Virtual Notting Hill Carnival. Free. Bank Holiday Weekend. On Saturday night from 6pm-midnight, the Panorama celebration of Carnival culture will be streaming live on Tiktok, including the final of the 2021 Steelpan competition: @NHCarnivalLDN On Bank Holiday Monday, there is a YouTube livestream featuring the best of Notting Hill’s favourite Carnival artists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ifkvfm8WHU

Music from around the world. Wednesday 1 September. 1-2pm. Free. Part of the Can Do campaign supporting Disabled people to be active. Coordinator Dan will play his guitar and take you on a journey around the world. Share your favourite music, listen carefully and guess where the sounds come from. After that, take a moment to relax, learn about different chords and talk about how they make you feel. Cap things off with a quick quiz with a name that tune! https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/music-from-around-the-world-tickets-162818104333

Julie recommends…

Olympic Gold and Silver medallist cyclist Katie Archibald discusses the books that influenced her. Free to watch on demand  between 6.30-9.30pm via Vimeo until 15 September: https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/1/katie-archibald-the-books-that-made-me

The Science Museum online archive. Free. Tours and objects are made available to look at virtually, even though the Museum is now open to visitors. There are some interesting groupings of objects at the bottom of the page, including toys and games, as well as the more obvious science based objects. https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/

Tracy recommends…

An online introduction to some of the works exhibited at the Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham in Berkshire. Wednesday 1 September. He was an artist in the first half of the twentieth century, known for his portraits, Glasgow shipbuilders, and locating some biblical scenes in Cookham, where he lived. This is hosted by Arts UK which is committed to opening art to the broader UK. There is no charge but donations are welcomed, as this is a charity. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/art-unlocked-stanley-spencer-gallery-tickets-165905837827?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

And finally… Robin interviews Paralympian and inclusion campaigner Tara Flood.

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20 August 2021

Dressing Up to Go Out to Stay In: Ju, Julie & Robin dressed up for the Tokyo Paralymics, which start on Tuesday 24 August on Channel 4 and More 4; Tracy dressed up to be creative.

Poems from the Together! 2012 Pop-Up Poetry Club Theme: A Windy Day. If you’d like to join in from home, next week’s theme is ‘Carnival’. 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).

Crystal Peasy: The Wind

When I go out in the wind
It makes me look like I have been fighting with the wind
My hair flies on my face
All the leaves blow up into the wind
The leaves dance under the tree
Sometimes the wind destroys trees
And makes pieces
Sometimes the wind doesn’t let you move forward
And pushes you aside.

Dwain Bryan: A Windy Day

Sometimes the wind is fast
Sometimes the wind is slow
No matter the leaves start to grow
It is so windy
The leaves on the ground
Rush to the air
And you take a look up
And the leaves are there
The leaves scatter on the ground
And leaves a mess
So you grab your broom
And do your best
Leaves fall off of the tree
And that’s no doubt
The mess they make
It could make you scream and shout.

Dawn Barber: A Windy Day

On a very windy day I walk along the streets
Seeing all the puddles near my feet
‘Hell what a day’ I think to myself
‘I wish I hadn’t of come out
What is all this weather about?
It is going crazy, crazy
It is so strong it holds on to me and won’t let go.’
Time to have a talk to this weather
But it won’t hear me
All I can hope is that it will soon calm down
Like turning down a radio.

Ellen Goodey: Fast wind

Fast
Fast
Fast wind
Blowing fast
Trees blossoming
In the wind
Rubbish rattling
On the ground
Fast wind.

Alison Marchant: Unseen Wind

Unseen presence of the wind
Dead leaves driven
Like a fleeing ghost
Loose like dead leaves falling
Flying
Tangled boughs swaying on a blue surface
Lift me as a wave
Leaf
Or cloud
Unseen presence of the wind.

Julie Newman: Variable Winds

The wind beats hard against the window pane.
Pushing, shoving with a terrible force.
The trees bend sideways, then battered by rain,
Back up as it moves and changes its course.
Easterly winds bringing storms from the seas.

Relentless wind fuels endless August fires
There scorched earth lies with blackened trees.
In lands not far way, starved of summer rain.
How can the separation be so great?
These countries with seas sitting in between.

Yet two places suffer such differing fate?
One beaten by fires, the other still green.
The winds will soon fade, the rains will freshen.
The barometer shifts, the pressure rises.
Sun brings relief, and sun brings depression.

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. 

