Platform
Newsletter 1
Stories,
puzzles, poems, recipes and letters by Platform students Volume 1, Easter 2003
Newsletter with graphics (PDF) | Adult Literacies Students | Platform home page
Robert Petch visits Iain
Gray, MSP
I
went to see Ian Gray. Iain has been an MSP Vandalism
has got more widespread – many of Boredom
is one cause of vandalism and provision Being
a parent is very difficult and parenting lessons at school might help.
WALKING All
about people smiling Long
road, even stride Numerous
faces: happy, thoughtful. Good
day, good walking, feel good.
My Hobby I
have done discos – Christmas discos and others. I listen to music quite a lot. I buy a CD mostly every week.
I go to lots of records shops. I watch music programmes on cable-tv.
By Colin
Life's Too Short Even
used it yourself. I found myself thinking about this (morbid I know) while watching
a quiz show on T.V. of all things. The idea was that having been presented with nine letters,
you then had thirty seconds to find the longest word.So there I was feeling pleased
because I had end the eight-letter word 'creation' but there was still an 'm'
left over. Then it hit me! If I put the 'm' into 'creation' I came up with 'cremation'. And
that's just like life. In the same
way that it's a short step from cradle to grave, it's a short step alphabetically
from 'creation to cremation'. To take this line of reasoning further, the start
of a project is called the 'genesis'. It does not take much of an effort to
change 'genesis' to ‘nemesis' which refers to the end of something. Another
short step from beginning to. Its amazing how single letter changes everything.
By
Raymond Grant
February,
Edinburgh
Frosty
morning Edinburgh Billowing,
blowy winds Rainy
days Umbrellas
everywhere Arthur's
Seat looms over the city Yellow
wellington boots
By Owen Ferry, Oxgangs Writers Group
Kevin
Laidlaw, Platform student has done some research into Shrove Tuesday, this is
what he found out.
1. Shrive –verb – (of priest) to forgive
sins. Shriven or Shrove – past tense of shrive 2. Shrove – to repent your sins. 3. Shriven
Tuesday – day to confess your sins. 4. Last day before lent.
5. Shrove Tuesday became
known as Pancake Tuesday because people use up all the food in their cupboard
and make it into pancakes. 6. Ash Wednesday –
the start of Lent – Christian fasting for 40 days before Easter Sunday.
Pancakes Recipe by Annie Welch Ingredients Instructions1.
Mix flour, salt, 2 eggs
and ½ pint of milk in a large bowl and whisk until smooth.
2.
Add another ½ pint
of milk and whisk.
3.
Put teaspoon of oil in
a large heavy frying pan and heat until very hot.
4.
Pour in just enough mixture
to cover the base of the pan.
5. Cook on one side until browned.6. Toss or turn pancake and
cook for 30 seconds or so.
Slide pancake onto plate and serve with filling of
your choice – orange juice & sugar, lemon juice & sugar, syrup, jam,
butter mushrooms, etc The Malay House
In
the past the Malay lived near the rivers and seaside. They used boats to transport their goods from the highlands
to the towns on the river banks and estuaries. A village would be made up of family and relatives living,
close together.
They
built houses using the abandoned natural resources surrounding them, such as wood,
bamboo and palm from the forests they had cut down. They built the house with the floor
Higher
than the ground and had introduced a lot of cross ventilation, through floorboards,
walls and roof.
The
house would normally have a few bedrooms, which were used by the female, while
the men used the living area, a big open space where they ran and organised religious
and family gatherings.
By Rodiah Zawawi NICARAGUA
FALLS
Night-time America Grand Astonishing River Abyss
Falling Astounding Lashing
Lingering Surreal
By Carol Graham
My Holiday
When I was in Portugal one evening I went to a music
By Paul McShane
Love In A Box
Creamy and smooth
on my tongue Hot in a mug
on a winter's night Oil of orange
and peppermint taste Cadbury's, Belgian,
milk and dark Old and young
all feel the same Love is portrayed
in a chocolate box And sitting
side by side in a crowded room Two can feel
alone together Enjoying the
sharing of the chocolate sensation
By Christine Cooper, Oxgangs Writers' Group Lost In Space
There was a space
ship called Faulkner the ninth and the Crew was from different parts of the colony.
The captain had 2 pilots, 5 scientists and 4 space walkers.
