It should be a good afternoon, the previous one for Halloween went really well. I’m hoping friends will be able to come and listen to our group read stories and poems with a possible festive twist. We hope it will be cosy and cheerful.
Writers group
Tag: Penkhull
Reading spooky stories
My writing group put on a show this afternoon. All of us got together to read out spooky stories we had written. They were not specifically done for the show, but after writing for ten months we all had something to contribute.
We got organised and even had tee shirts made up with our logo on. Everyone read out one or two stories in a local pub. They were pleased to have us and asked if we would go back at Christmas!
I was very nervous. My heart was racing and I struggled to just turn the page. But thankfully my stories were very short so I got off the stage area quite quickly. I think blogging here has made it easier. Being in the group has really helped.
Glass
Glass bottles on a windowsill, crinkled glass window panes behind.
Seen last night at the Greyhound inn at Penkhull. Such a simple idea but effective. Now I’m seeing colours better, I’m noticing things like this. Everything seems to sparkle and shine. I’m so lucky to have had cataract surgery. I hope people who need it get it too.
The church on the hill
Up there on the hill, a sandstone church, dedicated to Saint Thomas.
I was going to enter this photo into our community calendar competition but I’m too late. I couldn’t drive up and take the photo until today so I missed the closing date. I just like the angles and planes of it’s architecture, I have forgotten the name of its designer.
The hill is called Penkhull which means hill Hill. So you could call it hill Hill hill!
I’m admiring the blue sky, I couldn’t see this colour until recently. I’m still amazed at how much my colour vision has been out of whack until I had my surgery. X
The day went well!
So many people did this, cast, crew, stall holders, hula hoop lady, helpers, Ukelele band, Titchy Theatre, red cross, church people.
We had fun, and when I got home I was too tired to puty slippers on!
Well done Penkhull, Stoke on Trent
We had a blast didn’t we?
20th Anniversary of our Mystery Plays!
Impish
I’m playing an Imp in the Penkhull Mystery Play, I have one line (and a few more as the narrator). It’s not obvious I’m an Imp, I just have to shout out “my name is Jakobah” , push a rock across a cave mouth. Then shout “goodbye”. There were more lines but they were cut because the play was originally one and a half hours long so it had to be edited. Maybe this is another case of measure twice, cut once! Anyway I hope to do so some more painting later x
Greyhound
Local public house, the Greyhound pub in Penkhull. This was another of the photos that I got into this year’s calendar. It’s another thing that is helping raise money for the village hall that was flooded a few months ago when an old water tank in the roof burst. Luckily the place was cleaned up and dried out quite quickly.
The pub was a local court for Penkhull manor a few centuries ago, and though you cannot see it here, it appears to be tudor in origin though I don’t know for certain.
I was so pleased to hear that I had got 3 photos in the calendar. If there is another competition this year I will try again.
Looking forward
Spring will be well underway when we perform for one night only in St Thomas’s church Penkhull, Stoke-on-Trent
We had a good rehearsal yesterday, we sang a song from the film Grease full of wop bada do wop a bing bang boom! Or something like that. It’s so fast my tongue was tripping over the words, but it got better as we went on. Then we sang the oompah pah song from Oliver! Fun and good for stretching your lungs. There will be much more to learn over the following weeks. My music sheet shakes when I hold it, I might need a music stand!
Mystery plays
It’s been a few years since we did a full mystery play, but we are trying to put something on for it’s 25th anniversary.
We’ve lost a few people along the way through health issues and retirement, but there’s still enthusiasm there we just need to mine for it!
Currently we are looking at putting on a days entertainment but costs are staring at us, everything from insurance to road closures, hiring the hall, making props, writing scripts, organising stalls and first aid, morris dancing and a tug of war. Singing and playlets. We may miss out the play itself, it’s up in the air.
Social media helps connect us. I hope people are listening. We have an old Facebook page that was last posted on in 2019…BC…brfore covid…. Fingers crossed people get involved.
Photo is of out Johna and the whale play in 2016
Might set up a go fund me page.
2025 calendar
One of my photos that I got in a local calendar for this year. There was a photographic competition in the summer. People were asked to submit pictures of our local village of Penkhull for it to raise funds for the village hall.
In the end three of my pictures were chosen, that’s a quarter of the twelve monthly images! There was also a thirteenth one that was chosen for the front of the calendar. I’m so proud to have had my work included for 2025.
Mallaband-Brown 