My visit to
The University of Huddersfield began as we worked our way through the early
morning traffic to our destination. The investment in a Sat Nav for our visits
here in the UK now seemed so worthwhile. Organisation of this event was undertaken by the extremely capable Angie Sprawson, along with
additional helpers. I would like to
personally thank Angie and her helpers for all their hard work, which was
evident in the overall high standard of the event.
A busy day ahead
Once again, we
had a warm welcome, from Angie, and from senior lecturer in social work, Ben
Raikes. We met other speakers; enjoyed lunch together, exchanged stories and
made new friends.
Jane Evans and I sharing a joke
The invitation
only event, was entitled World Social
Work Day; Stories from Social Work, and
consisted of a full afternoon of speakers, all of whom had diverse and
interesting experiences to share with the audience, of social work students,
lecturers and other interested participants. The room reflected the day’s events, with
posters, displays, and colourful images of all the authors and their work.
One of the wall displays
There's my bit!
University
Course Leader in Social Work, Ruth Neville opened the afternoon with a very moving
speech.
The first
speaker was Wayne Clay, who has written a book called Painting the Rainbow. Wayne’s experiences of the domestic violence
he witnessed as a child were the inspiration for his book.
Wayne Clay presenting Painting the Rainbow
I was next to
address the audience and gave a presentation on my book, Known to Social Services, followed by two short readings from the
book. This was followed by a short Q&A session. Ben told me afterwards, that
he could well imagine me reading the book on BBC Radio 4 as the afternoon play –
good idea Ben, watch this space!
Microphone on, and all ready to speak about Known to Social Services
Next up was
Jane Evans, author of How are You Feeling
Today Baby Bear? As well as being a published author, Jane is a parenting
specialist, trainer, and International speaker on Child trauma and parenting. Her presentation of her book and the impact of
domestic violence on children, was of high interest and extremely relevant, not
only to students, but to everyone.
Jane Evans with her presentation of How are You Feeling Today Baby Bear?
We took a short break, which was my cue to sign some books.
Break time and time to sign a book
After the break, we heard
from Ben Holden, who read from the anthology of poetry written by his father
Anthony Holden. The book is a selection of poetry chosen by well-known male personalities,
specifically, “Poems that make grown men
cry” which is the title of the book. I definitely had a tear in MY eye on hearing
some of the poems.
Ben Holden, reading from, Poems that Make Grown Men Cry
The next
presentation was a group of mothers who, with support, have collectively written
a book called, In Our Hearts, based
on their experiences of living apart from their children. They are to be
applauded for their honesty in sharing some of their most painful life
memories.
In respect for the privacy of the mothers' in question, it was agreed, no photographs would be published here.
Last but not
least, was a Skype presentation all the way from Trinidad, from artist Jamie
Lee Loy. Jamie walked us through images of her art work, which sprung from her
own personal experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse. Jamie's work can be seen on her blog;
This was a
well organised, interesting and very enjoyable event. There was time afterwards
to sign some books and hear from students who had already read the book. Two of
the students told me that they had bought the book, intending it to be for
their summer reading. However, they had opened it to “have a look”, and had not
been able to put it down, finishing it in a matter of days. More summer reading
is now required!
Freya with one of the wonderful helpers
I am extremely
grateful to Ben Raikes for the invitation to this prestigious event, and to all
of you who made it such a resounding success. I even got flowers! Thank you :)
Flowers? For me? Freya with Senior Social Work Lecturer, Ben Raikes
Taking a break and admiring the lovely flowers
At the end of what has been such a busy week, I would like to thank my wonderful husband Steve, for all his behind the scenes, support. For driving without ceremony to all the destinations up and down the country, for all the bag carrying, door opening, and for his unswerving belief in me, thank you xx
My rock and roll man
Freya
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