Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Thighs
Thigh emergency. , surely 8 weeks walking would have done a beyonce ?
Sadly not
Am sat in Kent bored stupid missing donkeys and worrying about swine flu
Discovered that luke has got it in hospital
Am now regretting whipping my mask off and kissing him ( nice though
it was) it is probably time for a drink 12.08 pm
Sadly not
Am sat in Kent bored stupid missing donkeys and worrying about swine flu
Discovered that luke has got it in hospital
Am now regretting whipping my mask off and kissing him ( nice though
it was) it is probably time for a drink 12.08 pm
Sent from my iPhone
Monday, 16 August 2010
Home in the garden
Monday pm have just mowed the really long grass back in my garden
I feel calm and not as bleak as I thought I might
Need to recap the last week just so I can remember for posterity
The last few days became a bit of a blur as more and more people
joined us
We stayed at the fountain inn in parkend and it was packed with people
camping and walking with us
I could feel myself retreating and wanting solitary time to share with
just me and the beasts
Utterly selfish but true
The last day was quite an adventure
Sue whose small holding we were staying on for the final weekend came
and walked with us said she knew a lovely route to the farm
It was lovely and rocky and a bit dangerous and long and up and down
and through amazing forest and rutted tracks , exciting and
challenging, lots of pushing and shoving , pulling the cart and archie
our amazing cart donkey pulled like he had never pulled
Head down, heavy breath and always stoic.
We got in late and then piers toby and I had to go and see molly in a
show
Crazy evening
I feel calm and not as bleak as I thought I might
Need to recap the last week just so I can remember for posterity
The last few days became a bit of a blur as more and more people
joined us
We stayed at the fountain inn in parkend and it was packed with people
camping and walking with us
I could feel myself retreating and wanting solitary time to share with
just me and the beasts
Utterly selfish but true
The last day was quite an adventure
Sue whose small holding we were staying on for the final weekend came
and walked with us said she knew a lovely route to the farm
It was lovely and rocky and a bit dangerous and long and up and down
and through amazing forest and rutted tracks , exciting and
challenging, lots of pushing and shoving , pulling the cart and archie
our amazing cart donkey pulled like he had never pulled
Head down, heavy breath and always stoic.
We got in late and then piers toby and I had to go and see molly in a
show
Crazy evening
The last day was wet but fine
Zoe and deborah both did brilliant workshops which were really well
attended
I had wondered what Deborah would do with the chair
Fantastic
A group workshop with people taking it in turn to sit on the chair and
others to offer suggestions as to what they needed to feel at home
We then talked collectively that night around the fire to our visitors
about our jounrney
The next day was achingly sad
Loading the donkeys not easy at all
Vehicles breaking down and a reminder of how unreliable mechanical
things are! The donkeys never broke down!
I am so proud that we did it
No accidents, no injuries, no sick donkeys
There are so many things that I want to record and not forget
Bullet point again:
Toby taking me to a river spot that he found on the last day , skinny
dipping with me and admitting that he would miss the trip and the
walking
Cooking on a fire
Sleeping out and feeling the weight and sheer majesty of the night sky
Walking all day next to an animal
Seeing a group of people walk in rhythm with the donkey and a peace
and tranquility descend on all
The sound of the leather panniers creaking
Living outside
All I need packed up and on the donkeys
The simplicity
So my last blog, I've enjoyed tapping my funny little phone quite a lot
I weighed my self today
10 stone
I sort of didn't care which is pretty unusual,
Thanks to all who made it possible there are so many
My family have been pretty amazing
But special thanks to the donkeys
I'm sad to end this blog as it means the trip is over
Would like to write something very meaningful but unfortunately can't
think of anything
Bye blog , bye project, bye donkeys, bye artists
Thankyou all xxxx
Sent from my iPhone
home
am sat at my computer
jasper is barking outside so the neighbours will know we are at home woops
realise that I have writeen so fairly bleak last day thoughts and possibly am sounding like an emotional spolit wreck
will write proper a little bit later
but you know what
it was bloody bloody bloody brilliant
every bit, every ached, every hate of my husband, every love of my husband every thing
every step
xxxxxxxxx
happy to be alivexxxx
Sunday, 15 August 2010
Packing up
Sundayvmorning sat next to the hull of my tent , everything everywhere
we have all had a huge last breakfast and we are all trying not to
face the inevitable
The final pack
Everything is suddenly very important and heavy with meaning
The saddles and panniers look sad and reproachful and in can't bear
the thought of them rotting in a garage
The camp yesterday was great
So many people for workshops
The workshops were brilliant
Sally Hampson week two artist came back which was lovely
Will write up a good account or yesterday but just need to record now
Am overwhelmed already with feeling of loss
And can't really look at the donkeys
Particularly merlin and archie who will go back to Somerset and we may
