Also Ran 1080P from Tabacula on Vimeo.
‘Also Ran’ is a film produced by The Spider Project from a short story by James Kelman entitled ‘Greyhound For Breakfast.’ Booker Prize winning author, Mr. Kelman (or ‘Jim’ to his pals) is a long standing friend of the project and has visited us to lead a workshop with members of our creative writing and drama groups. He kindly gave us permission to adapt ‘Greyhound’ using the basic story outline and improvising our own dialogue from the drama group’s rehearsals.
The cast worked very hard perfecting their roles in the run-up to the filming which took place on three cold days in November. Locations in Birkenhead and New Brighton were used instead of the Glaswegian setting of the original story. We screened the film in December and held another evening screening in February for those who missed the December day-time showing. Please note the end credits are split and are going to be re-edited. There’s a final scene before the final credits roll so don’t turn off to soon!
The film is dedicated to John McDonald, a Spider drama group member who sadly passed away before he could appear in the film. We hope you enjoy it.
One of the photographs from our exhibition which has just finished at FACT, Liverpool. The repsonse to the work has been fantastic and we are planning to display them at the upcoming Wirral recovery event in December.
Click here to see the full exhibition
Photography
We held the launch for our photography group’s exhibition, ‘Now Will Soon Be Then’ at FACT as part of their ‘Healthy Spaces’ initiative on Thursday 6th October. The collection of black and white documentary images was originally due to be on display until 30th October but FACT have asked us to extend this for a few more weeks. The exhibition showcases one of the projects that our groups – on both sides of the Mersey – have been working on. Here are some of the comments made by members of the public regarding the exhibition…
“Enjoyed Spider Project photography group exhibition – interesting and will be looking at their website”
20/10/11
The photo’s were amazing.”
13/10/11
“Spider photographic exhibition – impressed by creativity and mood of the pictures”
6/10/11
“A great little gem – more power to your elbow”
13/10/11
We have also launched two seperate blogs on different projects. ‘Hope Street Peeps’ is linked to our Making History Group’s ongoing Hope Street Chronicles project and features random people interviewed and photographed by our group in and around Hope Street. See the bottom of this post for some examples and here’s a link to the main site….
http://hopestreetpeeps.wordpress.com/
Our Birkenhead Media project is exploring different elements of the town’s history and landscape. Here are some photos of the ‘edgelands’ around the docks and Cammel Lairds shipyards….
http://birkenheadmedia.wordpress.com/
Thanks to our photography tutor, John Lafferty for working so hard on this exhibition and all the members of our photography groups in Liverpool and Wirral for all their work. Thanks also to Joan, Kat, Ang and everyone at FACT for being so helpful and providing such a great space to display the work. Here’s a link to FACT’s ‘Healthy Spaces’ site
http://www.fact.co.uk/news/blog/2011/06/17/healthy-spaces
Making History – Liverpool’s ‘Knowledge Quarter’
The group has been looking at the development of various ‘quarters’ in and around the city centre. How many quarters can a city have? There are atleast six that we know of or are being proposed, which is not only mathematically impossible but also raises questions about what the purpose of these zones are. Here’s an excerpt from the blog which looks at the new ‘Knowledge Quarter’
What is Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter? According to the prospectus which you can get as a pdf here :
Liverpool Knowledge Quarter stretches from the City’s Anglican Cathedral to the South, through the core facilities of Liverpool John
Moores University and University of Liverpool, taking in the Metropolitan Cathedral, Liverpool Science Park, Hope Street‘s cultural
offering and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine at its Northern fringe. The
Knowledge Quarter also reaches out to and includes John Moores University’s City campus on Byrom Street, an important gateway
to the city centre from north Liverpool where much of their science and technology research is based. The Quarter’s role as a centre
of learning is further enhanced by Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool Community College and Liverpool Institute for Performing
Arts (LIPA). Together these institutions house a concentration of expertise, knowledge and wealth creating potential, which we
believe is unrivalled in the UK.
We can add to those locations Copperas Hill, the old mail sorting office which is now to be developed by John Moores University.
The image above taken from the top of Hope Street shows how the new road surfaces and pavements have been continued towards the knowledge quarter. It’s well worth looking at the prospectus as it shows images of Hope Street itself, even street signs, certainly restauarants and bistros. The ambience of Hope Street being marketed here is seen as an important part of the perceived ambience of the Knowledge Quarter as a whole.
http://aspidering.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/the-knowledge-quarter/
Contemporary Dance
We’ve started a new evening session in October which is aimed at any of our members who are interested in ‘contemporary dance’ or who don’t really understand what it involves but are willing to give it a go. We’ve been particularly pleased that the majority of service users who have started this group have been male as we really want to push dance as something both men and women can experience and participate in. The sessions take place at the Merseyside Dance Initiative on Hope Street between 6.30 and 8.30pm where Andrea from MDI leads the group in a series of improvised moves aimed at telling a story through movement. We hope this session will become a popular addition to our programme and that we can utilise dance in our upcoming theatrical productions.
