Wednesday 31 December 2014

Favourite WoW Moments in 2014

Mike Morris:
Co-Director of Writing on the Wall

You’d have struggled to get evens if you were trying to place a bet on my favourite WoW moment. No doubt much to the amusement of the rest of the WoW staff, I can now confirm my favourite WoW moment comes from the George Garrett Archive Project, of course. But, as there have been so many, the question is, which one?
Easy choice really – the launch of the archive at Central Library on May 3rd, as it bundled together each aspect of the project; the launch of the archive exhibition, the short film narrated by Alexei Sayle, the publication of our ‘Introduction to George Garrett’ book, and the unveiling of the magnificent installation: Shore Leave - Garrett in the City, designed by 2nd year student Chloe from LJMU: It was the culmination, from our first contact with the artefacts through to the writing of the Heritage Lottery bid, of over two years hard work. It was such a pleasure to share the moment with the Garrett family, and also with the volunteers, our ‘Garretteers’, who have donated so much of their time to the project. I have enjoyed our weekly workshop sessions so much that I could easily have chosen any week of working with the ‘Garretteers’ as my favourite moment. I’m sure they would agree with me that the public launch of the archive was very, very special. The afternoon rolled by with a series of launches and cheers as the covers were firstly pulled off the archive itself, followed the unveiling by a bunch of kids, some of them young Garrett’s, others who just happened to be in the library at the time, of the installation. By the end of the day my cheeks were sore from smiling. We are always so busy – the launch of the archive exhibition was a precursor to 30 days of festival events – that this event, like so many others, feels now as though it was a lifetime ago. It’s good to step back and think again about the enormity of the achievement of Writing on the Wall and the impact of rediscovering the work of this great Liverpool writer.

Tuesday 30 December 2014

Favourite WoW Moments in 2014

Reece Goldstein:
Project Assistant 

"My highlight from WoW this year was the final performance to conclude the Word Up course, on top of the roof in Central Library. It took us a long time to get prepared for the performance in terms of writing and rehearsals, and the progression was very distinctive at the event. I've performed spoken word to a public audience before but it was an amazing buzz to do a show in such a great location, looking down on the city of Liverpool on light night. Some of the other people on the course had never done a liver performance or reading before so it must of been a different experience for some, but watching them all recite their pieces as individuals, comparing from when we first started off was amazing. Everyone blew me away! I'd highly recommend this opportunity to any young writer, as this was a massive break to my comfort zone and my confidence as a performer grew dramatically."


Monday 29 December 2014

Favourite WoW Moments in 2014

Rosa Murdoch:
Designer and Social Media Co-ordinator

"This year I have loved developing my design skills with Writing on the Wall. I have created leaflets, booklets, flyers and helped make 12 books (as well as cut out hundreds of doves). Publishing the books with WoW has been especially rewarding, I love that we are printing peoples stories and making their words come alive. Seeing the reactions and gratitude once they've got a physical copy of the book in their hand is something quite special. A highlight for me was the positive response I got to my artwork for the Mental Health and Me competition and having all the Kinship Carer Nans squeeze the life out of me when they got the book that we had worked so hard together to make. Special thanks to Wesley Storey Photographer for being my Photoshop guru, I've learnt a ridiculous amount in the last year.

I have also loved being part of all these inspirational events and projects and of course the most incredible festival. A favourite moment for me, was the Irvine Welsh event and getting to read his book ‘Sex Lives of Siamese Twins’ before it came out. Oh, and dancing and singing with him to a David Bowie tribute act and discussing our favourite music."


Sunday 28 December 2014

Favourite WoW Moments in 2014

Wesley Storey:
WoW Photographer, Designer, Film Maker and Producer.

