You often ask us what questions to ask your loved ones if you wanted to interview them yourself.

Because our projects are so customised, the questions we ask invariably depend on the context, the person, their background, and a whole host of other factors.

But how about this for a start:

The other day, we watched a documentary on Fred Rogers, who hosted the preschool series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood between 1968 and 2001. Mr Rogers’ warm persona on the show nurtured an intimate connection to the audience and today he is ranked as one of the greatest TV personalities of all time. Anyway, at one point in the documentary, Rogers is seen giving a speech, where he says:

“From the time you were very little, you’ve had people who have smiled you into smiling, people who have talked you into talking, sung you into singing, loved you into loving.”

And so, as you head into this long, family-filled weekend, how about asking your loved one who that person was to them, and why. The answer just might surprise you!

Contact us if you'd like any more tips... we'd be more than happy to help.

Besides publishing a few books, here's what we've enjoyed since the start of the year

We ran an amazing workshop at New Fire Festival, turning children into time travelling detectives! Our goal was to stimulate interest in the past by encouraging hands-on interactions with old objects. We hope the experience will continue to trigger thoughtful interactions between generations, and encourage the elders' to continue recounting those 'long ago' memories. The event was coordinated by Everything Slight Pepper.

Somebody got us to re-read Othello. It was great! And the introduction to the edition we read struck us, too. Here's what Jonathan Bate had to say: “To stay close to a large segment of the potential audience for public theatre, it was necessary to write for clowns as well as kings [...] Shakespeare realized that theatre could be the medium to make the national past available to a wider audience than the elite who could afford to read large history books”

Notre Dame burning down got us thinking, In the country where you live, what would the equivalent of Notre Dame be? Let us know!

Some articles we've loved:

• How I began to write by Gabriel García Márquez.

• How (hi)stories shape our collective identity. 

• In the ’50s women were pioneering computer programmers – why that changed in the 70s and 80s.

• This pamphlet (see below) we found at the Archives, detailing clear (?) instructions on how to dance calypso!

What we endorse:

Tsundoku - the Japanese word for buying books and letting them pile up unread........

What you endorse:

Us! Here’s what you had to say about Plantain:

• “Being that I am located in the US, Plantain made my project feel like a priority and I am forever thankful for that.” 
  - Tina Charles, US Olympic Medalist.

• “It was awesome working with Plantain on this project”
  - Lorraine O'Connor, Management Consultant & Producer.

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xoxo,
 
Plantain.