Women’s Group
The Women’s group meet every Tuesday from 12-2pm. Over the last few weeks we have had Zumba sessions. Mandi from Ambition For All comes in and teaches the group how to Zumba. We all enjoy her sessions, it’s a fun way to keep fit also you don’t need to be a dancer to join in. The music keeps us all going, you don’t realise how hard you’re actually working. Zumba is an improvised dance and aerobics exercise. Much better than going to a boring old gym…
Drama – Film Shoot ‘No Distance Left To Run’
After a few months of intensive rehearsals, we began our film based on a James Kelman short story on 17th October. This was a great opportunity for our drama group to perform infront of a camera crew and participate in a real film shoot that places greater demands on actors. Everyone got into the spirit of the project and remained professional and patient as scenes were shot time after time from different angles as directed by the brutal task master, Paula Currie (the Stanley Kubrick of Pilgrim Street). The three day shoot took place in a very wet and windy New Brighton with most of the action taking place in the far from glamorous ‘Phoenix Club’ (no Peter Kay jokes please!) with some of the cast and our faithful greyhound, Ellie also shooting more scenes outside and during the evening. The film is now being edited and should be ready for a screening in a few months time. Thanks to everyone who took part and to James Kelman (a long-standing friend of the project) for allowing us to base our film on his story in the first place.
Outward Bound Residential 28th-30th September by Jamie Barton
Wednesday
As I stood at the bottom of the TreeTop Adventure jump in Snowdonia on our way to Anglesey, I watched Joe, Jane, Emma, Ged and Paul do the jump and I was feeling rather cocky as they made it look easy. I must say a big ‘well done’ to everyone but especially Emma as she absolutely conquered her fear of heights. Ged was class. If you’ve never seen anyone trying to run in the air whilst falling, all I can say is, it’s funny. It was just like a cartoon.
When I started the ascent I was still quite sure it was easy. Half way up, I wasn’t so sure. Third of the way up it was ‘don’t look down’ time. I really thought I couldn’t do it but I did with encouragement from everyone and what a feeling!
When we arrived we were all very happy with the place. It was perfect and the little attic bedrooms were boss. We all went for a night time walk on the beach while the lovely Andrea from Mobex prepared supper, which was lovely. She is a diamond lady. On the way to the beach we bumped into Spider’s very own Peter who was wandering the dark lanes like the lost ghost of a lonely hiker. It was a lovely night.
Thursday
We were up early but not too early, for a nicely cooked breakfast by Andrea. As we were tucking in, we realized Ged was still in bed, which was lucky because it’s possible he could have slept all day. First on the agenda today was sea kayaking with Andy from Outdoor Alternative and Carl from Mobex, who is a ‘swear down on me life lad, honest lad, no honest, spit down, I swear, sound fella, honest!’
First half of the day we stayed in the bay. It was really good with the waves and rocks to maneuver around and Joe must really like it in the water because he threw himself out the boat any chance he got. Ha Ha. We had a break for lunch, which was ready and waiting for us, then went back out. This time we went further out and round the coastline. It was loads of fun and we saw seals popping their heads out of the water to see what we were up to. As we headed back to shore we stopped for a game of water polo, which got a little bit competitive but it was great.
Later on, we drove out to the lighthouse to watch the sunset and what a sight it was. I got some great photos and so did Paul. He is a poser. That night we had curry for tea, then watched the amazing night sky. I played my guitar a bit and thankfully no one threw a cup at my head but actually said it relaxed them. Thanks. A little game of ‘snap piggy whistler’ which Paul and Andrea excelled at and off to bed, Everyone was SHATTERED (apart from Peter because he hadn’t done anything).
Friday
Up for another cooked brekky and a quick tidy up, in which everyone helped. Today was leaving day and I was nearly gonna let the tyres down on the van so we could stay a bit longer. We packed our stuff, threw the ball one last time for Smudge (Andy’s dog) and hit the road on our way to Caernarvon for a glorious walk in the hills and valleys. The views were spectacular and the scenery changes were really interesting. It took us four hours but it was worth it and the river was amazing.
We got back to the van, had butties and set off for Liverpool. We all had tired feet and Jane even asked me to massage her feet to which I politely declined. Ha Ha. Jane had really enjoyed the trip and said how it had filled her with spirituality. I think we all felt the same, I know I did.
