Finchley Literary Festival: Day 5 and 6

Diary of a festival organiser: Day 5

The afternoon began with a real treat. The Reader Organisation had organised two sessions to take place at North Finchley Library organised by Ruth Cohen and Paul Higgins.

Ruth and Paul are old friends of mine – Ruth because she is a Greenacre Writer member in the Short Story group and Paul because I met him when I trained as a Shared Reading Facilitator back in Autumn 2011. For this event, I had decided I would be a participant. The session began with us introducing ourselves and Paul told us a little bit about The Reader Organisation which you can find out about here.

Paul then began reading a short story, it was about two people that meet in an unfamiliar airport and how through questions and answers they get to know each other and maybe even fall in love a little. We read a little, spoke a little and laughed a lot. Then we shared a poem, which was very moving all about another world when people would have time to stop and stare.

It was such a lovely respite for me as I had been rushing around all week, in fact weeks with the organisation of the festival and I left the library feeling totally refreshed.

Meanwhile, Mike was attending Maggie Butt’s ‘How to get your poetry published’, at East Finchley Library which he said was an eye opener and he even read his poem, Death of a Seaside, a lovely piece about a run down hotel by the sea.

After a quick rest, it was all hands to the deck again for Maggie Butt’s ‘Ally Pally Prison Camp’ presentation and Mick Crick's 'Private John Parr' talk.

Did you know Ally Pally was once a prison camp? Maggie has written a book, you can find out more here

Day 6

I have to confess I missed Paul Baker’s literary walk, it just was not possible to attend every single event. You can find out more about Paul’s walks here

As Paul’s walk was coming to an end, we were setting up a small cave for Finchley’s Dragon’s Pen. Church End Library who have provided such excellent support for the festival, gave us a room which we prepared for Gillian Stern, Cari Rosen and Mary Musker. It was quite an odd experience for me because I had put myself down for a slot to present my writing and at the same time, I was meeting and greeting and introducing other victim writers for the lovely beasts. It was an interesting experience, pitching my writing, selling myself, and one that I enjoyed once I got used the dragons’ fiery breath.

As the event finished, the very professional Allen Ashley was up the High Road in North Finchley library preparing for his creative writing family workshop which was also well attended.

Allen then did a quick turnaround and headed toward Friern Barnet Community Library where he was hosting the ‘Spoken Word’ showcase.

As well as local writers and poets, we were joined by Theresa Villiers MP, who came especially to support the Finchley Literary Festival. Theresa used to support the Greenacre Bicycle Rally, so it was very nice to see her and you can find out here whether she enjoyed the evening.

The highlight of the evening for me was Allen's poem, 'The Mill Hill Boys', all about what it is like to come from Finchley and be in a band with the Mill Hill Boys. I hope to hear it one day set to music.

Finchley Literary Festival: Day 3 and 4

Diary of a Festival organiser: Day 3

I had a lay in this morning but not for long as the phone was soon ringing with enquiries:
'Do I have to book to attend the 'Meet the Authors', event at Waterstones?
or
'Is 'How to Kill Your Darlings', a workshop or a talk?'
and many more.

On arriving at Waterstones, a laid-back Miriam Halahmy and Lindsay were blowing up balloons. I marvelled at both her and Lil Chase's calm exterior thinking back to the anthology launch when I'd been rushing around. It seemed these published, stalwart authors had something to teach me. 'It's not like a reading,' said Gina Blaxill, 'then I would be nervous. We're here and if they come, they come, and if they don't, well, it's still been fun!'

I grabbed a handful of Finchley Literary Festival leaflets and stood outside encouraging passer-by children and parents to come and 'Meet the Authors'.

