We are now inviting submissions for the next issue of Worktown Words on the theme of Self-discovery. Submissions open from 01/09/26 until 30/09/26 (midnight). This issue will be edited by Amber Berry, a Bolton born poet who uses poetry as her personal diary. She writes about identity; all that she loves and all that she hates.…
Today is one of those perfect days to embark on a walk over Smithills Moor, which is exactly what I did earlier this morning on behalf of Live from Worktown. We’d been invited to attend an event organised by Smithills Woodland Trust as a part of their restoration of the Two Lads cairns. People of…
Live from Worktown joined by Grace Williams, a journalist at the Bolton News, read her news article here! Although we had a blustery and drizzly start, Thursday 2nd July kicked off our programme of My Place Walks for the summer. The first stop was a visit to Hall i’ th’ Wood, which had kindly been…
Eighteen ESOL students joined a My Place Heritage Walk around Queen’s Park, Bolton, on Friday 19 June 2026. In warm, sunny weather, the group spent around an hour and a half exploring the park’s winding paths, rivers, Lakes and hills while guides Laura and Peter shared stories about its fascinating past. The students discovered that…
We are happy to share the publication of the new issue of Worktown Words. This issue was curated and edited by Romina Ramos on the theme of Empathy. And if you’ve missed any previous issues, you can find our catalogue here. Submissions will open again shortly for the next publication.
After being involved at the end of 2025 in the BBC Radio 4 documentary Bolton: The Happiest Town on Earth?, we were equally pleased to hear from BBC North West Tonight who were keen to find out more about Mass Observation and the Happiness Survey that was a subject of the radio programme. After exchanging…
We are now inviting submissions for the next issue of Worktown Words on the theme of Empathy. Submissions open from 10/05/26 until 31/05/26 (midnight). This issue will be edited by Romina Ramos, LfW’s organiser of Worktown Words and co-founder of Natter, the monthly poetry open mic night for local creatives in Bolton that meets at th3guys_cafe. .…
Join us for a spoken word open mic on 12th April. Our guest performers will be ‘the poetry twins’ – Rachel Davies and Hilary Robinson. They are both accomplished poets and their poetry is widely published in journals, anthologies and online. They will be reading from their joint collection of poems ‘An Altogether Different Place’,…
Those of you who have followed Live from Worktown for some time will know that our former member, the late Dave Burnham was quite an incredible artist. He kindly put his talents to work for us not only by devising a series of downloadable history walks around Bolton, known as Worktown Walks, he created a…
Despite taking place almost 90 years ago, the Mass Observation research initiative that started in 1937 in Bolton is still regarded by many as an important part of the town’s history, not just in Bolton but further afield too, including at the BBC no less. Live from Worktown were contacted by Radio 4 producer, Katharine…