Hear this blog post read aloud:
What does adventure mean and what counts as an adventure? This month at Stories of Our Lives, Jude helped us explore “Smaller Adventures”, sharing her own story and guiding us through choosing images and writing poems.
As usual, the topic became a way in to all sorts of unexpected avenues. A football match became a story about friendship and taking a different route home became a chance to notice something new. We also talked about the adventures that happen within us: learning something, adapting to change, getting a new perspective or doing something that takes more courage than others, and maybe even ourselves, might realise.
There was a little adventure in the writing itself, too. We rearranged and repeated lines to create pantoums, which felt strange to some of us at first. But reading them aloud brought surprises, and people were struck by how much a few lines could hold. If you would like to have a go at writing one yourself, here are Jude’s excellent worksheets to help
Thank you to Jude for all the thought and care she put into the session, and to everyone who shared their stories and poems. Here are some of the smaller adventures we explored together.
Jude Benson
A pantoum for the selkies
We had an adventure on Embleton Bay last week
Dusk was falling in turquoise and pink glory
When we heard a haunting sound, woo-oooh
A sound like owls, or a trick of the wind from the sea
Dusk was falling in turquoise and pink glory
It’s the song of seals, beaching themselves for the night
A sound like owls, or a trick of the wind from the sea
Selkies! Gathering in, in their warm communities
It’s the song of seals, beaching themselves for the night
Keeping babies and elders safe and close
Selkies! Gathering in, in their warm communities
I want to get closer, inside the magic of Selkie sound
Keeping babies and elders safe and close
We heard a haunting sound, woo-oooh
I want to get closer, inside the magic of Selkie sound
We had an adventure on Embleton Bay last week
Nouri Marvi (with Jolene Sheehan)
Mountain adventure
I was 18 years old
Climbing the mountain
Three friends in yellow, framed against a bright blue sky
Tochal, so much snow
4,300 miles above sea level
Eight hours to the summit, eight hours down again
Welcomed by a basic but cosy space to rest in, after a night in a cold tent
Meeting new friends along the way
Memorial
I want to make a memorial bench for my wife
So I can sit, think and be grateful for my 58 years with her.
Tired after a long walk, I will rest
before making a decision to turn left or right.
I sit and think and am grateful for my life,
witnessing the reflection in a still lake, no wind to disturb it.
Making the decision to turn left or right,
like a yellow tram at a junction.
The lake is reflected in the still water too, no wind to disturb it.
The shadow of a driver behind it all.
A yellow tram with the tram lines reflected in the glass.
I ask questions: where to go, what to see, holding the magnifying glass of curiosity.
The shadow of a driver behind it all.
Tired after a long walk, I rest.
Questioning where to go, what to see, holding the magnifying glass of curiosity.
I want to make a memorial bench for my wife.
Babs Cain
Learning adventure
I am beginning a brand new learning adventure.
I am calling it my own “personal curriculum”.
I can absolutely please myself, my choice.
There’ll be no teacher to deliver the lesson. Oh, that’s a bit scary.
I am beginning a brand new learning adventure.
How will I keep focused?
There’ll be no teacher to deliver the lesson. Oh, that’s scary.
What subject will I choose? The choice is endless.
How will I keep focused?
My friend is coming on this adventure. It is her idea.
What subject will I choose? The choice is endless.
We will work it out. I’ll keep you posted!
My friend is coming on this adventure with me. It’s her idea.
I can absolutely please myself, though. My choice.
We will work it out. I’ll keep you posted.
I’m beginning a brand new learning adventure.
Mark Taylor
I turned the other way a way I didn't know
A hundred yards from home I write a hundred words
It was the first time my son saw the sea
I swallowed down my nerves, pushed the door open.
A hundred yards from home I write a hundred words
I have seen this place a hundred times, but it looks different
I swallowed down my nerves, pushed the door open
I told you something I had never said out loud.
I have seen this place a hundred times, but it looks different
As the train pulled out, we saw this was not our stop
I told you something I had never said out loud before
We hold hands down the big slide and admit we are both scared.
As the train pulled out, we saw this was not our stop
It was the first time my son saw the sea
We hold hands down the big slide, and admit we are both scared
I turned the other way, a way I didn't know.
Tony Goulding
A canal side adventure
I had a small adventure last Sunday with a friend I have known for over fifty years.
I met him on the steps of the Art Gallery, before a brief look around it.
Took a casual walk up to Piccadilly Gardens while talking of new and old times.
Had a meal in a classy Italian restaurant, huge pizza on a wooden plate.
I met him on the steps of the Art Gallery, before a brief look around it.
Decided to take a leisurely stroll to the Etihad Stadium for a football match there.
Had a meal in a classy Italian restaurant, huge pizza on a wooden plate.
Interviewed on a canal towpath by two A level students about my participation in politics.
Decided to take a leisurely stroll to the Etihad Stadium for a football match there.
Stoppped for coffee in a canal basin relaxing in the calm waterside scene
Interviewed on a canal towpath by two A level students about my participation in politics.
On a road section of our walk, "discovered" Ardwick and Ancoats Dispensary: read of but never seen.
Stoped for coffee in a canal basin relaxing in the calm waterside scene.
Took a casual walk up to Piccadilly Gardens while talking of new and old times.
On a road section of our walk, "discovered" Ardwick and Ancoats Dispensary: read of but never seen.
I had a small adventure last Sunday with a friend I have known for over fifty years.
Jean Byrne
A Small Adventure in Wales
We set off from Penmanpool to climb to the top of the Precipice Walk
Our purpose was to find a viewpoint that is beautiful on a grand scale
We could have overlooked the smaller wonders of nature along the way
Our intention was to have a birds eye view of the Mawddach Estuary
We often seek beauty and joy on a grand scale
Doing this we may miss the smaller everyday joys
We intended to have a birdseye view of the estuary
We found a forest on a moss covered gatepost
We may miss the miracles that nature can provide nearby
In the rush to be out and seeking new places and adventures
We might overlook the small wonder of a forest on a gate post
Slowing down may bring a new perspective on the world
In the rush to be out and seeking new places and adventures
We my overlook natures amazing micro wonders nearby
We could easily have missed a small moss covered miracle
When we went for a panoramic walk and found a miniature world on a post
Our interest in vegetation on gateposts started during the Covid lockdown. While stuck at home the pace of life slowed down and we noticed moss and other plants growing on top of our old concrete gatepost shown below. It looks like a mountain top.
