Odin's Poems
As part of our digital inclusion programme, we are open to all kinds of suggestions of help from the members of the community. Odin has been to quite a few of our sessions, and we have helped him in all kinds of ways to get reconnected. This week I was personally delighted that he brought along some poetry that he has written, to share with us, and asked for our help to digitise.
Editing Poetry
As most of you know, I am a trained English teacher, so a member of the community coming to me asking for some encouragment in their poetry writing was a pleasant surprise that I was thrilled to support. Most people need the reasurance of someone checking their work before making it public, but I only made a few tweaks. With Odin's permission I read the poems to the group. He was absolutely delighted, and then asked if we could digitise them for him.
Odin's Poems
There are two that he wanted us to publish - 'Freddie and Alex' about his encounter in hospital with ex-soldiers with what was then called shell-shock, and is now called PTSD. Plus, 'The Dog in the Forest' about the connection between humans, nature and dogs, Please take a read and enjoy Odin's poems! Hopefully, there will be more to follow.
As an extra surprise, Sophie has added borders to the poems, and we are going to frame them for his as a special memento of the sessions.
Come Along
If you would like our help with anything digital, our sessions run every Tuesday morning, 10-12. There is tea, toast and biscuits, and a very warm welcome. Bring along anything you need to support you digitally, pop in for a chat, or bring along your poetry for us to celebrate and admire.
Celebrating Stanley / November 19th, 2025
Digital Inclusion / November 19th, 2025
Kelly's Celebration of Stanley Podcast
Kelly has always lived and worked in the Stanley area, and is very proud to be from the town. She feels that there is lots of potential in the town, and to get the town back to where it once would not take a great deal of investment. Listen to her Celebration of Stanley Podcast to hear more..
Youth Social Action / January 30th, 2025
Aspirations and Future Planning / January 30th, 2025
Careers Event at North Durham Academy, Stanley.
On Thursday 23rd January 2025, we hosted a Careers Event at North Durham Academy, sponsored by Karbon Homes, which was a huge success! We had 30 visitors kindly give up their time to speak to the students about their careers, job roles, companies and their journeys to get to their current positions. The students then had the opportunity to ask questions to the visitors to find out more about their choices at 16, what qualifications are required for their job and any challenges or barriers they have faced in their career.
Consett Heritage Project / January 30th, 2024
Niamh McDonald - Consett Heritage Podcast
Niamh volunteers with Building Self-Belief as a member of their Youth Panel and is also studying towards a Masters of Planning at Newcastle University. Niamh has been able to support projects run by BSB and add both a professional and personal perspective on a whole host of projects.