Arts & Crafts – Hand and Heart

A Brighter Future

10 March, 202210 March, 2022 by Len Grant

Back in May last year I reported on a new community initiative that had just been set up by a group of local woman.

The Dynamic Engagement Project (DEP), I was told, was a way of sharing the group members’ knowledge and skills with others in the community. It sounded like a great idea with lots of potential.

Today I’m on a Zoom call with Mo and Alison, a couple of its founding members, to see if everything has gone to plan.

“Yes,” says Alison, “we’ve put on lots of activities since then and have really put ourselves out there. We’ve had a lot of fun and, I know, helped a lot of people.”

“Macrame was my escape route.”

9 February, 20229 February, 2022 by Len Grant

“Are you okay sweet,” asks Janet, “do you need some help with your string?”

There are usually seven or eight ladies around this table in the West Gorton Community Rooms on a Wednesday afternoon. But today Yusra and Gloria have Janet to themselves.

A new community hub for Longsight

28 October, 202129 October, 2021 by Len Grant

Sue and Phil are busy in the bright, sunny kitchen of 422’s café. I’m told it’s Phil’s first day and already this morning they’ve prepared homemade celery soup. “I like cooking,” he says with a big smile, “and helping out.”

422 is a new community hub on Stockport Road, in an historic building previously home to Longsight Youth Centre. Over the last eighteen months it’s been renovated by Manchester Vinyard to provide a whole range of opportunities for local residents.

New ways of learning

16 June, 202116 June, 2021 by Len Grant

As I push open the workshop door, it’s as if I’ve entered an Aladdin’s cave. Sewing machines stand in rows; textile banners are draped over one another; workstations overflow with embroidered lace, and painted artwork is strung high above it all. This place is a hub of creativity but, as I’m about to discover, it’s much, much more.

Artistic Ardwick

2 December, 20202 December, 2020 by Martin Toal

Being involved in local volunteer groups over the last few years, I’ve been aware of so many organisations, each making their own contribution to my local neighbourhood of Brunswick, on the southern side of Ardwick. So, it came as a surprise to learn of another side of the neighbourhood – its artistic side.

Giving voice to the Chinese community

19 October, 202019 October, 2020 by Len Grant

When a call was put out asking for volunteers Denise was all for it. “I’d never done any radio broadcasting before,” she recalls. “I really liked the sound of it.”

That was back in 2017 and the Wai Yin Society were partnering with community radio station ALL FM 96.9 to start a weekly programme for the Chinese community in Manchester.

What is Black Lives Matter?

5 October, 20205 October, 2020 by Len Grant

When her 10-year old daughter asked what Black Lives Matter meant, Jade was stumped. “At first, I didn’t have any answers,” she says. “You don’t want to say anything that might make them dislike others, or feel victimised.”

As a children’s author and illustrator, Jade Calder’s solution was to write a book, with her daughter Dior as the central character. “Explaining a complex issue through a story was, for me, the best way of putting the message out there in a positive way,” she says.

Dad’s drawings

20 April, 202020 April, 2020 by Mo Blue

In 1957 my dad (Jasper) made his journey from sunny Jamaica to England. When he arrived he lived in shared accommodation on Freme Street, Nelson Street and Dover Street, all in the Brunswick area of Manchester. Little did I know that the area would become very important to me.

Everyone’s friendly at Toddler Group

14 April, 202014 April, 2020 by Georgina Bull

[Before coronavirus] As part of my college course I started volunteering at Parent and Toddler Group at Brunswick Church around September last year. Already it’s just become part of my weekly routine.

I look forward to Wednesday mornings because I’ve already built bonds with the children. Every week is different with new parents and children turning up.

Community Spirit in West Gorton

31 March, 202031 March, 2020 by Len Grant

It’s pre-Covid-19 and I’m at West Gorton Community Rooms for their February half term activity week.

Wardeh and her three younger children are first here, keen to carry on with the creative activities they started yesterday.

Soon the table is covered with coloured paper glue and glitter.

Category: Arts & Crafts