"My favourite WoW moment of 2014 was the culmination of the Mental Health and Me writing competition at Liverpool Central Library. It must have taken a lot of courage for some of the writers to get up there read passages from their work before a live audience. The process was huge for those participants and the project perfectly reflected WoW's ethos of engagement and inclusivity"


Saturday 27 December 2014

Favourite WoW Moments in 2014

Chanel Scott-Jeffers:
Assistant Festival Coordinator

"I really enjoyed my first experience of coordinating WoWfest 2014, it was great to see first-hand how such an amazing programme of events developed and came to life from a few ideas on a page. I especially enjoyed the poetry night with Phill Jupitus, he was just as how you would expect him to be, funny, friendly and (thankfully) very down to earth as he just mingled with the crowd before and after the event. At the end of the event, we enjoyed a feast that would feed the 5000 at New Capital Restaurant in Chinatown as I quizzed him about every aspect of his life and got 100 photos to cement that beautiful, beautiful new friendship. I also really enjoyed coordinating Mental Health and Me which I've written about in the WoW Blog more thoroughly, but it was great to work on a project about a subject which hasn't been openly explored enough and which quite clearly meant a lot to those who entered."

Chanel, Madeline & LMHC meeting Ruby Wax for
the Mental Health and Me Competition

Friday 26 December 2014

Favourite Moments of 2014

Madeline Heneghan:
Co-Director of Writing on the Wall
A favourite moment of 2014 was having lunch in the crowded Post Office pub on Saturday afternoon with Phill Jupitus and Tim Wells. Hemmed it the corner, waiting for our fish and chips we reminisced on poetry ‘back in the day’, when Apples and Snakes were housed at Seven Dials, Covent Garden. Tim explained the difference between Ranting and Performance Poetry, you don’t want to get in wrong in front of him, believe me. After that we popped into Probe Records and had a moment’s quiet reflection on Poly Styrene, one of the great wordsmiths of Punk. That was the afternoon one of the most unique events in last year’s festival; ‘Poetry from Two Stout Lads’. These stout lads were a pleasure to spend time with.


Saturday 13 December 2014

James Rice Book Launch

Alice and the Fly 
Writing on the Wall and the Directors of Hodder & Stoughton invite you to the launch of one of the most hotly anticipated debuts of 2015 – Alice and the Fly by previous Pulp Idol finalist, James Rice. Thursday 15th January, 7.30pm in Leaf Tea Shop, 65-67 Bold St, Liverpool L1 4EZ. 
Books will be available to buy on the night and James will be in conversation with WoW’s Mike Morris. 


Friday 12 December 2014

In Memory of Dinesh Allirajah.

We were shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden death of poet, writer and teacher, Dinesh Allirajah. We had the pleasure of working with Dinesh in 2007 when he did a superb job coordinating our first Liverpool Young Writers Project. He also appeared, reading his own poetry, at our festival on a number of occasions. Dinesh was a very talented writer, an excellent performer and a wonderful person, who made a major contribution to arts and culture across the North-West. He was respected and admired by our festival audiences, our young writers and all at Writing on the Wall. He will be missed by many people. We extend our thoughts and sympathies to his family and friends at this difficult time, and wish them all the best for the future.


Co-Directors Mike Morris and Madeline Heneghan on behalf of all at Writing on the Wall.

Link to Dinesh’s website: www.freewebs.com/dineshallirajah 


Monday 8 December 2014

12 Books of Christmas



Writing on the Wall have published an incredible 12 books over the past year full of high quality writing from our amazing projects. We are celebrating this by dedicating our 12 days of Christmas to each publication. Keep a look out and take advantage of our special seasonal discounts...

We are also be holding online competitions on Facebook and Twitter where you can win ALL 12 BOOKS FOR FREE! 

Countdown with us and be WoWed by all our brilliant writers. 
What's today's going to be?.... Find out here

Monday 17 November 2014

Mental Health and Me with Chanel

I was excited to coordinate Mental Health and Me on behalf of Liverpool’s Mental Health Consortium for its bravery in tackling a so-called taboo subject and for offering a better alternative to the problem than anti-depressants. While we may not understand everything about mental health, we should all understand that it affects everyone, so why isn’t more work being done to remove the stigma? Perhaps once we start talking more openly about it without fear of looking like the three headed monster, or fear from losing our jobs and never working again or fear from being sectioned we will begin to be able to talk about the problem openly like any other illness. We need to stop thinking like this, ’it’s nothing though, really, I’m still normal, there’s no point bringing it up because people will think it’s a bigger deal than it is and they’ll never treat me the same again.’

