On Saturday 1st December writers Rachel Rooney and Catherine Smith ran four writing workshops at the Jubilee Library, Brighton, to help some local children write some poems for the Write around Air Street competition.

36 children came to the workshop and wrote some fantastic poems. You can read some of the group poems that were written below.

Clouds
When I look up to the sky I see
A ghost waiting to scare me
Pegasus flying to Atlantis
A man with a moustache about to shave
Pasta twirls waiting to be eaten
And a spaceship floating to Mars
By 5- 7 year old morning group

The Air’s Prayer
Please
Stop breathing me in, I want to be free!
Share your cars, your fumes are killing me.
Brush your teeth, you have really bad breath.
By 8-11s morning group

Dear Wind
Dear Wind
I am writing on behalf of my anger!
Why do you slap me in the face like an angry mum?
Why do you steal my scarf like a cold, shivering robber?
Why do you pluck the leaves like a crazy guitarist?
Yours lividly,
The 8-11s morning group.

Clouds
When I look up at the sky I see
A ghost scaring the clouds
Pegasus flying to Africa
A grumpy old man getting cross with the birds
A dog barking at the aeroplanes
And a fish swimming in the blue sky
By 5-7s afternoon group

The Air’s Prayer
Please stop polluting me with your horrible machines and strong fumes.
Please cease sending wisps of poisonous gases into my face.
Don’t swallow me – just because I’m invisible doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings.
By 8-11s afternoon group

Dear Wind
Dear Wind,
Why do you wreck the trees like a beserker?
Why do you howl in the night like an injured wolf?
Why must you blow my hat off like a strong fan?
Why do you batter the flowers like a toddler have a tantrum?
From,
The 8 – 11s afternoon group

Did you know..........?

• Air Street was originally laid out in the mid 18th century and was called Boar’s or Beard’s Lane until the early 1800s.
• Air Street connected the top of North Street with Church Street and in 1840 it was one of the worst slums in Brighton.
• In 1841 the people who lived down Air Street had jobs such as a beerseller, a constable, a horse dealer, a gardener, a painter and a fisherman.
• These are some of the people who lived on Air Street in 1846; Leopold Boffi- model and figure maker, Philip Pollard- wheel wright , Robert Jacobs – eating house keeper.
• In 1849 someone described Air Street as filthy because many of the buildings were slaughter houses and there was a cess pit (a pit of sewage) in the centre.
• Luckily in 1850 the North Street Quadrant was built which backed onto Air Street and the area was improved.
• By the mid 1860s shops were built in the back yard of the quadrant, some of the occupants around this time include Mr. Dinnis, a shell and toy dealer and Mr. J. Brookes, a tailor.
• On the other side of Air Street there was a church built in 1853-54 and was enlarged in 1867. The church was closed in 1983 and later demolished.