Something for the Weekend Highlights & Links

Here you can view films, photographs and artwork and read poems showcased on Something for the Weekend, and find links to websites and online events mentioned on the show. (You can watch the whole shows here). The content is usually listed in the order it appears on the show. This page is updated on Thursday afternoons and should be complete by 4pm.  We’d love to see any poems, arts and crafts you have created at home using the same themes or activities: info@together2012.org.uk

Click on any photo to see a larger version.


27 January 2022

Screenshot of hostsDressing Up to Go Out to Stay In. Ju and Julie dressed up to support the British Curling team when they start competing at the Beijing Paralympics before the official Opening Ceremony (see The Week Ahead below for further information).; Tracy dressed up to watch the Watercolour Challenge being filmed in Devon (see last week’s The Week Ahead); Robin dressed up to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day (see The Week Ahead below).

Poems from the Together! 2012 Pop-Up Poetry Club Theme: Snowflakes and Ice. Next week’s theme is Stormy Skies. Find out more here about how to join the Club, which takes place on Wednesday mornings from 10.30am-12 noon by phone (we call you and pay the costs). Or join in from home – we’d love to see your poems if you do: info@together2012.org.uk

Crystal Peasy: Snow Flakes

I love snowflakes
When I walk I hear sounds
Snowflakes lie on the top of a tree it’s like
Crystals and shining
When you pick up snowflakes
It can melt in your hand
And when snowflakes come down
They are very tiny
And when you are walking under the snowflakes
It can cover you with
White snowflakes.

Glory Sengo: Ice and Snowflakes

When I was walking on the snow
It was a foggy day
And I saw a snowflake and I stepped on it
And I just wondered where was the bear?
And I thought it was behind me.

Then I was in the reindeer’s house
With Rudolph and his parents
I was waking up in the morning
Cleaning the reindeers
So that we can go outside in the
Daytime while there’s snow outside
Where we tried to be careful
And sing a song with the other reindeers.

Then we met the keeper
And I was going to sit down with them
And I went to Santa’s toy factory in the village
Then we were singing them songs when I was in America
I saw the Northern Lights
And we met the other reindeers
Where there was snowflakes and ice
Then I went into the sun and met the elf
Then we went down Stormella’s Bridge
Then went to the village and Santa’s factory.

Julie Newman: And Then Came Ice and Snow

Grey, dark bleak skies.
Clouds sitting heavy,
Crowding in on the days.

Gardens damp, dank,
Empty of all but the relics
Of the last season.

Leaves brown, blackened
With the rust of decay.
Lie heavy on the ground.

An unexpected splash
Of pink petals sits balanced
On a leafless twig.

The bush now stark in winter
Gloom. Resting, waiting
For the awakening.

Cloud breaking, the temperature
Drops low in the glass.
Frost starts to form.

Then silent in the night,
The snow falls. Soft,
Muffling the nocturnal sounds.

A fox pauses, stopping
Mid stride. Paw raised as it
Stares around before moving on.

Come the dawn, a shaft of light
Catches the jewel of ice,
Caught on a brave pink petal.

Petrified in a final act of beauty
The day is made brighter
With this diamond sparkle.

Alison Marchant: Ice and Snowflakes

Outside the puddles have frozen over
Like slippery cracked glass.
Snowflakes close up in a symmetry
Of tiny spiky designs
Just look at them as they
Land on you,
In a flurry through the chilly air
Just before they melt.

The sun is trying to peep out
But doesn’t know how.
Even on sunny days it is still winter.
Snowflakes have crystalised into
Fluffs of snow.
A cluster of cold
In the damp air.

Just breathe on them
And watch as they melt
Into the fabric of your coat.
The small droplet of water
Tumbles to the ground
Like a tear only
To freeze over into ice again
And become one of many puddles.

Together! 2012 Art Club The Art Club runs a still-life session on Zoom from 11-12 every Friday morning: click on the photo to view a larger version and join in from home. We’d love to see your pictures: send them to info@together2012.org.uk Click here to find out how to join the Art Club.

