A Ninjaview with Gareth P Jones

Also inside: the storyteller who has climbed volcanoes

From the Editor

Welcome to our second issue of Rising Sun

Magazine. What makes these magazines unique is

that our writers are all aged between twelve and

fourteen.

Once again, a group of London children joined our

Young Reporters scheme, which is part of the

educational outreach activities that occur during the

Asia House Bagri Foundation Festival of Asian

Literature. The group took part in media training

and then used these skills to cover the Family

events.

It was a delight to see this year’s class of Young

Reporters double in size from last year and running a

larger newsroom at times proved to be quite a

challenge for us!

For me, it was again inspiring to see their

development. As they put their training into

practice, I saw the group handle interviewing our

performers with great enthusiasm and confidence—

which even for experienced adults can be a daunting

task.

They encountered writers, storytellers, a rapper and

a Ninja Meerkat. The group were exposed to

professionals who are extremely passionate about

communicating with others, through writing, music,

stories and even origami. I hope this passion is

infectious and that this year’s journalists will apply

the range of skills they learned to their everyday

lives and future careers.

Su-Lin Allen, Asia House

Editor

Meet the team

Tommy Lucy

Oussama Abiola Malcolm

Nikesh Kerry Randall Isabella

Elin

A ninjaview with Gareth P. Jones

Today at the Asia House Bagri Foundation

Literature Festival, Gareth P. Jones a children’s

author came in to talk about his successful series,

‘Ninja Meerkats’. As the event began, the children

shifted excitedly in their seats, waiting eagerly for

Gareth to start. The event started in a lively

manner. The author himself started to sing about

his first book ‘the dragon detective agency’ with a

‘banjolele’ accompaniment. The song lasted for a

few minutes and when it ended there was a huge

round of applause. The children were hooked

already.

He went on to talk about the Ninja Meerkats. The

four main characters in the series are called:

Donnie, Jet, Chuck and Bruce and their sworn

enemy is, ‘the ringleader’. The series is made up of

10 books. The event was filled with many

interactive songs and raps that encouraged the

children (and parents!) to sing along. Next, Jones

brought out a puppet of one of his Ninja Meerkats,

Jet. Jet was very popular amongst children and

parents alike. One parent, Mattao, who

participated in the event, happily said: “My

favourite part was the puppet”. The session ended

with an interactive story, yet another song and a

signing of his books.

The event was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone

involved, including the author himself! He said: “I

love doing events like this, I think it’s because I’m a

bit of a show off, I love showing off my songs and

my books”. One child who was watching, Yoshiki,

said “I liked the event very much”. Clearly the event

was a success.

Now the author is moving onto a new book, a

picture book about dinosaurs, inspired, as many of

his books are, by his 3 year old son Herbie Jack

Indiana Jones. Like the rest of his books, he wrote a

song to go along with it. This one is called the ‘dino

boogie’ and was also loved by the children at the

event.

By Elin and Lucy

Gareth P. Jones entertained the audience with his ‘Ninja Meerkats’ performance

Famous author of ‘Ninja Meerkats’ Gareth P.

Jones was at Asia House on the 17 May 2014. The

Young Reporters interviewed him after his

wonderful performance with a song about Ninja

Meerkats.

Why did you want to write stories?

I wanted to start writing stories because I love

books and stories. I have always loved books and

therefore I would really enjoy it if other people

start to like my hobby too.

Why do you use a banjolele for your show?

Using a banjolele helps the audience to enjoy the

show more, and allows me to enjoy myself

playing some banjolele.

How old are you?

I have just turned 40 years of age, however, I

don’t feel that age, I feel like 16, or 12.

What does the song have to do with the book

you have written?

The song doesn’t really have anything to do

anything with the book. Really, every time I write

a book, I go to a workshop, show the book, and

talk about it, but I really enjoy using a banjolele

and writing a song, inspired by the book. It is also

a way to attract the reader’s attention.

Is there a movie/cartoon about ninja meerkats?

Sadly, there hasn’t been a movie about Ninja

Meerkats. But it is something to think about.

10 minutes with Gareth P. Jones By Oussama

Gareth P. Jones—profile by Randall

Gareth Phillip Jones was born in Birmingham and is 40

years old. “I love stories, I love films, I love theatre

plays”. He now lives in South London and has published

many books.

