Industry & Enterprise

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

REFLECTIVE LOG - SCOTTISH MASK AND PUPPET CENTRE - 25th JANUARY 2026 - DAY 6 - 9.15AM - 5.15PM - 8 and three quarter hours logged.

I can see what hard work running the centre is: Dr Knight and Ms Lee do almost everything themselves. They have no other full time staff. On my last day of Work Experience at The Scottish Mask and Puppet Centre, expecting to do FOH (Front of House) on the scheduled Oscar and The Highland Castle performance at 11AM, I’d dressed smartly only to find there had been a change of plan.

Understandably Dr Knight was tired, and with his sciatica no better, also exasperated. On my arrival I was told the visiting companies ‘get-in’ was meant to be Weds afternoon, but due to some (unstated) mishap, they had not arrived till nighttime. At 10pm he’s had to come back to the premises, to let the company in, set up the stage, do backstage checks, H&S etc. He’d forgotten I was coming that day too, though I’d emailed some days before about any extra availability for the shadow show project, The Lost Children on the WhatsApp group the director made for us. Last night, I had thought 10pm too late to send a text reminder about my last day of the 40hours. (This was a mistake, I should have done so earlier). Sarah was expecting me however and needing help in the kitchen and Café right away.

Yesterday’s inconvenience had shunted the morning’s prep to later than desirable.

The 2 other volunteers weren’t due till around 10am and Sandwiches were needing made up for the 1st Post Show Kids party.

Kids Parties in the cafe are proving a vital source of Revenue for the Centre, and standards have to be exacting.

Other volunteers left at 4pm or thereabouts. I stayed on to make up my hours, and finish Round 2 of the second kids party clear-up. By 5pm the SMPC kitchen was clear and ready for the next day.

Photos show Pre-party set-up. Sarah’s Daily Homemade soup; Fruit chopping area, sample of Party Boxes I’d made up, including sandwiches carrot batons, chopped fruit; areas I cleaned and tidied; General organisation; post party mayhem; sink above constantly employed dishwasher with cost conscious, environmentally aware recycling of plastic, which is an important ethic at SMPC.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

REFLECTIVE LOG - SCOTTISH MASK AND PUPPET CENTRE - 25 JANUARY 2026 - DAY 6

On the last day of my 40 hours, while I am volunteering in the Café, Raven Klemets and her co-director have been busy in Dr Knight’s Worksop working on logistical aspects of filming The Lost Children, Raven’s Documentary set in Guernsey during WWII, on 21st February.

Over the Christmas break, Malcolm has made a range of acetates from the stencils he and I have created of all the characters Raven cast in the shadow play scenes for The Lost Children. This has been a lot of work for him of course. I reflect on the fact that Dr Knight is so dedicated to his art, that he can’t say ‘no’ to such a project, even though he also finds himself volunteering, and there’s no income stream planned for this work. As it is for a good cause, he gives his time and studio space for free.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to work with Dr Knight on the staging of the shadow scenes. With the film set for filming in approximately 4 weeks 21st February, Dr Knight and Ms Klements felt it safer to bring in in a more experienced shadow theatre puppeteer whom he knew could deliver at short notice.

The wartime bus on the table has been designed by myself from a photo Raven sourced. As it was getting late, I don’t have photographs of my drawings of the bus, based on Raven’s laptop tracing. The image it too long but easy to ‘cartoon-ise’ by taking pitches middle section. This is the last workshop before Dr Knight breaks for Christmas. He usually tries to finish by 5pm, but invariably tonight is kept later in the Workshop.

From my drawings Dr Knight is going to cut the bus stencil during his Christmas break. My taking any of the work of work to finish does not come up, I think because the acetate is so precious.

The Horse I did for the film on my Day 2 of 40 hours, Day 1 of the Lost Children, has been edited out of the scenes, though I’m not made privy to why.

I always thought the size was wrong, but reason to myself that as we have merged together on this project almost ‘by accident’, I reflect that there are bound to be some hits and misses. Time spent making a Horse shadow puppet turns out to be a casualty of this lack of coordination, unfortunately.

Pic 1 - Malcolm Knight setting up the shadow theatre using a projector.

I am sad I don’t get to do any more on the project before the centred closes for Christmas. He reopens on 6th January, same day as college restarts.

With time being short, I have suggested my son might be able to help. On balance, that’s going to mean more management of the project for Dr Knight.