Lilac/pale-brown teddy bear with a gingham bow round its neck

The Art Club also runs a Make and Natter session on Zoom from 11-12 every Tuesday morning. Bring along your own work, or join in with inclusive recycled craft activities. Click here to find out how to join the Art Club You can view Duncan Bridgstock’s new exhibition of collages that he has created in the Art Club here.

Join in with Tracy: Make a flower from old wrapping or coloured paper. (You can find more Join in with Tracy activities here, including two other flower designs from January 2022.)

You need: Recycled wrapping paper or coloured paper, ruler, pencil, scissors, glue, and a paper straw or a skewer.

These are the different flowers that Tracy has made this month.

Join in with Sterre: Make bird feeders. You can find more films from Sterre here.

The Clockwork Paralimpics To join in at home, pick the toy on the right side or the left side of the screen to support before you start the video.

The Week Ahead

Holocaust Memorial Day

Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony livestream. 7pm, Thursday 27 January. Free. Online. https://www.hmd.org.uk/ceremony 8pm: Light the darkness
As the Ceremony ends, get ready to ‘Light the darkness’ with us. Put a light in your window at 8pm to remember those who were murdered for who they were and stand against prejudice and hatred today.

Read Ju’s poem about this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day theme ‘One Day’ here: http://www.ju90.co.uk/oneday.htm

Find out about the persecution of Disabled people by the Nazis here: https://www.hmd.org.uk/learn-about-the-holocaust-and-genocides/nazi-persecution/disabled-people/

Holocaust Memorial Day & LGBT+ History Month. Lecture by Professor Hájková. 3-4pm, Wednesday 2 February. Free. Online. In this talk, the pioneer of queer Holocaust history, Anna Hájková, explores the importance of same sex desire among Holocaust victims in the Shoah. She explores love, sexual barter, as well as sexual violence, and examines how it came to be that this history remains to one carrying a stigma even in 2022. Further details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/holocaust-memorial-day-lgbt-history-month-online-lecture-prof-hajkova-tickets-243506814437

Ju recommends…

Breathing Room: Moon Marked Journey. 9-10pm, Sunday 30 January. Free. Online. A live-streamed artist’s performance from the US and special preview of Shinique Smith’s Breathing Room: Moon Marked Journey, a film meditation on breath, Indigo, and blue as a colour that has long inspired Smith’s art practice. Further details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/breathing-room-moon-marked-journey-live-stream-film-preview-performance-tickets-232053928547

Twelfth Night OUT LOUD! 6.30-10.30pm, Monday 31 January. Free. Online. “We’re a free online community of actors and Shakespeare enthusiasts who, thanks to Covid, now meet up on Zoom to read through some of literature’s most famous works.” A free script can be downloaded. Further details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/twelfth-night-out-loud-online-tickets-238421122997

Raine Geoghegan and Phil Vernon launch their new poetry collections, introduced by special guest Nigel Kent. 7.30pm, Wednesday 2 February. Free. Online. Nigel Kent, whose recent poetry collection Unmuted was published last year by Hedgehog Poetry Press, introduces Raine Geoghegan and Phil Vernon who will read from their brand new poetry collections The Stone Sleep and Watching the Moon Landing, also published by Hedgehog. Further details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/launching-two-poetry-collections-by-raine-geoghegan-and-phil-vernon-tickets-241756228387

Julie recommends…

Beijing Winter Olympic Games. From 12pm on Wednesday 2 February. BBC iPlayer or the via red button. Free with a TV licence. The iPlayer programme page has the listings for over 300 hours of available viewing, with the Curling beginning on Wednesday and the Opening Ceremony on Friday 4 February: 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qfb83/broadcasts/upcoming

The Great Pottery Throwdown. Channel 4. 7.45pm on Sundays or any time on All 4.  Free. This week the theme for the potters is Gardenware:
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-great-pottery-throw-down

Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51. Free with a TV licence. On BBC iPlayer anytime. The website includes some additional resources about adult literacy: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0013wcj

Robin recommends….