Gareth Jones was talking about his successful series

‘Ninja Meerkats’ to children and had creative songs

that he wrote with his Banjolele (Banjo + Ukulele). The

children were very excited and later we interviewed

him.

There are a series of ‘Ninja Meerkats’ books for kids 7+.

Ten books of ‘Ninja Meerkats’ have been published

about four Ninja Meerkats named Jet, Donny, Bruce

and Chuck. He was chosen out of 25 people to write a

series of Ninja Meerkat books.

‘The Thornthwaite Inheritence’ is currently his most

popular book and it’s about twins who try to kill each

other. He makes “lots of different types of book” and

says “some are more popular than others”. He has just

finished his new book which is about time travel.

Lucy interviewed Asia House Web Editor Naomi Canton

7:00 – Alarm clock goes off. Time to start the day!

8:00 – Naomi leaves her house and takes the tube to work.

9:00 – She arrives at work and updates the website slider.

9:30 – Time for a staff meeting to report to the rest of Asia House on her schedule for the rest of the week.

10:00 –Time for another meeting, Naomi has a department team meeting. Here she discusses the work for that day with her team and prioritises what needs to be done.

10:30 – Naomi checks her emails and replies to the most urgent ones. She then schedules the tweets for the Asia House twitter account.

11:00 – Naomi writes and edits stories for the Asia House website, many from events she has been to.

1:30 – Lunchtime.

A Day in the Life of a Web Editor

Above Naomi Canton talks to Young Reporters about a career in journalism and her work as Asia House Web Editor

By Lucy

2:00 – After lunch Naomi then commissions more stories for the website.

3:00 – Next she edits stories written by other writers for the website.

4:00 – She produces and publishes stories on the website.

4:30 – What some would call fun, for a web editor is work, as she promotes the latest stories on social media (various twitter accounts, 2 Facebook pages, LinkedIn, 2 Google+ pages etc.)

5:30 – Updates the slider on the website, yet again.

7:00 – Naomi attends an Asia House cultural event to report on it.

8:00-Naomi takes the tube back home.

9:00- Finally time to rest and prepare dinner.

However her days aren’t always as long as this, if there’s not an event on at Asia house, she’ll leave work at 7pm and go to the gym before going back home.

This is a day in the life of Naomi Canton, the hard-working Web Editor of Asia House.

Lucy— Profiled by Oussama

13-years old

Lucy would like to become a doctor when she becomes older.

She came to Asia House because she thought it would be a great

opportunity to learn about journalism.

Her favourite food is Lasagne.

She is from Islington in London.

Her favourite school subjects are English, Maths and Music.

Whilst in Asia House, she enjoyed interviewing the 2014 Literature Festival Director Adrienne Loftus

Parkins.

Naga the Rapper by Randall

Randall— Profiled by Elin

Favourite subject at school is

maths.

Favourite food is Malaysian

food.

Favourite colour is dark blue.

Nationality is a mix of

Malaysian, Chinese, American,

Irish.

He became a young reporter for

the experience.

Plays basketball and badminton.

Chose Mandarin and triple

science for GCSE.

His hobbies are music,

basketball and badminton.

Naga was born in the UK and has a Bangladeshi

background. He is a rapper who also does some

poetry and he’s acted in a film but mainly focuses

on his rapping and beat boxing. Naga (19) was born

in the UK. Young Reporters interviewed him after

he performed at Asia House.

He performs rapping and poetry and has acted in a

horror movie called ‘Comedown’.

He has a YouTube account named

‘Naga MC’ where he makes his

music videos. Fortunately, his

highest amount of views was

around 160,000 views on his

music video called ’Grime Daily’. During our

interview he said “I’ve always been into music; It’s

my passion”.

He started rapping in 2000 and his inspirations are

Tupac Shakur, Benjamin Zephaniah and his older

brother. At first Naga was making poems, but soon

Naga got into rapping and beat boxing and

therefore started performing some raps. Tupac

Shakur was a rapper and actor who sold over 75

million records worldwide. Benjamin Zephaniah,

another source of inspiration for Naga, was an

author who also did some poetry.