Join in with Tracy: Modelling with salt dough Part 1. Mix one cup of plain flour with half a cup of water and half a cup of salt to make the dough. Once you have made your model, you can leave the dough to dry (this takes about two days), or cook it in the oven or microwave (check every ten seconds if you use a microwave). Then it is ready to paint.

Join in from home with the Kitchen Carnival: Make a Black or White Bat Mask. For full instructions and more designs click 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

You can read about Disabled artists, Disability Arts and relevant issues at Disability Arts Online: https://disabilityarts.online 

Ju recommends…

Campfire Presents Culture Clasher with Don Letts, the original Rebel Dread. Thursday 26 August 5-6pm. Free. The exceptional life of legendary DJ and filmmaker Don Letts has recently been captured in the book There and Black Again, and he returns for the second time as a Campfire guest: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/campfire-presents-culture-clasher-legendary-dj-film-maker-don-letts-tickets-157943235469

Designmynight.com has a page of Quirky Things to Do Online at Home which includes a wide range of activities from gaming and line-dancing to chocolate tasting and magic tricks. There is a wide range of ticket prices including free activities: https://www.designmynight.com/uk/quirky-things-to-do-online-at-home

ticketsource.co.uk has a wide range of performances, talks, workshops and classes listed – search ‘Online’. There is a wide range of ticket prices including free activities: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on?q=online

Julie recommends…

Sunday 22 August is a Blue Moon. This is the third full moon in a season, so it is called a seasonal blue moon, but the colour remains as usual. It is sometimes called the Sturgeon or Grain Moon, which comes from an American Almanac which adopted names given by some Native Americans. The sturgeon is a fish which was caught in season at this time of year, and the grain refers to the harvest. The Royal Museums Greenwich has a calendar of night sky related content including the August Perseid meteor shower:
https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/full-moon-calendar

Virtual tour of the London Underground’s old postal network. Free with a donation if possible. The Postal Museum. A fascinating virtual ride on the small train service that was used to transport the post from one part of London to another on its journey towards delivery. There is an audio-described version available as well: https://www.postalmuseum.org/make-a-connection/mail-rail-from-home/

Natural History Museum Online. Free. The National History Museum has a page full of virtual links that go to exhibitions, tours and archives, including botanical illustrations from Captain Cook’s exploration on the HMS Endeavour: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/virtual-museum.html

Robin recommends…

Whitby Folk Week – Opening Ceilidh. Saturday 21 August 8pm. Online on Zoom. Free/Pay as you want. Whitby Folk Week@Home presents a Zoom ceilidh with music from Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer and Bob Morgan, plus expert calling from Bob with a range of adapted ceilidh dances suitable for dancing at home, either on your own, with a partner or in a small group of friends. Come to dance, listen to the music, play along (on mute) or stay for a chat afterwards, it’s up to you!  This event will take place on Zoom. You will receive an email nearer the time with the event joining details. This will be a pay as you feel event with all donations going to the performers: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/whitbyhome-ceilidh-vicki-swan-jonny-dyer-bob-morgan-tickets-163258403279

The 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games – The Opening Ceremony. Tuesday 24 August from 11:30 am. Channel 4. Free. Hosted  by Ade Adepitan and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson with commentary will from Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Rob Walker. Not only are Channel 4 hosting the coverage of the Games but the channel has dedicated More 4 completely to team sports. There will also be a Paralympics micro-site featuring 16 livestreams and providing over 1,000 hours of sport.

Tracy recommends…

Ghosts. BBC iPlayer. Free (with TV Licence). Online anytime. A cash-strapped young couple inherit a rickety country mansion, only to find it teeming with needy ghosts. Grown-up comedy from the Horrible Histories team.  If you’re not glued to the Paralympics then here is a ridiculously silly show to clear your mind of sport and escape to a haunted house of hilarity: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m00049t9/ghosts

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13 August 2021

Dressing Up to Go Out to Stay In: Ju dressed up to attend MixCon (see The Week Ahead for details); Julie dressed up for a Zoom picnic; Tracy dressed up to bake; Robin dressed up to spend a week being inventive, wearing a T-shirt from Frank Zappa’s band The Mothers of Invention.

Poems from the Together! 2012 Pop-Up Poetry Club Theme: This makes me smile. If you’d like to join in from home, next week’s theme is ‘A Windy Day’. 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).

