19/11/08 Elmgrove (Part 3)

Today we were given an introduction to the power of the written word, or rather, how to create a poem. Having successfully avoided poetry since school(many many years ago), I approached this session with an element of apprehension. Poetry to me was full of flowery words, dealing with unrequited love, not for me. To my great surprise (and relief), I was introduced to what I would describe as 'street poetry'. The session was expertly facilitated by Gordon and Ellen from the poet group, Scream Blue Murmour. Thankfully they destroyed all my fears within a matter of minutes by tearing up the rule book. Given the first line only from a traditional (boring) poem, we were given free reign, the next three lines were up to us. The thought of having to read out my feeble attempt inspired me to try and use words with more than three letters and one syllable. That was tough!!!! Interestingly, the subject matter varied greatly. The next task was created by taking four random words and creating four lines of poetry. Once again the subject matter varied greatly. The session lasted approximately 1.5 hours during which time my whole perception of poetry was turned on it's head. Poetry can (and is) used to address many issues, and can make a big impact on society. I'm not saying I'm heading off to Waterstones to buy some inspiring book, but perhaps I will be more appreciative to the power of poetry in future. Thanks guys for a great session.

12/11/08 Elmgrove (Part 2)

Today we returned to Elmgrove School, where I was introduced to the world of Art & Craft. The session was facilitated by Clare Childs. The theme was once again, diversity. We were given the task of making a collage, addressing the impact of the multi-cultural environment we now find ourselves living in and the ways in which this has come about. A giant jigsaw was created, using sheets of card, global posters, magazines, crayons and (best of all) scissors!!!!! The end result really brought home an awareness of how global our lives have become. Thanks again to everyone who took part.

05/11/08 Elmgrove (Part 1)

Wednesday morning and our destination was Elmgrove Primary School. Our mission, to get there early as we were promised tea, coffee and food!!!!! The offical reason for our visit was the showing of our 'Journey of Equals' dvd to the Elmgrove community group. This was followed by a question and answer session and the morning was rounded off with everyone playing drums and (hopefully) having a good time. Thanks to everyone who took part.

Who is Davy Bates?

"For anyone who is remotely interested, I have been playing drums for more years than I care to admit. Currently I'm playing drums for Stormzone, and in a previous life I have been associated with Sweet Savage, Emerald, Peace Frog, Ajenda, to name but a few. In addition to playing drums I also pass on what I have learnt over the years to students at Ossia Music School (Belfast). I have also become involved with a group of multi-cultural musicians, The Motion Project, which has helped to broaden my taste in music, This has led to performances and cultural education projects through music in schools and communities.
In April 2007 i became a partner in managing a social enterprise, Motion2Music (www.motion2music.com) under the management of the Charity Beyond Skin. To date, I have had the pleasure of playing with many different musicians representing many different cultures, in many different environments, all part of the learning curve.
In October 2008 I took up the role to project manage the Belfast East program.

So here is the project as it develops in my own words...