Click below for a link to his YouTube channel.

By Randall

“I’ve always

been into

music; It’s

my passion”

Why did you start rapping?

I started rapping because I wanted to copy my

older brother. Every day when I got home from

school, my older brother was in his room making

up lyrics for songs and listening to music. One day,

I wanted to be like him, just like all younger boys

like to copy their big brothers. This is when I

started doing my own poems, which I later edited,

and turned into songs.

Have you produced any raps in the past?

In the past, I have made four raps which have had

a quite successful number of views, between 1,000

and 160,000 views. My most successful song is

called ‘I rep my nation’ which has a total of

161,403 views.

Have you got a YouTube channel and what is it

called?

Indeed, I have a YouTube channel which goes

under the name of Naga MC. I have a lot of

subscribers who comment on my videos, and

masses of followers on social media, like Twitter.

Do you make any money from YouTube?

I have made some money from YouTube.

However, the amount isn’t outstanding.

Where were you born, and what are your origins?

I was born in England, in 1995; however, my

parents were born in Bangladesh.

Do you enjoy/practice sports?

I personally enjoy boxing.

In the past, have you ever taken part in a rapping

or a beat boxing competition?

Yes, in 2005, I took part in a beat boxing

competition. Hundreds of contenders took part. I

won the competition. Personally, I didn’t think I

was good at beat boxing, however the judge chose

me as the ultimate winner of the competition. It

was really a once in a lifetime opportunity which I

am very proud of still today.

Have you ever made a song where the

instrumental features your beat boxing and the

lyrics emphasize your rap?

No, I haven’t done that, however, I am still

thinking about that. Maybe one day, if I am able to

do it, it will be a hit!

5 minutes with Naga By Oussama

Young Reporters meet Naga at the Asia House Bagri Foundation Literature Festival

Follow your passion…

We started off by watching the workshop and

listening to Kumiko Mendl tell a story. We really

enjoyed doing the origami and hearing her story.

From what we saw we know that she really loves

origami and she has a great passion for it. Once she

had completed the workshop we had the chance to

interview her. This was a great opportunity for us to

ask a few questions.

She started off by doing origami when she was very

young and she had learnt it from her mum, who was

also her inspiration to do more. When she was older

she opened a company that runs workshops. She

told us that they tell stories to children with varied

ages, from 3 and above. During these workshops

they use origami to help tell the story. Also, the kids

get to try out making the origami.

One of the first origami she made as a child was the

water bombs. She said she doesn’t really remember

the first ever piece, but this she remembers was one

of the first. She says some of the easiest origami

pieces to make is the flower.

When Kumiko performs in workshops, she always

starts off by showing the children how to do easy

origami so that the children can get used to folding.

She also told us that some of the props in her show

are made out of paper. This gives the performance

that ‘wow’ factor. In one of her stories she placed

origami bunnies around the entrance so it was like a

hunt. The kids had to find the bunnies and find their

way in. She herself said that she really enjoyed that

show in particular. Overall I really enjoyed her show.

Here are some origami tutorials on YouTube:

1. Origami Magic Rose Cube

2. How to "quickly" make an Origami

Magic Ball

3. How to make the origami moving cubes

By Nikesh

A Thousand Cranes

Who inspired you to do origami?

I was inspired by my mum when I was a little girl.

She taught me how to do origami.

Was your mum the reason why you continued it

as an adult?

As I grew up, I actually stopped doing it, but

because I grew up to become a story teller, I

thought it would then be a good idea to continue

it because it will get the kids involved and then it

would get their imaginations going.

What was the easiest origami you’ve made and

what was the hardest?

The easiest origami to make is definitely the

water bombs. On the other hand, the hardest

origami is the dragon.

Have ever made a YouTube channel?

Yes in fact I made a video on how to make an

origami dragon. When I made the video, it took

so long to make the piece it then took up whole

four videos to finish. I also have a website it’s

called “A Thousand Cranes” where I put of the

different events and workshops that are going to

come up.

Here’s the link to Kumiko’s website:

A Thousand Cranes

Kerry — Profiled by Nikesh

She is in Year 10

She is the youngest out of two

sisters.

She has a half-sister, a step dad her

mum has a step dad and he has a

step dad. She has three families

She is an Explorer.

