College Talks

Thank you to the staff of the English Department, in particular, Sue Harding and the students of Sir John Deane Sixth Form College in Cheshire. I enjoyed meeting them yesterday and talking about script and novel writing and how everything that we do, see, hear, experience can be used in our writing.
I love these occasions as it fires you up sharing ideas and it also reminds you why writing is so important and fun and inspiring. It reinforces why I do it.
For the first time in ages, I felt myself again. All keen and buzzing. Thank you for that.

Lots of roundabouts in that area. I got a bit lost, so went over more than I should, but it felt a strange land. And as soon as you came off the main road, I think it was the A533, it was Cheshire countryside and old farmhouses and low houses, but back on this newer road with its roundabouts I felt I was in Generic Land again. Is that the right term?

Anyway. The college was beautiful with its leaded windows, old wood doors, parquet floored classrooms and hall with its high beamed ceiling and stage and old boarding school feel. Sue Harding's English room had an open fireplace and she said that pupils used to light the fire and tea would be made and muffins or crumpets toasted and books and poetry and literature discussed. Doesn't that sound the way to learn to love literature? Not reading sections of a book so that you can answer a specific question on it. It was a room to love reading. The fire wasn't lit yesterday, but wouldn't it be a good thing if one day it was and pupils, faces glowing from the heat took it in turns to talk about their favourite word or phrase or character and why they loved writing?
Wouldn't pupils go out into the world more interesting people because they have a passion for something rather than having ticked a box to say they had learnt how to answer a question in the accepted way?
I enjoyed being shown these parts of the college. The pupils are very lucky to be learning in such an environment with such interesting and interested teachers. It was a pleasure to meet you.
And it's nearly the holidays.