Reading books allowed!

Where did September go? Forgive me but a holiday to the Isle of Skye and a flurry of activity that coincided with the return of the hubbub of schoolchildren on our local playing field conspired to keep me from updating my story until now.

My optimism in the 'dog days' at the end of of August, with 'another summer's promise almost gone' was channelled into a clutch of shared reading aloud 'taster' sessions. Having run several work-based lunch time sessions, a delightful open session in a local children's centre, and with more sessions lined up with our colleagues at Age UK Northampton, another family centre and hopefully our local library, it seems the time has come to consider establishing a dedicated voluntary organisation to manage the programme as it continues to develop. The options are currently being weighed but finding a name for the new organisation is proving a challenge. How do you capture the spirit and ethos of an activity that people can often begin to appreciate only once they have tried it for themselves? A number of suggestions have been made, 'page turners', 'chapter and verse' and the like but my current favourite is 'Books Allowed' (pun intended!).

This late summer sunshine has been delightful and has certainly inspired me to press on with spreading the word about the many benefits of participating in shared reading aloud. I'm pleased to say that more advocates are being gained each week. Our most recent potential converts were encountered at an away day I facilitated at the Mansion in Bletchley Park, aptly on National Poetry Day. We celebrated with a hiaku which amused me at least.

‘To-con-vey one's mood
In sev-en-teen syll-able-s
Is ve-ry dif-fic’

John Cooper Clarke

Getting results from seeding and nurturing...

One aspect of having more time in a day is the opportunity to take a greater interest in the garden. It may sound odd, to anyone who knows me, but I am taking delight in nurturing seeds and growing herbs from scratch. But as someone with no previous interest or experience in such pursuits I am having to appreciate that it takes time and patience to get results.

There are several parallels between my new found horticultural interests and my efforts to nurture 'shared reading aloud groups' in my local area. I am spending a lot of my time explaining the simplicity of the approach (sewing the seed) and running taster sessions with staff teams (tending the soil) at the voluntary organisations I am depending upon to help me get the groups operational. But it seems that this approach is finally starting to bear fruit. Within the next couple of months 'shared reading aloud' groups will be operational in two community centres in MK, my local library and at day centres and groups run by Age UK in Northamptonshire.

In the same way that my coriander flourished once I'd moved it to the herb box, I am hoping that these fledgling groups will soon be running themselves. As I sat in the office of a community centre manager this afternoon I spotted a large quotation scrawled on his notice board - 'With confidence, you have won before you have started'. Marcus Garvey '
I am confident these groups will flourish!

Shared reading aloud...

It's been three months since I retired from the civil service and gave myself permission to follow my heart and passion for introducing people to the fun of shared reading aloud. In that time, I have run taster sessions for the staff at two voluntary organisations with whom I have a connection and they have gone down really well.

The principle is essentially quite simple. Reading a piece of classic literature or poetry aloud among a group of attentive listeners and contributors is a positive force for enhancing personal wellbeing. The groups provide space in people's busy lives to discuss their responses to the words and the stories they hear and to share their feelings in a supportive environment.

Dipping into the classics of literature and poetry, with the support of a 'reading aloud' group, opens up a world of human experience for people to share.

If you'd like to find out more about the approach, or would be interested in helping to lead a group, you can contact me at john@jmcollaboration.co.uk or at reading@snvb.org.uk.

John Marshall