Forth Friday, Stirling

Next Friday at 7pm Stirling’s Forth Fridays resume, this time at the Smith Museum. I will be there, with Irene Evans, representing Red Squirrel Press, with Russell Jones and Stewart Sanderson representing Tapsalteerie. You can find out more about the event, and book tickets via Eventbrite here.

Greening the Street, Edinburgh

Greening the Street is a group based around the Meadows in Edinburgh, which runs a community garden. They are very active not only in growing vegetables and herbs, and tackling climate change, but providing green spaces for local people to play and relax, and activities to welcome refugees or people with mental health or other difficulties, and I am delighted to be joining them for a pre-Christmas event.

On 4th December they are running a Christmas craft workshop at 4pm, in Lauriston Church hall, Lauriston Place, followed by a break for tea, and a poetry workshop. Designed to extend the range of their creativity beyond simply recording activities, (follow them on Facebook or Instagram for an insight into how active they are), they have thrown this open to everyone who might want to reflect on our relationship with nature, with plants and landscapes. We will look briefly at how poets have used plants and gardens in their work, whether appreciating their beauty, or as symbols of something else, or connecting with memories, and move to writing about our own individual connections and responses to the natural world. It is open to anyone, from beginners to experienced writers, and payment is by donation. For further information, please see here.