Along the forest floor, part III ,
artsmonkey's posterous
Mr Punch ,
Watched a young aspiring actor Ricky (Ricki? sp) Fox work his socks off this weekend as childrens entertainer at a five years olds birthday party. The highlight for me was the all too brief Punch & Judy show - timeless.
Along the forest floor, part II
Along the forest floor , part I
Lessons learnt
I was going to write a post about Tents but somewhat sheepishly I stopped myself realising that would be like suddenly waking up and discovering I'm old. Although, that said, between you and me I know that I am not the only one who gets excited about tents, as borne out by all the excited people wandering round the camping store at Frensham Garden Centre in Surrey yesterday (we were just passing, honest!) in the pouring rain, going in pretty much every single one of the thirty plus tents on display... anyway, I'm not talking about that, it's behind me (but I may have to go back sometime soon).
More importantly (in the grand scheme of things) is learning lessons from the past and so when I started to read Lloyd Davis's post about the Time/Image project
http://lloyddavis.posterous.com/timeimage-tuttle-c4cc-the-british-council-fil
and then clicked on the link to watch 'Picadilly Circus' directed by Richard Massingham and filmed in 1942/43, I literally lost time as I was sucked into a delightful and beautifully observed film based on a day in and around Picadilly Circus back in the forties.
There are more of these film gems, such as 'The Answer' and 'The Architects' all digitised as a result of the Time/Image project see here http://film.britishcouncil.org/piccadilly-roundabout somewhat typically of large organisations you glean little of the background to the project from the British Film Councils website but the good news is, that Lloyd is currently offering to bring one (or perhaps two) of these films to your community by way of a 'pop-up' cinema - a cracking idea and a great way to get the conversation going about digitising local archives, setting up a digitally based local history project for future generations ......? Something that could involve all those young people in your community who have the technology and the know-how perhaps?
If you're interested, or just want to know more about how it could work then you can contact Lloyd here: lloyd.davis@gmail.com or via twitter @LloydDavis
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lloyddavis
"Lloyd Davis is a popular figure on the London Social Media Scene. Lloyd has been blogging and podcasting since 2004 and with a diverse background that includes theatre, information management and public service he has acquired a unique, in-depth and practical understanding of how to use media and social networks on the web to build and sustain rich relationships online and off."
Half way through the woods...
“Sometimes people leave you, half way through the wood. Do not let it grieve you. No one leaves for good. You are not alone. No one is alone”
Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods
Yesterday I took the dog for a walk through Blackmoor Copse, a nature reserve managed by the Wiltshire Wildlife trust. No one day is ever the same in the woods, there are always new sights and sounds as the weather and the seasons change. A pair of sparrow hawks drifting above the treetops looking for food, bluebells, primroses and wood anemones flourishing after the April rains, tiny purple violets hiding under the green leafy undergrowth…
Yesterday was more of a paddle than a walk as the footpaths had become shallow streams and I slithered and skittered along trying to keep up with the dog whose paws were immune to the wet clay and leaf mould clinging to my wellies. We were both enjoying the carpets of wildflowers along the paths and stretching into the wooded copse when we came across a tree whose lower branches spread across our way, placed within the trunk someone had left a laminated photograph of a handsome smiling man. I nearly didn’t look, it felt suddenly too much like a private event, something intensely personal, perhaps tragic and it read, like a lovers message, a memory of a smiling man who was no longer here; or perhaps there in the woods was exactly where you might find him, should you be looking…
The discovery subdued our squelchy trudge back along Bens Lane, to where we had left the car. I was curious and I was hoping the internet might shine a light and that it wouldn’t be sad but reveal a more romantic tale or a mysterious one. It didn’t take me long to find the link to the momento mori here http://steveday.co.uk/pp.html and I’m glad I looked. It’s still a tale half told but half a lovers tale is better than none.
The day The Queen came
Pondering along Penarth Pier
There is something about the British coast that pulls me like a magnet. I love the wildness of it in the north and also the shabby chic and the grandiose-ness of it to the south. Penarth, just west of Cardiff Bay is a tiny piece of our coastline in transition, Once separate to, it has now been subsumed by Cardiff and its avaricious building programme so that it's hard to tell where Cardiff ends and Penarth begins. The Lifeboat Station and the Sailing Club provide an echo of its fishing and seafaring heritage and the Esplanade and elegant pier with it’s peeling Pavillion speak of happy days by the sea, laughter and fond memories, hunting for fossils on the shoreline.