Julie Newman: Blackbird Singing

The busy bird hops
Then scuffles in the leaves
Under the overgrown hedge.
The sound of her foraging
Has no threat, no hint of menace
But is gently reassuring.
All was well in her world.

Her coat is speckled dark brown
Her bright yellow eyes
Sparkle as she pauses and looks up.
She has no fear, just interest
For she knows she can retreat,
Quickly flying into the dense
Growth of the bushes nearby.

As the day ends, and the day begins
The song of a bird rises
And makes us pause.
What bird is this with many songs?
No brown speckles to camouflage,
But black feathers shimmer,
His yellow beak giving voice to his songs.

Her mate sings us into another world.
His song rising above the roofs.
The sound of traffic, the noises of man
Fade and has no worth.
With him we soar and fly.
The Otherworld opens and
Rhiannon brings us home.

Crystal Peasy: The Flowers

What makes me really happy are flowers and plants
I like it when someone gives me a bunch of flowers
When you receive the flowers, you can water them straight away
I love the colours of the flowers
I feel very happy when I plant flowers in my flat
I also feel very calm when flowers surround me
I feel joy in the smell of the flowers.

Dawn Barber: Smile

It makes me smile when the cat looks up at me with those big green eyes
It makes me smile when the little robin sits on my garden fence
It makes me smile when I look back on memories of my mum and nan
The laughs we used to have
And to see someone walking their dog
And when the sun is shining
Keep on smiling, smiling through.

Glory Sengo: It makes me smile on my face

When I was smiling
I was smiling at my friends
And Louise said to me
You’ve really got a smile on your face
Do you want to have a barbecue with me
Yes
That will be supper de dupper.

Dwain Bryan: What Makes Smile

When I see my mother’s face
When my lips taste a healthy dish
When I score a goal
When everything is ok
When the sun is shining at me
What makes me a smile
When I complete a marathon
And I’ve run a mile
What makes me smile
When I pass my college course
And I’ve had no faults
What makes me smile
When I’ve looked at my mum’s face
And she smiles
What makes me smile
When I’m with friends and we socialise
For a while
That’s what makes me smile
When I’ve done some hard work
And I get paid
That’s what makes me smile.

Alison Marchant: This Makes Me Smile

My mother’s garden
Where I can feel the sun or wind on my face
Hear too the buzzing sound of a bees as they feed on nectar from the flowers
This makes me smile
I like the smell the greenery after rain
The songs of the birds in the trees
This makes me smile
Hearing the children playing and laughing in the other gardens
And my mother’s smile
This makes me smile.

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. 

Safiyya is making a Bat mask as part of our Kitchen Carnival project – you can find the details here.

Join in with Tracy: Make an animal from strips of paper. We’d love to see your photos!

Join in with Sterre: Paint a butterfly.

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

Ju recommends…

MixCon is a free educational event for musicians and aspiring producers/mixing engineers.

Mixing Hip Hop with Thomas “Tillie’ Mann. Wednesday 18 August 8-9.30pm. Free. Online. One of the top Hip Hop mixing engineers of our times walks us through his mixing process. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-the-hip-hop-mix-with-tillie-gucci-maine-lil-yachty-ybn-nahmir-tickets-165334494925

In Session: Mixing 101 w/Kate Ellwanger. Thursday 19 August 6pm. Free. Online. Join producer, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist Kate Ellwanger (a.k.a. Dot) to learn the basics of mixing a song: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-session-mixing-101-wkate-ellwanger-tickets-149424258981

Virtual tour of A Like Vision: The Group of Seven at 100. Free. Online. Sundays 15 & 22 August. 5.30-6.30pm. Organised by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the tour allows you to examine works close-up from home, and is led by an expert. Groups are limited to 20 and there is a choice of dates. https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/virtual-tour-of-a-like-vision-the-group-of-seven-at-100-registration-105140953422]

Julie recommends…

A BBC4 documentary film on Leonora Carrington that is now available on BBCiPlayer. She was born in 1917 in Lancashire to wealthy parents and ended up in France before the war, living with the artist. Max Ernst. With the coming of the Gestapo, both fled, but in different directions. Leonora ended up being held in a psychiatric Institution in Spain, from which she was able to escape when being deported, and ultimately ended up living in Mexico. She was a significant surrealist artist, and also writer who has written about her experiences of the psychiatric system.

