration for that.
Thanks to Sarah Hall for organising everything.
The Learning Resource Centre aims to provide a welcoming, supportive environment in which all students have access to learning and IT support. There are 17 computers with a good range of up to date software, online support materials, access to the Internet, books to borrow, newspapers to read.
Lindsay's session formed part of a day's activities to open the new learning resource centre.
Lindsay read a chapter of her book to a group of students who are currently studying basic skills literacy at the Kingsway Centre. After the reading, the group had the opportunity to ask Lindsay any questions about her work.
The session went really well, with the students needing no prompting from the tutors in asking questions. I think a lot of people find the crime genre very interesting, and particularly how a mother of four living in Borth delves into her imagination to create the scenarios in books such as The Rubber Woman. Lindsay answered a lot of questions about how she goes about writing, how she comes up with ideas and her life as an author. The response was so good that in the end, we had to bring the session to a close for lunch - I'm sure the questions could have kept coming all day.
The tutors at the Kingsway Centre will be conducting a digital photo story session with the students later today, emphasising that we all have stories to tell, so hopefully Lindsay will have provided them with some inspiration for that.
Thanks to Sarah Hall for organising everything.
Day 15 - Monday, March 19, 2007
Hello Swansea!
Another week, another town and today we kicked off Reading Communities Week in Swansea.
It was all hands on deck today, since we needed to get the books and display stands out to all the businesses taking part. Swansea's obviously the biggest place taking part, so it took a bit more time to find everyone. The people were all great though - it seems to be a friendly place, everyone really helpful even when we got a bit lost trying to find Townhill Community School!
All kinds of different businesses took part once again - from the Starbucks coffee shop in the Borders store on the Fforestfach shopping complex to the Villiers' Arms pub, Zest Cafe Bar on the waterfront to the Alexandra Road Dental Practice in Gorseinion, and the Fforestfach Medical Group.
Another week, another town and today we kicked off Reading Communities Week in Swansea.
It was all hands on deck today, since we needed to get the books and display stands out to all the businesses taking part. Swansea's obviously the biggest place taking part, so it took a bit more time to find everyone. The people were all great though - it seems to be a friendly place, everyone really helpful even when we got a bit lost trying to find Townhill Community School!
All kinds of different businesses took part once again - from the Starbucks coffee shop in the Borders store on the Fforestfach shopping complex to the Villiers' Arms pub, Zest Cafe Bar on the waterfront to the Alexandra Road Dental Practice in Gorseinion, and the Fforestfach Medical Group.
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