They had a pink fried chicken; it was going mad. They where 20,000,059 miles from earth
but it went the wrong way. Captain
Tom Quenton Rampart was in charge. They stopped at a planet called Qureet. It had a monster with two heads. Their queen looked like a donkey's nose. He sent one person
down to the planet but there were two guards watching. She said, "Why did
you come here?" He answered,
"Because we are doing some drilling on some rocks." One of the guards looked like a bulldog
killer terrier. They said, "Let's
kill him now or let's get some answers from him about planet earth." The
queen took his gun and radio away.
By Robert PetchJoshua
My dog's name is Joshua. He is a golden retriever. He is six years old but if you met him,
you would think he was just a puppy. He jumps about and wants to play all the
time. He is very good with old people or young kids, as he is very
gentle.
He will be hiding downstairs just now as I can hear fireworks going
off and he is very scared of them.
His left leg has a lump on the side as he was born with a damaged
plate he had an operation but it did not work. The vet said that he will have
a problem when he is older.
By
Sylvia Peebles
A Fresh
Start Sometimes
picking up the phone and asking a stranger for help is one of the hardest things
to do. But as I found out telling a stranger a secret you have been masking for
years was easier that I thought As
a child we moved house every year, always to a new area.This meant going to a
new school every time.Even thought I settled into the new school well I soon learned
that each school would use different textbooks and methods of teaching.
It was not till later on in years I noticed my English had suffered as
a result of moving. I could read
and write but my spelling was poor. As time went on my confidence was deflated
and that is when I started to mask the problem. I would find ways to avoid writing
or I would find alternative words to use that I could spell.No help was offered
at school and as a child I was to embarrassed to ask, who is going to ask to go
to the special class? Not me!
This
stopped me going for jobs that I would have liked, and the years went on.Things
came to a head when my children started bringing schoolwork home.
Anyone that has this problem will understand how debilitating it is.I was
exhausted with having to cover my tracks all the time and would go into a cold
sweat if I were put on the spot to write something.
I confessed my problem to my husband who was very supportive.He would help
check over any letters I had to write. I saw an advert for Platform Adult Learning
and cut it out of the paper, but did not phone.Then I saw it again and again,
so I phoned.They were very friendly and helpful; at the appointment Jenny was
very understanding and invited me along to one of the English classes. I was nervous
to start with and did not know what to expect but everyone was lovely. I felt
comforted that there were others in the same position as myself.The response I
have had from everyone at Platform has been warm and welcoming. I have done a few classes now and got
certificates for some of them, as well as the improvement in my spelling and confidence. By
Sharon Trotter
Mum's New
Car My
mum bought a new car last week. The car is green. When the car arrived, it had a flat tyre and it had to be returned
to the garage.My mum will pick it up when it is fixed.
She will take me to the shops when we get it back.
By
Susan
Christine's Birthday My birthday is on April 9th. I will invite my big sister Mary and my
friend Miriam to my birthday party.I will also invite Elaine.The birthday cake
might be pink with candles. I will blow out the candles when lit and make a wish. I might get a lot of birthday cards from
the postman. Everyone will enjoy
themselves and take home a bit of cake.
By Christine
I was at the summer school held at the WHEC and there were lots of
different classes going on.Barbara Newall ran it.
Billy Conrwall was the tutor for the newsletter course and I met Ian Gray
MSP. I ran from the 5th to the 9th
August.
The next West Edinburgh Summer School will be from 4th - 10th
August 2003. You can get more details from Gillian Anderson who is based at Platform. 0131
458 5082.
There is a drop in every Wednesday 2pm till 4pm and there is a support
group. They have a mens group meeting
We meet at the Wester Hailes library on Monday nights and this is
some of the information we have found out
"The library has books on all sorts of subjects. I like books abut planes and ships
"There are people to help us in the library"
"You can borrow tapes and compact discs to listen to all
kinds of music. I like pop and classical
"Our group has taken photographs of the library to show you
what it looks like"
"The library is good. I pick up leaflets. A
birthday party is going to take place after our class
"We use the computer to write letters and find information and
the internet"
Here is some information we have found on the Edinburgh City library site on Lifelong Learning …
Find out where you can learn new skills or develop a new interest. Computer facilities Where you can access the Internet or use a personal computer Designed to provide help with basic skills such as reading, writing,
numeracy and everyday tasks
Come to the writers group You are welcomed with a smile Friendly and understanding It gives you pleasure And it is well worthwhile! By Bina McNair
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