Saturday 5 December

"What's under your hat ?"

(I take off my hat)

"You have grey hair, are you old ?"

"How old is old ?"

"Fifty - four !"

"In that case I'm not old !"

"So why do you have grey hair !!"

Today's OTHER question is ~ What Is Play ?

Play is theatre. Its a stage, where does the word come from in the first place ? Play - acting . . . I had to act for the first time a few weeks back on a behavioural management course. I played a very angry 9 year old. As I know this child, I found it easy to play him, although I think the course was too focused on 'the child is always the victim'. I had to play the same role three times, with three different people playing the teacher. The last time I got fed up and 'gave in' let the teacher approach me, because I felt that what was the course leaders wanted to see, but this particular child wouldn't let that happen.

Jenny - Playworker.

I also wrote the question on the wall for children to answer.

Play is fun

Play is enjoyment

Play is understanding friends

A3 is a poster publication that I produce each month and distribute in bookshops and galleries in London.

One side of A3 has a slogan of mine on it, the other side, a work or works by one, or more artists.

It is currently available at Another Roadside Attraction, Artwords Bookshop, Beaconsfield, BookArtBookShop, Cafe Gallery Projects, Camden Arts Centre, Donlon Books, Gasworks, The ICA, The Montague Arms, Wiebke Morgan, Whitechapel Gallery, and 176 Gallery.

Examples of A3

I have proposed gathering a collection of stories written by children at Charlie Chaplin, and featuring these on a forthcoming edition (probably March). Today I asking children to write a story.

Children writing their stories

Drawing from Cinderella story

Drawing from a story about dolphins

One of the stories - Once there were two Princesses called Mandy and Candy Floss. There was lots of flowers in their castle.

A break for lunch . . .

Several magpies flew across the playground and settled in a tree. One of the playworkers said you should hold you cuff till you see another magpie to ward off their 'bad luck'. That might of course be some time, so you can also greet the magpie, and ask how his wife is. I know the custom which involves holding the lapel of your jacket and saying Good Morning Merry Gentle Men three times.

I asked how one young man would change the playground if he could. He said he would remove one play structure and replace it with an area with glass nature boxes which you could fill with earth and snails, slugs and frogs. He would then remove another structure asking other children what they would like instead. The two crate containers (stores for bikes) would be placed at the rear of the playground. An activity area inside the building would be taken out and placed outside, and the whole of the playground would be freshly painted, exactly as it was. The young man then went to gather sticks to make a bonfire.

Right at the end of the morning, just before I left, these two borrowed my hat for a photograph, and ran off with the hat.

In the effort to retrieve the hat I tried to distract their attention by pointing, and saying there was a mouse - of course they did not believe me, and I was made to stand against this blue wall, and drawn around with chalk, thus I was 'in prison'. Eventually I negotiated my release, and grabbed my hat.