Never Forget: by Lee Oskar. Released 28th January available in all formats from £10.35. Never Forget is a (mostly) instrumental album, by legendary Harmonica player Lee Oskar, inspired by his mother and aunt’s experiences as Polish Jews during the Second World War and afterward, the desire for global peace, and ensuring that the world doesn’t forget past horrors and repeat them. Further details :https://dreamsweshare.com/product/lee-oskar-passages-through-music-never-forget-mp3/

Further Afield 2 Remote Access with Abi Palmer: Thursday 27 January 5:30pm Free. The second in a three part series exploring the lived experiences of Disabled Artists and creatives based in rural Derbyshire and further afield. This session features writer, artist and filmmaker Abi Palmer. Abi’s work often uses multi-sensory interaction and play to explore themes of disability, access intimacy and queer culture. Further details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/further-afield-2-remote-access-with-abi-palmer-tickets-252011722847 

Tolleck Winner Artist: Instagram account required. Online. Free. Take a fascinating peek into the art of Tolleck Winner.  Always striving to take art, to where art has not been before. If you want to buy Tolleck is selling direct to art lovers and collectors. Email tolleck@yahoo.com for all enquiries:  Further details: https://www.instagram.com/tolleck_winner_artist/?hl=en

Tracy recommends…

Ronny and Johnny: Open Theatre. 7pm, Monday 31 January. Free. On YouTube. Open Theatre presents: Ronnie & Johnny, a new independent sitcom and one of the first of its kind in the UK to be led by an almost exclusively neuro-diverse and/or disabled cast.  The show follows Ronnie and Johnny, two young men who share a flat, a carer and almost every other aspect of their lives you could imagine. Their latest carer Alan doesn’t quite know what he’s got himself into when he arrives at Tree Foil House, but he’s about to find out: Further details: https://disabilityarts.online/events/open-theatre-company-presents-ronnie-johnny/

The Week In Art: From The Art Newspaper. Online available anytime. Free. This weekly podcast looking at international arts matters, with this episode looking at the best exhibitions to look forward to in 2022 with focus on art aimed at creating change. Further details here: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/01/14/the-year-ahead-the-best-exhibitions-to-look-forward-to-in-2022

And finally…. An interview with Tolleck Winner


20 January 2022

Screenshot of hostsDressing Up to Go Out to Stay In. Tracy dressed up to visit the penguin she is sponsoring in the Antarctic; Robin dressed up for a liberty festival; Ju and Julie dressed up to take part in Winterwatch (BBC2 & BBC iPlayer).

Poems from the Together! 2012 Pop-Up Poetry Club Theme: ‘A poem about a painting’. Next week’s theme is Snowflakes and Ice. Find out more here about how to join the Club, which takes place on Wednesday mornings from 10.30am-12 noon by phone (we call you and pay the costs). Or join in from home – we’d love to see your poems if you do: info@together2012.org.uk

Crystal Peasy: The Painting

The painting is of rainbows
Rainbows are all different bright colours
Like green, blue, red, white, yellow and orange
Bright colours are strong
And noticeable
And not dark
I do many different paintings
To decorate my house
And we decorate my house in different colours
I can decorate the garden
With all different artworks
All different art
Painting is a good activity.

Glory Sengo: Painting

When I was painting indigo dark blue
That is my most favourite colour
In the busy life of the London Underground
And also mixing colour
With the rugby cup final in France
And it would be very nice for me to live near Walthamstow Central
Finsbury Park
And finally Wood Green
And that’s why I would have a house or a flat there
And it depends on the flat
Because I like flats
As I moved there when I was a baby boy
And I loved it in 1993.

Dawn Barber: The Cottage

There is a cottage I know
That is out of this world
The curtains are pure white
The garden is full of flowers and roses
They smell divine
A nice garden fence
And black gate
And as you walk up the path
There are the climbing yellow roses
Around the windows
And a pretty butterfly that rests on them
And as I breath in and out
I never want to forget this scene
Because this is what life is all about
The cottage is my dream.

Dwain Bryan: A Painting

I did a painting of my own
It was a picture of a plant pot
Flourishing green
Beautiful sprout
And the pot it was in
Was a beautiful brown
It took me about an hour to draw
But believe you me
I really do adore
I use oil pastels
To do the picture
And paint, what a great mixture
I have many pictures that I do like
But this certain picture is just right
I wish you could see it
One of these days
And I hope your comments
Will be great
I have many paintings
And pictures too
But this certain picture
To my heart is true.

