Return of the moose...
Sep. 13th, 2004 04:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
littlemooseHello folks! I'm home, and god was it good to sleep in my own bed last night! (Yes, I know I said I'd see you all Monday, that was deliberate, I knew I'd need Sunday night to take it all in, and I did.)
So... Friday. Everyone got soaked on the ferry over, but spirits were still high. Luckily David, Kate and I were all in the same place, the camping barn (lovely, lovely, lovely cottage, and the beds were so comfy!). Unluckily the barn was four miles and several excruciatingly steep roads away from all the action, and there was only one bus down and one up a day. 10am and 1am. Yeah.
Anyway, there was a bloody funny one act play by the Rathlin amdram lot, Lemn Sissay performed in the Marquee (amazing) and we all got a little bit tipsy (apologies to anyone I might have texted *blush*). Then we went to the pub. And wasn't that surreal. If anyone had told me last week that myself and three of my good friends would be sitting in a pub sharing the craic with Colin Bateman and Lemn Sissay I'd have thught you were off your rocker.
So, back to the barn and to bed (and the less said about the drunken twat who came in at 5 and kept everyone awake for the rest of the night, the better, except to say that he found himself moved the next day...)
Saturday. The workshops started at 10 and first up for me was Lemn. Oh my god... I've never been in a workshop like it! Everyone came away with a poem each, and it's some of the most polished work I've ever seen come out of a workshop situation. I'm really pleased with mine, I can't believe it was less than 45 minutes writing. It was lovely, after we talked for a while, Lemn suggested we all just go off somewhere and work on our poems, and as Saturday's weather was a lot more pleasant than Friday's, I went and sat on the harbour wall and wrote looking out over the sea.
When I went back in, he came round to look at them, and I handed mine over, saying I was a bit unsure about one of the lines and how it sat. He read it, and was quiet and I thought 'oh, crap.' and he just looked up and went "Wow. Life is good!"
He read my poem out! :D
Kate got the same kind of reaction, which I was really pleased about, as she is just an incredible poet.
After that, lunch in the manor house - good food, good company... lots of lovely new friends I really want to see again.
After lunch I went to buy postcards in the shop, but it was closed. Bizzarely, it was open on Sunday, but I didn't get the chance to go, since Sunday was very hectic, so I'm really sorry if I promised you a postcard.
I was booked in for short stories after lunch, but the workshop kind of fell apart - I think everyone was a bit tired - so I went for a walk instead. Rathlin's amazing, in Church Bay, at the harbour, you could almost be anywhere, but the rest of the island has this sort of otherworldly barren beauty about it (arrgh, cliches! but it's true...) no matter where you go, even if you can't quite see the sea, you can hear it.
Then the new Writer's chair was unveiled on the beach. It's a huge carved stone chair, with a verse written specially by Seamus Heaney inscribed on the front, and the names on everyone who's taken a workshop at the festival on the back, with plenty of room for the years to come. Colin Bateman read his new short story for us in the marquee, which was hillarious, but he was competing against the now increasingly severe weather, and at one point there were fears the marquee could collapse. Or possibly take off, which seemed more likely.
Because of this, the concert was held in the back room at the pub, where they usually have a sort of cafe set up. It was a bit of a squeeze, but the atmosphere was great. Kieran Goss was an absolute hoot, what an entertainer! And he's a lovely guy.
Sunday then. Bus was late, and we were all panicking, beacuse there were rumours going round that the 11am ferry would be the only one going, because of the storm conditions. Turned out not to be true, thankfully. Last workshop was poetry again, Kate Newmann this time. Wow. I thought we were all productive in the last one... I got three done this time, and a whole heap of other ideas I'd like to go back and look at again, and most people there were the same. David came up with an absolute corker.. and all this and we even managed to get round everyone and read everything out.
Then there was an open mike session in the manor house - they managed to get me to read, in front of everyone, which I'm really proud of, and everyone laughed in all the right places too!
And then, hugs and goodbyes and the ferry (wet again) and too soon, back home.
And yes, it was a little craggy island-esque, the landlord of the pub (who is also the bus driver) had a fair bit of father jack about him!
I'm glad I went. I had a whale of a time and I proved a lot to myself - not just about my writing.