never see them again
I have secretly fallen innlive with both of them
Archie for his stoicism, bravery and quiet ability to pull the cart
through whatever he was presented with and rise to the challenge
Merlin for his sleek beauty, his doleful eyes, his blackness and his
soft as velevt patch between his front legs
Merlin who is sensual and loves a scratch , a stroke , will push other
donkeys out of the way to get more attention
Merlin I have fallen for you and do not want to say goodbye
we have all had a huge last breakfast and we are all trying not to
face the inevitable
The final pack
Everything is suddenly very important and heavy with meaning
The saddles and panniers look sad and reproachful and in can't bear
the thought of them rotting in a garage
The camp yesterday was great
So many people for workshops
The workshops were brilliant
Sally Hampson week two artist came back which was lovely
Will write up a good account or yesterday but just need to record now
Am overwhelmed already with feeling of loss
And can't really look at the donkeys
Particularly merlin and archie who will go back to Somerset and we may
never see them again
I have secretly fallen innlive with both of them
Archie for his stoicism, bravery and quiet ability to pull the cart
through whatever he was presented with and rise to the challenge
Merlin for his sleek beauty, his doleful eyes, his blackness and his
soft as velevt patch between his front legs
Merlin who is sensual and loves a scratch , a stroke , will push other
donkeys out of the way to get more attention
Merlin I have fallen for you and do not want to say goodbye
Sent from my iPhone
Saturday, 14 August 2010
All over
I am sat in the van in the co op p
Car park in lydney about to do a shop for the weekend camp and last
night
Have a dark feeling in my belly like a hangover but not
Feeling of confusion , a need to cry and a sense of " what now?"
Also small forays into the world make me wonder what did we create
When did we lose ourselves and a grip on reality
Who invented plastic and why is there so much of it
Will write up yesterdays journey as it was pretty mega with some
fairly big near misses in it
Now o need to enter the co op
It was raining badly this morning which hasn't done much to lift my mood
Car park in lydney about to do a shop for the weekend camp and last
night
Have a dark feeling in my belly like a hangover but not
Feeling of confusion , a need to cry and a sense of " what now?"
Also small forays into the world make me wonder what did we create
When did we lose ourselves and a grip on reality
Who invented plastic and why is there so much of it
Will write up yesterdays journey as it was pretty mega with some
fairly big near misses in it
Now o need to enter the co op
It was raining badly this morning which hasn't done much to lift my mood
Sent from my iPhone
Thursday, 12 August 2010
Coming to an end
Haven't written for days as the events have rather overtaken
everything else
Briefly:
Radio four were great, maggie Ayre and clare balding
Realise jn hindsight that clare is an icon to many people but as none
of us watch any sport none ofnus realised
Dad couldn't belive it , i love clare balding he kept saying
Well so did we and her producer was lush
Started to rain quite seriously after she went and we were staying in
a field behind speech houise in the forest
Piers and I decidednto go on a date as the group fairly small and
wehavw hardly done anything romantic for weeks
Just as our main course arrived my phone rings
It is luke extremely old friend of mine and piers , Tobys godfather ,
hebhad been out walking with us near the start and was heading to
Australia to emigrate.
Very quickly he told me that his leukimia which he had had a bone
marrow transplant for had returned , he was sorry to bother us as he
knew that we only had a week left but unforunately so did he
potentially only have a week left
Unbelievable
We left our meal and returned to the camp
Things went from bad to worse as Scott got his knickers in a twist
about a conversation with piers , he had had too many beers and
basically tried to pick a fight
Piers had to call me from my tent as he thought there may be a child
protection issue
Oh god oh god , I was really angry as actually piers and I had enough
yo deal with
We all walked on weds
Scott refusing to speak
Me and piers gutted about luke
It rained much of the day
Scott tried to get me to arrange for him to go home
I refused until he spoke to piers and sorted it out
For gods sake it was the last thing that weneeded
Piers was brilliant and it was sorted
I went to London yesterday to see my darling luke
The camp and donkeys rested
The artists pleased to have a day to work
Heavenly place in the pludds
Views for miles, across to wales and over the forest
Can still see may hill
Surreal on the train, felt calm, had washed and even shaved my legs
Got there early so ended up buying a dress out if sheer nerves and not
knowing what to do
Went to the hospital
My beautiful , honest, old soul friend who is one of the true real
loves in my life is dying
Had to wear a stupid mask which didn't go with my dress, he
appreciated the dress and the shaved legs
Spent four hours on and off with him
He is calm and totally accepting so I will be too
Want moments to hang on forever and somehow say the most meaningful
thing but of course neither is possible
Took my mask off at the end , threw the other visitors out and climbed
on to the bed and clungon to my dear friend.
