Nethermains Sheltered Housing.

I had a lovely, relaxed session with some of the residents of Nethermains Sheltered Housing Complex at Echt. There was lots of laughter, a few tears and a great 'fly cup'.

Some comments:

"You fairly spik my language." Geordie

"I enjoyed your time with us at Nethermains so much - stories and poetry to reach the heart." 

"Great to hear our own tongue spoken for a change. It's very seldom we hear the Doric nowadays." Rosie (manager)

                                                                 The 'Fly Cup'.

Mintlaw Primary School Readathon Event.

First stop of the day on the Aberdeenshire Libraries mobile library Readathon was Mintlaw Primary School. P1&2s heard about plans for the Book Bus visit to Zambia and then enjoyed African-themed readings and some other stories, too. We heard about Cardwell the Giraffe who got his neck in a knot; we read about A Rumble in the Jungle by David Wojtowycz (accompanied by a host of soft toy jungle animals); and then we laughed at the animal antics in A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson. We also shared a Doric poem from the Aberdeenshire Reading Bus publication Fit Like Yer Majesty. The children were wonderful and really enjoyed joining in and making all the animal noises - a lovely, lively and extremely noisy session.      

 

 

 

World Book Day at Kemnay Academy.

 

World Book Day was spent with a class of S1 pupils at Kemnay Academy. We had a very enjoyable session and listened to readings from Stone Cold by Robert Swindells and The Crimson Shard by Teresa Flavin. A few pupils kindly shared some of their own creative writing, too. 

 

 

 

 

 

Comment from class teacher:

 

A very interesting afternoon. Deborah began by talking the class about the importance of reading and encouraged the pupils to feel involved right from the beginning. Even though some of the pupils volunteered that they did not choose to read, Deborah held their interest. The presentation went on to include tips and advice about writing - all of it valuable - and she entertained the class with some readings. Encouraging the children to read their own writing was also valuable. The number of questions the children asked at the end was a sign of how interesting and useful they found it.  

 

A busy week...

A busy week... 

The week beginning 4th March was a very busy but enjoyable one: I gave a talk at the Newmachar Young Wives monthly meeting and also at the Gordon Forum for the Arts AGM; I went to Aberchirder for the Aberdeenshire Libraries Reading Bus day; I joined a class at Kemnay Academy for a talk and readings to celebrate World Book Day; and then I went off on my travels with the Aberdeenshire mobile library on a Readathon event, stopping off at Mintlaw, Ellon, Meldrum and Newmachar. Some of the staff from Aberdeenshire Libraries will soon be visiting Zambia to travel as storytellers with the Book Bus - bringing books and the joy of reading to disadvantaged children. The Aberdeenshire Libraries Crew has been fundraising for some time and everyone involved is really looking forward to the adventure. The Readathon event was organised to highlight and celebrate the planned visit to Zambia and to make the public aware of the good work being carried out by Book Bus, which visits schools and orphanages in Zambia, Malawi and Ecuador. 

Despite the importance of literacy, large class sizes and a lack of resources mean there few reading opportunities for many children in developing countries. The Book Bus supports schools by providing library services facilities and volunteer storytellers to help children become more confident readers. Working mainly with rural schools, the volunteer crew divide classes into small groups and inspire the children to read by personalising the reading experience through storytelling, individual interpretation and creative arts. This support is sustained by providing books and resources to each school library.

The week's events were so enjoyable and worthwhile. What a wonderful job I have! I'll be posting photos from some of these events - watch this space!  

Turriff Academy Reading Group.

I had a very enjoyable time with some members of Turriff Academy Reading Group. All the students had brought along a piece of writing inspired by a 'story starter' I sent them a few weeks ago. The students were great and so were their very imaginative stories. We spoke about ways of improving our writing and the books we all enjoyed reading. We were also joined by my daughter, Dawn, and we had our photo taken to go up on the library wall. Dawn is doing her teacher training to be an English teacher - very proud of her!   

Banchory Blethers.

I enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon with some members of Banchory Blethers who meet at Banchory Library's heritage museum. I read a couple of poems and stories from my own collections of Doric tales, and we also enjoyed poems from James Glennie and Flora Garry.   

 

 

 

Aberdeenshire Libraries Staff.

Some of the lovely ladies from Aberdeenshire Libraries who will be going to Zambia with the Bookbus.

 

 

Aberdeenshire Libraries Readathon Westbank Care Home Oldmeldrum.

Another stop on our Readathon travels was at Westbank Care Home, Oldmeldrum where we all received a very warm welcome.

 

Aberdeenshire Libraries Readathon Ellon Resource Centre.

One of our stops on the mobile library Readathon was at Ellon Resource Centre. The service users were invited to listen to tales  with an African theme from myself and Helen MacDonald - a storyteller from Strichen.    

Aberdeenshire Libraries Reading Bus Aberchirder.

I had a super time at Aberchirder Primary School's Reading Bus day. The children were invited to climb on board the Aberdeen City Reading Bus to listen to stories with Sheena Blackhall, whilst I joined with Aberdeenshire Library staff to chat to parents and carers about the importance of reading to the children in their care. Part of the programme for the day included a talk about about Aberdeenshire's online service and everything it has to offer. Those who attended on the day were also invited to take a look at the wide range of children's books available from the library service. The sessions were well attended and the discussions were lively, interesting and productive.

Tarland Reminiscence Group

 

I had a lovely time last week with the residents of Tarland Reminiscence Group and also with some residents from Banchory sheltered housing scheme. We enjoyed a variety of poems and stories - some in our North-east's Doric dialect and shared many tales of yesteryear. At Tarland we had a lively discussion about Aberdeenshire's Mither Tongue and its preservation. And at both venues there was a nice cup of tea and a big bit of cake to round off our sessions - nice!