So... Friday. Everyone got soaked on the ferry over, but spirits were still high. Luckily David, Kate and I were all in the same place, the camping barn (lovely, lovely, lovely cottage, and the beds were so comfy!). Unluckily the barn was four miles and several excruciatingly steep roads away from all the action, and there was only one bus down and one up a day. 10am and 1am. Yeah.
Anyway, there was a bloody funny one act play by the Rathlin amdram lot, Lemn Sissay performed in the Marquee (amazing) and we all got a little bit tipsy (apologies to anyone I might have texted *blush*). Then we went to the pub. And wasn't that surreal. If anyone had told me last week that myself and three of my good friends would be sitting in a pub sharing the craic with Colin Bateman and Lemn Sissay I'd have thught you were off your rocker.
So, back to the barn and to bed (and the less said about the drunken twat who came in at 5 and kept everyone awake for the rest of the night, the better, except to say that he found himself moved the next day...)
Saturday. The workshops started at 10 and first up for me was Lemn. Oh my god... I've never been in a workshop like it! Everyone came away with a poem each, and it's some of the most polished work I've ever seen come out of a workshop situation. I'm really pleased with mine, I can't believe it was less than 45 minutes writing. It was lovely, after we talked for a while, Lemn suggested we all just go off somewhere and work on our poems, and as Saturday's weather was a lot more pleasant than Friday's, I went and sat on the harbour wall and wrote looking out over the sea.
When I went back in, he came round to look at them, and I handed mine over, saying I was a bit unsure about one of the lines and how it sat. He read it, and was quiet and I thought 'oh, crap.' and he just looked up and went "Wow. Life is good!"
He read my poem out! :D
Kate got the same kind of reaction, which I was really pleased about, as she is just an incredible poet.
After that, lunch in the manor house - good food, good company... lots of lovely new friends I really want to see again.
After lunch I went to buy postcards in the shop, but it was closed. Bizzarely, it was open on Sunday, but I didn't get the chance to go, since Sunday was very hectic, so I'm really sorry if I promised you a postcard.
I was booked in for short stories after lunch, but the workshop kind of fell apart - I think everyone was a bit tired - so I went for a walk instead. Rathlin's amazing, in Church Bay, at the harbour, you could almost be anywhere, but the rest of the island has this sort of otherworldly barren beauty about it (arrgh, cliches! but it's true...) no matter where you go, even if you can't quite see the sea, you can hear it.
Then the new Writer's chair was unveiled on the beach. It's a huge carved stone chair, with a verse written specially by Seamus Heaney inscribed on the front, and the names on everyone who's taken a workshop at the festival on the back, with plenty of room for the years to come. Colin Bateman read his new short story for us in the marquee, which was hillarious, but he was competing against the now increasingly severe weather, and at one point there were fears the marquee could collapse. Or possibly take off, which seemed more likely.
Because of this, the concert was held in the back room at the pub, where they usually have a sort of cafe set up. It was a bit of a squeeze, but the atmosphere was great. Kieran Goss was an absolute hoot, what an entertainer! And he's a lovely guy.
Sunday then. Bus was late, and we were all panicking, beacuse there were rumours going round that the 11am ferry would be the only one going, because of the storm conditions. Turned out not to be true, thankfully. Last workshop was poetry again, Kate Newmann this time. Wow. I thought we were all productive in the last one... I got three done this time, and a whole heap of other ideas I'd like to go back and look at again, and most people there were the same. David came up with an absolute corker.. and all this and we even managed to get round everyone and read everything out.
Then there was an open mike session in the manor house - they managed to get me to read, in front of everyone, which I'm really proud of, and everyone laughed in all the right places too!
And then, hugs and goodbyes and the ferry (wet again) and too soon, back home.
And yes, it was a little craggy island-esque, the landlord of the pub (who is also the bus driver) had a fair bit of father jack about him!
I'm glad I went. I had a whale of a time and I proved a lot to myself - not just about my writing.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-09-13 08:33 am (UTC)So happy for you I am honestly in tears at work, but I don't care. Congrats for going, for the writing, and for making a huge journey...in so many ways.
*is proud to know you*
no subject
Date: 2004-09-13 09:04 am (UTC)*Soooo proud of you*
Oh, do you even remember WHAT you texted me? lol
no subject
Date: 2004-09-13 02:43 pm (UTC)