Edinburgh Book Festival. Free. Saturday 14 August. On demand. M G Leonard introduces a new series about a birdwatching detective called Twitch: https://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/event/1687115-m-g-leonard-free-as-a-bird/

Robin recommends…

Friday Night Love Poem. 16-29 August 2021. Disability Arts Online. On demand. Price: £8 (£5 concession). From our obsession with early 2000’s virginal pop stars, to mid 2000’s dreamy emo boys, to baring it all on social media today. Friday Night Love Poem is a funny, cringey and heartfelt throwback to the female teenage experience, from the early 2000’s to today. Three coming-of-age stories, one epic online play about the journey to embracing female pleasure. Closed captioning available: https://disabilityarts.online/events/crossline-theatre-presents-friday-night-love-poem-online/

Michelle Baharier presents The Walkie Talkies. Until 31 August 2021. Disability Arts Online. Free. On demand. “Hold tight!” if you can remember that saying, remember the conductors? They used to shout just before the bus moved, lots of people would be holding on, swaying to and fro. The Walkie-Talkies is an artwork by socially engaged artist Michelle Baharier, working with a number of community groups and based on a poem by David Morris called the Route master race. David was a disabled wheelchair user and unable to use the bus, therefore excluded from London life. The works explore inclusion on public transport, this experience of the route master, the double-decker bus and David’s poem.  Ten digital collages will track the absurd, the unfortunate and the ordinariness of our bus journeys through the perspective of those who have used and worked on the London buses: https://disabilityarts.online/events/michelle-baharier-presents-the-walkie-talkies-online/

Tracy recommends…

Art of Living – Health and Happiness Workshop. Monday 16 August 6-7pm. Online. Free. Learn skills to help manage stress and increase energy levels. The Art of Living brings you this free holistic and integrated workshop called the Health and Happiness which provide unique tools and techniques which help combat stress accumulated in our daily, modern life.  Through breathing techniques and meditation lesson hopefully you can begin to feel more energetic and enthusiastic to take on life! https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/health-and-happiness-workshop-tickets-165868466047?aff=ebdssbeac&keep_tld=1

And finally… Robin interviews Patrice Naiambana.

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6 August 2021

Dressing Up to Go Out to Stay In: Ju and Julie dressed up to stay in to support Team GB and all of the athletes at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics who are competing without a live audience – view on BBC and BBC iPlayer until Sunday. Tracy dressed up as a rap producer after watching The Rap Game (BBC iPlayer). Robin dressed up for a weekend painting workshop – see The Week Ahead below for details. And Jinks the cat joined us to point out that it’s International Cat Day on Sunday.

Poems from the Together! 2012 Pop-Up Poetry Club Theme: Space Travel. If you’d like to join in from home, next week’s theme is ‘A singer I like’. 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).

Julie Newman: Celestial Homesickness

My eyes closed, my mind drifted
As I listened to the song of the shipping forecast…
Familiar names of unknown places…
Carrying me away to dreams within dreams…

I swam with the stars and danced on the moon,
My feet not heavy, my spirit light enough
To carry me up and over
The brightness of countless constellations…
Diving in and out of meteor tails,
Delighting in the sparks that light the endless night.
And then I played with asteroids,
Relentless in their pursuit of the path that leads Nowhere.
Looking for partners in their timeless flight
Around the planets…

And as I awoke from the dream…within the dream,
I reached back to the stars and the endless dance…
Longing again to feel the joy of the light
And the wonderful belonging in the night of endless dreams…
To join in the dance and play with the stars,
Forever part of the harmonics that form.
Calling to all, but unheard by many…
The glorious song of the universe.

Ellen Goodey : Outer Space

Up high
Up high
And away
Where the clouds are
Where it rains
Where the sun is shining
Up high
In space
Outer space
It’s lovely up here
Mars, Jupiter, Venus
Lovely
And blue skies all round me
I’m out in space
I won’t be back
Until 4am in the morning.

Crystal Peasy : Space travel

I like to talk about people traveling to space
Some people travel to Mars
They fly a long way to Mars
Some people also fly to the moon
They travel day and night
Some people travel at night because it’s easier to travel
When they come back they bring something from Mars or the moon
And also I like to travel to the moon
And take my crew with me.

Dawn Barber : Space Travel

I’m entering my space craft
Shutting the big round door
I sit in my seat strapping myself in tight
I have all my controls in front of me
It is very exciting now I am ready to go
I hit the controls
And I am off
I’m going through spirals of different colours
Where they are taking me I do not know
But I am having a great time
Then I suddenly hit something
It is the moon
And I’m finally here
I have made it
I know I will have to go home soon
Back down to earth
But what a day to spend it on the moon
Over and out.