So, to cap it off, Ged learned he couldn’t fly (although watching him try was great), I learned how some things look easy until you’re staring them in the face, Emma showed real courage and didn’t give up, Jane filled up on Spirit Food. She really is Mother Nature’s daughter. Paul nearly got puked on by Emma when climbing the free fall but had a great time anyway and Joe will insist that every time you hear a jet that it’s an RAF Tornado and I mean INSIST.
Thanks to all that made this possible, which is everyone who was there and the guys from Spider and Mobex. ‘Honest lad, seriously, spit down on me life lad, no serious, swear lad, spit down, yeah safe!’
Jamie B
Hope Street Peeps – some photos from our project
Outward Bounds – Y Garn, Snowdonia Friday 16th September by PJ
A few weeks after conquering Mount Snowdon we were back in the area again, this time tackling its littler cousin ‘ Y Garn’. An 11 strong squad set off from the bottom as the weather appeared quite perfect for a trek. Somewhere near the halfway point a sudden change in conditions had us reaching for the waterproofs, and gave John the opportunity to reel off his time honoured quote “There’s no such thing as bead weather, just inappropriate clothing”.
We passed through the Devil’s Kitchen on the descent and the rain eased as the sun tried to shine through the clouds. Ellie bravely conquered her fear of heights, Joe overcame a bout of ‘moreoutwardboundsinafewmonthsthanintheprevious30years-itis’, Ged alerted us to the pitfalls of wearing denim whilst climbing Y Garn in the rain, Billy failed to notice any scenery as he couldn’t stop staring at Carls HAIR…and Jamie ate most of my Doritos.
A thoroughly enjoyable day out that somehow wasn’t even spoiled by listening to Radio 1 all the way home. The only downside to the day was that my beloved ipod got soaked. I returned home to be told that all I had to do to salvage it was to leave in a bowl of rice for 24 hours. It only worked didn’t it?!
Is rice.
Outward Bound – Moel Arthur, Clwyd Friday 2nd September by Emma Craven
After leaving a daytime treatment centre which I attended for three months, I signed up for The Spider Project and my first outing was to Clwyd to walk Moel Arthur with a minibus full of other Spider group members. When I first saw Moel Arthur I thought ‘this isn’t a hill, it’s a mountain. I was advised by the lovely PJ (Spider staff) and Carl (Mobex staff) to just take my time, which I did. The day was magical for me, spending time with people I didn’t know and also spending some ‘me time’ with myself. I felt truly at peace. The scenery of purple and yellow flowers were breath taking, seeing a village through the trees, seeing nature at its best and most beautiful. The weather was ideal for walking, looking at the sky, the clouds, the flowers, the landscape. I felt like I was a milion miles from a fast, racing city and helped me calm my mind down. Priceless! I felt as free as the sheep on the hill, free to roam where I wanted. Once at the top of Moel Arthur, I sat by an out-house. I breathed in all that was beautiful and natural. I felt alive and glad to be alive. Thank you to the Spider Project.
Drama – A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Jackie Prudom
Tom Griffin, who works for the Brothers Of Charity services in Broadgreen has recently put together a performance group which consists of people with and without disabilities to produce an adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the National Wildflower Centre on the 18th August. He contacted Spider looking for people who would like to be part of this production. Mark, Iris and myself from Spider Liverpool and Chris from Spider Wirral all got involved. We were made to feel welcome and valued right from the off. Not only did I enjoy the performance but I made new friends and enjoyed working as a team.
Worrying about whether or not I would be able to commit the time and also retain lines seems daft now and I thank Sandra (Spider staff) who encouraged me to phone Tom to find out more about the performance. It was a pity we couldn’t perform in the beautiful gardens at the Wildflower Centre (which was a perfect location for the play) due to poor weather but everything went well in the Visitor’s Centre. Mark was not only good at acting, he was a good hand at moving tables, chairs and art works out of the room. Iris did a great job with the fairies physical theatre, even people in wheelchairs could make meaningful movements with arms and heads. Chris was good at acting and performed a small miracle as he bonded with a person who hadn’t communicated with anybody in a long time. He spoke freely with Chris. I contributed by helping with make-up and listening as others went through their lines. I really enjoyed playing my part as Puck. Paula, our drama teacher at Spider gave some cracking tips which built my confidence tremendously. People came over afterwards and complimented me, thinking I was a professional actress.
I learnt from people with learning difficulties to enjoy the moment, they weren’t faffing around with nerves and panicking, they were loving every minute of it and their enthusiasm split over into the audience. A group of teenagers from the Childwall Valley Theatre Group were inspired by our performance and have requested to Simon, their drama teacher, that they wish to do some Shakespeare. Previously this was a definite no go area. My friends and family came along to support us and had a fun night along with everybody else in the audience and the performers.
We will be performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream again at the Contemporary Urban Centre at 7.30 on 15th September and have been invited back to the Wildflower Centre to perform there on 29th Sept at their charity night. The Aspire Theatre Group intend to create an adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens for this Christmas and I feel privileged to be invited to join them and pass on the message that we are all equal and learn from each other.
