The obituary of Muriel Belcher (Times<\/em>, 12 Dec. 1979, p. 16. The Times Digital Archive<\/a>, Gale Primary Sources<\/em>) acted as a catalyst for Steve and Amanda\u2019s stories of Bohemian life. Whilst Steve imagined the conversation that Muriel might have had with artist Francis Bacon and Princess Margaret at the Colony Club, Amanda wrote a semi-autobiographical story of living in \u2018digs\u2019 in London, which was colourfully illustrated by scenes of her naked bacon-frying flatmate. Fears of spitting fat ensued!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nathan was inspired by a 1936 news item in the Times<\/em> entitled \u2018Alleged Attack with Hammer\u2019 (Times<\/em>, 20 Feb. 1936. The Times Digital Archive<\/a>, Gale Primary Sources<\/em>) setting his story in a present-day university, in a chilling account of how partying can end disastrously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Graeme used the front-page story \u2018A \u201cpeeping Tom\u201d discovered in a ladies\u2019 swimming bath\u2019 from The Illustrated Police News<\/em> (5 August 1899, Gale Primary Sources<\/a><\/em>), as a prompt to create his story set in East Ham baths, using his personal knowledge of the area to create a faithful description of the changing rooms and pool. Writing from the point of view of the accused, Graeme protested his innocence, retitling the piece \u2018Doubted Tom\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marie, Elizabeth, Liam and Chris found the advertisements in\na variety of original nineteenth century newspapers were excellent catalysts for\ntheir creative imaginations. An 1894 advert for Aspinall\u2019s \u2018Neigeline\u2019 an arm,\nneck and face cream for all ladies in evening dress prompted a modern-day story\nabout the harmful effects of whitening the skin. Marie created a convincingly strong,\nassertive female character who challenged controversial skin lightening\ncosmetics and advocated for beauty beyond colour. The denouement to the piece\nwas a shock ending as the character is forced into an arranged marriage by her\nparents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Elizabeth was inspired by an 1897 advertisement for Florida Water (The Illustrated London News<\/em>, 26 Jun. 1897) to research more about the cologne using Gale Primary Sources<\/a><\/em> (\u2018Wholesale smuggling\u2019 Illustrated Police News<\/em>, 27 Jul. 1889) The result was a three-hander sketch with a smuggler, an officer and a rating. In an hilarious skit, Elizabeth treated us to a story of life aboard ship, using authentic voices. (Still chortling!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Liam\u2019s imagination was also sparked by the advertisements in\nthe Illustrated London News<\/em> to plot\nthe adventures of a travelling salesman, who sells the bizarre and wonderful\nitems in the newspaper such as Cockle\u2019s anti-bilious pills and \u2018Myrtle Grove\u2019\ntobacco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jack wrote a futuristic flash fiction piece set in space, inspired by a 1920s gentleman\u2019s outfitter\u2019s advertisement with the strap line \u2018correct styles\u2019 imagining a world where \u2018correct styles\u2019 are enforced by more than just the demands of fashion. Scary! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris was inspired by the bizarre story of a disguised\nfemale detective, writing diary entries for the protagonist, with cliff-hangers\nto leave his audience guessing. Julie chose a news story about a lost wedding\nring (\u2018Wedding ring lost at altar\u2019, Nottingham\nEvening Post<\/em> 28 May 1932) imagining the dismay and embarrassment of the\nbride as her wedding turns into a farce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Helen found an article about a rumbustious Guy Fawkes celebration in Colchester in 1882 (\u2018Gunpowder plot\u2019, The York Herald<\/em>, 7 Nov. 1882, Gale Primary Sources<\/a><\/em>) as the source for her piece, using the fantastic compound adjective \u2018booze-bright\u2019 to describe the eyes of the revellers, demonstrating how a slightly dry journalistic report can be reimagined with colour and detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Debbie and Katie preferred to stay in the 21st<\/sup> century, creating short stories inspired by news items from the Times<\/em>. \u2018Women in labour at night are left with no hospital consultants\u2019 (Times<\/em>, 26 Oct. 2016, Lexis Library Newspapers UK<\/a><\/em>) sparked Debbie\u2019s first-person narrative about a panicking husband arriving with his pregnant wife at a hospital late at night. Katie used \u2018Autistic children can be helped by video training for parents\u2019 (Times, 26 Oct. 2016, Lexis Library Newspapers UK<\/em>) as a source for her story of a mother who finds her life unravelling as her child struggles to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for me, poems such as \u2018Blue book, yellow book, white book\u2019 by Our benignant bibliophilist (Fun<\/em>, 1 Nov, 1898, British Periodicals Collection<\/a>,<\/em> Proquest) <\/em>set my imagination ablaze. Anyone who rhymes jingo with lingo, stingo and flamingo (but obviously never met a dingo) has to be admired!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am indebted to the MA Creative Writing students for\nsharing their stories so generously with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/638\/2019\/10\/hammer-1629587_1920-1024x768.jpg\")
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