A new creative writing group will be starting at The Phoenix community centre in Castlehill this month.

The free group, which will hold its first session on January 15 from 12.30pm to 2pm, is for anyone interested in creative writing, from beginners to those with a bit more experience.

Oli Higham, who is pastor of the Rock Community Church and will be taking the sessions, told the Reporter: “It will be fun and interactive. We will be doing stuff around poetry and prose.

“We will do some writing exercises together and there will be homework challenges. Some people, however, might just want to engage with it by coming along, while others might want to take ideas and develop them.

“It is really for anyone, those that have made a New Year’s resolution to try something new or those that have a bit of experience. It is abut people coming together to share their talents.”

The weekly event will be the first in a series of arts-type sessions which the centre would like to introduce over the next year and is just one of a number of regular activities planned at the Phoenix.

Oli added: “If people people have other creative ideas they would like to explore please get in contact with us.”

Other weekly sessions and classes include a junior and senior youth café on Mondays and Thursdays, a circuits fitness class on Tuesdays, a community café on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and a stretch and silence exercise class on Sunday evenings.

A more structured group called Tots ‘n’ You is also starting on January 16 and will run every Wednesday from 10am to 11.30am.

Aimed at pre-school kids and their parents, the first block will focus on baking by having fun in the kitchen and learning new skills.