Arcade Fire – Live review MEN arena Wednesday 31st August by Amanda
Was it actually that good? I found myself asking…after a night of half sleep, re-living the event just passed.YES IT WAS! How often do you come across something so special? A gig where every song is the soundtrack to a story in your life? In my case, I have come to a place where it’s time to let go of the stories and embrace reality of the present day.
It was as though they had taken my setlist. Tune after tune rolled out. The euphoria began at number one “Now I’m ready to start”. It continued with ‘Keep the car running’ from the Neon Bible album. Three albums became enmeshed into one seamless affair.
Arcade Fire are a rocking,get your groove on band that are renowned for their live performance. They bring a spiritual element to the audience. The lighting was warm, bunting slung up, two drum kits, an accordian, violins, piano, guitars, energy, limbs flying as though puppeteered, streamers and visuals flicking.
The packed out crowd, arms raised to the heavens above, singing esoteric melodies as one. They ended with the title track from their latest album, ‘Suburbs’, with a line that hums from the heart…’Sometimes I can’t believe it, I’m moving past the feeling’.
Creative Writing
We had a good session this week, very interesting. I just want to write a little bit about one of our new writers – Frank.
I was away last week and Phil Thornton took the session – he gave the group a subject to write about: departure.
It can be really helpful sometimes – particularly for newer writers – to have a subject to write about. We usually let writers write what they like, but sometimes this can be overwhelming. You sit down to write, knowing you can write about ANYTHING and it can be hard to pin one subject or idea down. You spend so long trying to decide what you want to write, that you don’t have time to write anything.
It’s like being in a supermarket and trying to buy washing powder. In the corner shop there’ll be one or two to choose from – easy. But in the supermarket you’re paralysed by choice: lemon fresh or tropical flowers, biological or non-biological. Liquid, powder, gel. Too much choice can be a bad thing.
Frank, one of our new writers was feeling a bit like that. Couldn’t work out what he wanted to write amongst endless possibilities. So Phil’s suggestion was a god-send. Taking ‘Departure’ as his theme, he wrote his first short story for the group and read it out to us.
Frank introduced the story by telling us about his Great-Grandfather – Frank – who was killed in the First World War aged 19. As a tribute to him, a family tradition began: first born sons were always named Frank. (A beautiful story in itself.)
Frank’s story was about this first Frank – who he knew nothing else about.
He wrote a short story about Frank leaving for war. His mother is in the kitchen at the sink, knowing that her son is about to leave and that he may not come back There is a spider in the sink that she can’t bring herself to kill, so she, ‘chases the little bugger down the plughole’.
She doesn’t turn round to say goodbye to her son; although she desperately wants to hold him and kiss him. She keeps her farewell understated, light, knowing that if she turns round to say goodbye she will have to face up to the fact that he might not return. He goes off to war and she never sees him again.
It is a very short story, which hinges on this one moment. I loved how understated it was. The domestic setting and the restraint in the details, combine beautifully to make the story extremely powerful and moving.
I love how much I learn from the other writers who come to the group. Frank’s story illustrated perfectly how to use restraint in a story; to resist the temptation to give the reader too much. It also showed us the power of the well chosen detail.
So thanks for that Frank. It was the first piece I’ve heard from this writer – I’m looking forward to hearing more.
Frank also does his own website and radio show entitled ‘Who’s Arsed?’ – here’s a link :
http://www.whos-arsed.com/
Wirral News
The football sessions continue to run on Tuesdays. Since our last report 3 people have completed level 1 coaching badges. We are also now taking names for people to begin taking refereeing certificates and surprisingly already have several candidates. The new season of the Imagine Your Goals league begins in October and we are well prepared for the new campaign. Friendly games have been played with the likes of The Ark in the closed season to help keep everyone focused.
SWITCH our service user group is expecting to publish the next edition of the Spider Chronicle within the next week or so. All material is in with the group though they are always open to new contributors. spiderchronicles@gmail.com
Outward bounds have continued on water sports throughout the Summer months with 8 new level 1 canoeing certificates being gained. As of Sep 19th the focus will move to land based activities such as hill walks and climbing etc.
Making History & Photography - The visit to Liverpool of the Queen Elizabeth gave our photography and history groups the excuse to walk down to the Pier Head to make some photos of the grand old boat and to discuss aspects of the city’s maritime past. Here’s a link to the site :
http://inspidered.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/queen-elizabeths-visit/
and some photos taken on the day….