What do I do?
What do I say?
I have so many pictures
Around my way
Can I pick my favourite?
Can I pick my best?
I’ll leave you to see the rest.
You must have seen some paintings
At an exhibition or two
So tell me your favourites
That’s all you need to do
If you see a picture
It can tell you a story
But it’s up to you which one is true
It could touch your heart
It could make you cry
It could make you feel like you want to die.

Julie Newman: From the window

Picture this, a familiar landscape,
Colours changing with the seasons.
The image changes
As the train gathers speed.
Pushing onwards to the city.
Pushing onwards through the day.

Houses, side by side
Become the new landscapes.
Flashes of other peoples lives.
Not a thousand words
But windows framing the dramas
Of other peoples lives.

Glimpses uncensored of the
Day to day clutter.
The day to day heartbreak.
The day to day joy.
Rooms are the views,
Intimate but distant.

Other peoples lives, dreams.
The day to day clutter
Of emotions and hopes.
The bleakness of despair.
The detritus of their days.
Other peoples days.

The journey rushes to an end.
The natural end.
Expected and accepted.
All that lingers is now
Lost in the bustle of a different world.
A new picture is drawn.

Other peoples lives, dreams.
The day to day clutter
Of emotions and hopes.
The bleakness of despair.
The detritus of their days.
Other peoples lives.

Kate Rolison: The Goose and the Star

A storm
And a single Canada goose
Small as a fingernail
Snug against the clouds
Suspended amongst prongs
Of lightning
That dive into the grass
Like a plant putting down roots
It has lost its skein
Its way
Yet resolutely flies
Towards red mountains
Between green and blue flash.
Over all this an orange star winks
As if to say
Though lonely
You are not alone.

Alison Marchant: Painting of Lochbuie, Isle of Mull.

Painting at Lochbuie
Using water from rock pools
The wind scatters sand.

Water colours soak into small pieces of textured paper
The gritty sand sweeps across the image in brush strokes.
The sun beats down to dry the paintings.

The landscape is empty of people,
With just the sounds of the calling curlew.

Together! 2012 Art Club The Art Club runs a still-life session on Zoom from 11-12 every Friday morning: click on the photo to view a larger version and join in from home. We’d love to see your pictures: send them to info@together2012.org.uk Click here to find out how to join the Art Club.

The Art Club also runs a Make and Natter session on Zoom from 11-12 every Tuesday morning. Bring along your own work, or join in with inclusive recycled craft activities. Click here to find out how to join the Art Club You can view Duncan Bridgstock’s new exhibition of collages that he has created in the Art Club here.

Join in with Tracy: Make a flower from old sweet wrappers. (You can find more Join in with Tracy activities here.)

Join in with Sterre: Make a sunflower hand painting. You can find more films from Sterre here.

The Clockwork Paralimpics To join in at home, pick the toy on the right side or the left side of the screen to support before you start the video.

The Week Ahead

The Together! 2021 Disability History Month Festival has now ended, but recordings of all of the live events are available on our website, together with our exhibitions and Family Activities: https://www.together2012.org.uk/together-2021-disability-history-month-festival/

Ju recommends…

Seated/wheelchair dance. 11am-12noon on Fridays. Free. Online. Organised by the Leonard Cheshire charity. Further details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/seatedwheelchair-dance-tickets-137596945167

Deaf-initely Women: Dance with Nua Dance. 6.30-8pm, Thursday 27 January. Free. Online. For Deaf, Deaf-blind and hard of hearing women only, with BSL interpretation and captions. Further details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/deaf-initely-women-dance-with-nua-dance-registration-215725118637

Outfest Queer Brunch at Sundance Film Festival. 7-8pm, Sunday 23 January. Free. Online. Now in its 26th year, the Outfest Queer Brunch at Sundance returns virtually as a gathering of festival alumni, industry, community, and fans of cinema to celebrate the LGBTQ+ films at Sundance & Slamdance.  A great opportunity to join in with what would usually be a very costly film industry event. Further details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/outfest-queer-brunch-at-sundance-tickets-250764883517