Dwain Bryan : Space travel

When you go to space you will see many things
Pluto, Mars and shining stars
You leave the earth to a distant birth
And you float like floating boat
You may see Mars and touch the ground
Your national flag on the compound
You jump and float like a bouncing ball
You are so amazed because this is a first for you
Your shipmates wonder if you’re okay
They all hope to see you another day
You have fun
And your day is done
It is now time to return to your mum.

Glory Sengo: Space Travel 

When I was space travelling
I was flying over Earth
I was going to see Mars
Mars is red
I was going to see the moon
The moon is yellow
and then I went to
See the all the other planets.

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 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. 

Join in with Tracy: Make a collage picture from junk mail.

Join in with Sterre: Make an ice sculpture

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

Ju recommends…

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival opens today and around a third of shows are available online, including at least 50 that are free. You can book all shows here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/

Absolutely Themeless. 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays until the end of August as part of the Laughing Horse Free Festival Online. Sounds Proper presents stand-up comedy from Jaleelah Galbraith, Colin Etches and Rachel Morton-Young. 

The Girls of St Trinian’s. On demand from Online@TheSpaceUK. Free. With Sistas Before Mistas as their rally cry, the girls of St. Trinian’s must overcome two great evils: financial ruin and a villainous rival Headmaster. As the future of their little state school is threatened by a slimy Ofsted Inspector and crushing utility bills, the girls and their exalted Headmistress must band together to win the school quiz or risk losing it all.

Hip Hop Orchestra Experience. On demand from Online@TheSpaceUK. Free. Ensemble Mik Nawooj (EMN) is a hip-hop orchestra from Oakland, California (USA) comprised of an MC, soprano, winds, strings, piano, drums and a turf dancer. Check out their Edinburgh Fringe debut of five music videos from their new album, Death Become Life, as filmed at the Asian Art Museum. 

Cartography of Peace. On demand. Free. This cross-disciplinary 32-minute performance work features opera, violin, poetry and contemporary dance and is presented by the South Chicago Dance Theatre and choreographer Kia S. Smith.

Julie recommends…

NASA has a great video about the timeline of space travel to complement this week’s Poetry Club theme of Space Travel: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html

Following on from last week’s recommendations about planting and pollination, Kew Gardens has a YouTube channel, free to subscribe, with many films including an interesting video and encouraging pollinators into our gardens: https://youtu.be/3No8SaxkxL8

The List has a selection of free online events, including this virtual exhibition featuring Disabled artists’ response to Covid over the last year in Leeds. Each thumbnail sketch has a link to the artist and more examples of their work: https://www.list.co.uk/event/1626464-possible-all-along/

Robin recommends…

Transferring Concepts to Canvas. 7 August 11:30am-12:30pm Online Free. A workshop in how to use oil painting to gradually conceptualise and transfer personal experience to the canvas. Taking inspiration from various sources and artists, the workshop will present and explore ways of putting concepts into artworks: https://www.artrabbit.com/events/transferring-concepts-to-canvas

Family Natural Inks & Dyes. 9 August 2pm – 4pm Online £20 per household ticket.  In the spirit of DIY culture, get thrifty and creative with items around your home, using spices, vegetables, and basic kitchen tools. Using your own inks, artist Nikki Gardham will show you how to create botanical designs: https://www.artrabbit.com/events/family-natural-inks-dyes

Tracy recommends….

Good Influence by Gemma Styles Podcast Magazine – Online anytime, released each Monday. Gemma Styles, sister of One Direction star Harry Styles, each week introduces a guest to her podcast who will focus on particular areas of our lives, and will answer questions posted by listeners. Emma covers a wide range of topics from Mental Health to Climate Justice, from Disability & Body Image, through to Nutrition and Stigma to Confidence and Community.  This week’s episode focuses on depression and how we can deal with it openly: https://www.gemmastyles.com/podcast

Tokyo Olympics Closing Ceremony 8 August 11:55am BBC 1 (and later on iPlayer) Free. The Tokyo Olympics comes to a spectacular end with the traditional closing ceremony, and the handing over to Paris for the road to 2024.  Celebrating what has been a sporting triumph despite the backdrop of empty stadiums due to COVID, the Games will climax with entertainment, speeches, arts performances and fireworks.

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