Page 24 - link magazine

24
Swindon Wide
Consider volunteering Guitar tuition
from prize winning player
Anyone interested in voluntary work will find plenty of ideas at th e
Swindon Volunteer Centre's stand at West Swindon Centre on Satu r-
day 3 June. Talented young musician Kit Hawes from Shaw is now offering guitar
n tuition in a variety of styles to help get you strumming along to your
As part of Volunteers Week, staff The Volunteer Centre in Join
favourite song in no time.
from the centre will be providing Street provides information abo ut
details of the many opportunities voluntary work and support s Kit, 19, right,performs solo
available through the multitude of groups working with volunteer s , and with his band, The Minne-
organisations in Swindon. The high standard of their servic e sofa Twins and was most re-
Centre manager. Alex Mullins, was recentlyrecognisedwhenthe y cently seen in Swindon at the
said, "volunteers can be of any age were given Voluntary Centre Qua I- Festival of Literature playing
and ability. You can use the oppor- ity Accreditation, with Will Hodg-kinson.
tunity to gain new skills or experi- The centre is open from 1 1 am t o He had his first lessons from
ence, or alternatively, pass your 3pm or weekdays. For more info r- his folk guitar-playing mum
own skills on. It is a great way to mation call 420557. when he was nine. By the age
make new friends, help others or Alex and colleagues will also b e of eleven, Kit had moved onto
give something back to the corn- talking about volunteering in th e an electric guitar and was run-
munity." Brunel Centre on Tuesday 6 Jun e ner-up in the national Takamine
Young Guitarist of the Year
competition two years ago,
aged 17.
Kit teaches using tablature
so there's no need to be able to
BLINDS read music. He covers all styles
from finger picking and folk to rock. pared to put in the practice to get
Keen to make sure that people are results.
able to improvise as well, he ex- It is also encouraging to know
plained, "jamming is really impor- that, even with a few chords under
^ainbow of colours to brighte
jr p your home this Summer! tant and. often, classically trained your belt, it's possible to play along
to a pop song. Kit said, "if people
musicians miss out on this."
Many of Kit's students are adults want to learn their favourite Oasis
C arisma Blinds - the place for quality and value who have always wanted to play, song, they can probably pick up
Manufacturers and suppliers of all types of blinds and maybe got as far as buying a the chords and be playing along in
Full fitting service or cash and carry guitar that's been collecting dust a week or so."
8 for a few years. He finds that they Contact Kit on 8751 4 or mail
Factory showroom open Monday to Thursday 9.30am - 5.30pm
i 0 a learn quickly because they are pre- [email protected]
Fr day 9.3 am - 5pm, Saturd y 10am - 4pm
BSS House, Cheney Manor Ind. Est., Swindon. Tel: 01793 434584
Juggler offers to bring
the circus into school
CO-OPERATIVE Juggling improves co-ordination and has even been shown to increase
COMMUNITY grey matter so Jake the Jugglerwants more Swindon schools to contact
him so that he show them the benefits for their pupils — and staff.
DIVIDEND — In April he ran a five week course
at Goddard Park School which the
REAL BENEFITS children loved. "I taught five groups
of about 15 children and they were
TO REAL LIVES brilliant." said Jake. "They were
excited that they were learning
something that they never thought
they would. And they can do it
r drci
anywhere - in their own time - and
juggle with anything. even fruit."
A German study has shown that
practicing juggling forthree months
led to a significant increase in brain
function. There is also evidence
that it helps with concentration lev-
els and promotes self esteem.
Jake sees the effect on young-
sters' confidence at his Tuesday
evening drop-in juggling club at
i
the Community Crossroads in the in juggling so there's no need to
Old Railway Museum, Fleet Street. argue or mess about. A good thing
He described how circus skills give about juggling is that you don't get
a real sense of achievement. low points; there's always progress
"When kids first come in they might even if it's slow."
think they'll never be able to do it. Any schools or community
But you can pick up a diablo, learn groups interested in juggling and
to get it spinning and will be throw- circus skills should contact Jake
ing it in the air in one session." on 771080.
"When you do PE in school it's Or visit the Tuesday eveningjug-
all based around competition. gling and circus skills' club at the
There's no element of competition Community Crossroads.