Bristol activators Jo Chesterman and Kate Staniforth have put together “The Little Book of Playing Out” – a fun collection of ideas and suggestions on how to keep playing out sessions running smoothly. It includes recipes for cakes – perfect for sharing with stewards and neighbours – as well as recipes for making giant bubbles and fizzing paint mixture for children to use on pavements and the street space. In addition there are skipping rhymes and top tips for enjoying organising sessions.

Here’s what inspired them to get writing and designing this summer…..

Kate:  “We’ve both been working as Playing Out activators in different communities in Bristol and have gathered so many ideas, observations and experiences from the people we’ve met. And of course we have both been doing playing out on our own streets for some time. We thought it would be great to work together on something creative and hopefully useful for other streets to have.”

Jo: “I’m a bit partial to little books about things and I thought lots of information could be shared in a really fun way. I also thought Kate and I would really enjoy the process of working together.

We’ve drawn from our own experiences as street organisers and area activators from the streets we’ve supported along the way and from the Bristol and national Facebook community. We thought back to when we started our own sessions and what would be helpful to know alongside all the practical guidance. Our booklet aims to be a really informal collection of our thoughts and ideas.”

Kate: “I learnt a lot of skipping rhymes one wet Sunday at an event in Bristol and I draw on those rhymes every time I go to a new street or event. Putting them into the Little Book of Playing Out means we can share with the wider playing out network. Jo is a fantastic baker (and bubble maker!) so she was great at having ideas for the recipes section. We’re sure people will have loads of their own additions to our mini-book and hope it encourages people to share those with everyone.”

You can download and print out The Little Book of Playing Out from our website here. Do share your own ideas about what makes your playing out sessions enjoyable to run and be part of on the Facebook group.