Before joining the weird and wonderful world of WoW, I once worked as a door-to-door Charity Fundraiser for the Samaritans, yes I was one of those annoying people with the florescent green anoraks and a clip board rapping at your door asking you in a very rehearsed pitch to hand over your bank details during the England match of the Euro Finals…cringe, cringe, cringe. I remember thinking this would be a lot easier if I was on the Macmillan team, the idea that your monthly direct debit of £8.50 would be used to fund a nurse to support a cancer patient through chemo as opposed to being put towards a new phone line for people to rant about their problems seemed all the more convincing. Sadly, this reaction was confirmed across the look of many people on the opposite side of the door’s faces. But really, what is the difference between the prior and the latter? The money received for both charities would be used to support those suffering from an illness which a) affects everyone and b) is responsible for a large number of deaths worldwide. Everyone knows someone affected by Cancer and everyone knows someone affected by mental illness.

I feel that a creative writing competition focused on mental health and what it means to the individual is a perfect place to start when beginning to try and tackle the stigma around mental illness. Creativity has always been so intricately entwined with mental health, before we even knew what ‘mental health’ was, when all we could explain was the ‘heart ache and [a] thousand natural shocks.’ (William Shakespeare, Hamlet)  From Shakespeare to J.D Salinger, the pain and suffering of the human mind has been well documented through the writing and the expression of the author, before we were able to rely on science for some understanding. It’s therapeutic to write and it’s therapeutic to read, especially when what we are reading mirrors our own pain and suffering.

Organising Mental Health and Me has certainly proven that while people may not always find the words or the strength to speak openly about mental distress, there is definitely some comfort felt in writing about it. The number of entries we received for the competition definitely exceeded our expectations with a steady number of entries per category. The entries covered such a wide scope of issues surrounding mental health including writing on personal experiences with depression, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, OCD as well as some personal accounts of what it is like to work as a carer. Some entries even focused on what happiness meant to them which was lovely to read as sometimes, while it may seem obvious, people often overlook that happiness is a major part of mental health. I was also quite surprised, although I shouldn't be, that our entries were quite evenly spread across the age groups which again reinforces the truth that mental health affects everyone. I also have to say that I was absolutely delighted by the cover and artwork created for the book by our designer, Rosa Murdoch. I believe that the artwork for the competition was pivotal in helping us to break the stigma surrounding mental health. So often, charities depict their literature and design for mental health in such a clinical way which would make anyone run a mile, but I believe our chosen design is very inclusive, kitsch and reflects the creativity linked with mental health.

It has to be said that one of the most exciting parts of organising this competition was being granted the opportunity to meet the fabulous Ruby Wax who so kindly agreed to meet with us and let us film her announcing the overall winner of the competition who turned out to be the lovely, Gemma Rogers. It was fortunate that Ruby was in Liverpool in September as part of a UK Tour of her show, Sane New World which is based on her book around mindfulness which she wrote after her study at Oxford University where she gained her Masters in Mindfulness-based Cognitive therapy. Following Ruby’s accidental ‘outing’ of her depression, she has since become known as the poster-girl for mental illness. While at first, Ruby claimed she was mortified that her secret had been revealed in the least subtle way, (her face was blown up on a poster throughout every tube station in London with the words ‘THIS WOMAN HAS A MENTAL ILLNESS’ attached), Ruby now owns it and works hard as an activist in tackling the stigma surrounding mental health. Myself and Madeline as well as Sarah and Claire from the Mental Health Consortium, were very excited and humbled to meet her at The Playhouse before her show, she was very down to earth, gracious and happy to help us and accommodate us with what we asked her to do. We would like to thank her for helping us to raise the profile of this competition and I would also have to say that I definitely recommend her book, Sane New World, having read it after I developed a slight obsession with her after meeting her – and also because I found out she co-wrote Absolutely Fabulous. (Amazing!)


