Progress with the education pack

I hope that you have been enjoying the guest entries on the blog, recently. I like being able to offer you some different perspectives on the work that we do here at the Romany Theatre Company; after all, the Atching Tan project is so varied that it deserves for others to be able to tell you what they are doing.

If you happen to be at all interested in what I've been up to — aside from continuing to nurse my very poorly Achilles' tendon — I completed the first draft of the teachers' notes, which will be used to support the education pack, last week. I celebrated this achievement with a cup of tea, because the teachers' notes have been something that I've worked on for quite some time now. For the majority of the writing process I seemed to function on the 'write a paragraph; delete a paragraph' principle, which is not entirely conducive to creating a coherent piece of work. Mostly, I struggled with the depth to which the information I included needed to go. How much was too much? It couldn't be too cursory and neither did it need to be a thesis. But, I think I've struck the right balance, so I'm rather pleased with myself.

Since then, I've been listening to the first batch of recordings from the reminiscence strand of the project and determining which elements of them are going to be included in the education pack. I've found people talking about the changes that they have experienced in their lifetimes particularly interesting, as well as their hopes and fears for the future. More than anything, I hope that these recordings are able to convey to people that Gypsy/Romany/Traveller people are people like any other. They have their own culture, yes, but they are flesh and blood, and breathe the same air and walk the same earth as all of us. We're all just people.

Jane has been working very hard with a group of volunteers and a web designer to produce the shiny new Atching Tan website. As soon as it is up and running, I'll let you know so that you can take a look. I'm really excited to have a website that is dedicated to the project, where the reminiscence interviews can be stored and people can access the education pack. When it is completed, of course.

If you went to a fireworks display last night, I hope that you were suitably awed. If you're going tonight or tomorrow, I hope that you are suitably awed.

- Daniela