Grimm Hope in Lockdown
I haven’t blogged for ages. It's all been a bit of a shakeup. I hurled myself into lockdown thinking, ‘Okay here we go. Let's find things to do.’ I enrolled on a criminal psychology course which I'm still working hard at and doing quite well, I’m 32.5k words into my second novel, but getting frustrated by having to do all my research on locations on Google Earth. The foremost thing was that the charity of which I'm a proud patron, Grimm and Co was in danger of losing an open day at the fabulous new premises we have bought in my hometown of Rotherham.
May 2nd should have seen us throwing open the doors to what was the Talbot Road Methodist Church and let the public in to see and hear examples of the children's work. Many of the children who the brilliant staff at Grimm and Co deal with in writing clubs, are on the autistic spectrum or suffer from problems such as ADHD and for them lockdown has been difficult.
So the chance of being able to zoom in on writing classes each day and create pieces of work has been vital to their well-being. Absolutely determined that we were not going to miss the opportunity of sharing this with the world, I'm thrilled to say that after four weeks of more emails than I think I've ever sent, an over-acquaintance with iMovie, a raid on my address book like the Blitzkrieg, and begging more favours than I'll ever be able to repay, “Here not There" a Virtual Gala will premiere on YouTube on Saturday, 2 May at 2 PM. It’s available for people to view on the Grimm and Co YouTube channel for the whole of next week. An eclectic mix of some fabulously talented actors taking the words of eight- and nine-year-olds and respecting them. No bolshie soap star here asking “I don't think my character should say this” or “Wouldn't it be easier if I said it like this"; a demand I have heard during my several stints in soap land. Here, the words are everything and what words they are.
We also have some children reading out their own work and a chance to tell the story of Grimm and Co, from an idea in the eyes of the remarkable Deborah Bullivant, to becoming one of the most popular attractions in Rotherham, and now on the brink of moving home.
But I'm a little selfish. My worry is all about what I'm going to do on Monday. I know that top of my list is find "a deserted lighthouse on Google Earth" next week. That’s the book plot sorted. I'm thrilled to be doing an online discussion in support of The Hope Theatre, of which I am also a patron. Like many fringe venues The Hope is also suffering during these strange and turbulent times and anything we can do to keep it ticking over until the new normal falls into place is extremely valuable, At least it's in the hands of a fantastic new artistic director Kennedy Bloomer. She couldn't have had a more difficult first year, but there's just something about her that tells me The Hope will come out of this with her at the helm.
It's not a problem for me to make a list every day to establish a routine. My OCD leanings do that, anyway. If there has just been a little more comfort chocolate than is really necessary, then I'm choosing to overlook that too. What I can't overlook and very proud to see is the enormous output of work people are putting onto the Internet and sharing. Uplifting, emotional, and so much more inspiring than the news bulletins. Thank you to all of you who have told a story that has engaged me and here's to the young writers of Rotherham seeing their work on Saturday knowing watched by people all across the world.
I just hope they like it.
May 2nd should have seen us throwing open the doors to what was the Talbot Road Methodist Church and let the public in to see and hear examples of the children's work. Many of the children who the brilliant staff at Grimm and Co deal with in writing clubs, are on the autistic spectrum or suffer from problems such as ADHD and for them lockdown has been difficult.
So the chance of being able to zoom in on writing classes each day and create pieces of work has been vital to their well-being. Absolutely determined that we were not going to miss the opportunity of sharing this with the world, I'm thrilled to say that after four weeks of more emails than I think I've ever sent, an over-acquaintance with iMovie, a raid on my address book like the Blitzkrieg, and begging more favours than I'll ever be able to repay, “Here not There" a Virtual Gala will premiere on YouTube on Saturday, 2 May at 2 PM. It’s available for people to view on the Grimm and Co YouTube channel for the whole of next week. An eclectic mix of some fabulously talented actors taking the words of eight- and nine-year-olds and respecting them. No bolshie soap star here asking “I don't think my character should say this” or “Wouldn't it be easier if I said it like this"; a demand I have heard during my several stints in soap land. Here, the words are everything and what words they are.
We also have some children reading out their own work and a chance to tell the story of Grimm and Co, from an idea in the eyes of the remarkable Deborah Bullivant, to becoming one of the most popular attractions in Rotherham, and now on the brink of moving home.
But I'm a little selfish. My worry is all about what I'm going to do on Monday. I know that top of my list is find "a deserted lighthouse on Google Earth" next week. That’s the book plot sorted. I'm thrilled to be doing an online discussion in support of The Hope Theatre, of which I am also a patron. Like many fringe venues The Hope is also suffering during these strange and turbulent times and anything we can do to keep it ticking over until the new normal falls into place is extremely valuable, At least it's in the hands of a fantastic new artistic director Kennedy Bloomer. She couldn't have had a more difficult first year, but there's just something about her that tells me The Hope will come out of this with her at the helm.
It's not a problem for me to make a list every day to establish a routine. My OCD leanings do that, anyway. If there has just been a little more comfort chocolate than is really necessary, then I'm choosing to overlook that too. What I can't overlook and very proud to see is the enormous output of work people are putting onto the Internet and sharing. Uplifting, emotional, and so much more inspiring than the news bulletins. Thank you to all of you who have told a story that has engaged me and here's to the young writers of Rotherham seeing their work on Saturday knowing watched by people all across the world.
I just hope they like it.
Comments
Post a Comment