I am running the Cardiff half marathon on 2nd Oct

While we continue to search for a physical home for The Bank of Dreams & Nightmares, we have been gifted this amazing vehicle by the producers of the BBC hit; His Dark Materials, to transform it into our very own magical High Security Mobile banking unit for the charity. It was used in the first season to kidnap Lyra, so it already has its own story, and now we can give it a second story.

While we continue to look for a premises, we deliver most of our creative writing workshops in schools, and we have had an incredible year so far working with over 600 children in 20 schools across West Dorset. Every child loves the whole concept of a real bank for stories rather than money, and in our workshops they cherish the chance to talk with THE BANK MANAGER on our red hotline phone.

READ more about what we have done on the website.

A key ethos of our charity is to engage and inspire dis-engaged children by unleashing their imaginations, and with the addition of the Mobile Banking van we will now have a place for children to come to deposit their stories after a session knowing they will be safe in our vaults.

The vehicle is a symbol of the Bank and will add to the whole experience for the children we serve. We have found via all the feedback we get that the children get incredibly excited by the whole idea of the Bank Manager and the Bank itself and this vehicle will take their imaginations even further. It will also be a visible symbol of the charity in the local community providing a presence for the charity and in turn help with recruiting volunteers and supporters, which is VITAL to our ongoing delivery.

“The story-writing and poetry workshops provided by The Bank of Dreams & Nightmares have been an invaluable part of our whole-school approach to improving writing for pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged this year. Anecdotal feedback from pupils and parents has been extremely positive, with many talking enthusiastically about stories they have been inspired to write outside of school.  Similarly, the teaching staff have found the sessions valuable and taken many strategies back into the classroom with them.

Since September, the attainment of disadvantaged pupils in writing has shown good improvement: 90% of pupils have at least made the expected progress.  I am certain that the work of The Bank of Dreams & Nightmares has made a significant contribution to this.” 

- Mr Overment Head teacher Salway Ash School

The van requires a fair bit of work to be made road safe and make sure that it has a long and fruitful life. We are working with a local mechanic near the film producers studios in Wales to restore the vehicle, but we need help and support to make the dream a reality. We are hoping to raise £10,000 in total mainly via corporate sponsors, but I wanted to do this half marathon as a way of raising some more in way of contribution.

Big thanks for reading this and hopefully donating too.

Nick