On World Mental Health Day, 10th October 2014, we held our celebration event for Mental Health and Me where we announced the winners and runners up for each category and invited the overall winner of each category on stage to read from their work. Each winner and runner up received a free copy of Mental Health and Me book and the overall winner, Gemma Rogers who wrote ‘Letters to Myself’ in the Letters category won a special trophy and a £100 book voucher from News From Nowhere. The celebration was a fantastic event with a brilliant turnout. 


Councillor Alan Dean who attended the event hit the nail on the head when he said:
‘It was a real privilege for all of us, [Councillors] Wendy, Claire & Tim, to be there and to share in what was an uplifting and emotional event. And the same applies to the book that was on sale that night. Again, very moving, emotional and uplifting.’

Looking back at the event, one month after its passing, it is clear how much of a wonderful, positive impact Mental Health and Me has created and it’s great to have a legacy following the competition. One week after the celebration event, we received an email from Liverpool Echo’s Tom Belger, who asked could he write a feature on Gemma Rogers and her experience in coping with and overcoming self-harm which can be read here. In a kind of dominoes effect, we then received a call from a lady who told us she had read about the article in the Liverpool Echo and was wondering how she could purchase a copy of the Mental Health and Me book as her daughter was suffering from a similar experience and she felt that her daughter would be able to relate to Gemma’s story, especially as she was around the same age. The lady pointed out how beneficial it was to have a book like this made as she was unable to find anything similar which her daughter may relate to. We believe this point was reiterated by the fact that for the first time, we completely sold out of 100 books on the first night of sale during the Mental Health and Me celebration event. As well as this, we have also been approached by other charities and organisations who are interested in a partnership to create a similar competition with their cause having seen the very positive effect it has had.

On behalf of everyone at Writing on the Wall, we are delighted that we have helped people to break their silence, share their story and change their life, even if it’s only slightly and we will continue to push forward and create more publications like Mental Health and Me.

Chanel Scott-Jeffers 

Friday 14 November 2014

Roy Garrett RIP

All at Writing on the Wall and The George Garrett Archive project were very sad to hear of the passing last week of Roy Garrett, the sixth of George Garrett’s seven sons. We first met Roy when we held an event during the WoW Festival a few years back, during the early days of the archive project. When the discussion opened up a guy, who had come in late and made his way to the back of the room, put his hand up and startled us by saying ‘I'm George Garrett’s son’! It was a happy coincidence as we had been trying to contact him. But that was Roy’s way. When we had the George Garrett Archive Launch, and subsequent events, he wouldn't want any help getting to them, even though we’d offer, and would make his way under his own steam. Roy was always a pleasure to be with, and regularly expressed his immense enjoyment of the achievements of the project in bringing his father’s life and work to public prominence. He was delighted with the public launch and display, and particularly enjoyed the performance of Two-Tides at The Unity earlier this year. He got the best of the work we have done, which we are told provided many moments to inspire him during the latter stages of his illness. We are particularly proud of the moment of magic we caught with him and his brother Derek on the short film we made of their father’s life, where they spontaneously break into singing ‘Hallelujah I’m a Bum’, the old Wobbly song taught them from his days in America. This moment really brought out his warmth of character and sense of fun. Roy was very generous with his time and regularly expressed his support for our project. On behalf of writing on the wall and all at The George Garrett Archive project, we’d like to pass on our respects to Roy and our sympathy to all of his family.

Mike Morris with Roy at debut of Two Tides 
Mike Morris, WoW Co-Director and Project Manager of The George Garrett Archive Project & WoW Co-Director, Madeline Heneghan.

Click here to view our short film on George Garrett’s life and work, which features Roy and Derek Garrett discussing their father’s life and singing ‘Hallelujah I’m a Bum', the Wobbly song taught them by their father.

