'All Skilled Up' has finished. The money's run out and it's such a shame.
It was a scheme - jointly run by Cardiff City FC Foundation and Lit Wales - which had been in existence for over a decade.
Alongside excellent poets like Mike Church and Patrick Jones I've been delighted to hold workshops at the stadium since it was built in 2009.
I have changed and adapted my workshops over time, but one thing has remained pretty constant : the ol' rhyming game with players' names.
In fact, manager Neil Warnock only signed Ward and Camp because those names have multiple rhyming options and I was getting increasingly desperate after Bamba and Hoilett !
Fewer of the school children are genuine fans and only a small minority can name current players. Many are surprised to find that Whitts (Peter Whiittingham) has gone.
During my time doing these workshops we've shifted from a suite at the very top down to the Media and Conference rooms or , as one little girl would have it 'The Confidence Room'.
Another asked if this was the 'Millennial Stadium' and I was approached by a boy who enquired 'Are you a billionaire?' ( I must've hitched my trousers up to the neck, Vinnie Tan-style).
So , basically, Cardiff City are looking for a very rich benefactor so that this amazing scheme can continue.....I wonder where they could find one?
'All Skilled Up' has immense benefits, especially given that so few writers seem to visit schools nowadays.
It combines a series of visits by the Foundation ( linked very much to literacy) which culminate in a single day at the stadium, consisting of a tour and poetry workshop.
One improvement would be tours which take in the outside as well as inside.
There's so much to be learnt from the statue of Fred Keenor, a player who survived the 1st World War and went on to captain our 1927 F.A. Cup-winning side. Then there's the public memorial garden and the trees planted in honour of various fans like the great Cardiff-born writer Dannie Abse, a dedicated supporter.
The old Ninian Park gate is also a shrine to fans, as is the brick-walk with each brick bearing a name ; although these have been cleaned I still couldn't locate mine!
As a City fanatic it's a privilege for me to communicate my passion to young people from the city , Valleys and Bridgend areas.
Too many of these support your Chelseas and Man Us, without having any connection to those very wealthy teams. I dream of the day when the capital and Valleys are awash with blue ( not Everton, by the way).
Detractors of the work of Lit Wales should take into account schemes like this, though that organisation could do a lot more to publicise pupils' work on their website.
The club themselves could also play a bigger role and it'd be a real boost if their poetry was featured regularly in match-day programmes , or read out on the p.a. before games.
Many pupils will miss out on this vital and sometimes life-changing experience.
In my very last workshop was one boy convinced that he'd never write a poem.
'You will,' I assured him.
And he did!
Another pupil read it out to the class, though he helped her.
It was short, imaginative, lacked structure, but was probably the first he'd ever written.
This is a scheme which shouldn't be stopped, but extended.
It should be introduced at other clubs like Newport, Wrexham and Merthyr, though Lit Wales need to help find finance from elsewhere.......Or do we all have to wait for Lottery grants which may never turn up?
ALTERNATIVE CCFC CV
I've stood on the North Bank, Vetch Field,
supporting the wrong team
( lucky we never scored!).
I've carried on striding
straight into a marauding Chelsea firm
saying 'I've lived in Belfast' to a fleeing friend.
I've had a whole pint
poured down the drain
by Devon cops, just because City.
I've met the leader of the Soul Crew
running away from trouble,
but urging us to join in.
I've reached the depths of despondency
after the play-off loss to Blackpool
and vowed not to eat oranges again.
I've been to games in the Dungeon
on wet, freezing Tuesdays
when the police outnumbered fans.
I've seen droogies in bowlers
carrying umbrellas on the Bob Bank ;
had an umbrella confiscated as a weapon.
I've witnessed Boro fans doing the Ayatollah
after we beat them in the FA Cup,
when Whitts scored with a rare right-footer.
I was there when Pompey took the Grange End
and our fans climbed the floodlights
as Man U threatened to invade.
I've broken my mobile and glasses
in goal celebration ecstasy .