Soon it was time for Lindsay and I to say farewell and jump on a bus to Finchley Central Library, we are after all Greenacre Project peeps and believers in sustainability and less car use. We arrived just in time for Bettina von Cossel's excellent 'How to Kill Your Darlings' Murder, Mystery, talk. To be a really good murderer, on paper only, one has to attend crime workshops to meet pathologists and detectives, or wear really high heels so one can trip at the top of the escalator and accidentally push our darling down the stairs. Bettina, a rather leggy brunette, donned sparkly high-heels and showed us just how to do it, using her son as a willing victim. She also told us how she once thought of using The Queen as a character in one of her novels and wrote for permission, the response from the palace included, 'Her majesty was pleased to be made aware of your project'.

As you can see the equipment worked!

I didn't rush home for a break after the murder workshop as it was straight to the library in North Finchley for the next event, 'A Way Forward through Publishing'. Carol Sampson and I were setting up the equipment which was a hoot because I have a memory that very rarely works and couldn't remember which plug went where or which buttons to press. Still with a bit of help from Carol, we managed fine and felt quite chuffed, especially as it was a full house. Self-publishing is a very popular subject. Writers are fed up of waiting for a contract, and nowadays there are so many options from e-publishing, to On-Demand printing to a full package that includes advertising and a several thousand print run.

Day 4 - Highlights

Thankfully, Murni and Carol went to A.L. Michael's 'Write Here, Write Now', workshop held at Friern Barnet Community Library, so I really did get a lie in! The workshop was well attended and you can read a bit more about it from Murni here.

Lucy, our lovely photographer picked me up after lunch and we went to Mike's house to pick up equipment, but when we got to the library it seemed we had forgotten the projector! Mike to the rescue, and just as well because he knows exactly how to set up the library for a film show having set up many for his secret green spaces slide shows. There is a knack and unfortunately being equipment-setting-up-illiterate, I do not have it. Panic over, Theresa Musgrove, alias Mrs Angry, infamous Bloggadeer, arrived from behind the glass screen where she usually sits presiding over the Borough of Barnet keeping an eye on the naughty antics of councillors and privateers, looking very bright and cheerful.

Although she writes about local politics, she finds it increasingly difficult to prevent irrelevant references to local history seeping into her work: this talk explored one of those themes, the associations of Charles Dickens with many locations in the borough, including some newly discovered material which probably raises more questions than it answers ... the story of a bootmaker, a mortgage, the Sultan of Hendon, bodysnatching - and a tale of two workhouses' ... It was fascinating and the library was absolutely chock-a-block!

Greenacre Writers Anthology Launch

Diary of a festival organiser: Day 2 - Sunday 25th May 2014

Sal reading her winning story 'Flapjack'

Setting up Cafe Buzz for the anthology launch was relatively easy because we'd left most of the equipment the night before after the Poetry Palooza. By the time I arrived, Sal Page, the Greenacre Writers Short Story Competition winner was already there. I know I'm not the only one that has that 'weird' double-take when you meet somebody in 'real life' that you have been either communicating with via Twitter or Facebook or both. You get to know each other via words and usually one photo that is flat and static. So meeting Sal was strange and familiar all at the same time. I was so pleased she had travelled all the way from Morecombe via Coventry to be with us. Firstly because Sal is a very talented writer, with a wicked sense of humour, and secondly because it is so nice to have the competition winners to present their newly published anthology in person. Unfortunately for poor Sal, she had to put up with a bit of behind the scenes usual Greenacre confusion, still at least we didn't get her to shift a grand piano!

Greenacre Writers reading from the anthology Vol 3

Our other guest reader was Andy Byrne, who was a Greenacre Writer Short Story 2013 Competition runner-up with his very clever story, 'Authors in Residence', literary characters come to life in this story!

Our event coordinator was getting a bit impatient with readers as they stood behind the microphone either too near or too far and at one point he got up and gave us a demonstration of how to use it. I thought everybody coped really well with the 'moving' microphone and it was another Greenacre Writers success. 

Cafe Buzz wouldn't be the buzzy place it is without Helen Michael and her staff who served us all afternoon with delicious home-made lunches, snacks and scrummy cakes. Chocolate Cake, Earl Grey Bluestar and Greenacre Writers Anthology, Volume 3 - what more could anybody wish for?

