Come and join us for a relaxing morning of shared reading in Sante's stunning function room. EVERYONE is welcome... you absolutely don't need to be an 'academic' person or widely read. Just come with an open heart and mind to share your ideas, or simply listen and learn from others.
📚 What is shared reading?
Shared reading is where a group comes together to chat about a piece of writing - in this case Wendy Cope's poem 'The Orange' (see below!)
You don't have to read or prepare anything ahead of time, as the poem will be read aloud in the space and then people can share their ideas.
The facilitator (Jo) will throw out ideas and questions to get the conversation flowing but then it's very much over to everyone who joins to make what they will of the space.
If people would like to meet again that would be wonderful... and next time we can choose a piece together.
It doesn't have to be a poem but it does need to be kept short (e.g. an extract / a song / an article) to make it easy to read aloud and discuss in the moment.
🎒 Do I need to bring anything?
Just yourself! If you would like to bring anything to share or read then you're more than welcome to but there's no expectation.
This poem was chosen for it's warmth and simplicity. As we head into these darker Autumnal days (and the somewhat turbulent times we're living in), we thought it might be nice to reflect on the little things in life that bring us joy.
This is a gentle invitation to reflect on that before joining; but please feel free to simply rock up on the day, ready to share these lovely words together...
🍊 The Orange - Wendy Cope
At lunchtime I bought a huge orange—
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave—
They got quarters and I got a half.
And that orange, it made me so happy,
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park.
This is peace and contentment. It's new.
The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all the jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I'm glad I exist.
You can listen to the poem HERE if you prefer...
🥳 Local Events
We run lots of other local events, including creative writing and guided journaling events which you can find all the details of here: https://burton-road.uk/events