Luke , you have been everything to me and my family and friends
We kissed and I wanted to bundle him into my bag and bring him back to
the forest and lay him down by the fire and see the shooting stars
everything else
Briefly:
Radio four were great, maggie Ayre and clare balding
Realise jn hindsight that clare is an icon to many people but as none
of us watch any sport none ofnus realised
Dad couldn't belive it , i love clare balding he kept saying
Well so did we and her producer was lush
Started to rain quite seriously after she went and we were staying in
a field behind speech houise in the forest
Piers and I decidednto go on a date as the group fairly small and
wehavw hardly done anything romantic for weeks
Just as our main course arrived my phone rings
It is luke extremely old friend of mine and piers , Tobys godfather ,
hebhad been out walking with us near the start and was heading to
Australia to emigrate.
Very quickly he told me that his leukimia which he had had a bone
marrow transplant for had returned , he was sorry to bother us as he
knew that we only had a week left but unforunately so did he
potentially only have a week left
Unbelievable
We left our meal and returned to the camp
Things went from bad to worse as Scott got his knickers in a twist
about a conversation with piers , he had had too many beers and
basically tried to pick a fight
Piers had to call me from my tent as he thought there may be a child
protection issue
Oh god oh god , I was really angry as actually piers and I had enough
yo deal with
We all walked on weds
Scott refusing to speak
Me and piers gutted about luke
It rained much of the day
Scott tried to get me to arrange for him to go home
I refused until he spoke to piers and sorted it out
For gods sake it was the last thing that weneeded
Piers was brilliant and it was sorted
I went to London yesterday to see my darling luke
The camp and donkeys rested
The artists pleased to have a day to work
Heavenly place in the pludds
Views for miles, across to wales and over the forest
Can still see may hill
Surreal on the train, felt calm, had washed and even shaved my legs
Got there early so ended up buying a dress out if sheer nerves and not
knowing what to do
Went to the hospital
My beautiful , honest, old soul friend who is one of the true real
loves in my life is dying
Had to wear a stupid mask which didn't go with my dress, he
appreciated the dress and the shaved legs
Spent four hours on and off with him
He is calm and totally accepting so I will be too
Want moments to hang on forever and somehow say the most meaningful
thing but of course neither is possible
Took my mask off at the end , threw the other visitors out and climbed
on to the bed and clungon to my dear friend.
Luke , you have been everything to me and my family and friends
We kissed and I wanted to bundle him into my bag and bring him back to
the forest and lay him down by the fire and see the shooting stars
Came back , the ever brilliant jez picked me up , toby was there and
cried to hear how ill luke was
And so we have two days left , a long day today with friends joining
and other walkers
You will be in my head and heart luke
Sent from my iPhone
Monday, 9 August 2010
Forest and toshers tipple
Gorgeous day, walked up from newnham , a total gaggle of us 26 of us
ranging from 1-74
Stopped at the top of newnham hill to see "the best view in
Gloucestershire" certainly was, snaking river, saw for miles, clear
sky , really stunning
Almost as stunning was meeting " tosher" Nina went to the nearest
house to ask for water and out came tosher, he loved the donkeys , so
much so that he gave us two crates of his " toshers tipple" forest
scrumpy
Oh dear! Totally delicious , we all cracked one open straight away
Arrived at camp , gorgeous soudley on the playing field , perfectly
manicured football pitch .
Slept out again under the stars
Zoe our other artist has arrived we have a huge crew here this week
Felt overwhelmed in the evening, we have gone from 8 to 23
People happy to help but still feels like much more work and pretty
boring to keep asking people
Radio four coming out today so must try not to keep shouting at jasper
ranging from 1-74
Stopped at the top of newnham hill to see "the best view in
Gloucestershire" certainly was, snaking river, saw for miles, clear
sky , really stunning
Almost as stunning was meeting " tosher" Nina went to the nearest
house to ask for water and out came tosher, he loved the donkeys , so
much so that he gave us two crates of his " toshers tipple" forest
scrumpy
Oh dear! Totally delicious , we all cracked one open straight away
Arrived at camp , gorgeous soudley on the playing field , perfectly
manicured football pitch .
