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Garrie Fletcher

~ writing and all that

Garrie Fletcher

Category Archives: Poetry

Waiting For The Great Leap Forward.

06 Friday Dec 2019

Posted by fletcherski in Billy Bragg, Birmingham, NHS, Poetry, Politics, Special Needs, teaching, The Arts, writing

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Arts Funding, Birmingham, Digbeth, education, Jamelia, Labour, Music, Our Future, Poetry, Politics, teaching, The Arts, uk, Vote Labour

Don’t switch off. This blog is about education and arts funding – something that enriches all our lives. Please, read on.

I went to a political rally last night. There, it’s out the bag. Shush, I hear you hiss. This blog is meant for writing and creativity, don’t sully it with the dirty world of politics! I understand that some people feel that way. Hell, I even have friends that, after years of arguing, have decided that we should avoid that distasteful area altogether. However, here in the UK, we are on the cusp of something truly horrific, the handing over of absolute power to serial liar, racist and adulterer, Boris Johnson, or the implementation of a radical new state that will nurture and develop creativity, culture and ultimately happiness through placing a Labour government in power. This, of course, is an oversimplification, but not by much.

Have you guessed which way I’m voting yet?

It was a bitter-cold, blustery night in Digbeth, in what used to be Birmingham’s industrial heart. Digbeth, in recent years, has been transformed into a creative oasis of small digital companies, arts organisations, entrepreneurs and entertainment that has been embraced by Brummies, Midlanders and beyond – Stephen Spielburg has shot a film here has have many other established filmmakers. My son and I queued with many others to hear Jeremy Corbyn speak. What! Corbyn, chief antisemite and all-round devil’s spawn? Yes, and no. I’ve seen Corbyn speak on several occasions and he’s always struck me as a caring, vibrant man who is genuinely interested in others, and someone who wants to change the UK for the better. The way he’s been presented in the media is wholly at odds with the man you meet in person, but that’s a whole blog post in itself, probably a series of blogs. However, just to touch on that briefly, this summer I was walking around a museum in Prague and I heard some Americans talking to a European about how biased the media is in the States. They said, for impartiality, they got their news from the BBC. I failed to fight back a laugh and received a strange look or two. I didn’t attempt to ‘correct’ their view, I was on holiday, but it wasn’t that long ago that I also felt that the BBC were impartial. Not any more. In this election campaign, we have seen the Tory bias of the BBC cranked up to previously unimagined heights with edited interviews and news footage that show Boris Johnson in a positive light being passed off as mistakes. With that toxic atmosphere in mind, it was wonderful to see so many young people, and people from diverse backgrounds last night.

Jamelia

We got in early, too bloody early as a friend had told me he’d been turned away from events before, so best to get there early – my legs were killing me by the end. However, our punctuality meant that we got a very good spot down the front. Angela Rayner, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, compared the evening with aplomb and passion. We were treated to first hand accounts of years of Tory cuts from union reps and support staff in education as well as the music from Kioko, an up and coming local band, poetry from three local poets, and the general secretaries of the NEU teachers union – the largest in the UK, and Brum’s very own Jamelia.

Jamelia wasn’t there to talk about her impressive pop career, but about the support, she’d received from the state when she was growing up in Birmingham. She wanted others to take note that she had been supported, and her mother, by our incredible NHS and state education, and that she wants others to have the same opportunities that she has had. It was a very passionate and honest speech where she admitted that she’d never voted before and that it would be her and her eighteen year old daughter’s first time on December the 12th.

Finally, Jeremy Corbyn took to the stage and laid out clearly how a Labour government will transform education by increasing funding levels to above 2010 rates, creating a National Education Service, rebuilding Ofsted to support teaching rather than condemn it, funding a pupil arts passport that ring-fences arts spending, creating fully funded nursery places for all, promoting a love of learning via whichever route best suits, and much, much more.

