Quick post to say no blogs are likely till the weekend because I am away. I am taking my lap top so there may be an opportunity to post about how the Story Telling course is going. House Martins checking out houses opposite for nest site we have a box I put up last year especially for Martins hope they start to notice us! Not sure if I should put up a sign saying House Martins welcome!!!
A tense day listening to the match at Fleetwood. This just to get in the Play Offs in the 5th Division of football!! Still the team has been transformed by the arrival of our new manager and maybe this time we will do it by coming late to the Play Offs! I am hoping it is 3rd time lucky. Sadly will miss the first leg as I am on my Story Telling Course but I will be waiting for texts from friends in deepest Worcestershire! Come on You Hatters.
Went for a cycle just before the game with my son David (a training ride for our summer sponsorsed ride). We did a couple of decent hills but both of us were in shorts (how daft was that) and with the wind and rain we were really cold especially our feet. Still a great cuppa ,fantastic meal and the football result soon warmed us up. More about the summer ride in future blogs.
Never knew droughts could be so wet! Not brilliant yesterday with the weather so I did work on one of my stories-Misty the Magician. It is a story I want to polish up and try and submit it for publication. I managed the opening part perhaps the first chapter. I will try and finish it over the next 2 or 3 weeks. I haven’t told this story for sometime and it was like meeting up with a dear old friend again! I used to think it funny when singers talked about their songs as old friends well I can empathise! Will try and develop the characters, a little one dimensional at the moment.
This morning I managed a walk without a shower. 2 Ravens croaked overhead. Several Blackcaps (both male and female) flitted in and out of the trees. Also got a brief glimpse of a Nightingale.
It is sad that all those blogs I wrote about performances and specific stories have disappeared into the Blog sphere-especially those comments on particular stories. Today because we have a drought it is awful so I have been doing my admin and trying to catalogue my stories -I know how to live on the edge!
I am trying to write a collection of short stories on Bird themes to add to Duck Soup, I have a real charismatic Blackbird in the garden so that may be the next story-he virtually knocks on the door when he wants breakfast! I wanted to do something on migration as well but not sure what. I will update as I write! Then I can approach RSPB and WWT for gigs further away.
Talking of further away- next week I am away on a Story Telling Course with Ben Haggarty who is a superb storyteller who I have seen perform on several occasions. I feel like a little boy (which I am) because I am so excited about this. This should really help me focus on and develop my Story Telling.
Finally the stress of following Luton Town!!!! Last night I listened to our 0-0 at Gateshead which means we will be on tenterhooks on Saturday as we have to get a point for the lottery of the Play Offs. That rubbish I wrote about Premier league supporters sounds hollow as Chelsea dominate the media today!
I said I would play catch up on my blogs so here is another one! To sum up the last couple of months on the Story Telling front. I had a busy end of Feb and the first couple weeks in March. It has been fun and a real mix of work. At several schools I had whole days telling a wide variety of stories. Many of these stories were new ones I had to learn which was fun and because schools asked for specific topics I also wrote 4 stories when I couldn’t find a story these were on evacuees, space, nursery rhymes and spiders. I was also asked to write a story for the education department at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge. I called it “Duck Soup” after the famous Marx Brothers film and last week I worked with the staff on how to tell it. It contains Maths problems to go with their Maths Trail-I now need to tidy it up after telling it a couple of times. One school asked me to do a Poetry Workshop and I have done training for parents as well (at a school and a nursery) which is an area I did expect to develop.
Football Tonight
Changing the subject all the press is full of a big football match tonight in Barcelona but they seem to have picked the wrong one to focus on! The big match of course is at Gateshead where the mighty Hatters are the visitors.We have hope again after our new manager has put some pride and determination in the troops! Wonderful on Saturday to see the ground almost full and rocking! Not bad for the Conference 8,400 + ! All those armchair supporters of Premier League teams have no idea of what real suffering as a fan is or the fun you have when something special happens! Renewing my Season Ticket this week. My fingers will be crossed tonight and I will be listening to this game not that insignificant game in Spain!
COME ON YOU SUPER HATTERS!!!!!!
Hello regular readers! You will have noticed all my previous blogs have disappeared-sadly a technical hitch and they have disappeared into the blogsphere where ever that may be! There are two ways at looking at this! All those lost blogs, the stories, the gigs, my old school, bird watching moments and of course all the rubbish I have written about the mighty Hatters can be viewed as a disappointment. The other way of looking at it is you may not notice if I write the same stuff again!
I will talk about our wonderful day yesterday and will later update recent events. I may be blogging regularly over the next few days to play some sort of catch up with those events.
Yesterday Clare and I went to watch our Peter and Nicola running in the London Marathon. It was a long day driving up and parking near Mortlake Station. Getting across London to find the race and a viewing spot. We based ourselves in Westferry Road close to mile 16-we must of watched thousands go past including various Super Heroes, Rhinos, Wombles, mr Men etc until we saw them! We then caught them again close to mile 18 to bellow our support. Mobiles are very useful for keeping in touch with runners and their progress so we were able to see them by the Monument (mile 23) and finally by the Embankment close to the end. Very proud parents and impressed by the whole experience the event, the ease of transport and the whole feel good factor. Nicola has raised over £3000 for NSPCC-brilliant!
Who is the Story Traveller?
He is Bill Church, a former Headteacher who has a passion for sharing stories with people from 3 years up to 103 years of age.
Bill loves stories; finding them (and the story’s story!), telling them and writing them! He is passionate in believing that everybody can tell stories and is keen to help people whatever their age do this.
He has been employed as a Story Teller in public parks. He has told stories to a wide range of audiences of all ages. He will often come with an idiosyncratic group of puppets to assist him as well as many other props.
Bill has taught in Gloucestershire primary schools for a significantly long time (rumour has it that Henry V111 had just married his first wife when he started!) He has been a Headteacher for 21 years at two different schools (Cashes’ Green and Dursley C. of E.). Before he was a Head he was seconded to work in Gloucestershire Schools to help develop children’s writing and run InService work for teachers. While at Dursley, Bill was fortunate to work for 3 months with teachers on the island of St.Helena in the South Atlantic working on literacy themes where he also told stories in the schools as well as reading a story on the island’s radio. He also worked for 2 years as a Primary Consultant HeadTeacher.
As a teacher he has run InSet sessions in recent years for teachers and Forest School leaders on telling stories.
Whenever he can Bill will cycle to his destination on “Sir Gawain” his trusty mount! When not working he can be found playing or watching sport (if watching his beloved Luton Town can be called sport!) or with a telescope watching birds in and around the River Severn. He is also a cricket coach.