Kerry is scared of clowns!

She likes the film Avengers

Assemble and TV shows Hollyoaks

and Britain’s Got Talent.

She wants to become an author.

She is inspired by Diversity.

By Kerry

Debbie Guneratne is a storyteller. She has told

many stories around the world, but today she has

come to Asia House to tell the kids here her

wonderful stories. Once Debbie finished performing

the Young Reporters then asked her a few

questions.

We asked her why she tells stories and what made

her decide to it. She said “I used to be a teacher

and I loved being around kids, but I thought I could

do something even better so I started to help kids at

a hospital. When I went to the hospital one of the

kids came up to me and asked me if I could tell him

a story. At the time I tried to think of a story-

however I couldn’t. As I couldn’t think of any, I

made one up.

“As I was reading the story to the little boy I

couldn’t finish, as I had to go to a meeting. When I

came back, I saw the little boy and he asked if I

could finish the story. When I finished the story I

saw how much it meant to him - at this moment in

time I felt so happy. When I finished the story that’s

when I knew that’s what I wanted to do for the rest

of my life”.

Story of the Storyteller...

Nikesh— Profiled by Kerry

He is 14 years old.

His birthday is 27 June.

He is in Year 10.

He has a younger brother.

He is a Hindu and is Indian.

He likes origami, adventure games,

mine craft and he also likes

computing (he does it for GCSE).

Nikesh’s favourite show is Arrow

and his favourite films are Avengers

Assemble and Hunger Games.

An interesting fact about Nikesh is

that in WW2 his school and house

was bombed.

Nikesh goes to Explorers.

Listen to the audio of Young

Reporters interviewing Debbie

By Nikesh

Debbie being interviewed by the Young Reporters

Story of the Storyteller...

Meet Debbie, the storyteller who has climbed

volcanoes and travelled the world.

Her journey started in a small village in East Asia.

While every other girl was told to grow up and

work in the household, Debbie was encouraged

by her father to grow up to pursue her dreams.

She set off to England and worked in an office,.

However, she decided that this was not she

wanted to do with her life.

She sold off her possessions and went on a

journey full of discoveries. During this adventure

she climbed volcanoes but the turning point of

her life was on an adventure when she went to a

hospital. She met a young boy who had been

diagnosed with leukaemia. She told him a story

and from that day she decided she would

become a storyteller.

Debbie says that

“storytelling brings out

the child in a person,

no matter what the

age, anyone can sit

down and listen to a story”. She believes that a

story is amazing because stories are always

formed into new stories. She believes that stories

have to be passed down from generation to

generation but she doesn't mind the new

technologies as it allows more people to access

the story.

Aside from stories, Debbie is a surprisingly good

cook and she bakes a lot of cakes. She likes the

atmosphere in Asia House as the high, beautiful

roof encourages looking up. She says "We don't

look up enough; looking up means dreaming".

The large, open windows remind her of her

childhood.

Malcolm— Profiled by Tommy

Malcom is 13 years old.

He has got invited to Asia House by

his school.

He wants to go to China for the

culture and the rich history.

He loves Chinese food.

Malcom is interested in computing

and international cultures.

He would like to work with

technology and engineering.

He finds Asia House influential and

inspiring, because he experienced a

day as a journalist.

By Malcolm

“Storytelling

brings out the

child in a person”

Believe and you’ll achieve

On the 10th May 2014, 14 young teenagers got the

opportunity to go to Asia House. When we got

there we had the chance to meet Ramita Tejpal

editor of AGI magazine. We had the chance to ask

her questions. The session was great as all the

teenagers learned something. As Ramita said, “You

learn something every day”.

How do you know what to write about?

We always have a meeting and have a huge

discussion about what is and what is not going in

the magazine. Then when we are ready to publish

the magazine we are not confused what the issue

is about.

Do You have your own personal photographer?

Yes we do because we can’t take certain pictures

from Google because of copyright. But sometimes

if we do take a picture form Google we then have

to pay as it doesn't belong to us.

Why is it so important to stick to the same topic

and not suddenly change it

It is so very important to stick to the topic. For

example, now I'm answering your question, but if I

suddenly talk about Justin Bieber, you will then be

confused. So therefore we must not do that to our

audience.

