To begin our creative adventure let’s explore the Iron Age that we have stepped into. A time of mighty battles, courageous warriors, magnificent horses, rushing rivers and wild woods where wolves roam. Look around you at this luscious green patch of land. There are fields and forests everywhere. Dotted around the land are round houses where people live. These days we call an Iron Age settlement such as this an ‘oppidum.’ The people who live in the oppidum are part of the Iceni tribe. They work as farmers, peaceful folk who respect the natural world. They love the land they farm and look after their animals – horses, sheep, cows and goats. There are lots of other oppida (that’s lots of oppidums) throughout the land and sometimes Iceni farmers travel from one oppida to another to trade cows and sheep in exchange for food. They may even have to travel through the dark surrounding forests where wolves prowl. Can you hear that wolf howl-ing in the distance? Or is it just the wind? At this time Boudica has lost her husband Prasutagus.

The Romans have tried to take his land. Along with her two daughters Boudica has risen up against the Romans in passion and fury. The Iceni are fiercely loyal to their formidable leader and follow her into battle. They don’t want to be bossed around by Romans any more. The Iceni don’t have the sophisticated armies of the Romans. Instead they have forged spears from iron – it wasn’t called the Iron Age for nothing you know.

Now that we’ve learned lots about the Iceni of the Iron Age let’s get the creative juices flowing. Take a blank page. The idea is to fill it with words. Imagine the Iron Age. Write down the first words that spring to mind. This is called Free Writing. Relax and let your imagination run free.

Here are some of my ideas:

Vibrant, spearmint green, rich earth, roaring fires, proud people, horses prance, carrot stew, whip-ping wind, crimson berries, babbling brook, fierce battle march