We thought it only fair to share with you this fabulous poem written by our talented Poet Laureate, Elaine Ewart to celebrate Eel Day on May 5th 2012. Its imaginative and fun, and we can’t wait to read the next one!

Slippery Customers

It seemed so simple, planned over a pint:
Buy a black-market swarm of glass eels
To raise in a tank in his shed.

As he sprinkles crushed crayfish, sees
Ugly eel underbites vie at the surface,
He thinks of his sleek, fat profit.

He watches them grow to young elvers,
Shivery streaks of mercury, darkening.
The flicking of their feathery tails makes him

Ticklish.  He stares for hours, mesmerized
By the rotating symmetry of their threefold spines.
He starts to feel sorry they won’t get to spawn

In the warmth of the Sargasso Sea.  He tries to
Harden his heart.  But there is only one
Of him, and so many of them: he doesn’t

Stand a chance against their wheedling,
Insinuating ways.  Their humour
Is filthy; as they worm out of him

His dirtiest jokes, an eel snigger
Ripples through the tank.  And though
He’s loath to lose his pet project,

They persuade him to let them go.
One summer’s day, he stands on the bank,
Squeaks off a styrofoam lid, and tips out

A wriggling waterfall, stretching and
Twisting in the afternoon sun.
They weave shadows on the sulky bed

Of the River Great Ouse.  A dappled
Carpet in the current, his slithery crop is
Swept off towards the sea.  Not an eel

Looks back.  With his binoculars
He follows them out of sight; sighs,
And turns back towards the pub.

Elaine Ewart. Fenland Poet Laureate 2012.

We’ve been featured in WiRED magazine on their ‘Likes’ page! WiRED is the national magazine of the Women in Rural Enterprise network. Julie from WiRE said that our business caught her eye and she likes what we do! Thanks Julie, we like what you do too!

Atelier East’s Young Curator’s Forum had a fantastic day out when they visited the Horniman Museum in London. The group are working on a heritage research project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and visit the museum to gain ideas and inspiration for their very own historical exhibition.

Young people from across Fenland were invited to join the Young Curator’s on the day and share in the experience, this was supported by Fenland District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council. Over 30 young people travelled to London and saw exhibitions, took part in hands-on activities and also visited the gardens and aquarium at the Horniman Museum.

Jade, a long-standing member of the Young Curator’s Forum said, ‘I enjoyed taking photos and getting to see things I would never of imagined seeing. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see things from different aspects. I enjoyed every part of the day and will never forget the great time I had, and everyone else had. It’s a day to remember’.

‘The museum holds many unusual items including amazing things that none of us had seen up close before, like the incredible stuffed Walrus and a giant tuba! The day was a real blast and we got loads of ideas on how we can create our own exhibition,’ said Brandon, another Young Curator.

The Young Curator’s Forum meets regularly at Wisbech & Fenland Museum. The group are working together to create an exhibition full of photographs, facts and memories about Wisbech and March.

If you’d like to find out more about joining the Young Curator’s Forum contact us by emailing youngartists@atelier-east.co.uk

The Fenland Poet Laureate Awards 2012 book is now available to buy online from Blurb! You can preview and order the book here. It’s a lovely little publication, full of the top 16 poems from the awards, an inspiring foreword from judge and Museum Curator David Wright, as well as a beautiful poem written by judge Paul Goetzee and dedicated to all of the poets! Lovely stuff!

We are waving bye-bye to Fenland Scrapstore and wishing it the best of luck on its continued journey! Yes, after 18 months of hard graft we have got the social enterprise to the point where it is stable, sustainable and doing great stuff - hooray! So, now is the time to hand on the torch and let the local community take over.

We’ve donated Fenland Scrapstore to local charity FACET, and it’s definitely the biggest thing we’ve ever given to charity!

In February 2011 we launched the Scrapstore with our first event in Whittlesey, and it was clear then that months of behind-the-scenes planning was really worth it - people queued out the door, it was truly amazing! Since then we have worked hard to grow the social enterprise and reach more and more people. It’s been tough, not only because we have had a lot of hurdles (and we mean a LOT!) but we’ve also done it unfunded, and unpaid, and aside from the thousands of hours we have put in to it, we have also had to support the business with thousands of pounds.

It’s been worth it though, hasn’t it? Scrapstore’s exist across the UK and its important that we have one here in Fenland. Why should good materials go to waste? Why should landfill be full of useful items? Why shouldn’t everyone have access to fun and inspiring materials? It’s definitely been worth it.

In July 2011 a funding bid to Roddons resulted in the funds to pay two apprentices for a year. Whilst we volunteered our time to support and train them, we were setting them up to carry on the torch, to take ownership of what truly is a social enterprise. And, although we are down to one apprentice, she has taken everything on board and is now ready to take Fenland Scrapstore over to FACET and help them to continue to grow the business, involving their students and taking it to the next level.