I really wished to see the puppets in action and see the canes (sticks) applied, and be taught by the master puppeteer himself, but it is not to be.

With Ms Klements also works 9-5, and with late working not being ideal for the Centre, as they already work very long hours. I have offered to come straight after college 5-7pm except a Thursday, but Dr Knight feels he has bring in a more experienced puppeteer, which makes sense.

Pic 2 - Behind the scenes, projector which throws light up on to the screen.

Pic 3 - The range of shadow puppets for The Lost Children. top left. The farmer I designed on his radio, Dr Knight has cut from the radiographers acetate in every detail, which I did not expect. In order to show the farmer twiddling the radio knobs, he’s turned the arm upside down, which is really effective.

Pic 3 and 4 - Pre Production, script editing and planing in course. My 40 hours placement, did not enable any detail on what this work for them entailed. Malcolm only needed an artist to work on the puppets the full quota of which he has now got.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

REFLECTIVE LOG - SCOTTISH MASK AND PUPPET CENTRE - 17 DECEMBER 2026 - DAY 5 - 8 hours logged.

Materials and resources used for The Lost Children, by Raven Klements and Malcolm Knight, with drawings and shadow puppet stencils designed and made to the penultimate Stage before the final Acetate version, (Stage 7) by myself. The facial silhouette is inadvertently, much to his amusement. redolent of Dr Knight himself. Bar a long lunch break / meeting with the team. Begun on Wednesday, the last stages of making this figure took up the whole afternoon, but I was happy to get to Stage 6. My sharp craft knife had gone astray so the cutting had to be done using very small, sharp scissors, and for difficult bits, I borrowed Malcolm’s own craft knife, which was still sharp.

The Proprietor and Manager are very generous with their Café goods to volunteers, and each day provided soup, bread, cheese and often-times a piece of their delicious cake 😊

Team Lunch breaks provided a chance to get to know another a bit more, and listening to Dr Knight and Ms Klement’s was also instructive.

METHOD of MAKING STENCILS for SHADOW THEATRE - how stencils are made:

Stage 1 - Characters and their meaning and features are learned about and designed on paper. Refinement takes place by tracing on to tracing or greaseproof paper.

Stage 2 - redrawn as a transfer on the reverse; Stage 3 - stencilled onto card (i.e. redrawn) and refined.

Stage 4. - stencil is cut out going round the outline with scissors or craft knife (or both) painstakingingly cutting around every notch, line and curve, taking care not to cause damage as you go.

Stage 5 - The final iteration or stencil, is then drawn around, on semi-opaque film.

Stage 6 - the Outline of the the card stencil is re-drawn

Stage 7 - the character is cut out using a craft knife, paying attention to points where the canes will be attached, ensuring adequate overlap for jointed limbs. It’s important this is done flat on a cutting mat, as any bends or creases will mean the puppet does not lie flat on the screen, and features will be lost.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

REFLECTIVE LOG - SCOTTISH MASK AND PUPPET CENTRE - 16 DECEMBER 2026 - DAY 4 (10-6pm) 8 hours logged.

16th December Full day at SMPC. My first set of designs , from Raven Klements’ rough sketch and sourced composite image. Pics 1 & 8.

Pics 3 - 6 - my 1st and 2nd iteration of Farmer with Radio set. Pic 7 - detail of moving arm, which i later modify, crooking the fingers, and Dr Knight skilfully turns upside down.

CHARACTER: For this puppet Raven selected the style of shape she wanted (top L, called a Rough) which I worked up, evolving to acheive the desired effect of a WWII Guernsey farmer sitting at a table surreptitiously working a wireless set. The scene is set in a secret basement of a farm.

NARRATIVE ACTION The Farmer escapes detections by a soldier of the German SS, by being warned of the soldier’s presence by his son. This scene was one which took up around 30 mins of discussion in the first meeting on Thursday 4th December with Raven Klements and Dr Malcolm Knight.