Can I have that job in Security?
It was a scheme - jointly run by Cardiff City FC Foundation and Lit Wales - which had been in existence for over a decade.
Alongside excellent poets like Mike Church and Patrick Jones I've been delighted to hold workshops at the stadium since it was built in 2009.
I have changed and adapted my workshops over time, but one thing has remained pretty constant : the ol' rhyming game with players' names.
In fact, manager Neil Warnock only signed Ward and Camp because those names have multiple rhyming options and I was getting increasingly desperate after Bamba and Hoilett !
Fewer of the school children are genuine fans and only a small minority can name current players. Many are surprised to find that Whitts (Peter Whiittingham) has gone.
During my time doing these workshops we've shifted from a suite at the very top down to the Media and Conference rooms or , as one little girl would have it 'The Confidence Room'.
Another asked if this was the 'Millennial Stadium' and I was approached by a boy who enquired 'Are you a billionaire?' ( I must've hitched my trousers up to the neck, Vinnie Tan-style).
So , basically, Cardiff City are looking for a very rich benefactor so that this amazing scheme can continue.....I wonder where they could find one?
'All Skilled Up' has immense benefits, especially given that so few writers seem to visit schools nowadays.
It combines a series of visits by the Foundation ( linked very much to literacy) which culminate in a single day at the stadium, consisting of a tour and poetry workshop.
One improvement would be tours which take in the outside as well as inside.
There's so much to be learnt from the statue of Fred Keenor, a player who survived the 1st World War and went on to captain our 1927 F.A. Cup-winning side. Then there's the public memorial garden and the trees planted in honour of various fans like the great Cardiff-born writer Dannie Abse, a dedicated supporter.
The old Ninian Park gate is also a shrine to fans, as is the brick-walk with each brick bearing a name ; although these have been cleaned I still couldn't locate mine!
As a City fanatic it's a privilege for me to communicate my passion to young people from the city , Valleys and Bridgend areas.
Too many of these support your Chelseas and Man Us, without having any connection to those very wealthy teams. I dream of the day when the capital and Valleys are awash with blue ( not Everton, by the way).
Detractors of the work of Lit Wales should take into account schemes like this, though that organisation could do a lot more to publicise pupils' work on their website.
The club themselves could also play a bigger role and it'd be a real boost if their poetry was featured regularly in match-day programmes , or read out on the p.a. before games.
Many pupils will miss out on this vital and sometimes life-changing experience.
In my very last workshop was one boy convinced that he'd never write a poem.
'You will,' I assured him.
And he did!
Another pupil read it out to the class, though he helped her.
It was short, imaginative, lacked structure, but was probably the first he'd ever written.
This is a scheme which shouldn't be stopped, but extended.
It should be introduced at other clubs like Newport, Wrexham and Merthyr, though Lit Wales need to help find finance from elsewhere.......Or do we all have to wait for Lottery grants which may never turn up?
ALTERNATIVE CCFC CV
I've stood on the North Bank, Vetch Field,
supporting the wrong team
( lucky we never scored!).
I've carried on striding
straight into a marauding Chelsea firm
saying 'I've lived in Belfast' to a fleeing friend.
I've had a whole pint
poured down the drain
by Devon cops, just because City.
I've met the leader of the Soul Crew
running away from trouble,
but urging us to join in.
I've reached the depths of despondency
after the play-off loss to Blackpool
and vowed not to eat oranges again.
I've been to games in the Dungeon
on wet, freezing Tuesdays
when the police outnumbered fans.
I've seen droogies in bowlers
carrying umbrellas on the Bob Bank ;
had an umbrella confiscated as a weapon.
I've witnessed Boro fans doing the Ayatollah
after we beat them in the FA Cup,
when Whitts scored with a rare right-footer.
I was there when Pompey took the Grange End
and our fans climbed the floodlights
as Man U threatened to invade.
I've broken my mobile and glasses
in goal celebration ecstasy .
Can I have that job in Security?
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