The reason I felt the need to write this here was because of Labour’s stance regarding the arts. Corbyn came on after the poets and he was genuinely moved by their performance and spoke of the power of all the arts to transform lives. This is something he is passionate about, not something, like Johnson, that he believes is there for those who can afford it. Up until three years ago, I was an art teacher in a busy special needs school. I started in education when funding for the arts was in place and I saw the positive effect it had upon the challenging children that I worked with. That has now gone. The arts have been cut from many school’s curriculums with some schools even dropping to four and a half days a week because they can not afford to pay staff. Labour will not only reverse cuts to school funding, but they will also increase funding. If it hadn’t have been for arts lessons in school I would have dropped out of education, no doubt about it. For some pupils, creativity in lessons like art, music, dance etc. is the only thing that keeps them going. Our current Tory government does not care one jot about this – they can afford to pay for the arts.

I took a lot of hope away from last night. Hope, because we have an opposition that is fighting for the things that are important to me and so many other. Hope, because Digbeth was full of young people ready to fight for what is theirs, and hope because, despite what the mainstream media are telling us, people want change. Talk to people who are out there knocking on doors. People want change and it’s up to all of us to ensure that on December 12th that’s what they get.

I went to see Billy Bragg on Tuesday, also in Digbeth, and he spoke about the power of talking to people. He told us about his activism to halt the fascists taking over Barking and Dagenham Council. A handful of BNP candidates had been elected to the council and there was a real fear that at the upcoming local elections in 2010 that they could take control of the council. Labour members took to the streets and campaigned. They knocked on doors and spoke to people. They waited for the result and hoped that they’d pegged them back. They hoped that the BNP majority would not increase. The result came in. Every single member of the BNP lost their seat. Change can come, but we have to get out there and make it happen. Don’t sentence the UK to another five years of Tory lies and cuts. Save our education, fund our arts, vote Labour.

The Lye — Writing the Black Country

05 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by fletcherski in Poetry, writing

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Careless Green By Roz Goddard sang the song of nails and chain and the iron forge smashed on its iron plate, and men – soft machines themselves – stood hip-wise to the street and called to passing girls; and the cut snaked grey under the bridge and secrets stayed in the bricks of tunnels, […]

via The Lye — Writing the Black Country

City Voices – Wolverhampton

10 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by fletcherski in Poetry, Reading, writing

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City Voices, Poetry, short story, The Lighthouse, Wolverhampton

City-Voices-Website

I hadn’t been to City Voices in a while. It’s a bit of a trek for me, travelling from south Birmingham to Wolverhampton, but I’m glad I braved public transport and read there last night – I even sold a few books!

If you’ve never been, it’s based in the Lighthouse which is a three-minute walk from the train station and housed inside the industrious Chubb building. As ever, Simon Fletcher, no relation, is the convivial host who sets the scene and puts everyone at ease. I’m not sure how long Simon has been running City Voices, but whenever I’ve been there the quality of the readings is always of a high standard and last night was no exception.

 

lighthouse

Sadly, my memory is bloody awful, and I can’t remember the names of those who read last night. The only names on the listing are mine and Fergus McGonigal’s – Fergus had to cancel, and Simon stepped in – but the quality of the writing and the reading from the three poets were very high. If anyone reading this can tell me the names of the poets leave me a comment below, and I’ll amend this accordingly.

The reading that stood out for me was a collection of poems from a creative writing graduate that was all based on a mysterious death in Hagley Woods in 1941. The poems were dark, evocative and original and stayed with me long after she’d finished reading. This mysterious death still generates graffiti to this day. This is from Wikipedia:

Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? is a graffito that originated in 1944 after a woman’s corpse was discovered by several children inside a wych elm in Hagley Wood (located in the estate of Hagley Hall, Worcestershire, England). Among other places the graffiti has appeared on the Hagley Obelisk near to where woman’s body was discovered. The victim, whose murder was estimated to have occurred in 1941, remains unidentified.

1280px-Bella_graffitiThe next City Voices is in February and will be love themed, with guests including Kuli Kohli, Yvette Layne and Bert Flitcroft.(Pancakes will be on sale in Lock Works for Shrove Tuesday).

City Voices info can be found here.

Navigating Birmingham.

18 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by fletcherski in Birmingham, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham Writers, creativity, Poetry, workshops, Writers, writing, Writing West Midlands

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Alyse Fowler, Birmingham Literature Festival, Birmingham's canals, British Canoeing, Canal and River Trust, creative writing, Jo Bell, National Trust, The Roundhouse, uk, writing, writing workshops

Paddling and writing along Birmingham’s canals

Ever thought of combining canoeing and writing? Well, now’s your chance. On April 23rd, Jo Bell (poet,) Alyse Fowler (gardener/writer,) and I will be doing just that. We’ll be taking groups down the industrial canals of Birmingham and using this unique perspective to inspire creative writing. Check out the press release below for full details and booking info:

canoeing2

£20/£16 (concessions), children £10

Need some inspiration to get writing? Want to explore hidden Birmingham?

