In Manjula’s library on grieving…..
One or two great books
Category: children’s books
New things
My good friend Faizan introduced me to the Mysore Storytelling Network. A lovely group of people working to promote storytelling. I’ve joined a couple of their meetings to help where I can in creating the foundation. Here’s our last agenda.
I’ll try develop a reading and storytelling project as an example of MAnjula giving.
Here’s why the New Yorker think this is important:
“Storytelling is the oldest form of entertainment there is. From campfires and pictograms—the Lascaux cave paintings may be as much as twenty thousand years old— to tribal songs and epic ballads passed down from generation to generation, it is one of the most fundamental ways humans have of making sense of the world. No matter how much storytelling formats change, storytelling itself never gets old.
Stories bring us together. We can talk about them and bond over them. They are shared knowledge, shared legend, and shared history; often, they shape our shared future. Stories are so natural that we don’t notice how much they permeate our lives. And stories are on our side: they are meant to delight us, not deceive us—an ever-present form of entertainment.”
From New Yorker 6th July
Storytime seven
This weeks story is a video of an Oliver Jeffers Story. You’ll like this one Emma
Storytime six
Our latest story is another from Roald Dahl called Snow White but its audio and not video
It’s a bit disgusting in places so be warned. Parents may wish to check first
PARENTAL GUIDANCE
Here it is
Manjula was full of them.
Ideas and jokes that is.
It all did begin as a joke. Justin is leaving Mysore so we’ve craftily fetched a couple of useful items that he can’t take with him.
That’s our first stage.
Manjula’s concerns included what to do with all the stuff I was bringing home. Especially art and books. She reckoned there wasn’t enough room. Wrong!
Second she wanted to give me things to do when I couldn’t lead cycle tours anymore. When I was 75, or so she thought.
Well it all started with Faizan borrowing. Now we have Manjula’s library. She’s left it a bit messy.
There’s also a work area and..
Balcony.
Available for guests and our friends in Mysore
Sunflower day.
Hello from lockdown land here in Mysore. Lucie and I were getting bored with each other so we’ve created sunflower day. It’s a day to invite friends to visit. Here they are in the photo. Can you spot them?
How many are there?
Someone’s sneaked in five pictures of Manjula. That’s cheating and only counts as one.
Update: I can see three gods clearly, and there are two hidden away.
There’s more detailed photos below
Storytime five
When the lovely Poppy my granddaughter was born I arrived one day with a boxful of picture books from when her father Ben and uncle Oll had been children.
Today’s stories are two from that collection by two of my favourite author/illustrators Michael Foreman and Anthony Brown.
I also like the books as they introduce issues that are important, whatever our age.
The first is dinosaurs and all that rubbish by Michael Foreman
The second is a walk in the park by Anthony Brown
Storytime three and four fifths.
A firm recommendation. Here
Storytime four and three quarters
There’s two stories today, well one is a sad story ‘The Memory Tree’ so check it out before you show it to a little one. It’s a lovely story in its own right and really useful in a context of a wider conversation about death. Here is a link to how I explained to my granddaughter Poppy what happens when someone dies. This was after Manjula slipped through my fingers.
The next is a rhyme by Roald Dahl, a different take on Cinderella.
I’ve had a technical question from my granddaughter about my filming set up. I expect that behind this question is an ulterior motive. That I need to up my game and improve the quality of the video. So I’m trying a different Heath Robinson set-up. It’s a bit out of focus, for that I blame my age.
Here’s the photographic evidence of my studio.
Me and MYCycle 