The Noise My Leaves Make: Black British Women and Surrendering to Belonging. 7-8.30pm, Tuesday 25 January. Free. Online. Join director Dr Tia-Monique Uzor in a roundtable discussion about her CARICUK commissioned film The Noise My Leaves Make. Filmed in Leicestershire, The Noise My Leaves Make explores Black British women in the rural English environment. A space that has typically been denied to Black British women as a place of belonging, the three dancers claim the countryside as their own, finding sisterhood, connection, and joy. Further details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-noise-my-leaves-make-black-british-women-and-surrendering-to-belonging-tickets-225890323037

Julie recommends…

The Green Planet on BBC 1 at 7pm on Sundays. Free with TV licence. This series is hosted by David Attenborough as he takes the viewers through a range of plant life in different habitats throughout the world. The next episode is exploring seasonal plants. This can be watched live on BBC1 or accessed through BBC iPlayer on demand: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m0013cl7/the-green-planet

Art on Four, 9pm Monday 24 January, BBC4. Free with TV licence. This is the final program in a series of four featuring artists from the archives, including Salvador Dali, Van Gogh, and Monet. The final program is about Turner. This can be watched live on BBC4 or accessed through BBC iPlayer on demand:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0013vd0

The Great Pottery Throwdown. 7.45pm Sundays on Channel 4 until March. Each week the potters face a challenge and one will leave while another is declared Potter of the Week.. This can be watched live or accessed through All4 on demand.

Robin recommends…

Watercolour Challenge. 4pm, Wednesdays on Channel 5 or on My5 on demand. Free. Four amateur painters compete against the clock to capture some of Britain’s finest views: https://www.channel5.com/show/watercolour-challenge

9 Virtual Exhibition Tours from The Royal Academy. Anytime. Free. Online. Stay home, stay safe and still see major exhibitions from around the world, while swapping the crowds for a cuppa. This list brings you some of the best virtual tours and artworks currently available online:  https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/9-virtual-exhibition-art-tours-to-watch-online

Tracy recommends…

Earth’s Tropical Islands. Free with TV Licence. BBC iPlayer on demand. Exploring some of the world’s most isolated and iconic tropical islands with the narration by David Harewood. See the incredible creatures evolved to meet the demands of each unique Island’s features: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cs07

Ella’s Wheelchair Workouts. Free. Online. On demand. Ella Beaumont (GB Wheelchair Basketball Under-25 Women’s European Championships silver medallist) takes you through 10 circuit sessions aimed to keep you fit from your homes:  https://www.wheelpower.org.uk/resources/circuit-exercise-workout


13 January 2022

Screenshot of hostsDressing Up to Go Out to Stay In. Ju dressed up to support Emma Radacanu play tennis in Melbourne; Julie dressed up to go back in time with Dr Who to view the Rutland Ichthyosaur from the BBC’s Digging for Britain programme in real life (see BBC iPlayer); Tracy dressed up to go to Paris for a virtual poetry reading; and Robin dressed up to go to the Isle of Berk for the Dragon Training Academy.

Poems from the Together! 2012 Pop-Up Poetry Club Theme: ‘Winter’. Next week’s theme is ‘A poem about a painting’. Find out more here about how to join the Club, which takes place on Wednesday mornings from 10.30am-12 noon by phone (we call you and pay the costs). Or join in from home – we’d love to see your poems if you do: info@together2012.org.uk

Glory Sengo: Winter

When I was skiing down the snow
I was skiing really slow
And everyone was skiing faster
Then I was skiing slowly still
Then skiing down again
And I had a cup of tea and biscuits
Then I went on to do more skiing
Skiing slowly
Then I went to ski faster
And stopped and had my food
Which was fish and chips.

When the lady was skiing down very calmly
Then stood back up
And skiing down again
She was very hurtful
And starts skiing down
And she went wahhh ahh
She starts getting up and yelled very loud
And she stood back up and went skiing down
And then she went to have a cup of tea and biscuits
And put newspaper on her hair so that her hair would get dry
And she went up and skied back again
And stopped
And went to have fish and chips.