Tuesday 11 November 2014

Armistice Day 2014

Armistice Day with a heightened significance. One hundred years. None of those that clung to life in the trenches, or at sea, are with us now, who fought in the ‘Great War’. George Garrett could well have been one of those to lose his life; torpedoed twice, taken prisoner aboard the famed German destroyer The Kronprinz Wilhelm, forced to sign a declaration against taking up arms again and interned only to escape from a camp in Argentina, the very place he had returned from, giving up his youthful days roaming the countryside and living as a beachcomber just prior to the war breaking out. In 1914 he signed on officially as a Stoker with The Potaro, the ship he sailed on back from Argentina to join up with the war effort. He’d been a stoker for some time after being discovered as a stowaway among the hay bales on a tramp steamer bound for Argentina that he’d snuck aboard from the Liverpool docks. He’d secretly cried with the pain of those early days at the stokehold furnace. But he was a big lad, and soon enough his frame filled out to match the task in hand. He served the whole of the 1914-18 war at sea, which in the early days of submarine warfare must have been a life filled with terror for all the seamen above and below decks. There were 9068 deaths recorded of servicemen from Liverpool during WW1. The worst day, with the highest casualties for Liverpool, wasn't Passchendale, or the Somme, but the 7th May 1915, when the RMS Lusitania was sunk with the loss of 1,198 lives. The fate of The Lusitania, blown out of the water off the Irish coast by a torpedo from German U-boat U-20, brought home to a wider public the dangers at sea in wartime, already keenly felt by those who spent their daily working lives on the water. Prior to that moment merchant vessels had neither armed protection nor escort. The Lusitania sank in 18 minutes. Not one stoker working in the depths of the ship would have survived, even if they had sought to make it out, which the majority of them, through pride and honour, and due to the closing of the below deck water tight doors which may have operated, would not have attempted to do. German U-boats sank 6,924 allied vessels during WW1. A 1922 War office report lists British Merchant Navy losses in WW1 at 14, 661. Garrett was awarded two medals, and later sought official confirmation that he’d been forced to sign a declaration against taking up arms, maybe to guard against German spy accusations during the red scares that followed the peace.

Garrett, in helping to organise the unemployed demonstrations of ex-servicemen in Liverpool in the early 1920’s, leading the Liverpool contingent on the First Hunger March in 1922, and in many instances throughout his life campaigning for employment and better wages and conditions for all those at sea and on land, never forget the treatment and suffering of the working classes during WW1. In remembrance of those who died one hundred years ago, maybe this is still the best tribute we can still pay.




Mike Morris

11.11.14

Thursday 6 November 2014

George Garrett: Flowers & Candles

The staging of George Garrett’s second play, Flowers and Candles, on Friday 31st October 2014, was not only an event of historical significance, it was also, and in my view most importantly, a dramatic success. The performance was a rehearsed reading – the actors with scripts, a few props and a touch of dramatic action to ‘lift the play off the page’. However, such was the strength of the performances that I’ve lost count of the number of people who have told me they forgot the cast had the scripts in their hands. This is also a testament to the strength of the play itself, which here needed little embellishment to bring home the full force of George’s writing. In structure, dialogue, drama and pacing, it’s hard to believe that this is the work of a self-taught working class writer, who had put his shoulder to the stokehold shovel before he put his hand to the pen.


Flowers and Candles, set in New York and no doubt written there during George’s second residence between 1923 and 1926, is a development of his first play, Two Tides. Here George has honed his writing, has a much clearer voice, and has strengthened his themes, to particularly devastating effect in the dramatic finale of the young woman Rita suffering through childbirth after being given a dose by Ben, the previously feted son of the matron of the family Mrs O’Prey.



Jean Garrett, daughter of George’s eldest son, Matty, wrote me the following after returning home from seeing the play:

Hi Mike

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and Tony, the ‘Garretteers’, Karl and the wonderful cast of actors for staging the performance on Friday. It was superb; took my breath away. The acting was first class, especially the young woman who played Rita. The play really captured the time and place, but it is astonishing that a play 90 years old can address issues of race, gender, class, bigotry with such relevance today. Feel honoured to have witnessed it and yes, it definitely does deserve to be staged. A few years ago, we went to see 'And Men Should Weep' Don't know if you've seen it but it is set in the tenements of Glasgow and was seen as a landmark work in the 1940s in its portrayal of class and gender issues, viewed from a woman's perspective. I think George's plays are as good as this one and as relevant, and Ena Lamont Stewart's play has been staged at the National!

