Village Raw - ISSUE 15
Village Raw is a magazine that explores cultural stories from Crouch End, East Finchley, Highgate, Muswell Hill and the surrounding areas. The magazine is created by the community, for the community. If you like this issue you can support the project through a subscription or donation. See the links below. The fifteenth issue of Village Raw includes: UPSTAIRS AT THE GATEHOUSE - A look at Highgate’s fringe theatre. GETTING TO KNOW - The poetry and music of rapper and artist TaliaBle. FROM PAINT TO PRINT - How lockdown closures led an 81-year-old to a new career. SPACE TO THROW - Local ceramics studios offering courses. INSIDE THE SHEPHERD’S COTTAGE - Inside a 17th century Highgate house. RIGHT UP MY STREET - How to set up a community street party. UPON MEETING A FOX (OR TWO) - Launching the On Local Nature community. FILL ’ER UP - Exploring the local zero waste refill scene. ASK OLA - Refocusing the mind and dealing with hay fever. AND MORE…
Village Raw is a magazine that explores cultural stories from Crouch End, East Finchley, Highgate, Muswell Hill and the surrounding areas. The magazine is created by the community, for the community. If you like this issue you can support the project through a subscription or donation. See the links below. The fifteenth issue of Village Raw includes:
UPSTAIRS AT THE GATEHOUSE - A look at Highgate’s fringe theatre.
GETTING TO KNOW - The poetry and music of rapper and artist TaliaBle.
FROM PAINT TO PRINT - How lockdown closures led an 81-year-old to a new career.
SPACE TO THROW - Local ceramics studios offering courses.
INSIDE THE SHEPHERD’S COTTAGE - Inside a 17th century Highgate house.
RIGHT UP MY STREET - How to set up a community street party.
UPON MEETING A FOX (OR TWO) - Launching the On Local Nature community.
FILL ’ER UP - Exploring the local zero waste refill scene.
ASK OLA - Refocusing the mind and dealing with hay fever.
AND MORE…
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VILLAGE RAW<br />
FROM PAINT TO PRINT<br />
How lockdown closures led an 81-year-old to a new career.<br />
Words by Sharon Goldreich.<br />
Giggy & Bab<br />
MADE IN ENGLAND<br />
While the country was plunged into lockdown, Margaret KM Andrews,<br />
aged 81, embarked on her new career as a children’s writer<br />
and illustrator. It all started when her art group, run by the charity<br />
Guideposts, could no longer meet due to the pandemic - yet her<br />
unflagging artistic drive compelled her to keep painting. Her illustration<br />
of a pink hare, gazing longingly at the moon, proved particularly<br />
popular once posted on Facebook. She named the hare Pink<br />
Patsy and promptly reimagined her as the protagonist of a picture<br />
book. She was supported by her daughter Wendy Gallagher who<br />
helped edit the story and they set up their own publishing company,<br />
Magmay Books. The mother-and-daughter team have formed a<br />
prolific creative partnership. Between them they have owned different<br />
shops in Muswell Hill for 40 years, and we meet at Wendy’s<br />
key-cutting business.<br />
It was Wendy’s daughter Jessie who helped inspire the first<br />
story, swiftly turning Pink Patsy into a family preoccupation and<br />
series of books. The four titles released so far, aimed at children<br />
aged 3-6, have garnered enthusiastic responses from kids, parents<br />
and teachers alike for their stunning illustrations, imaginative storylines<br />
and valuable messages, such as caring for others and for<br />
the environment. As well as the bright pink hare, a motley crew of<br />
charming animal characters appears in the stories. There’s Bird, the<br />
green-cheeked conure parrot; Tiger, the wise silver tabby cat; Max,<br />
the brave booted mouse, and other companions - even the sun,<br />
moon, rainbow and flowers have voices.<br />
Besides satiating Margaret’s need to paint on a daily basis,<br />
this project holds particular resonance for Wendy who struggled<br />
with dyslexia as a child. Through her own experiences and while<br />
volunteering at her daughters’ primary school, helping children<br />
with learning difficulties, she became aware of strategies that<br />
help readers follow text more easily. Wendy has implemented such<br />
reader-friendly devices in the books, in the layout of the text on<br />
the page, breaking it down and using different colours to distinguish<br />
between the respective characters’ dialogue. Onomatopoeic<br />
words are bold and printed in different fonts. This sensitivity to the<br />
reader, she hopes, will entice children and provide them with confidence<br />
to follow the text and start reading rather than just being<br />
read to.<br />
With a fifth book - on the theme of counting - awaiting publication<br />
in February and a new lead character, the farm-dwelling Bobby<br />
Blue - “a hare that likes to repair”, about to join the ranks of Patsy<br />
and her friends, there’s no stopping Margaret and Wendy. Pink Patsy<br />
and Bobby Blue soft toys are presently in the making, while the pink<br />
hare continues to capture the hearts of her young readers, and one<br />
cannot fail to be inspired by the passion and mutual admiration her<br />
creators exude.•<br />
The Pink Patsy books are available to purchase from the Muswell Hill Children’s<br />
Bookshop. For online stockists, visit www.magmaybooks.co.uk or email<br />
info@magmaybooks.co.uk.<br />
Meadow<br />
Education<br />
W I T N E S S .<br />
N O U R I S H . G R O W .<br />
Does your child need extra<br />
support in English and/or Maths?<br />
Or, perhaps you want to enquire about<br />
how to prepare for 11+ exams or GCSEs?<br />
Contact us for a free <strong>15</strong> min consultation<br />
to discuss their needs.<br />
We pride ourselves on treating each<br />
student as a whole person who deserves<br />
nurturing and support. We have over 18<br />
years of working with families.<br />
beth@meadow.education<br />
www.meadow.education<br />
www.giggyandbab.co.uk<br />
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