Also when writing you must always be original,

making it original will make it stand out from the

crowd and will get more attention as you haven't

heard what that person will say.

By Kerry

Left: AGI Magazine covers

often use faces as it attracts

more people.

Right: Young Reporters look

other magazine covers we find

appealing.

Ramita the Editor of AGI Magazine meets the Young Reporters

On the 10th May, 2014, several selected students

from various schools were sent to Asia House to

learn about journalism.

A woman called Ramita Tejpal, who works for

Asian Global Impact, a popular magazine

company, came to talk to the Young Reporters

about newspapers, magazines, and front covers.

Apparently, finding the right front cover is a very

difficult decision, because firstly, you can’t use any

images from the Internet because that is

copyright, so you have to use your own images,

and secondly, it is a very psychological business.

You have to find the right font, size, colour, image,

title, etc. etc.

Tejpal made a discovery that using faces on the

front cover actually attracts more people. When

we asked if they had psychologists to help them,

she replied: “Yes, they do help us often”.

When asked what her advice

would be for the young

reporters, she said: “You

need to have confidence in

your work,” and “You need

to be passionate about what

you write.”

Elin— Profiled by Randall

She is 13 years old.

What is your favourite food?

Sushi.

What is your nationality?

Icelandic and Swiss.

Why did you go to Asia House?

To gain experience for future life.

What do you want to be in the future?

A private equity lawyer

What are your favourite sports?

Basketball.

What are your GCSEs?

Mandarin and Drama.

What are your Hobbies?

Reading manga and fan fiction, watching

anime and latest movies, fashion, collecting

coins from different countries.

By Elin

“You need to be

passionate

about what you

write.”

Mountains, ogres and cranes - these are just

some of the old Japanese tales told by Kumiko

Mendl to eager children at Asia House on 17th

May 2014.

Today children were entertained about stories

outlining love and greed from ancient Japan. The

stories were mostly about nature and the

history of the mountains in Japan. These stories

engaged the listeners and they got across a

moral message.

One of the stories included an interesting tale of

a crane that transformed into a lady and used

her flamboyant feathers to create a beautiful

cloth for a woodcutter who saved her from

being crushed by a rock. As a result of this

fascinating story, the young audience was able

to understand the importance of love, kindness

and that a deed is repaid by a deed.

Some of these stories could also scare children.

An instance of this was when she told a story

about child-eating ogres in the high mountains

of Japan. However the intended effect was to

warn children of the dangers of climbing

mountains.

The stories were told with simple but vivid props

that are from Japanese culture, for example bold

hand-crafted fans. Therefore, this brought the

children closer to other cultures and brought

their creative imaginations to life.

From Ancient Japan to London Today

By Tommy and Malcolm

On Saturday 10th May, a former radio presenter

Sutish Sharma was giving a lecture to youth

about working towards their aspirations. Here

are some more details.

To begin with, Sutish explained that he is now a

producer, but has a history in the media. He

spoke about how to get a great job.

“You would need to gain every single experience

possible and work hard to gain a job, earning you

the best possible wages - unless your family are

wealthy enough.”

Here, he seemed to be outlining the realistic

needs to earn great wages, therefore giving the

youth the knowledge needed for later life.

Parents may agree that lectures like these should

be compulsory for young people to hear,

especially during a period of time when most

students do not understand that education is the

key to success.

However, some may argue that this stereotype of

“ignorant school pupils” is unwarranted.

In conclusion, children that work hard to achieve

and who are able to overcome this stereotype

deserve success.

From Ancient Japan to London Today Sutish Sharma – Aspiring Future

Tommy — Profiled by Malcolm

Tommy is 13 years old.

He enjoys egg fried rice.

He is interested in programming,

computer science and mathematics.

He was invited to Asia House by his

school.

He is Doing GCSE in Mandarin.

His favourite book is ‘Demonata:

Lord Loss’ by Darren Shan.

His favourite sport is hockey.

By Tommy

How to Rise in Radio

Giving us an exclusive insight into the world of

broadcasting, Sutish Sharma tells his story of how

he rose through the ranks in the media industry.

So Sutish, why don’t you tell us a little bit about

yourself?