Anyway, it was a magical, wonderful, thought provoking evening and the icing on the cake for us was seeing Derek (George’s son), Warren and Michael (sons of George’s son, Wesley). Thank you for making this happen. Without your efforts, George's work would have disappeared from general view which would have been a travesty.

Best Wishes and see you soon

Jean


All I would add to that is I feel this play is worthy of a full production, and we’ll be working on that for 2015, as well as working to publish and perform more of George’s work as time goes on.
Special thanks from all at Writing on the Wall and The George Garrett Archive to the marvellous cast: Carl Cockram (Director and Mr O’Prey), Paul Duckworth, Laura Campbell, Daniel Hayes, Aimee Marnell, Joe Shipman, Nicola Bentley, John Burns, Rachel Worsley, Leon Tagoe, and Fionnula Dorrity. Special thanks also to Chris Mellor for music. Thanks to The Liverpool Irish Festival and The Bluecoat and all their staff for being extra helpful and supportive – and forgiving (they know what I mean!!).

Mike Morris 


Thursday 30 October 2014

Black Families History in WWI

As part of Black History Month in collaboration with Museum of Liverpool, we had a brilliant poetry workshop with poet Levi Tafari. Taking inspiration from the First World War, several participants read their poems. Here are some pieces if you missed the performance... 




A colony of the unsung,
repression built upon unknown,
minorities of legacy,
distributed through hidden tyranny,
hereby implanted to the stock,
of segregated essence,
feed the privileged alterations,
directed to blind provocation,
rotting to the core,
in anger,
commonalities buried beneath the slander,
a unison forbidden within this hidden decay,
waiting to evaporate,
weakened paupers blame the others,
a virus breeding from the mother.
By Reece




I wonder what it was like returning after the war? 
I wonder what the black ‘Tommy Soldier’ saw when he arrived from the home front feeling very sore,
From being on the battlefield, fighting and buried in bunkers made of sacks and sand,
Was he fighting for ‘his’ life?
Or was it for the colonies they call the mother country a place called England?
I wonder what it was like returning after the war?
Did ‘Tommy Soldier’ get a hero’s welcome with people lining the streets,
Waving banners, flags with children playing oh wow what a treat,
Oh no, it was not so, he came home on a train,
Having to walk the final eight miles on foot,
There was no room for a black soldier with shrapnel in his right leg and shoulder,
Oh the pain, the pain, the pain.
By Jacqui




I try to comprehend,
even yet I can’t explain,
the black letter I received has darkened my day,
my child who I though was missing,
Is now dead,
bombed in a far-away land, 
and I won’t see him again,
I gave him life,
was a mother to him,
I was there for his first step,
even heard his first swear word,
his death brings me sorrow,
I tried to comprehend,
I tried explaining,
now I just feel sorrow,
only numb,
I read the headline paper,
just another dead negro,
whether it’s in the mother continent,
or the Caribbean Islands,
all I can hear is mothers and wives crying,
they say death isn’t biased,
but when one of us dies,
there’s no celebration,
no smiles shown,
just a sigh and whimper,
like we’ve been down this road before,
as I conclude this piece,
all I can say is we’ve been in this road all too long,
I pray all those black souls who died in this tragic war,
can be at peace,
as we honour their names, from now to forever.
By Hassan




It’s on me

It’s on me,
Same sun shone on me
Same rain dried on me
Same wind blow on me
Same snow fell on me

It’s on me,
Same flesh and blood pulsated on me
Same clothes put on me
Same documents carried on me
Same names called on me

It’s on me,
Same family album inspired on me
Same fireplace burned on me
Same chair ordered on me
Same household charged on me

It’s on me,
Same uniform and arms heavy on me
Same hands in shoulders laid on me
Same masks pushed on me
Same bombs dropped on me

It’s on me,
Shame only smashed on me
Worst duties cast harshly on me
Lower ranks though tolerated on me
Fewer medals then thrown on me

It’s on me,
No welcomes shout on me
Only stones and fist hit hardly on me
Buried alive by their hatred on me
Yet no trenches built in me

It’s on me.
By Roger Williams





A family at peace,

A family at war,
That is the fall out,
Life is no more,
Life is no more,
Life is no more.
By Ray



Thursday 23 October 2014

Inspiration for children workshop with writer Jon Mayhew

Author Jon Mayhew has been doing creative writing workshops in Primary and Secondary schools as part of Writing on the Wall's Make Doves Not War project.