In discussions some dates are discussed for filming of the scenes which sound overly ambitious for such a project. Dr Knight is very experienced with mounting shows of this type, and I am sequestered in an assistant capacity. We’re only at the planning stage. (I make a few suggestions). After the meeting on day 1, December 4rth, we look at resources. Dr Knight suggests a style which is very ornate, and another which is rougher. I do not question the viability of the scehedule as 1) this would seem presumptions 20 at this point. 2) as we haven’t begun yet, I have no idea, of the complexity and time needed for each stages of making shadow puppets. We use Dr Knights traditional technique involving stencils. It requires everything to be designed and drawn, then redrawn as a transfer on the reverse of the transparent paper the design is on; stencilled onto card (redrawn); refined, cut out (redrawn with scissors or craft knife, or both) and the final iteration or stencil, drawn around on to the semi-opaque film.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

REFLECTIVE LOG​ - SCOTTISH MASK AND PUPPET CENTRE Continued DAY 3 - 16th DECEMBER - 8 hours logged

REFLECTIVE LOG - SCOTTISH MASK AND PUPPET CENTRE - DAY 3 - 15 DECEMBER 2026 - 5hrs 45 mins logged

Materials and resources used for The Lost Children, by Raven Klements and Malcolm Knight. All reference materials come from Dr Malcolm Knight’s private collection.

Illustrations are examples of the effectiveness of monochrome, shadow and naive art aswell as techniques for staging, and technical principles which the artist should understand before trying to mount such an undertaking.

Drawings and shadow puppet stencils designed and made up till Stage 6 (acetate) by Julia Gordon-Smith.

Picture 1 - shows a box of acetate used in X-Rays, which Dr Knight had saved for such a purpose for some decades. When he when to look for it in his upstairs office (out of bounds) even after 20 years, he put his hands on it straight away. This told me how deeply invested Dr Malcolm Knight is, in the joys and sorrows of sharing puppet theatre the worlds, which, from being a Shakespearean actor in his youth, has become his life’s work. He took this occurrence to be a good omen for the project.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

REFLECTIVE LOG​ - SCOTTISH MASK AND PUPPET CENTEE- DAY 3 - 15th DECEMBER - 7.5 hours logged

The process for designing and making a shadow puppet using the traditional method taught by Malcolm on Day 3 as follows - Farmer’s son.

Stage 1 - Design and draw the character in hard to medium pencil pencil on paper.

Stage 2 - planning for each of the moving parts, simplify the lines and trace the character on tracing or greaseproof paper. Add and draw joints where the parts of the figure overlap. N.B. The number of moving limbs will depend skill of the puppeteer: on the number of canes which the puppeteer can manipulate at the same time.

Stage 3 - Turn over the tracing or draughtsman’s paper, taking one part or element at a time, go over the lines in a heavy soft pencil so you can transfer each separate element of the figure on to 150gsm card.

Stage 4 - One limb at a time, cut them from card. Experiment with joint positions till you are happy.

Stage 5 - construct the mock-up of the puppet. Use removeable pins to take the figure apart again. You now have each part of a stencil of the whole puppet.

Stage 6 - you will use this to draw round the stencil on black acetate which the shadow puppet will be finally cut out from (Stage 7).

At each iteration, the figure is simplified or made more elaborate for the style, purpose and heritage of the story being told. For this project, Dr Knight used XRay paper he was given from an XRay department, with X-Rays on it. The semi-opaque material is useful for applying colour, or features which will show up when light is projected onto them, on the screen. Pic 9 shows birthday greetings and flowers Malcolm and Sarah gave me for my birthday on 9th December. I didn’t get these till 15th December unfortunately, as I was off for a week with flu and unable to do the hours and workshops listed in my Placement Summary.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

REFLECTIVE LOG​ - SCOTTISH MASK AND PUPPET CENTRE - DAY 2 - 15th DECEMBER - 7.5 hours logged

The LOST CHILDREN Documentary - by Raven Klements and Malcolm Knight. With character drawings and acetates by Julia Gordon-Smith.

METHOD of MAKING STENCILS for SHADOW THEATRE - how stencils are made: Stage 1 - Characters and their meaning and features are learned about and designed on paper. Refinement takes place by tracing on to tracing or greaseproof paper. Stage 2 - redrawn as a transfer on the reverse; Stage 3 - stencilled onto card (i.e. redrawn) and refined. Stage 4. - stencil is cut out going round the outline with scissors or craft knife (or both) carefully going round every notch, line and curve very pain staking you without damaging it as you go. Stage 5 - The final iteration or stencil, is then drawn around, on semi-opaque film. Stage 6 - the Outline of the the card stencil is re-drawn Stage 7 - the character is cut out using a craft knife, paying attention to points where the canes will be attached, ensuring adequate overlap for jointed limbs. It’s important this is done flat on a cutting mat, as any bends or creases will mean the puppet does not lie flat on the screen, and features will be lost.

Pic 1 - page from book from Malcom’s extensive library 1940’s style.

