| YOU CAN WRITE ! June 24 2007 2 - 4 pm At the Corn Exchange Melrose This was one of the events out of twenty-nine or so that ran over four days and made up The Borders Book Festival 2007. Up stairs, via the chair lift for me, I could hear chatting and laughter, clatter of cups on saucers, and scraping of chair legs. The room, with tea/coffee and biscuits at one end; Displays of work, people had sent in, the work LEARNING FOR ALL and THE BIG PLUS do across the Borders, at the other end. With chairs and tables in the middle, soon filled. It was nice to see faces I remembered, from across the Borders and beyond, and still lots more I didn’t know. Time to start. We were all gently herded into a second bigger room with chairs all round. I chose my seat along side the camera thinking I was safe. Photogenic I am not, but hadn't counted on the ingenuity of the cameramen, relocating, to record all. A welcome from Oonagh McGarry, a speech by Glenn Rodger, the Council’s Director of Education and Lifelong Learning. Then back to Oonagh who told us about photos and filming being taken, if no one minded? Where the fire exits were (air stewardess style) and to everyone relief, owing to the non-stop rain, that there were no planned drills. Maggie Elliott, needed no introduction, since most had attended her workshop she had been all over the Borders. Straight to work is her benchmark! This eased the tension and relaxed some people. My head was crammed with the task ahead, so I didn’t manage to put pen to paper to write about my hero. Some had written lots, others just a few words. Maggie introduced some to read out. This filled the first hour. Time for a tea/pee/fag stop. When back seated, Oonagh called for attention! Then, in no particular order, introduced people that had agreed to read. I listened to some very good readers and hoped I would do as well. I liked the lyrics read to music, and the poem by Janice. Lottie’s poem gave everyone the giggles. Then it was me. I took a deep breath, imagined “sitting in the Annexe with my friends from 2CA” then read, as I had practiced, applause, and on to the next poem. When all had read, Oonagh thanked people for working so hard, to make the event happen, seemingly so effortlessly, with great success, and called time. Lots of people, whose faces I remember, but names I do not, said nice things about my poem and how well I’d read. The room became very noisy, so I said my farewells, rode the chair lift once more. Stopping for a tick to view the rain and the washed out road then set off for the car and home. By Victoria August O7
|