It’s been a very sad month for us since hearing about the death of one of our service users, John McDonald. John was featured in last month’s webzine enjoying himself at the outward bounds residential in Anglesey and had become one of our most active service users over the past six months joining with yoga, mind and body, photography, drama and outward bounds. His mischevious sense of humour made him very popular with other group members and staff alike and he will be sorely missed. Spider staff member, PJ Smith was asked to read at John’s funeral. Here is his moving obituary
I first met John roughly 2 and a half years ago. For reasons I can’t really explain, I instantly liked him. My instinct just told me he was a sincere,funny,modest man, the list could really go on. In this case, my instincts were proved to be right. Over the next 2 and a half years I had the pleasure of spending more time with John, connecting with him and also becoming involved in certain groups that he was a part of. It was during that particular time that I witnessed John flourish at, amongst other things, photography, drama, yoga and outdoor pursuits.
He had made real progress since we first met, particularly at the drama group that we were both involved in. From initially pretending to be shy and being reluctant to get involved, John ended up becoming an integral part of that group…so much so that we had him down for the role of the main character in our next film. He even called in one day to discuss the ending of the film, for which he’d come up with a cracking scene. This was a prime example of the progress he had made…from reluctant extra to director in a few short weeks! This summed up John’s enthusiasm, positivity and commitment to the cause. These traits rubbed off on other people too, everyone who came into contact with John was touched by his warmth and courteous nature. He really was a joy to have around and I know I speak for a lot of people when I say that.
The last time I saw John was after a particularly challenging yoga session, he was attempting to put his jeans back on but unbeknown to him, he had picked up someone elses jeans, this someone else was less than half johns height and weight so I watched him struggle for a while before he hit the deck and, along with the rest of us, collapsed into fits of hysterics when he realised he had been trying to get into a pair of size 6 womens jeans for the past few minutes.
His popularity just seemed to increase week by week, the more people got to know him. About 2 months ago, a few of us spent a couple of nights in Anglesey on an outward bounds holiday.John really came into his own on that break,he cemented himself as a vital member of the team…whether it be for his reliability, kindness or even his comedic nature! His jokes and attempts at playing charades while we were away certainly won’t be forgotten. John was beginning to find himself a new lease of life so it’s quite fitting that my abiding memory of him was while we were out enjoying one of his new found pastimes…sea kayaking. We were all having a bit of a rest on the beach, deliberating whether to get into the sea or not as it was absolutley ice cold. Not John though,he was straight out of his kayak, swimming right out into the sea…living right in that particular moment. When he returned to the bay,he sat down at the edge of the water, made himself a rollie, turned to me and said “That’s what life is all about isn’t it P?”. Right there, right then…I had to agree with him. Rest in peace John, you’ll be missed mate.
PJ Smith
Making History
We have launched our Hope Street Chronicles blogsite that tutor, Adrian Bailey and his group have been working on for the past few months. Here’s a link to the site
http://aspidering.wordpress.com/
The site has some really interesting pieces on the history of Hope St, possibly the most famous street in Liverpool. One of our most active group members, Jackie Prudom has been interviewed about her days spent as an art student in Liverpool during the 1970s. Here’s a link to her interview on our Spider podcast site…
http://inspidered.podbean.com/2011/08/11/the-liverpool-scene-in-the-70s/
Photography
The group has been offered exhibition space at FACT, one of Liverpool’s most prestigeous cultural venues for a month beginning 4th October. The group have been working on black and white documentary images and we’ve included some below to give you a flavour of the exhibition.
Drama in Bootle park by Jeff B
Anfie;d alley by Derek T
Pier Head Pyramid by Liam C
Sanctuary by Gill B
New Spider Wirral HQ
Spider Wirral has now completed its move to The Quays, unit 60 on Woodside Business Park next but one to Advocacy In Wirral. The Quays is an exciting, new, service user lead recovery community project. It aims to offer a range of user inspired initiatives to the community and is backed by the Wirral DAAT. The project has a close affiliation with Wirral Advocacy in that it shares similar aspirations re service user inclusion. We at Spider are really happy to be developing on the work we’ve already done in Wirral in recent years and are looking forward to forging close working links with the new community group known collectively as The Quays.
It is important to note that our timetable has remained unchanged and all groups are running as usual. Thanks to those who’ve remained positive throughout the move despite some temporary venue changes for groups due to the building work.
We can also report five clients successfully attaining level 1 kayaking certificates between July/August. Despite the upheaval of the project move, all groups have been well attended and the general consensus is that the new location on the river front is fantastic!!!
Mel Bowen
Outward Bounds – Spider conquer Snowden 5th August
A select group of crack Spider commandos known as ‘The Green Tracky Bottoms’ headed for Snowdonia on a cold summer morn to conquer one of mankind’s greatest natural obstacles, the mythical Celtic burial mound of the Welsh giant Owain Ap-Store otherwise known as Snowden. Fighting through dense undergrowth, lakes of fire, battling with invisible skeleton warriors and Stoke fans, our intrepid heroes arrived at the summit three days later but tired and starving had to call out Prince William to rescue them in his massive chopper.