Pic 2 - designing where head joint will go.

Pic 3 - cut out of head has been made

Pic 4 - 6 Working on the moving head and leg of Cart Horse, referring to resources given.

Pic 7 -8 characters Malcolm hs traced from a book, which he later turns into Card Stencils and Acetates. When the item is finished, long canes are added.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

REFLECTIVE LOG - THE SCOTTISH MASK AND PUPPET CENTRE - DAY 2 - December 4th 2025 - 10am-5.30pm - 7.5 hours logged

Creating the shadow characters for The Lost Children , written by Raven Klements. Drawings by JULIA GORDON-SMITH

The LOST CHILDREN Documentary by Raven Klements and Malcolm Knight.

CHARACTER renditions, Drawings and STENCILS by Julia Gordon-Smith.

First puppet asked for is a horse. Raven chooses a shape which I have some difficulty tracing from her screen, whch she thinks is the best way to get the outline. I suggested i draw it freehand. Dr Knight doesn’t have any guidance to offer at this point. As I am in an assistant capacity and Dr Knight is content for Ms Klements to experiment, this is the way we do it. As it is a photographic silhouette I am copying from, and no-one has directed me otherwise, I set about delivering a horse.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

REFLECTIVE LOG - 4th DECEMBER resources

REFLECTIVE LOG - 4th December 2025 - 10am-5.30pm - 7.5hrs logged

Dr Knight demonstrates examples of shadow puppets from a variety of countries and styles. The one he’s holding is Eastern European. The calf is his own. The pink Elephant is based on the Indian God, Ganesh.

When the item is finished, long canes are added. When the puppeteer is to the side, above or below the light source, their shadow cannot be seen. The cane can be manipulated from different angles. Although sometimes visible, this doesn’t detract from the atmosphere of shadow theatre. If anything, it adds to it, as the art-form is visceral, and folk based.

In traditional narratives, some characters can be sinister or menacing, and their appearance elicit cries from the audience. There is usually a comic foil which lightens the mood for the audience. From these traditions, theatrical tragedy and comedy emerged.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

REFLECTIVE LOG - AFTERNOON SESSION 4th December 2025 - 1-5.30pm - 4.5hrs logged

Following our initial meeting in the Café with Raven Klements and Dr Malcolm Knight, Ms Klements outlines her project and the wartime stories she h needs his help with makinh into short shadow theatre narratives.

Trying to visualise it from a filmic point of view, I suggest we begin to storyboard the scenes and stylistic decisions for The Lost Chidren are discussed.

This voluntary project Dr Knight is undertaking to help Ms Klements make her WWWII documentary set in Guernsey. I am delighted to be able to help, but slightly concerned that my hours won’t allow me to provide continuity, but she has no other help lined up. The filming deadline is 21st February.

Malcolm brings out books and shows us visual resources to myself and Raven in the workshop. Using his light screen and archive collection of shadow puppets, we are treated to a demonstration of the differing effects of various materials. Some of the older figures are made of rice paper, some made of a type of black resin.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

REFLECTIVE LOG - MORNING SESSION - 4th DECEMBER 2026

4 HOURS LOGGED

An Employees Insurance Liability certificate was provided because, although there’s only two Director / Managers plus two to three volunteers in, on any one day - for Insurance purposes, Volunteers count as Employees. In the workshop are sharp tools and solvents. In the cafe, gas range, tea urn, kettle and dishwasher, and potentially slippy tiled floors, all of which in insurance terms are called ‘hazards’.

This is the Café I’d tidied and cleaned after after the public had left.

On this first day, I had been expecting to be shown the shop and do stock-taking with Ms Lee. `Unfortunately, due to a computer problem, she had to confer with the Volunteer Jo, instead.

I noticed how much the SMPC strives to make an environment which is welcoming and interesting to the public.

Keeping myself busy while Sarah was busy, I took a pride in keeping it all looking ship-shape and Bristol Fashion. 3 hours were spent cleaning up after the ensuing chaos of the kids party but owing to photographic permissions not being sought, with the identity of children being a concern (for me) - I was therfore not able to take ‘Before’ and ‘After’ photos for my Tumblr.

I swept and vacuumed the floor, wiped over chairs and tables, the latter of which had an unusual surface.

