winter time

In the end of my placement (that is how I should start decribing this experiance...) I have a chance to participate one more time in the events I became familiar at the very beginning. As Ola O. has already wrote on 25th of Nevember we had the Heart of Engagement Cafe - this time especially for local volunteers. One week later there was similar workshop for smaller, but very keen to discuss group. Both meetings gave me the possibility to follow the process with higher awerness and better understanding. And I took part in more active way - I presented the feedback after the first exercise (people were discussing posed question with the others sitting by the same table, making notes on paper table clothes, writing the most important issues on post-it notes - and that is what I collected).

Previous short courses at the uni have finished, so it is a right time to strat something new.This week there was the first session of 'Making It Happen' - the course about community arts for community artists mostly. I have been observing what community arts is in practice (working in New Vic, meeting the community photographer, people from B-arts and Junction 15, attending Lound Mouth Women sessions...) for last nearly 3 months, but yesterday I learned about its history and roots, political and economical aspects of the develepment. I had also my '5 minutes': I presented what 'community arts' means or can mean in Poland and how it is connetcted with culture(al) animation. That was really exciting to show who is Jerzy Grotowski and qoutate Grzegorz Godlewski and Leszek Kolankiewicz in Stoke...

 

That was another possibility to prepare myself for the presentation we three have on 20th of December that is to sum up our achievements and experiances here. We discussed it during the meeting with our carers  in the end of November.

I also:

• took part in World AIDS Day organised by Borderlines in New Vic Theatre: I saw Borderline members (including Jula) dressed up as queens and ruuning karaoke competition (we were singing Queen's songs) and pub quiz (that is something we haven't already mentioned, but is very popular here) about HIV and AIDS supported by police officers;
• saw first official screening of the film about domestic violance - production of Junction 15;
• had a debut as an actress in Ola O.'s film about out staying in Stoke-on-Trent: we spent the whole freezing day outside documenting the most important venues in Burslam, Hanley, Stoke... Ola O. will introduce this production soon.

fot. o.o.

Entertainment (with Ola O.):

• Gladstone Potteries Museum: bottle-shaped huge kilns, interactive exhibition in the real factory, the history of toilets;

fot. o.o.

• 'Peter Pan' performance in New Vic Theatre (thanks to Sue): actors flying under the roof and above the audiance, very warm atmosphere, really good piece of art;
• 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows': not because of the personal choice, to be honest, but it turned out that watching Harry Potter's films in Enland is much more exciting: the same fireplaces, the same lining, the same wallpaper, streets, biuldings as all around...

fot. o.o.

Weather conditions:
10 days of real winter have just ended with real English rainy day yesterday. 2 cm of snow caused cancelled or delayd flights, trains and cultural events, closing some of the schools and coughing in the buses. No winter tires, no insulation in houses. But there was beautiful. Not further than one our from Stoke by train in London's direction.

o.