Why+write

=Why Write?=

Some people say, 'Why bother to write things down if you can say them?' Writing is a way of sorting things out. You can do it slowly, you can change your mind as you go along, you can go back and put things round a different way, until you're happy with what you've done. You can read it to someone else and try and find out whether they understand it in a way that you're happy about. Did they un­derstand it? Did they see what you were getting at? If they did, you're winning. So there are two pleasures: there's the pleasure of sorting out some­thing, getting it right for yourself; then there's the sharing pleasure, finding out whether you've com­municated with someone, whether you've said something to someone. It's not all pleasure. Actually doing the writing can be boring. The pleasure isn't from pushing the pen across the page. In fact, I don't know anyone who enjoys that; there's plenty of other nicer things to do, like going swimming, or reading the newspaper. . . Until someone invents a machine that you just talk to and it writes down what you say, then we're stuck with the business of typewriters and pens and pencils and word processors. The pleasure comes at the end. Are you pleased with it? Does it sound right? Does someone else like it? Does it make them think a bit? Like Michael Rosen's poem called 'Harrybo'.

I know we have tried to communicate through other web sites without success, but the authors of Wikispaces have taken a more sensible approach to handling text, which allows contributors to set up their own pages (as many as they like), and upload pictures and files that can be downloaded by other people who are authorised to use the space.

Anyone can add a comment to a page that might start a discussion (see discussion tab at the top of each page).

Anyone can also edit the content of a page, whether or not they initiated it. This is to be encouraged when the aim of a page is to create a collaborative story. Every change is logged and all changes can be accessed via the 'history' tab. Nothing is ever lost.

The maker of a page can be made aware of any changes automatically ('notify me' tab).

This is a private space and can only be seen and edited by members of the space. Members are recruited by invitation. The space name is not included in the Wikispaces Directory.

Why Wiki?
The word 'wiki' comes from the inventor of this kind of web space for fast communication. He is Ward Cunningham. He remembered the 'Wiki Wiki' shuttle bus that runs between the terminals at Honolulu International Airport. "Wiki" is a Hawaiian word for fast. The word is sometimes interpreted as the acronym for "What I know is", which summarises its function for the storage of information and exchange of knowledge.

How Wiki?
Click on the wikispaces button at the right hand end of the menubar to access video tutorials. These describe the basics.

Why geegeedee?
Gatekeeper Grandad Denis of course!

Why the picture?


Family memories have many kinds of markers. On one of our holidays shortly after we arrived in Cardiff, we spent a week in an estate cottage at Gregynog, the University of Wales' conference centre, near Newtown. The front garden sloped down to the road and was full of this striking species of creeping Hypericum known as 'Rose of Sharon'.

A cutting was taken and planted at Lake Rd. Its been hanging on here ever since.





Once my friend Harrybo Came to school crying. We said: What’s the matter? What’s the matter?
 * Harrybo**

And he said His granddad had died. So we didn’t know what to say.

Then I said: How did he die?

And he said: He was standing on St Pancras Station Waiting for the train And he just fell over and died. Then he started crying again.

He was a nice man Harrybo's grandad. He had a shed with tins full of screws in it.

Mind you, my gran was nice too she gave me and my brother a red shoe horn each. Maybe Harrybo's grandad gave Harrybo a red shoe horn.

Rodge said: I got a pair of trainers for Christmas. And Harrybo said: You can get ones without laces. And we all said: Yeah, that's right, Harrybo, you can.

Any other day, we'dve said: Of course you can, we know that, you fool. But that day we said: Yeah, that's right, Harrybo, yeah, you can.