Creative

By Tuathla Todd, West Midlands volunteer

Creating pieces of art that ignite your soul, Red Devils scoring a winning goal, Eagles elegantly swooping through the sky, they look so free, A new-born baby looking up at me, what is it that you see? The fireworks that explode when you smile, Intriguing podcasts that keep you up for a while, Never ever forgetting your first love, Greatness looking down at you from above.

How even when you are at your darkest, a star still shines bright, Ocean waves crashing against the shore, but still persevering with might, Pleasantly remembering that there is always tomorrow, Every colour of the rainbow.

The thing with feathers that nests in your heart, How love can leave footprints, so tread gently from the start, Raindrops falling down from the sky, painting the ground, Orange sun smiling down on you, now you are found, Understanding that you are good enough; you are fine, Glitter that gets stuck on your skin and makes you shimmer and shine, Hot chocolate on a cold, wintery day, very divine.

A good book that speaks to your soul, Cats when they sit on your lap, now you are whole, The way music soothes and makes everything seem possible, Idyllic places that are unforgettable, Observing displays of love and laughter, Netflix shows with a happily ever after.

My brilliant things

1. My first brilliant thing that I enjoy doing is watching documentaries. The most recent documentary I watched was on Netflix called

2. Another brilliant thing that I enjoy doing is visiting nature places. I find that nature places and walks are very calming.

3. My last brilliant thing is listening to music from all different genres and countries. When I’m studying, I mostly listen to classical music, as it helps me to focus.

Have you ever thought about making a list of all the brilliant things in your life? I hadn’t until I went to see Every Brilliant Thing, an incredibly funny and honest play. In this one-woman show, we go on a journey with the narrator as she sets out to make a list of all the reasons for staying alive after her mum attempts to take her own life. Her list eventually reaches a million!

Livvi Parsons is sensational as the narrator, bringing the whole play to life in a fun and energetic way. As a young seven-year-old girl, the list includes, ‘people falling over, the colour yellow, staying up past your bedtime and being allowed to watch tv; kind old people who aren’t weird and don’t smell’. The list was put away until mum made a second attempt 10 years later.

There are some brilliant lines throughout the play, but the one that resonates the most with me is… In order to live in the present, you have to be able to imagine a future that will be better than the past…that’s what hope is and without hope we couldn’t go on.

I found Every Brilliant Thing totally engaging because the audience takes part in the whole performance. Arriving at the venue, we were given small, numbered cards listing all the brilliant things and invited to call these out in turn – mine were ‘ice cream’, (that’s the first thing on the list), and ‘cycling downhill’ (no. 999). Throughout the play, different members of the audience are also asked to take on different roles – Mrs Patterson, the kind teacher at school who has the sock-dog puppet, the dad, the vet, and the university lecturer. At 17, the narrator’s list includes ‘Andre Agassi, skinny dipping, deciding you’re not too old to climb trees’, and later at the age of 20 – ‘staying up all night talking; people who can’t sing but either don’t know or don’t care; not worrying about how much money you’re spending on holiday because all international currency looks like monopoly money’. And while writing this endless list, music is playing – Ella Fitzgerald, Curtis Mayfield, Billie Holliday, Ray Charles.

Her first entry was ‘ice cream’ and it ends with ‘listening to a record for the first time, turning it over in your hands, placing it on the deck…’ (no. 1,000,000). I think this was especially for dad who used to escape to his study to listen to music.

I came away thinking we should all write ourselves a list of all the brilliant things in our own lives, and when we feel depressed, we can just remind ourselves of all the brilliant things that make life worthwhile. My ‘three musketeers’, crusty white toast with lashings of butter and marmalade, long sunny days, chocolate buttons – these are some of the things that would be on my list, what would be on yours?

All the proceeds of this play have gone to PAPYRUS in memory of actor Simon Hawkins, ‘talented, generous and greatly missed’.

By Deanne Dustan, West Midlands volunteer

My brilliant things, By Kaleh Ali, London volunteer

My first brilliant thing that I enjoy doing is watching documentaries. The most recent documentary I watched was on Netflix called Hope Frozen.

Another brilliant thing that I enjoy doing is visiting nature places. I find that nature places and walks are very

My last brilliant thing is listening to music from all different genres and countries. When I’m studying, I mostly listen to classical music, as it helps me to focus.