smugglers Worth writing about!

Hello all!

We just spent a weekend at Leeson House investigating Smuggling Stories. It was good to see a few familiar faces - we love it when students come back to our courses again and again so that we really get to know them, and we can see them enjoying developing their writing skills.

On Friday night we looked at the historical facts about smuggling - who was involved and why, what kind of things they would have eaten and worn, what items they would have smuggled in and how. Do you know that ladies helped with smuggling by stuffing bags of tea leaves or pig bladders full of brandy up their dresses and pretending they were pregnant? And that children may have helped as look-outs (keeping an eye out for Revenue men)? We even went out in the dark to see how a single match could be used to signal 'the coast is clear', and to hear an exciting story from the days of smuggling.

Saturday morning was spent investigating tales from close by - we visited Worth Matravers and walked to Winspit, where quarries in use at the time would have been used to hide goods. Almost everyone in the village would have been involved, and there is an old story about how the landlord of the local pub Square and Compass was caught by an ingenious Revenue man. The excursion was used to kick start descriptions and ideas for stories, which we started planning and writing when we returned to the classroom.

Everyone got to design and make their own book, which had a secret compartment to conceal their adventurous stories from prying eyes. The covers were styled in all different ways - mostly as boring books so that people wouldn't want to bother opening them - we wouldn't want to risk them discovering the compartment and learning all about our smuggling escapades!

It's really fun learning about a period in history and using this to write a short story. Why don't you give it a go for our current short story competition? Pick an era your interested in, eg. Victorian or Georgian, or some people from the past that you want to know more about eg. Pirates or First World War Soldiers / Nurses, then get a book on them from the library or try 'Googling' them. Once you've read a bit about them think up a character and just start writing! Don't worry too much at first about the historical accuracy, you can go back afterwards and check whether the clothes and technology that you've written about fit the time. Then send your finished story to us! See the competition page of our website for more information (http://www.creativecreatures.moonfruit.com/).

Our next course is Funtastic Fairies at Kilve in March, so we're going to start thinking fluttering thoughts to prepare ourselves! Hope to see you soon,

Jennifer and Rosie

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Spring is in the air!

Well we've finally got a bit of sunshine and some fresh air drifting in today, making us feel that spring is at last on its way! I just hope the brighter weather lasts, for a few days at least!

We've had a couple of courses at Kilve Court: Smuggling Stories and Creating Creatures. Both were great fun - if a bit cold on the excursions!

On Smuggling Stories we investigated local tales of 18th Century rebellion - when ordinary people started defying the law by bringing brandy, lace, tea and dried fruits into the country without paying tax on them! There was a chance to dress up in clothes from the time, and we saw the site of an old lime kiln and port that would definitely have been used to sneak things in under the noses of the Revenue Men. These tales and settings helped to inspire the students to write their own adventurous stories, which they then hid in secret-compartment books they created. Historical facts of smuggling goods and punishments were copied into the 'aged' pages that hid the secret part of the book:

The books were disguised as useless or boring tomes on the outside so that people would be discouraged to open them! I particularly liked 'Trees of the North Pole' by Oliver.

I think everyone enjoyed thinking about the past and inventing characters to write about!

The weekend of Creating Creatures was cloudy and wet, but we still discovered lots of amazing fantastical creatures and saw evidence of habitats and food sources for them on our walk into the Quantock hills. Here are some students risking the wrath of the Puddlemunch Monster:

We also played games in the classroom and moulded models of creatures to help give substance to imagined animals or people. Here's a sculpture of a Gunicorn - a creature that's a cross between a goat and a unicorn:

The creatures were then slipped into stories of quests and discoveries. Some students wrote in a diary style of a 'cryptzoologist' - an investigator of unexplained or unknown creatures, we liked the way Katie's story had the explorer asking the choco-angel a series of questions, which revealed that without chocolate the world would have no happiness!

On Saturday night some of us watched the film 'A Neverending Story' about a boy called Bastian who reads a book that seems strangely alive... if you haven't seen it try and rent it! Good films like this one help keep ur imaginations stretched.

Everyone went home with a model, some creature facts and an exciting story - and hopefully lots of ideas for more stories to write in the future!

Now me and Rosie are preparing for Smuggling Stories at Leeson House this weekend, if you're booked on we look forward to seeing you there!

Jennifer (and Rosie)

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