Well, I started off doing Chemistry at university but

I then changed my mind. I was on a film set with

my dad and brother and I really enjoyed it, so I

pursued radio and film from then on.

So what was your next step to further pursue

your dream?

I started off in a small radio job and slowly looked

for bigger jobs and I soon got one in the BBC. What

I learned was that you must always have a body of

work! You must always build up good experience

to move on to the next stage.

What was your job in the BBC? And are you still

working there now?

Umm, I was a producer (the decision maker). I did

it for a while but I soon applied for a radio licence

and got it!

I owned a station for a few years but I gave it up

and started writing and producing films, which I

am doing now.

And are you working on anything at the moment?

Yes, I am producing a murder-mystery film which

will be out on Sky Atlantic next year.

I’ll be sure to look out for it! You seem to have

been very successful. Do you have any tips for any

wannabe young reporters or wannabe movie

producers?

Yes, as I had said earlier, you must always have a

body of work. It is very important when going to

interviews for jobs. For example in journalism, you

need to demonstrate that you have done many

different things and have different experiences, so

therefore you have more knowledge than the

person before and after you. It gives you a better

chance. And write, always write. In this age, ideas

are worth money.

By Isabella

Sutish talks about his career with the Young Reporters

Isabella—Profiled by Abiola

13-years old.

Interested in acting and LOVES to

read a different variety of love

stories. She is also interested in

playing instruments but especially

piano. Enjoys politics.

Star sign: Aries

Favourite food: Italian cuisine and

chewing gum.

Talents: Sports, writing stories and

acting.

Dream: To become famous in media

career.

Colours: Pink and black.

Subject: Drama and Music and

Humanities.

Travel: America, Ibiza, Eritrea, Italy,

France, Morocco, China.

And any reporting/writing tips?

Well…when starting off a piece the first line is

always the most important. The first message you

put across is the one you want your readers to

remember. A very famous method is the diamond

method which I would strongly advise you to look

into. Your readers must learn something new and

skills for journalism are skills for life.

Thank you very much Sutish

for this very interesting

information which I am sure

young readers were dying for!

No problem, and thank you for

listening.

“Your readers

must learn

something new

and skills for

journalism are

sills for life”

Striking Storytelling

Meet the storytelling actress with a lot of passion

for her Japanese culture, who tells stories of love

and excitement, which some would agree have

morals and lessons. Today we had the chance to

experience Kumiko Mendl’s gripping storytelling

and spoke to her about the reasons behind this

career choice.

Have you been telling the stories for long?

Yes. And No. The show we performed today was

actually created in 2006.

Is there a moral to your stories?

I don’t necessarily think so. It might have a

message. I do all types of different stories, but

usually when I work with children we want to leave

them with a sense of hope.

Why do you choose to write stories to children?

I always think there isn’t enough theatre work with

children. They should get quality performances.

Also, children are straight to the point and

therefore you know whether your performance is

really good or not.

Did you grow up with Japanese stories?

A little bit, but because I am an actor, I needed to be

aware of my heritage as agencies are always looking

out for things which make you unique.

Are you inspired by the children that watch you?

Yes, its great seeing the children enjoy it. It helps

overcome my nerves.

How do you feel before your performance?

A lot of the time I feel quite nervous. I get this

feeling because if you are not nervous you won’t

put enough effort into your performance.

What are these particular stories based on?

Legends, folk/fairy tales and Buddhist influence.

How would describe yourself in three words?

Well that’s a good question! Ha-ha, well…friendly,

energised and excitable!

Do you think that storytelling has influenced your

personality?

That’s just me!

Could you describe yourself negatively?

Yeah…I have a lack of self-confidence.

Well thank you for the interview, Kumiko!

By Abiola and Isabella

Kumiko during her performance at Asia House

Are you inspired by the children that watch you?

Yes, its great seeing the children enjoy it. It helps

overcome my nerves.

How do you feel before your performance?

A lot of the time I feel quite nervous. I get this

feeling because if you are not nervous you won’t

put enough effort into your performance.

What are these particular stories based on?

Legends, folk/fairy tales and Buddhist influence.

How would describe yourself in three words?

Well that’s a good question! Ha-ha, well…friendly,

energised and excitable!

