| Spoke'n'Word
- a new experience - Spring cycle-rides and
country walks in beautiful north Essex …with poetry readings en route -
With poet and broadcaster, Martin Newell as tour guide
|
The Wivenhoe Bookshop will be
having a party from
6.30pm on Thursday 13 April 2006 to launch Martin Newell's new book of
poetry Spoke'n'Word.
The book, which has been delightfully illustrated by
Charlotte Bernays, will accompany Martin's organised cycling trips
along the Colne from Wivenhoe to Alresford starting on 15 April.
Martin will be signing copies at the bookshop party and reading
some of the poems - all welcome!
The Wivenhoe Bookshop
23 High Street
Wivenhoe
|
Spoke'n'Word
tours are guided cycle-rides and walks in the strikingly pretty Essex
countryside of the Colne
Valley. Your tour guide will be Martin Newell - poet and broadcaster, who will
punctuate the trips with poetry he has written about the area.
Cycle trips will take place in the morning
- walks during the afternoon. The tour terrain includes farm
tracks, quiet roads, country lanes and riverside paths on the way to the
13th Century ruins of a
country church. Spectacular views of the Colne
Valley
and the farmland around Wivenhoe may also be seen.
Spoke'n'Word
tours will take place over seven weekends between mid-April and late May, 2006. The trips are an experiment - a new experience, whose objective
is to open up undiscovered Essex, so that small parties of visitors may
see the area through the eyes of one of its living writers. The two-hour
journeys will set out from Wivenhoe Rail Station in a round trip of about
five miles, ending in the centre of Wivenhoe - a place once described as
"… a pleasant drinking village with a small fishing problem".
 |
Martin
Newell - poet & tour guide
Martin
Newell, the tour guide, used
to work as a gardener in Wivenhoe. A former rock singer-turned-writer, he
is now a much-published poet and songwriter, with ten collections of verse
to his credit. He has written for The Independent, The Guardian, Mojo and
Record Collector amongst others and is now resident poet with The Sunday
Express. He has featured on
national radio and TV and was recently the subject of an Anglia
documentary A Life Of Rhyme.
This
project coincides with the publication of Martin’s latest book Spoke ‘n’
Word, a new collection of poetry beautifully illustrated by local artist
Charlotte Bernays.
|
|
(illustration by Charlotte Bernays)
|
InSite
The
Spoke'n'Word tours have been made possible with grant assistance from
Insite at Ex-Dra, the Essex Development and Regeneration Agency.
InSite,
the Essex cultural tourism programme, is playing an important role in the
promotion of
Essex
as a leading cultural destination in the East of England and is
a partnership between all Essex Local Authorities and Arts Council
England, East.
The
programme will commission, promote and support a series of events that
celebrate the diversity and distinctiveness of Essex.
Further
information about Insite:
www.insite-essex.co.uk
Spoke
‘n’ Word is produced by Fiona Mason who runs Wivenhoe-based Arts
Services Ltd.
www.arts-services.co.uk
More information about Martin Newell: www.martinnewell.co.uk
|
|
Coastal
Essex
- secret rivers
Heron-haunted
waterland
Where
the silver light in autumn
Lingers
for a saraband
On
the shingle and the sand…
|
map drawn by
Charlotte Bernays |
| Cycling
Tours
-
10.00 am and 12.00 midday
|
Cyclists
should meet at Wivenhoe Railway Station in
Station Road
,
Lower Wivenhoe
at 9.50 a.m.. Tours each last approximately two hours and cover about five
miles. Terrain varies from metalled road to muddy track.
Participants
should be of moderate fitness, have a bike in working order and wear
suitable clothes and footwear. Bring something to drink and an energy
snack if required.
|
| Walking
Tours
- 2.00pm and 4.00pm.
|
Walkers
should meet at Wivenhoe Railway Station in
Station Road
,
Lower Wivenhoe
at 1.50 p.m.. Tours each last approximately two hours and cover about four
and a half miles. Terrain varies and can be muddy depending upon weather.
Participants
should be of moderate fitness, and wear suitable clothes and footwear.
Bring something to drink and an energy snack, if required.
|
SHORT-NOTICE,
BAD-WEATHER HOTLINE:
If
the weather is particularly bad and tour looks doubtful.
Ring: 01206-827845
or Mobile: 07976-619733
to
check whether or not the tours are still on.
|
Children:
We
can take older kids, but think first: Will initial keenness be overtaken by
boredom with mud/cycling/walking/or poetry over a two-hour period?
|
Note:
Routes
may vary slightly if, tracks become waterlogged or other unforeseen
diversions occur.
Disclaimer:
Participants take part at their own risk.
|
DATES:
| April |
Sat 15th |
Sun
16th |
Mon
17th |
Sat
22nd |
Sun
23rd |
Sat
29th |
Sun
30th |
|
|
|
| May |
Mon
1st |
Sat
6th |
Sun
7th |
Sat
13th |
Sun
14th |
Sat
20th |
Sun
21st |
Sat
27th |
Sun
28th |
Mon
29th |
HOW
TO BOOK:
Numbers
are strictly limited so please book early to avoid disappointment.
Tickets
£6 (£5 concessions)
Box
Office: 01206 500900
E-mail:
info@colchesterartscentre.com
In
person or by post: Colchester
Arts Centre,
Church Street, Colchester CO1
1NF
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