Last week I blogged about my visit to the Archaeology Fieldschool, where I met Richard Thomas, the lead archaeologist. There was a lot to take in, both information and atmosphere. Richard is clearly a great communicator, explaining the site to me as well as leading the work of the students. The job requires incredible attentionRead more
At the end of July, I was delighted to be able to visit the Archaeological Fieldschool at Bradgate Park. Run by Leicester University, it offers students experience of a real piece of research: digging, recording and interpreting. It’s an intensive few weeks, with seven hours digging all day – I was lucky to be ableRead more
Shruti Chauhan is a poet from Leicester. She has created a reputation for sensitive and heartfelt performance poetry, first as part of ‘Three the Hard Way’, a national tour with Lydia Towsey and Jean Binta Breeze, and more recently with Yoni-Verse Poetry Collective (https://www.yoniversepoetrycollective.com) a group of female spoken word poets of South-Asian heritage. She’sRead more
Last week’s workshop at Bradgate Park was very enjoyable: a full house despite the rainy weather. We wrote poems loosely (very loosely) based on sonnet forms. In the time since the last workshop, I visited the Record Office at Wigston (https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/history-and-heritage/visit-the-record-office/about-the-record-office). If you’re interested in local history, family history and related subjects then it’s aRead more
This morning was the first workshop of the residency. The day was cold and clear, and we were able to observe Bradgate Park in its Winter glory. The workshop was over-subscribed, which was great to see. We weren’t sure if anybody would want to write poetry on a cold Wednesday in December, but with 15Read more
Sue Mackrell is a poet, workshop leader and creative project organiser, based in Leicestershire. She has researched and written extensively about a range of aspects of Leicestershire history and heritage, and has worked with all sort of groups from the County. So I was delighted when she sent me this poem about Bradgate Park. IRead more