Do you think that storytelling has influenced your

personality?

That’s just me!

Could you describe yourself negatively?

Yeah…I have a lack of self-confidence.

Well thank you for the interview, Kumiko!

Abiola—Profiled by Isabella

Age: 13.

Interests: Likes singing and dancing

at home, talking, sports, dressing up,

drawing, acting and Astrology.

Star Sign: Scorpio.

Favourite Subjects: Loves All

Subjects.

Favourite Colours: Black, White, Red.

Visited Countries: France, USA,

Ireland, Turkey.

Favourite Food: Pizza, Noodles.

Listen to the audio of Abiola and

Isabella interviewing Kumiko

An Interview with Jenny Rogers

Jenny Rogers is an author, coach and editor who

writes coaching and career help books. She is

most famous for her books ‘Coaching Skills: a

Handbook’ and ‘Adults Learning’.

Jenny has always loved writing, saying that she

starting writing at four years-old. She said: “One of

my earliest memories was of writing a story about

a mouse - not that I could write very well, just

enough to make marks on the paper - I remember

handing the piece of paper to my mother and

asking her to turn it into a book for me”.

Jenny is clearly passionate about writing. “I know

it sounds like a bit of a strange thing to say,” she

says with a laugh, “but writing is like an itch I’ve

got to scratch. When I’m not writing it feels as if

something is missing.” She adds that between

writing her books there’s a time when she starts to

miss writing and says to herself: “Oh no, I haven’t

got a book.” She then goes on to say: “Even on

holiday I’m writing. My family thinks it’s strange,

they just see it as work, but for me it’s much more

than that.”

She says that part of the reason why she enjoys

writing so much is because: “I want to convey

what I know to other people.” She wrote the first

edition of ‘Coaching Skills: a Handbook’ because

she saw the other coaching books on the market

and thought: “It wasn’t the kind of thing I would

have wanted when I started out coaching.” She

said it made coaching seem too easy and as if it

always had a happy ending. Jenny is praised for

her down-to-earth style of writing, her books

giving the reader something that will genuinely

help them in their coaching careers.

Of course, like all authors she receives some

criticism. When asked how she responds to this,

she joked: “Well my first response is to be

annoyed… but if it’s a good suggestion or

constructive criticism then obviously I’ll take it into

account when writing my next book.”

Jenny’s career as an editor also started at a young

age, when she began editing and writing for the

school magazine. At university she became the

editor of one of the magazines there, adding:

“That was where I met my husband, Alan. He was

the editor of the university paper, so we were both

editors.” She chuckles saying, “Of course his was

much more serious than mine.” Whilst doing a

post-grad course at Oxford she became the editor

of yet another small magazine. Jenny hasn’t

forgotten her roots, as she enjoys editing with the

occasional piece of freelance journalism.

So, what’s next for this amazing author?

A new book of course! And this time, it’s about her

coaching experiences!

By Lucy

Young Reporter Lucy in action.

Asia House is an organisation which focuses on

Asia, housed in an 18th-century listed building in

London. It was first established in 1996, and is still

running now in 2014.The organisation has only

one mission: to bring the UK and Asia closer

together. Throughout the year, Asia House runs

programmes which feature Asian culture,

literature and festivals. The two main festivals are

on literature and film, and art exhibitions run

throughout the year. Also, it reaches out to those

of all ages by organising family days and

workshops.

Asia House is located at 63 New Cavendish Street,

near Oxford Circus in central London. Asia House

has had many workshops which involved famous

personalities of a high status like Mark Canning

who is the Indonesian ambassador. This other side

of Asia House explores business, politics and

commerce.

Asia House. What is it?

Oussama— Profiled by Lucy

13 years old.

Interested in journalism.

Enjoyed interviewing Naga because

he was an interesting person to talk

to.

Favourite food is pizza.

Is from France.

Favourite subject is PE.

Wants to be a football player,

supports Arsenal.

Likes to play football, play ps4 and

sleep!

By Oussama

Top— Authors Tash Aw and Yiyun Li talk at the Literature Festival.

Above— Mark Canning, Ambassador to Indonesia at a business talk.

Young Reporter Lucy in action.

Find out more

www.asiahouse.org