We are so excited about the possibilities, and so proud of what we have been able to achieve, especially in such tough economic times. THANK YOU to everyone who has got involved, donated, supported and shared!
From the Fenland Scrapstore Directors,
Karen Harvey, Adam Ruck and Wendy Stevenson

Above: The Scrapstore Team and Friends, left to right: Nathan, Adam, Nicola, Lesley, Susie, Karen, Sam

Photo: © Mark Shilhadeh

We thought you might like a peak at the three winning poems from the Fenland Poet Laureate Awards! We will be releasing a limited edition book soon with all of the shortlisted works in… watch out for it!

The Drowned Lands by Elaine Ewart - Fenland Poet Laureate

Digging since dawn, bent slant
Against the whistling wind, crushing
With sweet scent the water mint under my boots,
Face whipped by willow; unsteady,
I cling to the iron shove-handlers, feeling like a pennant
Run up a flagpole; hood rippling with gusts.

Across the field, banks hem in the horizon, sky hanging
Heavy over silver coin-puddles of squealing wigeon,
Fastidious-legged godwits; above them arch the flaunting lapwing.
Through the mist, in a soft-trumpeting cloud, butter-billed Bewicks
Raise mud-plated feet amongst the winter wheat.

Fixing the post, tamping down the soil, it seems solid enough:
But no.  Rising water will shoulder it back, lift gate-latch and signpost,
Screen and fence, wash at the wheels of the tractor on the bank
Where it holds empty steel arms to the purple clouds.  The ditch bridge will curve
Like the coil of a breaching sea monster; the bare oak tree reach gnarled fingers
Out of the flood, like the hand of an ancient invader, self-trapped in a chain mail net,
As he flounders in the burning reeds and smothering swamp.

The Fens by Oliver Osborn - Young Fenland Poet Laureate

The fields of the Fens are flat and wide,
The creatures beneath are trying to hide,
From a predator who’s on the prowl,
The silent flight of the lonely barn owl.

His beak is sharp, his feathers are soft,
Using delicate wings to stay aloft,
Swooping to kill, talons extended,
He reaches out and a small life is ended.

The harvester goes through the soil,
The endless cycle of farmers’ toil,
Another day’s work has just been done,
We rest to admire the low setting sun.

Out in the night two bulging black eyes,
They belong to the animal looking up at the sky,
A huge black eagle searching for prey,
This time no luck, he will try another day.

The Ancient Fens by  James Collingwood-Smith - Junior Fenland Poet Laureate (pictured above!)

A sinister unknown landscape.
To those that live outside.
A muddy mystic swamp.
Dangerous to explore.
And the Fen folk stand tall and proud.
In their homes in the swirling mists.

Our Young Curator’s Forum are going to be visiting the fabulous Horniman Museum in London during the Easter holidays. It will be a great chance for them to see some weird and wonderful exhibits, as well as the ‘Body Adorned’ exhibition which has had lots of input from young people. The Young Curator’s Forum will be looking out for tips and ideas on how to make their very own exhibition exciting and interesting.

There are still spaces on the trip for young people to come along and join us, we are working with Cambridgeshire County Council’s Young People’s Services, and Fenland District Council to run the trip with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Young Curator’s Forum members get first choice, but there will be room for other young people too. If you want to join the Young Curator’s Forum, or find out more please drop us an email at info@atelier-east.co.uk

Look at this fabulous over-stuffed Walrus! The taxidermist in the 1800’s had no idea what the creature should look like, so he filled it full!

We’ve been supporting the Ferry Project for over a year now and have worked very hard to bring some fantastic artist’s work to their gallery and raise the profile of the space at Octavia View, bringing in local people with a passion for art and creativity, and some really wonderful artists too!

And now its time to let the team at the Ferry Project carry on the good work! We’ve handed over the reigns, passed on the baton, and any other analogies you can think of!

We’ve booked in some really great, high quality exhibitions for the 2012 programme, including exhibitions from artists Louise Stebbing, Gemma Cumming and Richard Allen. There will be plenty to see and we hope you will enjoy it!

Image: Greetings by Gemma Cumming

We’ve teamed up with the Octagon Gallery in Wisbech to bring you a lovely collection of local scenes by artist Rosemary Harvey. Images of Wisbech Castle, North Brink, Museum Square and other local landmarks are being shown in this exhibition which really delves into the positive beauty of the Fenland market towns.

The exhibition is ongoing.

Visit the Octagon Gallery at 5 Market Street, Wisbech, PE13 1NW

See more about Rosemary here: http://www.atelier-east.co.uk/2009/03/rosemary-harvey/