It was our pleasure on Tuesday afternoon to host Ted Morgan, a locally born poet, back to his old haunt. Indeed, Ted used to play on the waste ground between Burnage Lane and Shawbrook Road, and was quite upset when the first library building here destroyed a favourite playground! He began his wonderful presentation with a poem to this effect, written especially for the afternoon’s talk.
Ted then talked about his mother and father, reciting a poem about his father’s wartime experience (he was present at Manchester Hill during the Spring Offensive) and telling how they settled in Burnage. Continuing to recall life growing up here in Burnage, Ted blended his stories with poems written about those events, prompting many nods of recognition and appreciation among the assembled! Among the diverse themes covered were days in the Peak District, National Service, computers, ageing and bereavement, and we all found something that moved or resonated with us.
Throughout the session Ted gently encouraged us all to try our hand at verse, demystifying the process and freely offering his advice. He has generously donated copies of both his published books, Wordsmith’s Wanderings and Peregrinations of the Wordsmith to Burnage Library, so feel free to call in and have a read!
We would like to thank Ted for a tremendous afternoon, as well as for his co-operation with our oral history project- part of the Burnage Memory Bank. You can find our recordings with Ted here. Ted also has a blog featuring his writings and poetry, which can be accessed here.
Join us at the library on Saturday afternoon for some green-screen photographic activities, ‘placing yourself in the picture’, while next Tuesday we welcome historian Ali Ronan to discuss some of the radical personalities from the Burnage Garden Village. All activities are free and open to all!