Slept out again under the stars
Zoe our other artist has arrived we have a huge crew here this week
Felt overwhelmed in the evening, we have gone from 8 to 23
People happy to help but still feels like much more work and pretty
boring to keep asking people
Radio four coming out today so must try not to keep shouting at jasper
Sent from my iPhone
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Bad day
Started off well although we were all tired after night of frolics
with escaping donkeys
We entered the forest
Quite a monumental moment, with the
Key from the forestry commission then aaaagh, started to rain again
and then how many tracks?
Looking back we went wrong almost immediately but we didn't know
Had a wet lunch spirits high met a great guy , head of the commoners
association from the forestry commission who thought we were mad (we
are) but told us how to get there
We even wrote it down still went wrong
Piers and brian both trying to be alpha male re the map Reading
Me trying to be alpha female re map Reading (that is a joke as I am
renouned for my apalling geography skills)
at least an hour spent trying to work out where we were
Lucy and I offer to scout back
Think I can run, reAlise I can't anymore
Try and make i phone be more useful
Work out where north is
Not sure why as doesn't help
We find track hurray
Lucy tells us it is not suitable
Piers and brian don't really believe her
We go down track
Very unsuitable
It is now late
Toby crying
Everyone looks a bit grey
We decide to ditch the Cart and go ahead with the donkeys
Track is a death track
Donkeys are heroes
It is rutted , marshy, muddy, overgrown, in fact not a track
I lead
Many Girly screams, think teddy has broken his legs for a moment
Finally we make it to camp
Me brian piers and Deborah (artist who is walking with chair
strapped to back) drive back in the Fairgame van which luckily jez
dropped off yesterday to pick up brians landrover from where we
started then back to the forest to find the cart
We tow cart back up from the bottom which involves brian towing and me
piers and Deborah holding the cart
It is a long way up
Piers and I row whilst doing it
I want to hurt him
Get cart to the top
Deborah says it has bern a really exciting day
Unload van which is at the top
Load cart into van
Re load van
Drive back
Am completely knackered
Not speaking to husband
Sleep really well
Thank god for day off
Many people arriving tonight Sent from my iPhone
with escaping donkeys
We entered the forest
Quite a monumental moment, with the
Key from the forestry commission then aaaagh, started to rain again
and then how many tracks?
Looking back we went wrong almost immediately but we didn't know
Had a wet lunch spirits high met a great guy , head of the commoners
association from the forestry commission who thought we were mad (we
are) but told us how to get there
We even wrote it down still went wrong
Piers and brian both trying to be alpha male re the map Reading
Me trying to be alpha female re map Reading (that is a joke as I am
renouned for my apalling geography skills)
at least an hour spent trying to work out where we were
Lucy and I offer to scout back
Think I can run, reAlise I can't anymore
Try and make i phone be more useful
Work out where north is
Not sure why as doesn't help
We find track hurray
Lucy tells us it is not suitable
Piers and brian don't really believe her
We go down track
Very unsuitable
It is now late
Toby crying
Everyone looks a bit grey
We decide to ditch the Cart and go ahead with the donkeys
Track is a death track
Donkeys are heroes
It is rutted , marshy, muddy, overgrown, in fact not a track
I lead
Many Girly screams, think teddy has broken his legs for a moment
Finally we make it to camp
Me brian piers and Deborah (artist who is walking with chair
strapped to back) drive back in the Fairgame van which luckily jez
dropped off yesterday to pick up brians landrover from where we
started then back to the forest to find the cart
We tow cart back up from the bottom which involves brian towing and me
piers and Deborah holding the cart
It is a long way up
Piers and I row whilst doing it
I want to hurt him
Get cart to the top
Deborah says it has bern a really exciting day
Unload van which is at the top
Load cart into van
Re load van
Drive back
Am completely knackered
Not speaking to husband
Sleep really well
Thank god for day off
Many people arriving tonight Sent from my iPhone
Friday, 6 August 2010
Fri morning
We are sleeping out , it is 7.10 am , it is raining a bit but we are
in the forest do sort of sheltered .our only wild night of camping ,
great spot by st Anthony well in flaxley . Natural spring and a plunge
pool . Left dickcwhittington centre yesterday am, very generous they
let all the kids play for free on the toys
Everyone very tired yesterday. I went for a quiet cry in a field ,
thank god for a glass of red wine .
fadia and family came for supper , jez came and put a break on the carg
Jez you are our silent hero and have been amazing.