The Oldest Boy Band In Town re-unite for one last tour
Women’s Group
The Spider Women’s group has been up and running for three weeks we had our first session on Tuesday 26th July.
The group consists of a six week block of sessions with a two week break in between. The group meets once a week from 12pm until 2pm. We also have a FaceBook Group it’s a closed group just for the Spider ladies to keep in touch with each other throughout the week, just search FB for Spider Women’s Group. Over the past three weeks we started with a getting to know you session, with ice breaker questions and answers just for fun, it turned out to be informative and extremely entertaining as some of the group’s answers were hilarious. Week two was introduction to ZUMBA we all loved it so much we had to bring Mandi the Zumba instructor in again for week three!!! This week Paula came along to the group to teach us basic hand massage therapy, we’re all looking forward to the session next Tuesday.
Drama
We received a phone call from Tom Griffin from the Brothers of Charity a few weeks ago. He was organising an event called ‘Aspirefest’ a visual and performing arts event celebrating the achievement of local individuals. Part of this festival is a performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream featuring both able bodied and disabled actors. Tom asked if any of our drama group members would be interested and three members of the group have been involved in the production. Here’s a link to the festival
http://www.bocmerseyside.org.uk/news.aspx
Editorial
This is the first of more regular webzines showcasing the activities and outcomes of Spider Project activities. We will ofcourse continue to work towards our major events throughout the year, but often the day to day, week to week work can get lost in between, so these monthly zines are aimed at providing a snapshot of Spider activities over the past month. Any service user wanting to contribute should see Phil or email phil@spiderproject.org
Outward Bounds Residential - Anglesey
The sun was cracking the flags for about three nanoseconds in June, which is perhaps all we can expect in this ‘new ice age’ era of ‘global warming’ – however, it didn’t stop our outward bounds residential in Anglesey taking place. John F has written a review of the event and Jeff B has provided some belter photos (see top and more at bottom of page).
Day 1
Our trip started with an essential visit to Asda in Queensferry to stock up on food for our three days on the rugged and beautiful island of Anglesey. Before we got to the island itself we all headed to Tree Tops climbing centre in Betws-y-Coed which was fairly demanding but everyone had a good go, to their credit. A few brave or mad group members had a go at the Powerfan 110 feet jump which was scary but great to do. We reached our base at about 4.30pm and headed out for a walk which lasted about an hour while Andrea from Mobex cooked tea. What a cook! Plenty of it and all lovely to eat, mmmmm! A game of charades in the evening proved we have some great actors in the group but The Simpsons ‘stole the show” – you just had to be there. How Jeff got it, God only knows.
Day 2
All up to a full brekky. Lovely! Then get our wetsuits sorted and off to Silver Bay to begin a full day of kayaking. Everyone had a go again and after half an hour’s instruction, we were off out to sea, along the coast watching the birds fishing, battling the waves and getting sun and wind burn. Back out after dinner for two and half hours of great views and more battles with the sea, which only only me and Jeff lost, capsizing, getting a good soaking and freezing in the Irish sea. After a great day it was home for a curry and a very competitive quiz which got louder by the question (just ask Katie!)
Day 3
Time to pack up and head for Holyhead mountain for a lovely walk in the sun. The view from the top was amazing, so clear across to the Snowdonia National Park mountains. We all got on well during the trip, had some good chats and laughs and got to know each other a lot better. I think I speak for all the group by saying a massive thank you to PJ, Carl and Andrea for a great trip, one that I’ll never forget. Thanks!
John Forster
Drama
The drama group have been working on their own interpretation of James Kelmans short story ‘Greyhound for Breakfast.’ Most of the group have got no previous acting experience,although from the rehearsals we’ve done so far,you would never know. The ‘star’ of the story is a man who, in a moment of madness, has inexplicably bought a greyhound. When he doesn’t get the reaction he was hoping for off his mates (they can’t stop buzzing off him!), he starts to realise that maybe this isn’t such a great idea. Reality dawns on him when one of the asks what his wife will think of his latest hare brained scheme. Infact, for ‘reality’ read ‘terror’. His wife is a force to be reckoned with and she’s got years experience of him and his pipedreams.The piss taking from his mates? That’s the least of his worries, the big obstacle now is how he is going to front the situation out with his Mrs!
The Drama group have improvised scenes so far. Direction has come from our drama tutor and the one person who has actually read the story, Paula Currie (you can add me to that list now though!). After taking part in the improvisation for the past few weeks then finally reading the story a few days ago, it’s come to my attention that the outcome of the groups make-it-up-as-you-go-along approach (with some excellent directing, of course…Hi Paula!) has almost mirrored the original Kelman story. Very eerie! Unless our actors are all secret James Kelman fans and are just toying with me and Paula?