Flora and Michael wrote about their session.... 


We walked into the room, with a number of other pupils already sat down and Jon Mayhew and Mrs Ludlow standing at the front.
            Jon started by introducing himself to the class, continuing by showing us his many fantastic books and explaining what they were about.
            He told us about the new campaign called “Make Doves not War.” It is a children’s literary competition to commemorate world war one’s one-hundredth anniversary.
            During the experience we watched a short clip from the film of Michael Morpurgo’s book, War Horse. We then discussed how the poor horse would have felt and different topics we could base our flash fiction or poem on.
            After we discussed this, the sheets were passed out and we all started to let our imaginations flow onto the page. We were allowed to write a flash fiction, poem or fable. Jon used his experience and story-telling ability to help us, giving hints and guidance all the way through the time that we had to write, with excitement and pleasure. We then had our books signed. It was a wonderful experience and we really enjoyed it!


                        Flora Stinson and Michael Hart 
7GR
The Bluecoat School 


Wednesday 15 October 2014

Mental Health & Me Winner

We are proud to announce that the winner of our Mental Health & Me writing competition in collaboration with Liverpool Mental Health Consortium is GEMMA ROGERS. Congratulations to all the finalists! All the winners have been published, you can get a copy of there book by ordering from Writing on the Wall or online at Amazon, iTunes and Barnes & Noble

We have published the winning entry on our blog, exclusively for you! 

Letters to Myself


To my 11 year old self

This is the year when you pick up a razor blade for the first time and cut yourself with it.
I’m not going to sugar coat things for you. You’re young, but you’re going to have to grow up fast so sit down and listen to what I have to tell you.
Pretty soon you’re going to get ill. Not a cold or a stomach bug, but something much worse and harder to recover from. I can’t stop it from happening; this sickness isn’t like that. It can’t be prevented by happy thoughts and a positive attitude. Our brain is messed up. Learn to deal with it.
Your illness is ugly. It steals all the happiness out of your life and makes every single day a struggle. Just getting out of bed will at times seem impossible. Prepare to be lonely because it tricks you into thinking being alone is the best way to survive, and you’ll push friends away until they stop coming back. We make it a long time without anybody.
I bet you have a great relationship with mum right now. I envy you for that. I miss her. You can’t tell her you’re sick. It’s a secret. You won’t be able to speak a word until it’s almost too late. The pills don’t work and talking about it doesn’t help either. Self-medication is even less effective, so don’t be fooled by the high of a different kind of pill, because it won’t last forever.
Get ready to hate yourself. I mean to really hate yourself. You’ll cut and burn your skin to match the mess you feel inside to the outside. You won’t eat for days to look like the girls in the magazines. You’ll stare at your reflection and cry big, ugly tears of a person who knows they’re broken. We break a lot and have been taped together so much it’s hard to tell what’s a real part of us anymore.
I can’t stop you from hurting yourself. I can’t take all the pain away. I can’t make the next ten years any more bearable. But I can tell you this; we get through it. So when you feel at your very lowest, when you go to step out in front of that train and when you take all those pills remember that we do make it. Life clings to us against all odds. I promise.