Look no further than our series of creative walks, bike rides and canoe trips developed in partnership with the Canal & River Trust, National Trust, Birmingham Roundhouse, British Canoeing and Big Birmingham Bikes, and delivered by five fantastic writers.

Canoe-write

Take to the waterways of Birmingham by canoe for a unique perspective on the city, returning to dry land for a writing workshop at The Roundhouse led by Alys Fowler (10am-1pm) or Jo Bell (2pm-5pm). Workshops for young people at both sessions will be led by Garrie Fletcher. Canoes and instruction supplied free of charge from British Canoeing and B-ROW.

Please dress comfortably: we advise that you don’t wear jeans, you do wear trainers, bring waterproof coat and trousers, and a complete change of clothes. The canoes have a weight restriction of 17.5 stone.
Drinks are provided free of charge but please bring a snack to sustain you.

Suitable for adults and children aged 8 and over. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Workshop 1 – 10am – 1pm (Alys Fowler) 

Workshop 2 – 2pm – 5pm (Jo Bell) 

Roundhouse Writers

Jo Bell is a former Canal Poet Laureate and currently appears on Nationwide’s ‘Voice of the People’ ads. Her poetry collection Kith is published by Nine Arches Press. She is co-writing a handbook for poets – How to be a Poet – and lives on a narrowboat.

Alys Fowler is an award-winning journalist, regular presenter of BBC Gardeners’ World and Guardian columnist. Her new book Hidden Nature charts her journey through the canals of Birmingham by canoe.

Garrie Fletcher writes short stories, novels and poems. His collection of short stories, Night Swimming, has just been published by Mantle Lane Press. He leads the Birmingham Young Writers’ Group for Writing West Midlands.

How to Book:
Please contact The BOX to book tickets on 0121 245 4455 or you can book online by clicking the button below.

Book Now

52. The book.

23 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by fletcherski in Poetry

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One for all you poets out there. If you ever get the chance to hear Jo Bell speak or attend one of her workshops then do. She’s awesome.

52

52 PROMPTS Cover v3

The 52 project originated as a life-changing year of poetry prompts, published on this site by Jo Bell in the 52 weeks between January 1st 2014 and January 1st 2015.

Now Jo’s prompts – together with the ten written by guest poets including Helen Mort, Philip Gross and Neil Rollinson – are available in a single chunky book from Nine Arches Press. Order it here to start your own 52-week challenge in 2016, or dip in and out of it for inspiration in coming years.

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Lost Districts almost here

26 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by fletcherski in Art, competitions, Poetry, prize money, Short Stories, writing, Writing West Midlands

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Birmingham, Competition, Coventry, Joel Lane, Lost Districts, Novels, Photography, Poetry, Prize Money, short stories, The Black Country, Visual Art, West Midlands, Wolverhampton

Hi, only a week to go now before the Lost DistrictsIMG_6331 competition launches.

You’ll remember from my earlier post that Lost Districts is all about celebrating the work of writer and poet, Joel Lane, who is sadly no longer with us. So, if you know a photographer, or visual artist, who’s based, or has work based in the West Midlands, UK, get them to check out the Lost Districts page, they could win £100 and have their work splashed across the web!

 

Naked Lungs

24 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by fletcherski in Event, Music, Poetry, Reading, Short Stories, writing

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Art, audience contributions, Birmingham, cherry reds, fun, improvised music, Kev Eadie, Leanne Bridgewater, Miss Adventure, Music, poetry reading, Tim Fletcher, uk

This evening I’ll be reading selected poems or possibly a short story, if only I could decide, damn this indecision!

Anyway, whatever it is it’ll be fun -blush- not because me but because of the other wonderfully talented people that’ll be there and because it’s hosted in the rather wonderful Cherry Reds on John Bright Street, Birmingham.

Hmm, looks good.

Hmm, looks good.

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