The Pavillion is closed, which is such a shame because Cardiff needs to retain it’s heritage or it is in danger of becoming a ‘toy town’ where the new builds (kiss me quick developments) which seem modern and shiny now, don’t look like they are built to age gracefully. The good news is a Heritage Lottery Fund award last year means Penarth Pavillion can be saved for prosperity. A Hotel opposite was demolished to make way for a very brown, bland block of flats not at all in keeping with the charm of the Esplanade. A pity we’ve learnt so little from the visionary Victorian builders who knew that building was more than a scale drawing and bricks and mortar.
Penarth Esplanade draws you there, exuding charm enough on rainy days to help you see past all the ‘kiss me quicks’ and make you stop and sit a while, wondering who might have the vision to rescue the Pavillion and what will the flats look like that will be replacing the row of shops that have been demolished and where all that remain are the two twin Victorian towers and the thin façade held up by sturdy steel scaffolding.
From Penarth you look across the Bristol Channel (Severn Estuary) to Weston Super Mare and the north Devon coast. Your eyes might skip over to the giant industrial installations along Cardiff Bay with the iconic Millenium Centre singing out in the sunshine in protest (perhaps) ‘within these stones horizons sing’ further on to the west, Barry Island and the smoking chimney stacks of Port Talbot are hidden from view around the corner. You can also see the two islands of Flat Holme and Steep Holme which are well worth a boat trip, even a stop over maybe?
You can see more photos here: http://issuu.com/artsmonkey/docs/penarth_jlb/1
http://www.flatholmeisland.com http://www.steepholme.org.uk/page/home
http://www.penarthvineyard.co.uk/ http://www.penarth-online.co.uk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/sites/penarth/pages/article_davidowen.shtml
Cardiff Blues
It's been a long time since I mentioned Rugby, but yesterday found me at Cardiff City Stadium for the RaboDirect Pro12 match (I have no idea what that means or what a company somewhat unimaginatively called 'Rabo' could possibly do) Cardiff Blues versus Edinburgh.
My live rugby watching experience was transformed. Firstly you can park at the Stadium (possibly because there were only 3.5k people present for this match) and secondly it's clean, drinks and refreshments are reasonably priced and everyone was helpful and friendly, and thirdly, although international players were playing in the match including Dan Parks, Gethin Jenkins, Alex Cuthbert and Chris Paterson (who can kick a pretty mean ball and is clearly deserving of similarly entitled accolades) it wasn't an international game so there was no constant invasion of the pitch by water carriers, first aiders and god knows who else, to the point where you find it hard to know where to look. I really enjoyed the game, you can see highlights here once its posted http://www.cardiffblues.com/rugby/rabodirect_pro12_tv.php
It was also Martyn Williams retiring game so worth the two hour drive to see that and for Cardiff Blues to win 38 - 13. I may even go again, I might even catch the ball next time it fires towards me at twenty miles an hour (now I know you're allowed to, instead of emitting a girly shriek and batting it away from me).
On the Slopes pt 1.
A Ski holiday can be great fun, there is something about snow that makes it so enticing. I know people who love it so much they go for weekend ski trips. The ski schools work especially hard. I met the lovely Ursula in Villars this year, she was ski-ing with her son and grandchildren and we passed a lovely trip up the mountain on the train discussing history and the battle of Hastings. It's a very sociable activity and there's something about a steaming hot chocolate, squinting into the sun and the crunch of snow that makes it all quite magical. The downside is working out the ski routes, ski passes and weather conditions (ie will conditions be best in the morning - probably) also trudging distances in your ski-boots and carrying the other kit... which is why unless you go with someone who knows the ropes it's easier to bite the bullet and pay for an all in package. If you're a non ski-er getting around the mountain is easier in summer (frankly) but there are usually some walking routes open (and snow shoe hire) or you can just chill with a hot chocolate admiring the views or explore the mountains and lower slopes by car (provided you're confident driving twisty, turning mountain roads) the views are always breathtaking. We spent two days in cloud cover and even that was atmospheric, evoking lots of '70s movie memories.