To my 31 year old self

In ten years I hope to be a grown up. A real adult with a career and a car and a house of my very own. To have graduated university and finally have passed my driving test and visit all those places in the world I haven’t yet.
I bet to you being 21 seems like a very long time ago. University and your first crappy red car and all those problems that seemed so big to us at the time are just memories to you now. They are things that have moulded you into the person you are. I wish that your memories of illness are exactly that; memories. It’s a lot to hope for, but it gets me through my days. To think of a version of myself that is happy and healthy.
I’m a bit stuck right now. I have the potential to do anything I want but I hold myself back. Do you remember this? Do you remember feeling like all the bad things could come rushing back at any moment? I’ve been keeping busy but the darkness lurks in the corners of my mind, threatening to emerge.
We say we’re in remission. It took so long to get to this point but it’s bittersweet. It could all come crashing down at any moment.
I envy you, future me. You have all the knowledge of what I need to do now to pick the right choices in my life, but you can’t tell me. I have to figure it all out myself, and I’m scared I’ll make the wrong decisions. Please tell me that if I keep my head above water I won’t drown. Please tell me that if I work hard enough I can have everything I ever wanted. Please tell me that if I keep putting one foot in front of the other I will eventually climb a mountain.

To my 21 year old self

Just. Keep. Going.


Gemma Rogers. 




Thursday 9 October 2014

What's Your Story? Kinship Carers

Every Wednesday morning for ten weeks, four women came together to tell their story. These women are four Grandmothers who through different circumstances are caring for their Grandchildren. Author, Deborah Morgan, guided these women into creating written pieces reflecting their tales.

Debbie was very close with her Grandmother and was deeply moved by the stories told throughout the sessions. The group cried and laughed together, talking of what happened and what was to come.
At the end of the ten weeks it was time to collate all their work together and create their first publication – What’s Your Story? Kinship Carers. For some this has been a dream since they were young, others it was a new and exciting step. As a group they formatted their book to exactly how they wanted it, the artwork went back and forth until they were completely satisfied with how they were being represented. It was important for it to stand out and reflect what they had to say. These books are filled with poetry, letters, photographs, artwork and a message. A message for change and to be heard. This is the first time something like this has ever been published, true feelings about the justice system and their experiences with Social Services. Their aim is to support other Kinship Carers by giving them insight, guidance and inspiration.


On the 18th September Marjorie, Bernadette, Kathy and Julie were presented with the books at their very own book launch. The night was hosted by Writing on the Wall and the group were interviewed by Debbie Morgan in front of an audience. The room was filled with family and friends but also councillors and judges who asked questions and responded to how the book affected them. It was a lovely evening full of emotions and honesty. The Grandmothers were bombarded with book signings and photographs.“I feel like a celebrity, about TIME too!” Shouted Marjorie as she held up her flowers to the camera. 


When meeting with the group two weeks later they were still overwhelmed with the response and couldn't wait for what was to come next. Every Wednesday morning, they still come together to tell their story.

The book is available to buy online at Barnes & Noble, iTunes and Amazon. If you would like to buy a hard copy from us, please call 0151 703 0020 or email info@writingonthewall.org.uk with your request. 


Sunday 31 August 2014

I Come From

From not-quite-Yorkshire;
I come from the borders.
From shadowy gardens and crowds of hydrangeas,
from hand-outs from neighbours;
motherless summers of sun and bare feet.

From free school dinners, a house full of lodgers,
too many sisters, too many brothers,
too many rooms to heat,
from spiders in corners and rats in the cellar.
Cobbles and grit and backstreet.

I come too clever for my own good
from spare the rod; from fear of God,
from unquestioning faith in nuns
and ghosts and all authority and Dad.
I come from the silence of fog

on far-off fields; from farm and bog
and crops gone bad,
from priests and Sunday’s boredom.
I come from the butter mountain
and the steady drip of fruit in bags

over buckets of stewing wine
and I come from the moors, as angry
as flame; from the hills
with the wings I was handed;
from the blank, blank page

of the rain. From Look and Learn,
I come from a dream, I come from stone.
I come from never did me any harm
and I too come from one bad man.

From silence. But not my own. 

Clare Shaw 


Clare Shaw was our creative writing tutor for WoW's What's Your Story? course with the Liverpool Mental Health Consortium. Clare has inspired the group to carry on working on their writing and performing as a group as the Rainbow Writers

We hope these pieces have inspired you to write your own. We look forward to seeing you on World Mental Health Day, 10th October, at the Central Library for our celebration event where a screening of Ruby Wax will be aired announcing the winners!