Day 334: London Town

Today, I am walking the streets of London, and I'm setting myself a personal challange to spell out 'London Town' in photos. Reckon I'm up for it? Come back tomorrow and see!

Where are you on this fine Saturday? What creative challenge could YOU set yourself?

Get active. Get creative.

Day 333: Three is a magic number!

Today is day 333, so the challenge is to do three of everything! Eat three times (which isn't too much of a challenge), make three things, paint three things, knit three things...

You get the picture picture picture.

I am going on a merry trip to London today, so my person challenge is to go to three galleries. I'm also going to see Wicked in the West End too, but I can't afford to go three times!

So, by tomorrow, 3 creative things must be achieved. They don't have to be the same, so maybe think of three different creative things. Get your imaginations rolling...Another job for us creative thinkers!

Day 332: Nature in the Urban Jungle

As spring gets ever more vibrant, I've started to notice lots of strange things. This morning when I was waiting for a lift at the side of the road, a blue tit caught my eye as it flew and landed in the road. Next to it on the road was a big spider, obviously injured. My guess was the blue tit saw the chance of a tasty snack, but before it could eat it a car came and the bird shot out of the way. It didn't return for the rest of the time I stood there. I watched the spider struggle, round in circles. Car tyres missed it by inches each time. No one notices a little spider in the urban jungle.

I find it bazaar when nature interacts with city life. Yesterday, I saw a hedgehog scamper across the empty road at midnight as I walked home from work. It's the second one I've seen wandering the street of Bath this spring. Where are they going? Have they just woken up from hibernation and looking for food? Come to think of it, I don't even know what hedgehogs eat. Isn't it crazy the thing we don't know about animals that live all around us?

This morning when I went into Saltford Primary School we were talking all about animals, which I thought was weird with all the interaction I've have had with them lately. We wrote poems based on Mandy Coe's poem, Invitation from a mole. Can you guess what animal I am writing about?

Invitation from a ...
Roll in the dirt
and    take   time
feeling
as you ripple along.
Bits get stuck but
no bother.
What was dry
becomes moist as you
                                   edge
                                        closer
to the sweet, crunchy, succulent
leaf.
It's worth the                    wait.

Day 331: Sharing Harry Potter

I was flicking through the channels on the TV as I eating my lunch and finally settled on a show about book clubs. The programme went from a studio of presenters to an idyllic country house where 8 people were sitting around discussing a book they'd all read. They shared ideas and opinions on the book and looked like they were having a pretty good time.

There's something about sharing the experience of reading a book. When Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows came out, I remember my sister and I read it together. Sometimes we would read it aloud to each other and sometimes we'd read independently at the same time. It was really nice being able to finish a chapter and then talk about it with someone else.

Making reading into a social activity seems like a really good idea to me and watching this programme made me want to join a book club. Everyone who reads a book takes slightly different meanings from it, based on their own experiences of the subject matter and where they're at in their life, so sharing reading gives you a bigger picture of what that book is about.

I've made the decision. After Uni (everything is after uni at the moment!) I am going to set up a book club. Are you with me? Why not set one up yourself with your friends, at your school/collage or at work? Try teenreads to start you off on your way or contact your local library to see what's already going on in your area.

Reading doesn't have to be done alone...

Day 230: Livewriting by MCM

Imagine writing a 52,000 work book. Now imagine writing it in 45 hours. And finally, imagine writing it in front of an audience of thousands, who give you answers you HAVE to fit into the next stage of you story.

Impossible?

Well not for MCM. In March he wrote a book called The Archivists whilst 300,000 people watched online! Isn't that incredible? I mean, talk about inspiring. Makes my 17,000 over 7 months look a bit pathetic! I guess it shows how new media is the way forward for us creative thinkers. MCM is using all that new technology has to offer to make books and stories a success. Now that's what I call creative thinking.

Keep an eye on the website. Apparently the next live write will be taking place in 6 months...

Interactive writing. It's the future!

Day 329: Sewing, here we come...

On Saturday, I put up a picture of my unopened presents, which is pretty and all, but it's a bit mean if I don't share what's actually under the wrapping paper. There were a few creative gems in there, one being the massive one at the back (scroll down to take a look). My lovely Mum, Step Dad Mark and grandparents gave me a sewing machine!

I am so excited. My creative enthusiasm hasn't been let loose on one of those since I made a Mickey Mouse Apron in Year 8 (which was awesome, of course.) I can use the Meet me at Mikes Book (see Day ...) I got for Christmas to sew toys, coasters, skirts...pretty much anything really. What would you make?

I have banned myself from even getting it out of the box until after Uni. Final slog now. Knitting is destracting enough without a new creative toy to play with.

If you know any good sewing websites/blogs, leave a comment below. Best to help each other out with all this creative stuff, right?

Day 328: Boating with Jamie Cullum

Okay, so I didn't actually go boating with Jamie Cullum, but I did see him and go boating on the same day. Not just any day, my birthday.

Here are the creative highlights of my 24th birthday. Firstly, I took a turn at rowing down the Avon River. I have to say, I wasn't too bad at it, (although I'm rubbish at steering. I kept getting distracted by cute duckings swimming beside us!) but it took me a while to get the hang of rowing, so I made up a little song to help me keep rhythm. The lyrics are the following:





Up and along and down and through x3
Through the river we glide.

Up and along, down and through x3
Through the river we glide.

To be honest, the lyrics don't do it justice, but it shows purposeful creativity nonetheless!

Second highlight is the Silver Ring Choir. We went to see them in concert, celebrating their 60th Anniversary. They were stunning. Apparently they've toured the whole world, Paris, Canada, New Zealand...all over! The best song (in my opinion) was their rendition of, 'Sing a song of sixpence'. It made me cry a little bit, it was so incredibly creative and melodic.



The main highlight has to of course be Jamie Cullum, who played after the choir.

Believe it or not, this picture is actually Jamie. Can I get away with calling it creative exposure??

He.
Is.
Incredible.

I mean, I can't even do him justice through these words. He has so much energy, I don't know how else it could be released but through creativity itself (shown brilliantly by my amateur photography skills). At one point he was playing the piano, drumming on it's top, singing and beat boxing all at the same time. I was literally gob-smacked! He sang, 'What a difference a day makes' too and I was transported to another place, it was so peaceful and calm. Amazing.

A brilliant birthday. I wish every day we like that!