She scuttled down in the snow
Then stood back up
Then she was being hurtful
Then she started calming down
Skiing calmly
Then starts skiing fast
Then goes to have a cup of tea
Then goes and sits down for a bit
Then gets the newspaper on her hair
So that her hair would get dry
And she has a little bit of tea
Then goes skiing back again in the snow
And goes back and has some fish and chips.

Dawn Barber: Winter Walks

On a cold winter’s day he walks the pathway
The wind blows in his face
He pulls his scarf up to his neck and the collar of his coat
Even though it is cold he still has a walk every day
There’s a little café near home
He pops in to have a tea
Then he heads off to the library to get some more books
Time now to head off home to relax in his chair
Near a warm fire
But he thinks he shouldn’t sit in for too long
I must do something to keep myself busy
So his thoughts don’t take over everything.

Crystal Peasy: Winter

It’s very cold in the winter
In the wintertime people can catch cold or flu
And the weather is so bad
People get sick
That’s why people go to hospital
And also people can get pneumonia.

Dwain Bryan: The Signs of Winter

That chill in the air
The trees go bare
The frost and cold in your toes
That red mark on your nose
Your woolly hat and your scarf
The snow throwing marks you laugh
There is snow on the ground
And snow falling from the sky
You hope the day goes ok
And your world won’t delay
You don’t want to slip
You don’t want to slide
But you wish the reindeers
Will give you a ride
Winter blues, winter cold
You stay at home and try to be strong
And bold
What are the other signs of winter
How can you tell
At least it’s not as hot
Or as bad as hell.

Kate Rolison: Winter

Burrowing down beneath blanket,
Quilt, duvet
Barely leaving the house
A friend tells me it’s dark
When she sets off in the morning and dark
When she leaves work
For the small blessings
The piercing sun burning cold
Frost on the grass
And evergreen trees
So I search
For the small blessings
The piercing sun burning cold
Frost on the grass
And evergreen trees.

Julie Newman: January

The sun is low. Very little light
Shines through empty windows.
The holiday garlands now gone,
Leaving no space for shadows.
This can only be winter time. A glimmer
Of hope shines as the days grow longer,
And the sun grows stronger.

The dogs lie huddled in their beds,
Not anxious to run in the shaded frozen yard.
The cats sit looking through the windows, darkly
Hoping for the flash of wings, or the flick
Of a branch, blown by the wind.
No creatures stir outside, as the cold light
Harshly shows the shape of things not there.

But soon, soon, will the earth start to warm.
Life coming back as shoots start to form.
Soon, soon will the days lengthen further,
The birds return, and the sun shine longer.
Until then, we all huddle down, waiting for spring
To lighten our days. The cold reminds us
That time moves on and seasons change.

Alison Marchant: Winter

We barely see the light of day
And frost settles in the mornings
Icing the puddles and leaves cold to touch
The forest in its frosty glare
As the birds settle
This image I share
A Winter landscape
A chilly wind
Wrapping up warm
As the Robin sings
A solitary Magpie in the overgrown garden
Haunts me
One for sorrow
In an empty house of ghosts of things
Objects so dear.

Together! 2012 Art Club The Art Club runs a still-life session on Zoom from 11-12 every Friday morning. The Art Club also runs a Make and Natter session on Zoom from 11-12 every Tuesday morning. Bring along your own work, or join in with inclusive recycled craft activities. Click here to find out how to join the Art Club You can view Duncan Bridgstock’s new exhibition of collages that he has created in the Art Club here.

Join in with Tracy: Make a foxglove from wrapping paper.

Join in with Sterre: Make a firework painting.

The Clockwork Paralimpics To join in at home, pick the toy on the right side or the left side of the screen to support before you start the video.