Stranger things have happened…..
Film – Hooked
Jane Gannon has produced a short film based on Harry Dann’s story, ‘Hooked’ in the first volume of ‘Content.’ Jane came along to our writing group to request ideas for the film she had to make as part of her Level 3 OCN qualification in professional film making. This is a course that First Take Video & Film Production offer as part of their Short Cuts 2 scheme. Jane enrolled onto this with encouragement from Spider staff and wanted to make a film based around recovery from addiction. Writing tutor, Paula suggested ‘Hooked’ as a possible film subject and Spider put Jane into touch with Harry, who is now an ex-client, working full-time. The final film will be screened in July at the Contemporary Urban Centre (CUC) in Liverpool. Here’s a very short clip….
http://vimeo.com/24819480
Harry’s story of recovery has become something of a success story with trendy outdoor pursuits and music site ‘Caught By The River’ also publishing back in 2009. Here’s a link….
http://caughtbytheriver.net/2009/09/hooked/
Photography
The group are hard at work preparing for their upcoming exhibition of black and white documentary images and also work on individual projects with tutor, John Lafferty. The group has it’s own blog and has been working closely with with our Making History group on their ‘Hope St Project’ (see below) - see more images at:
http://spiderphoto.wordpress.com/
Making History
The group is currently working on a project based around Hope Street. We plan to have a seperate blog devoted entirely to this project up and running this month but the idea is keep adding to it as an ongoing project that can encompass audio, video and written work from group members. Here’s a link to the group’s ‘Inspidered’ blog looking at another aspect of local history, architecture and multiple meanings : Three Unities.
http://inspidered.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/three-unities/
Creative Writing
We are now compiling contributions for ‘Content’ Volume 4 due out in November (it’ll fly by!). We have also set up a blog for the writing group where we can post work from the group and also link to other writing and literature, poetry sites and events etc. Tutor, Paula Currie has written an introduction to the group and how it works as our first post.
www.spiderwriters.wordpress.com
Here are two poems by new creative writing group member, Robbie Mee.
CASTAWAY
I sit and contend with the lonliness of a castaway
Self-imposed now my exile, not like before, when I would run to strangers
My back has been against the wall so many times, it became my usual position
Now I am content to know who I am and even if angels had chains to pull me
I could not be moved from that
A FABLE FOR OUR TIME
This guy was pushing a mountain and it was moving
‘Wow, how do you do that mate?’
‘Don’t even know’ he said ‘it’s just something I picked up along the way’
‘Can I learn that?’
‘I honestly don’t know’ he said, ‘I know one thing, I can’t teach you
Maybe you’d be best to just try and copy what I do.’
‘Look mate I can push, infact I can push harder than you I guess
I am bigger and fit and obviously much stronger.
I still could not move a mountain, you must have a secret’
‘I surely do have something but it’s no secret
I gave up talking about it years ago as nobody listened.’
‘Alright, what’s the score?’
‘If I tell you, you won’t listen or if you do listen, you won’t believe it’
‘Why not?’
”Cos it’s too simple’
‘Try me!’
‘Okay, my heart never leaves the poor, no matter what my circumstances
I acknowledge the lonely and the dispossessed
I try whenever possible to affect those who are greedy but have too much
I avoid religion and politics as just more isms and just get on with it
My days can never be empty though I admit they are never
As full as I would wish
Long ago, I walked with wolves and just like them
I stalked my prey, until one day I was a man living in caves
When I dreamt how to make fire
That first fire died a long time ago, along with my dreams
Now I bother not with their forgotten dreams but live in the moment
In order to be aware of my actions
I realise now that all is as it should be yet I know my struggle
Will never be over, until I have the strength to move humanity
I just use mountains for practice
In truth some people can be more immovable than mountains
So a lot of practice is required
Now do with that just what you will.’
Robbie Mee
Wirral Football
We’ve had a busy old time with the football the past few months. Spider and Everton in the Community took a bus load to Chester for The Cheshire Partnership Cup, sadly Cheshire forgot to inform us they’d cancelled last minute!! No such nonsense at Greenbank Liverpool though and on 16th May Spider’s team took part in an all day tournament. All you need to know is we didn’t win. A friendly match was held at Birkenhead Youth Club against The Ark on 14th June and Spider won a very competitive game 9-5!! On Saturday 25th June, Spider and Everton in the Community took a group of eight over to Leicester for the International Football Tournament in aid of Refugee Week. Teams from across the country competed and although we didn’t win the tournament itself, we did win the Fair Play award and, more importantly, many friends.