I was told about these tables: A grant had been obtained for the purchase of this new cafe furniture, with a selling point their very aesthetically pleasing matte surface whuch is also hard wearing. When washed and dried. It doesn’t show stains. There was a special spray for this, which was running low. I used a clean cloth, rinsed and dried thoroughly to get these results, which Sarah was pleased with.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

REFLECTIVE LOG WEDNESDAY 3RD DECEMBER 2026 10-4pm 6 hours logged.

Placement paperwork having been signed off. I turn up not knowing what will be my first task.

Today is a kids party, and before the public come in, I am able to take photographs of the puppet displays in the windows and cabinets throughout the centre.

Dr Knight is always willing to describe the function and context of the puppets he has on display, all of which he has collected himself from his travels across the globe, working with and studying this early theatre culture, aswell as making and mounting productions.

His small library is packed with an extensive collection of historical books which unfortunately in my 40hours, I didn’t find a chance to photograph before the public began to arrive.

I reflect that even with 20 years in performance and another 20 odd years in a ‘front facing’ rôle in my partner’s business insurance firm, although not worried about directly dealing with the public, its still around 25 years since I had to negotiate a whole room of 6 years olds.

With today’s sensitivities and me being too honest for my own good, I am afraid I might say the wrong thing, and so I make myself useful tidying up Malcolm’s workshop, emptying the bins etc. I left my bag and coat in the cafe, and didn’t have my phone to take photos of this, and just anxious to make a good impression. Despatched to get to know the workshop while Dr Knight and Ms Lee are busy, I get to listen to and talk to the artist renovating the puppets.

Neil has been doing this for a year now, and there is no shortage of work to do. Naturally, I don’t ask how much it pays, but gather Neil is just happy to be getting paid to paint, as self-employment as an artist is so hard. Because of my time as a freelance performer, I know this to be true, but it strikes me being a visual artist is even harder. All the same, Neil is happy to be working for someone he likes and respects, doing something he enjoys, and becoming more expert at each week, and learning about the marionettes, which he derives a lot of satisfaction from repairing and restoring to their former glory, and keeping them functional.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

REFLECTIVE LOG - SCOTTISH MASK AND PUPPET CENTRE - 4th DECEMBER DAY

27th November is the day after my Installation is done for Process and Enquiry. With studio closed for assessments, I waste no time and dropinto The Scottish Mask and Puppet Centre to ask about the possibility of volunteering between now and the end of January. I do not expect to get such an immediate and resounding “Yes”, but the time I’ve spent there since, I now am aware of why. The SMPC is a wonderfully efficient operation, it has to be, for it wouldn’t survive otherwise.. I’m absolutely amazed by how much is done, by a tiny number of people. Dr Malcolm Knight and his partner, Centre Manager Sarah Lee, aim for a friendly Open Doors Policy, whereever possible. They show wonderful hospitality to all who come in, including myself.

On a standard day, between Cafe, Shop, Front of House, Backstage, Technical (including electrics and Lighting) there’s only 4 people involved running the whole centre, and two of those are volunteers. I also meet an artist and puppet renovator who works in the workshop two days a week, repairing and restoring historically important legacy puppets and marionettes.

Dr Knight always makes time for visiting artists and academics, holding meetings In the Café. Unless Centre Manager Sarah is running children’s Puppet Making workshops, she’s managing the Café, Kitchen, physical and online Shop, bringing the Cafe’s staple veg soup and home-baking for the Café from her kitchen at home.

Armed with a good idea of what volunteering requirements the centre has, I am able to design this Placement Summary Form which has Sarah perused before dashing off to start the shop stock-taking, a time-consuming task.

The SMPC ticket office now occupies what was once Malcolms office. Recent innovations have transformed it int a smart bookshop where puppet kits and stationary type merchandise are sold, and the online sales managed.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

Scottish Mask and Puppet Centre Work Placement.

REFLECTIVE LOG 1ST DECEMBER - 8TH DECEMBER 2026

Dr Knight has been very understanding about the need to provide the necessary paperwork very quickly on my behalf, to my tutor, in order to sign off on the Work Placement. He seems happy to have me on board, and asks me if I’d like to join in a project he’s about to discuss with a young film and documentary maker, Raven Klements. Its a busy time of year, and unfortunately Malcolm is suffering very badly with sciatica down one leg into his foot, which is disturbing his sleep. I have had sciatica myself , and understand how difficult this can be.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

SCOTTISH MASK and PUPPET CENTRE - PROGRAM FOR JAN - FEB 2026

Assignments for Visual Language and Process and Enquiry are all done, I can get back to looking for Work Placement. Also today, I write to my old lecturers Anne Hamilton and Linda Clarke at Clyde College Anniesland. I also have been to see Dr Malcom Knight at the Scottish Mask and Puppet Centre.