The Week Ahead

The Together! 2021 Disability History Month Festival has now ended, but recordings of all of the live events are available on our website, together with our exhibitions and Family Activities: https://www.together2012.org.uk/together-2021-disability-history-month-festival/

Ju recommends…

Dry Disco. 7-8.15pm for five Thursdays beginning 13 January. Free. Online. Primarily for women aged 40-65 Join theatre and dance company LYNNEBEC and Dr Emma Davies for a dance workshop series, promoting fun and wellbeing through dance. We are offering a supportive and non-judgmental space to hear a range of views where all dance abilities are welcome, so we can start a conversation that can inform new ways of talking about alcohol, health and wellbeing. Further details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dry-disco-tickets-215786020797

Drawing Discussion with Victoria Clare Bernie & Fiona Michie. 6-7pm, Tuesday 18 January. Free. Online. Exhibiting artists Victoria Clare Bernie and Fiona Michie will introduce their drawings selected for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2021 exhibition and will discuss how drawing and landscape registers human actions with Professor Anita Taylor followed by a Q&A with the audience. (Together! 2012 CIC has a storage unit at TBW and our Chair’s studio is there.) Further details and book here:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/drawing-discussion-with-victoria-clare-bernie-fiona-michie-tickets-233690985027

Chronicle/Coracle: a talk by artist Jade Montserrat. 5.30-7pm, Wednesday 19 January. Free. Online. A series of performance films — ‘Clay, Peat and Cage’ are at York Art Gallery until 13 February — sparks conversations about land ownership, environmental crisis, race, trauma, belonging, and the body in art. Further details and book here:  https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/chroniclecoracle-a-talk-by-artist-jade-montserrat-tickets-186954866037

Julie recommends… 

Winter Watch returns on BBC 2 on Tuesday 18th January at 8pm. The continuing seasonal nature wildlife series returns from familiar sites in Norfolk and Scotland. The website has the schedule and more resources with videos from past shows. The website and links can be found at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0013p1b 

Why does Comedy Make Us Happy. A free online talk about comedy can be booked for either live or on demand. 
The discussion is led by Dr Angus Fletcher and looks at the three main effects that comedy has upon the brain and why it is shared universally. Further details and book here:  https://onegarden.com/talk/angus-fletcher-the-science-of-happiness

A new free popular online word game has been created. 
This was devised by an American man and his wife who wanted to make a challenging word game that could be available online for free. It consists of five opportunities to find a five letter word using clues about each letter that is correct and either in the wrong or right place within the ultimate correct word. It is renewed daily. Follow this link to download the game: https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/

Robin recommends…

Windows On The World. 4pm – 5pm, Saturday 15 January. Free. Online. Join Manchester Art Gallery guide Julia as she takes viewers through the way artists use windows to make you look at things, often in particular ways, sometimes for beauty other times for darker reasons. Further details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mag-unlocked-windows-on-the-world-and-arts-unsung-heroes-tickets-231017578797?utm-campaign=social%2Cemail&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-source=strongmail&utm-term=listing

Speak the Word: poetry and spoken word writing workshop. 6-7.30pm, Saturday 15 January. Free. Online. Poetry and spoken word sessions open to people of all abilities.  On the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month, Speak the Word runs a poetry and spoken word writing workshop. An inclusive and encouraging group, and whoever you are and whatever your relationship with poetry, all are welcome.  Further details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/speak-the-word-online-poetry-and-spoken-word-writing-workshop-tickets-149889161517?utm-campaign=social%2Cemail&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-source=strongmail&utm-term=listing

Tracy recommends …

Six Music Festival. Anytime Free on BBC iPlayer. 6 Music Festival is hosted by Cerys Matthews and brings you a collection of films from past festivals, interviews and studio performances: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b03nj13d/6-music-festival

Around The World In 80 Days. Anytime Free on BBC iPlayer. Join David Tennant stars as Phileas Fogg the improbable traveller, as he rises to the challenge of journeying around the planet in 80 days: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m0012w6x/around-the-world-in-80-days

Earth’s Tropical Islands. Anytime Free on BBC iPlayer. Exploring some of the world’s most isolated and iconic tropical islands with the narration by David Harewood. See the incredible creatures evolved to meet the demands of each unique Island’s features: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cs07

And finally…. Robin Surgeoner speaks to artists from the Black Box in Belfast and tdhey play their new video for us, It Is Hard to Find Words for Feelings. The video was funded by Disability Arts Online with support from Together! 2012 CIC.


Click here to view the Highlights & Links from the previous month’s show.