Time for Man Go Home – A Few Minutes of Your Time Solstice Shorts final Video

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So here it is, the last of our videos from the festival,

Ray Newe reads David Turnbull‘s story A Few Minutes of Your Time in which the audience is held spellbound, but only for a few minutes

This story is one of 16 read at the festival and featured in the book Solstice Shorts: Sixteen Stories about Time 

and Shadrack Tye tell us to go home. A fitting end to the online element of the festival. Thanks for watching.

http://youtu.be/kP4BmUIHJd4

Our BSL interpreters wish it to be known that this is not what they consider performance standard signing, they needed a chance to rehearse with the performers for that, but you will be able to follow the story/song.

Our thanks to Royal Observatory Greenwich and West Greenwich Library for hosting.

More Nautical Folk Songs from Solstice Shorts video

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Ian Kennedy and Sarah Lloyd singing at Solstice Shorts Festival at the Royal Observatory again, with two more nautically influenced folk songs: we keep to our time theme however

I Courted a Sailor, spans six months

http://youtu.be/RX2pSzvk9pE

and Cyril Tawney’s Grey Funnel Line a single evening, and a lifetime.

http://youtu.be/SN4LSZ2UtYg

Our BSL interpreters wish it to be known that this is not what they consider performance standard signing, they needed a chance to rehearse with the performers for that, but you will be able to follow the song.

 

Dizz Tate Time Man and Pepper & Shepherd Build Your Heart Solstice Shorts Video

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Dizz Tate reads her story Time Man, at West Greenwich Library, our early morning venue. Time Man was one of the five stories from the Solstice Shorts Festival writing competition that the judges liked best.

This story is one of 16 read at the festival and featured in the book Solstice Shorts: Sixteen Stories about Time.
Our BSL interpreters wish it to be known that this is not what they consider performance standard signing, they needed a chance to rehearse with the performers for that, but you will be able to follow the story.

The magnificent Pepper & Shepherd play Build Your Heart, inspired by crying over a book, the way you do; later in the day, at The Royal Observatory Greenwich.

http://youtu.be/9VEJiZHhF6g

Robert Shearman ‘Simultaneous’ Solstice Shorts Video

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Something to cheer your Monday morning, a delightful story of options and possibilities for the best possible way to fall out of love…

Robert Shearman reads Simultaneous at the Solstice Shorts Festival. at the Royal Observatory Greenwich

This story is one of 16 read at the festival and featured in the book Solstice Shorts: Sixteen Stories about Time
Our BSL interpreters wish it to be known that this is not what they consider performance standard signing, they needed a chance to rehearse with the performers for that, but you will be able to follow the story.

Sundial Sunday Solstice Shorts Video

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As it is Sunday what better story to share than The Largest Sundial in the World, by Anita Sethi, one of our judges for the Solstice Shorts Time themed writing competition?

This story deals with family, horoscopes and finding your own way in the world. Pairing with today’s song, The Pilgrimage from Shadrack Tye. which also deals with family and making your own way.

http://youtu.be/toWWOtKdwYU

This story is one of 16 read at the Solstice Shorts Festival and featured in the book Solstice Shorts: Sixteen Stories about Time
Our BSL interpreters wish it to be known that this is not what they consider performance standard signing, they needed a chance to rehearse with the performers for that, but you will be able to follow the Story and the Song.

 

Death and Other Rituals Solstice Shorts Festival Video

The theme of Solstice Shorts writing competition was TIME, but we got a lot of entries about DEATH, and you can see why, it is logical – the end of time, to cease upon the midnight and all thatand the fact that the competition ended on Halloween may have influenced that too. Tannith Perry‘s Death and Other Rituals  was one of the liveliest ‘death’ stories, read impeccably by the talented Ms Katy Darby.

Now, then appropriate songs for this story – all that stuff about tradition and rituals leads in a very straight line to two songs from Rosemary Lippard, and two songs that ooze traditional attitudes to death.

The Unquiet Grave (which has the added bonus of the time-themed Twelve Month and a Day trope  and a tune by Maz O’Connor)

http://youtu.be/XjgZS1bn3N4

and Death & The Lady

http://youtu.be/Fkc1MOpXohI

You get all three of our signers today, so herewith the disclaimer: We should have let them rehearse with the performers. I thnk they all did a splendid job anyway (and yes, I do sign enough to know how accurate they are, but being professionals they wanted to be beautiful and elegant as well as accurate.)

Solstice Shorts judge Imogen Robertson talks Festivals and Time with Cherry Potts

The third in our short series of interviews with Solstice Shorts Judges. Imogen Robertson talks to Cherry Potts about the concept behind the festival, and the theme of Time in the context of writing for the competition, which closes in 2 weeks! You have until  one minute to midnight (think Cinderella) on 31st October … Hallowe’en.

Anyone for a Cinders /Hallowe’en fusion story?

 

Weird Lies Observatory Launch Video 1

Here’s some video snippets from the launch of Mosaic of Air and Weird Lies at the lovely Royal Observatory on Tuesday.

Cliff Chapman reading Andrew Lloyd-Jones‘ wickedly funny ChronoCrisis3000,

and David Mildon reading James Smyth‘s poignant love story, Let There be Light.

The flickering uncertain light seems particularly appropriate for these two stories.

More video to follow, or you can catch another live reading (different stories) Saturday 5th October at Misty Moon SE13 7HS, 7.30 for 8.

Photos from Weird Lies Launch

All photos © Andrew Petrie 2013

A few pictures from the launch of Mosaic of Air and Weird Lies at the planetarium at Royal Observatory Greenwich (who were absolutely LOVELY) . We had a glorious star show (hence the incredible lack of light in the reading pictures) and we had a song from Summer All Year Long, and some weird and wonderful stories.

The full gallery of photos can be found here 

Big thank you to Andrew for managing to get such great pictures in next to no light.

watch this space for video – need to edit it first!

Launching Science Fiction Stories at The Royal Observatory Spaceship not required

launch flyerTuesday 1st October The Planetarium, Royal Observatory Greenwich, SE10 9NF

Drinks in the foyer from 6.05 (building opens at 6), readings of Science Fiction stories from both Weird Lies and Mosaic of Air  from 6.45 in the Planetarium with star show.

RSVP to reserve your place, this is essential because the Observatory is in the middle of Greenwich Park, and access in the evenings is controlled and we need a guest list, and to alert you to how to get in (and more importantly out!) It’s an adventure – space suits not required, fortunately.

We will be reading:

James Smyth: Let There Be Light (read by David Mildon)

Cherry Potts: an Extract from Mosaic of Air

Andrew Lloyd-Jones ChronoCrisis3000 (read by Cliff Chapman)

Peng Shepherd Free Cake (read by Alistair Lock)

Richard Meredith The Museum of the Future (read by Henrietta Clemett)

Hope to see you there!

(Huge thanks to Marek, Rob and Ed at the Observatory for all their help setting this up, and to Sophie for the idea.)