Usually it is the organisers that organise surprises but we were caught unawares when presented with a beautifully arranged basket of flowers. For a moment I thought it was the end of the festival, and then Lindsay reminded me, only another 18 events to go!

Finchley Literary Festival: Day 1 continued

Diary of a festival organiser: Day 1 continued Saturday 24th May - Poetry and Music Palooza

I imagined that after the CliFi event Mike (events coordinator) and I would nip home and have a rest, which we did, for 10 minutes well actually it turned into half an hour after tea and cake by which time we were late and people were texting: 
Where are you?
A wee bit embarassing as we'd told everybody to be early!
As we drove past I said, 'OMG, the place is packed'.
Good for Helen Michael, proprietor of Cafe Buzz, but slightly awkward for us as we had to organise space for the performers.
Once inside it didn't seem to matter, Mike ordered us around, get this, do that, move this, plug that in. And once again we put up posters, bunting and moved furniture around.

People started to arrive and Anna Meryt welcomed us all and got the Poetry & Music Palooza underway. 


Greg Mayston has been a Blues guitarist/singer for many years. He plays authentic 1920s, 1930s and contemporary sounds from the Mississippi Delta to the Thames Valley.

Peter Sellars on violin and Chris Harper on rhythm guitar, played lively and warm-hearted jazz in the style of the 'Gypsy Jazz' sound of Paris in the 1930s and 40s.

Miriam Halahmy 

My favourite moment:
Listening to Miriam Halahmy's poem about her daughter who went travelling and hearing how her fears never subsided until she was finally back home. It doesn't seem to matter how old your children are, mothers never stop worrying! 

To listen to some more poetry from the evening click here

*Thanks to Lucy Nowell for the photos

Finchley Literary Festival: Day 1

Diary of a festival organiser: Day 1 - Saturday 24th May 2014

We packed the car with posters, bunting and Greenacre Writers Anthologies, hot off the press. Event Coordinator, Mike, put the key in the ignition and it wouldn't turn. We were going to be late.

'I'll just spray some WD40 into the ignition surround and hope that does the trick.' 
I was trying to stay calm, not to swear and frantically running through the list of people on the FLF Steering Committee who would be available to help. It couldn't get any worse than last year's grand piano fiasco, could it? I couldn't think of anyone.
'We'll have to get a cab,'
'One more try...the lights have come on.'
The engine coughed a few times and stuttered into life. We were late but finally on our way to East Finchley Library for the first festival event.

We set about rearranging the children's room in the library. Mike set up the musical equipment and we decorated the room with posters and bunting to a background of Brian Wilson which the library staff seemed to enjoy!

I phoned Sarah Holding, who was running the workshop, CliFi for Kids at 3pm, she was travelling from Surbiton having finished a lunchtime musical session - she plays saxophone as well as writing. She's the author of a children’s eco-adventure series The SeaBEAN Trilogy, writing in the new genre of CliFi aka climate change fiction. Here's a Guardian article that discusses this new genre. 

I couldn't get through to Sarah, so I guessed she was still underground. Children and parents had started to arrive and I was beginning to get a little worried. The Northern line that black line/hole in the underground often swallows people whole (pun intended). At 2.45pm, Mike said he would drive to the station and wait for her there and I was to keep phoning. At 2.50pm, I got through, Sarah and her publicist Seb Cole, had arrived. The afternoon was a rip-roaring success with children and parents transfixed by the very creative writing workshop. Afterwards, we packed up our bits as quickly as possible, the library staff were waiting to go home and we only had half an hour before the next event, the 'Poetry and Music Palooza'!

My favourite moment:
When Sarah asked the children what they thought would happen beyond our lifetime, the daughter of Greenacre Writer, Mumpuni Murniati replied: 'We'll invent the fountain of youth' and 'learn to speak to animals'. (I wonder which animals she means!)