Here’s a link to the tournament
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10246347
SWITCH – Wirral Service User Group
The Spider Wirral service user group continues to meet on a Wednesday afternoon. Much of the current activity has centred around our move to The Quays this month. In fact it has been really good to see those involved with SWITCH taking such an active part in the steering group and general development of The Quays. Despite all the hard work they are doing elsewhere, group members have not let their commitment to The Spider Chronicle slip and the next edition is due for publication in the next couple of weeks.
Dinner With Gershwin
Writing group member, Denis Joe has written a review of a recent George Gershwin concert he attended. Denis regularly writes for the influential Manchester Salon website where there is a more detailed review.
Link : http://www.manchestersalon.org.uk/music-reviews.html
Overture, Strike up the band!
Gershwin Songs
Piano Improvisation
Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture
Rhapsody in Blue
Stefano Bollani piano
Clark Rundell conductor
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall 30 June 2011
There comes a time in some pop crooner’s lives when they think that they are destined for greater things. Some, like Bryan Ferry and Rod Stewart are modest, and sensible, enough to make do with covering the songs of Irvine Berlin and Cole Porter, whilst the likes of Paul McCartney , Elvis Costello and Roger Waters think that because you can write tunes which are a bit catchy then you can just compose music for classically trained musicians to flatter you with.
However there is not simply a gulf between pop music (that includes Jazz, Rock, Folk, etc.) and classical, the two things are completely different. Pop music, at best, will provide with instant gratification. It may relate to our personal lives, such as Tamla Motown and Country & Western have done or it may simply just bring a smile to our face or make us want to dance.
Classical music is an art form that has a different impact on us. We may approach it as we do pop music, such as Nessum Dorma or the Nutcracker Suite and enjoy its pleasant tunes but that does not mean that we appreciate as a piece of art that challenges to look at the world in a way that we might not have done. Art is not simply about appealing to our immediate hunger, it is about stimulating us to engage with the artist and with the world in general.
George Gershwin was responsible for some of the greatest pop music of all times. Songs like ‘They can’t take that away from me’ or ‘Embraceable you’ are recognised as some of the greatest pop songs ever. But Gershwin had something else apart from an ear for a good tune: he recognised the power of music to speak to people beyond the banal of emotions and entertainment. Rather than simply entertain people and deflect them from the world, Gershwin had the drive to confront as all art should do.
Even in his musicals (the pop music of the day) one could sense that Gershwin had a greater understanding of the power of music. The opening of the ‘Overture, Strike up the band!’ begins with a military march that dissolves into the lush strings of a waltz, then goes into music that is hard to listen to and keep still at the same time. The orchestral versions of Gershwin songs were simply just beautiful making you want to sing along. But the singing part of the songs was taken up by Stefano Bollani on the piano, who proved more than capable of living up to the hype as the new great keyboard player in the Jazz world. But it was his solo improvisations that had the audience enthralled. Stabbing, jabbing, poking and stroking the piano keys, he drew out the beauty of the songs, with a passionate commitment.
After the interval we were given Gershwin the serious composer. The ‘Symphonic Picture’ of the opera Porgy and Bess was beautiful: calling on such great tunes such as Bess, you is my woman now, I got plenty of nuthin’ and Summertime to draw out the sheer humanity of this great opera.
After that, Bollani came back on stage for the final piece on the programme. Rhapsody in Blue is one of the greatest pieces of classical music in the canon. One way of looking at it is as a portrait of a day in the city. Opening with the famous ‘yawn’ of the clarinet the piece says more about modern life in 15 minutes than many composers have said in their whole output. What is so wonderful about Rhapsody in Blue is how Gershwin put the human being at the centre of the piece, with the voice of the piano, not as a scripted piece of music but as an improvisation recognising the freedom that exists in all of us.
The orchestra and Bollani came back on stage for an encore, playing an early jazz composition of Gershwin. This allowed for a lot of clowning around, especially from Bollani, who was left alone on the stage as the orchestra walked off to allow him to ‘show off’. And when you are as brilliant as Bollani was on this night, it would be criminal not to show off.
This was a really outstanding evening. By mixing entertainment with serious music the Liverpool Philharmonic were not saying that all music is the same, they were simply showing us the two sides of Gershwin’s genius. Whilst it is not important to attend a concert and spend the time stroking your chin in contemplation, there is nothing wrong with enjoying the music simply as a good tune. The tune is, after all, the thing that attracts us to music. However it is good that we discriminate; that we recognise art and pop culture as two separate things.
Costello and McCartney wrote some great pop songs and it is sad that they could not just rest on their laurels instead of going off and writing substandard droning such as The Juliet Letters or Standing Stone. Whilst striving for better things in life is admirable, there are also some times when one should ‘know their place’.
Denis Joe
Photos from the Anglesey residential June 2011
Photos by Jeff Bebington