I am waiting to hear back from Angela Mussafra at GOMA, who I wrote to from my college email account. For weeks I’ve been having a tech issue, insofar as when I try to log on the City of Glasgow College, I can’t get in because Clyde College still say I’ve got an count with them. At his point, I have phoned and written to Langside College admin Yvonne whom has been very helpful and suggests I ‘raise a ticket’ with the Art Dept at Anniesland, but as I am no longer a student there, its a Catch 22.

To date I have also not had a reply from Haemophilia Scotland, but they are based in Edinburgh and also have only three employees who do everything. It is possible I have missed an email but they usually talk to me via Facebook Messenger.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

Scotland’s primary venue and resource centre for the art forms of mask, puppets, magic, mime and physical theatre.

REFLECTIVE LOG 1st December 2025 I am delighted to say My Industry and Enterprise Work Experience Report is going to be on Work Placement which will be undertaken at The Scottish Mask and Puppet Centre, Balcarres Avenue, Kelvindale, Glasgow. Papers have been lodged with Industry and Enterprise tutor Steven Granger today, Monday 1st December 2025. As the rules around Work Placement for Industry and Enterprise component of the CAP Degree, say that Health & Safety forms; Minute of Agreement and student Proposal forms, Employers Liability etc., for the Placement must be signed before commencement, this mearns that my dates agreed with SMPC can be performed from today forwards ending Burn Night January 25th, 2026. This also means I have fully 6 days to complete draft 1 of the Industry and Enterprise report on the Value of Work Experience by the deadline of midday, Monday February 1st 2026. Pics 1-8: The Brochure for this period of the SMPC content which I will be working on is shown above.Pics 9-10: Industry and Enterprise guidelines for the 3000 word Report on The Value of Work Experience.

See below SMPC Programme for REFLECTIVE LOG Thursday 27th NOVEMBER 2026

REFECTIVE LOG Thursday 27th NOVEMBER 2026

40 hours Work Experience Placement deadline is December 1st - 4 days left to confirm and get the paperwork done. Other opportunities haven’t worked out so far;

*Post Production on GOBHAR, the Goat and Drum film I took lead part in (July ‘25) - sadly nothing there; *Glue Factory: due to time factor, I didn’t manage to put apply. *GOMA plus other enquiries by email and in person: unavailable; *Glasgow Print Studio: same, though the Education Coordinator gave me a YES to apply there, but with other course deadlines continual and ongoing the opportunity slipped away from me. (Foolish me, should’ve l kept it to myself. I hesitated and someone else got it. Unbelievable. * *First draft of I&E essay deadline due February 1st; ‘Cultural Tours’ the firm of ex-GSA curator Peter Trowels’ exhibition at Trades House, is not till March 2026 - after the first draft is due.

The good news is, now that Trimester 1 Process & Enquiry and Visual Language installations are done, our studio room at CoGC is closed for assessments - I can give the Work Experience immediate 100% attention. A day or so ago, i had a brainwave of asking at The Proprietor, Dr Malcolm Knight makes time for ‘drop-in’ visits - so I rock up the very next day to pop the question.

To my grateful surprise, on asking if they can use 40 hours volunteering between now and end of January 26, in a range of capacities (as per the I&E requirement), the answer is an immediate, resounding “YES”.

I know The Scottish Mask and Puppet Centre of old. I visited during my HNC year, and don’t Indios why i didn’t ask before. Puppetry is a remarkable art-form, amalgamating making, history, education, theatre, performative arts and of course, fun. SMPC is a registered charity supported by ticket sales, donations, and sales of the wares in its shop. In the past, I’ve attended shows, some Open Days and an AGM (2023).

I’m concerned and sorry to ask at such short notice, and explain that CoGC need forms completed but amazingly Malcolm and Sarah are fine with me beginning just as soon as the forms can be provided and lodged. They have a Christmas show, parties and elf-themed puppet-making workshops coming up, and a documentary film maker graduate about to visit, regarding a shadow show she wants to make there. SMPC close on 15-17 Dec, re-opening for their Burns Show on January 25th, which gives us almost 3 weeks in which to fit 40hrs Work Placement, and 6 days before the first draft is due.

[indandentjuliagordonsmith]

Modern apprenticeships and work experience at Glasgow Life