Lapidus Weekend 2013

Lapidus Weekend 2013

It was good to see Lapidus members and guests from all over the UK gathered in Bristol for the Lapidus weekend, on 5-6th October 2013. The sun shone, Bristol looked beautiful and the venue - Engineers' House - was welcoming and very comfortable.

The weekend was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with others with an interest and/or working in writing and wellbeing, and hear guest speakers Ted Bowman on how to Pack Your Bag with Words, (the man is amazing) and poet Matt Harvey on tennis and conkers and many other things.

There were a range of workshops including one on the therapeutic benefits of Hip Hop for bereaved young people by Kiran Bangerh. 

Manu Rodriguez spoke on writing another perspective on disability/ability and Victoria Field about the training she is offering to become a Poetry Therapist. This is the first time this training has been available in the UK. Contact Vicky for more details.

The Annual Lapidus AGM was held on Saturday 5th, during which Fiona, Jane and Hayley stepped down after three years as Chair and Officers of the Board, respectively. Anna Morvern, Christine Hollywood and Karen Dempsey stood for and were elected to the new Board. They are joined by Anne Taylor who continues as a Board member.

Members paid a nominal £5 to attend each day which included all events on the programme (below).

Several speakers offered materials for participants to access: Kiran Bangerh This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. has kindly offered her powerpoint and Handout from her presentation. Nana-Essi Casely-Hayford has posted the Kye Kye Kulɛ used in her workshop here

Programme:

SATURDAY

11.00              Registration, coffee/tea, meet and greet

12.00-13.00    Parallel Presentations (30 mins per speaker including questions)

ROOM 1:        Kiran Bangerh: Hip Hop Therapy: The therapeutic potential of Hip Hop in youth     grief support'; Manu Rodriguez: Multiple Abilities: A Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes Approach

ROOM 2:        Marie Larkin: The Therapeutic Potential of Writing Humour; Victoria Field On Becoming a Poetry Therapist

ROOM 3: Nana-Essi Casely-Hayford: Choreoscribing the Pulse; Hayley Singlehurst: Using autobiography for healthcare research

13.00-14.00      LUNCH BREAK - lunch can be bought at the venue for £7.50. Alternatively you may bring your own lunch or there are cafes in Clifton Village, 10-15 mins walk away

14.00-15.15      Lapidus AGM including election of new board members

15.30-16.30     Performance and crowd-source poem by poet Matt Harvey

16.30-17.00     Teas/coffees, close

SUNDAY

11.00-11.30      Registration, tea/coffee, welcome from new Lapidus board

11.30-13.00       Workshop and talk 'Pack Your Bag with Words: Literary Resources for the Journey' with leading expert in the field, poet, editor and grief educator Ted Bowman from the US. Ted will talk and involve the audience in discovering how writing and literature can assist in navigating life, loss and 'the tough stuff'. He is on a tour of Scotland and England talking to many in caring professions and others about his work and publications and will include thoughts on how his own and others' poetry informs his approach to therapeutic work.

13.00-13.30        Questions and answers

14.00                  Close