Yr Ardd – Tysul Youth
This is blog number 3 of 4 about our recent project, Yr Ardd. Read the whole series by following the links below.
Tysul Youth, 12 September 2024
The second session with the crew from Tysul Youth, their ages ranged from 12 to around 18 years, around fifteen of them. We all met in the cwtsh, the energy and zest was palpable, the place was buzzing. It was the end of the day and the crew just wanted a place to be in each other’s company, to unwind and release. When I said that we’d be doing some creating and maybe some writing, there was some initial resistance to that – they’d had enough writing and learning at school – and that was totally understandable, they just wanted to chill. But I gave each of them a book and pencil, in case they wanted to jot something down, draw or doodle.
As we were in the garden, we started by looking within ourselves, how were we feeling. We took our own personal temperature and looked at how we felt inside after the day we’d had. This was a good place to start and I soon discovered that this was a time to talk rather than write, it was a chance to just be together and swap stories, to talk to each other. I so enjoyed hearing about how they were, who they were, and also about their relationship with this wonderful place. These young people come to Yr Ardd to find their place, to mix with friends, to make connections, to unwind and to be a family. It’s a good place to recharge and relax, it’s a brilliant mental health haven. They feel that Yr Ardd is theirs and they’re totally at home here. Oh, and it’s the best place to have barbecues and pizza, obvs.
We had a little time to explore, to roam Yr Ardd collecting plants, stones, leaves, fruit, whatever we liked and bring them back to make an impromptu nature table at the cwtsh, these things could be inspirations for our thoughts and writing.
We then brainstormed some thoughts about Yr Ardd and what the place means to the young people and this became the beginning of our poem, about the place but also about them. I used my flipchart to collect thoughts and feelings. Suddenly, this didn’t feel like homework or school, it was about self-expression. Yr Ardd is rooted in them and grows inside each of them. It was quite a thing to witness and to hear. I felt I was privileged to be a part of it for one evening. At the end, they stayed for much longer than the session, nobody wanted to leave.
I had such a lovely time with this young, energetic crowd, we made a poem and I even got a few cwtshes in the bargain. That’s what I call a win-win situation.
Something out of nothing
Even when there’s nothing, there is always something,
even though the day may be stormy it is always clear at midnight,
it can be sunny inside because this day was full of excitement and joy,
and sometimes, weithiau, the hardest plants to reach
are the ones that are more beautiful than any of the others.
And in Yr Ardd with its Hollywodd sign,
the dandelion family of flowers collected in a bunch
look like a river with streams breaking off in different directions
dant y llew yn felyn fel yr haul.
A feather passing fluttery in the wind, pluen bert yn dawnsio,
probably dropped by a passing flamingo or a dragon.
All around us are round stupid leaves, these leaves you see – y dail – are not smart.
and bits of wood, darnau pren, hanging about waiting to be used as mallets or sticks.
The barbecue is the best,
we gather round the fire and the atmosphere warms us,
mae’r tân a’r cwmni’n gynnes.
Sometimes there is music, always there is laughter and chwerthin.
And it’s peaceful here – tawel
it’s a good place to think, to meddwl,
this is a small piece of land, of tir
quiet like the eye of the storm,
a sanctuary, ein hafan ni.
– Tysul Youth