It is often underappreciated how useful creative writing is out there in the real world. Stories and poetry are to be shared and enjoyed in all kinds of contexts; it’s not just between you and the pages of a book. This month I’ve had the chance to get writing out into social contexts and it’s so satisfying.
A writing group I’m part of, the Last Tuesday Group, which meets on the last Tuesday of the month in Corbridge, took part in the Corbridge Christmas Tree Festival this year. We had a living tree belonging to a member, which, frankly, looked pretty tatty before we decorated it with luggage tags with snippets of Christmas poetry, including our favourites, popular classics and some of our own; but once it was festooned with words we were extremely proud of it.. We left more tags under the tree with an invitation for visitors to make their own contributions, and it was lovely to see that they did – it was a bit special to have an interactive tree! I
Meanwhile my church, St John’s Killingworth, needs to raise money to give our building some important luxuries like heating that works, toilets, a door you can comfortably get a bride through and a kitchen, so as part of the fundraising effort I am offering a bespoke words service. You can give me details of your special person or event and I will find or write something to order for you – pay as you feel. So far one commission, for some prose to thank family members for their support, has come in. I’m really curious to see what kinds of things people want to celebrate, remember or even just think about creatively. And the service is open to everyone, not just church members – could that be you?
