When I signed up to the ‘Our Economy and Creative Writing Workshop’, I admit, I was stepping out of my comfort zone. Though I had been with the Arkbound Foundation as a volunteer for about a year when I signed up, I seldom showcased my writing – and I had very little interest in the theory of economics.
What happens when a small, self-represented charity finds itself in court against a claimant backed by a trained barrister? If the presiding judge is Jonathan Napier, the outcome seems almost inevitable: the charity loses—not because of the merits of the case, but because one side’s arguments are wholly disregarded while the other’s are upheld in their entirety.
A side of TikTok dedicated to the sharing of books between the app users, BookTok has taken the publishing industry by storm. It has added a whole other playing field for authors marketing their work by revolutionising the way readers choose their next book.
It is perhaps ironic that the one thing which enables anything from happening is an illusion. Its value does not arise intrinsically, but instead from a collective belief that it can be used to acquire real things. To create it, governments and banks use an extensive system of inter-exchangeable loans: they, too, accept a belief that more of it will be returned to them in the future, often decades ahead. When that belief comes under question, entire economies come crashing down.
As the nights are drawing in, and the winter months are finally taking their hold, a lot of minds have turned to Christmas. Whilst some may claim it still to be ‘too early’ to worry about such things, there is a definite festive feel in the air! For many of us Christmas brings a time of celebration, especially post-pandemic, it allows us to congregate and celebrate together.
Most of us remember 2015 as the year the European media adopted the term ‘Refugee Crisis’, when 1.3 million refugees arrived at the EU borders asking for protection. Now, at the turn of the decade, as we try to close the chapter on the global pandemic and let life return to normal, the word hits much closer to home with the War in Ukraine leading over five million people to flee their country in a matter of months.
After a long hiatus due to Covid, we have launched our first creative writing workshop project in Bristol. Partnering up with The Wild Goose, a branch of the charity Inhope, we have curated a set of eight workshops taking place at their drop-in centre on Stapleton Road.
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