Drama of the night Brian woke us at aporox 5 am to say the donkeys are
out
Shit
Panicked that they'd got into the asha centre which we are camping
close to
They are having a wedding there this weekend :the lawn is immaculate ,
and the rose garden reminds me of alice in wonderland , coupled with
the fact that we weren't able to stay at the asha centre and j know
the owners in a professional context and it hasn't always been the
easiest relationship thank god or st Anthony that they went the other
way
A good half hour of examining tracks and touching poo on the road to
see if it was warm, I'd make a great detective ! And brian found them
Long walk today , through the forest , hope we don't get lost
in the forest do sort of sheltered .our only wild night of camping ,
great spot by st Anthony well in flaxley . Natural spring and a plunge
pool . Left dickcwhittington centre yesterday am, very generous they
let all the kids play for free on the toys
Everyone very tired yesterday. I went for a quiet cry in a field ,
thank god for a glass of red wine .
fadia and family came for supper , jez came and put a break on the carg
Jez you are our silent hero and have been amazing.
Drama of the night Brian woke us at aporox 5 am to say the donkeys are
out
Shit
Panicked that they'd got into the asha centre which we are camping
close to
They are having a wedding there this weekend :the lawn is immaculate ,
and the rose garden reminds me of alice in wonderland , coupled with
the fact that we weren't able to stay at the asha centre and j know
the owners in a professional context and it hasn't always been the
easiest relationship thank god or st Anthony that they went the other
way
A good half hour of examining tracks and touching poo on the road to
see if it was warm, I'd make a great detective ! And brian found them
Long walk today , through the forest , hope we don't get lost
Sent from my iPhone
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
The tribe
The pied piper effect has hit, we are a tribe now , many of us
Guiltily I wonder if it us too many and our campspot hosts groan when
they see us.
The success/ problem is so many children under the age of 8 .
We have a strict rota for who can ride on the cart and for how long .
This has caused some screaming tantrums but I think we are managing.
We have a few young people with special needs , a few on the autistic
spectrum .
I feel chuffed (most of the time) that it works, we all pitch in, and
at times we create a space that I hope Is really inclusive .
Instead of an online community , an on road community .
We camped at Huntley village hall in the playing field.
Again brought gifts and made to feel welcome apart from one man who
shouted " the audacity " and then almost hit me with his stick when I
tried to explain what we are doing
Our artist arrived ,deborah, she is walking with a chair strapped to
her back as a representation of home I think!
Anyway ended up having very heated discussions about travellers,
race , identity
A lush journey the day before , stopped in a good lunch spot, brought
tea by one lovely lady and great conversations with john
My quote of the week:
" there wasn't enough hairy men around , the ones that were were
useless , luckily he had a hairy wife!"
We had a family join us from Huntley and walk with us, some other
villagers as well , perfect
Guiltily I wonder if it us too many and our campspot hosts groan when
they see us.
The success/ problem is so many children under the age of 8 .
We have a strict rota for who can ride on the cart and for how long .
This has caused some screaming tantrums but I think we are managing.
We have a few young people with special needs , a few on the autistic
spectrum .
I feel chuffed (most of the time) that it works, we all pitch in, and
at times we create a space that I hope Is really inclusive .
Instead of an online community , an on road community .
We camped at Huntley village hall in the playing field.
Again brought gifts and made to feel welcome apart from one man who
shouted " the audacity " and then almost hit me with his stick when I
tried to explain what we are doing
Our artist arrived ,deborah, she is walking with a chair strapped to
her back as a representation of home I think!
Anyway ended up having very heated discussions about travellers,
race , identity
A lush journey the day before , stopped in a good lunch spot, brought
tea by one lovely lady and great conversations with john
My quote of the week:
" there wasn't enough hairy men around , the ones that were were
useless , luckily he had a hairy wife!"
We had a family join us from Huntley and walk with us, some other
villagers as well , perfect
Manic walk, in and out of the cart , laughter , screams ,
Then the dreaded call that our campspot hadn't been sorted
Shit
More mad calls , sorted
Got here
Then almost moment of the trip a walk up may hill
Awesome awesome
Wild horses , views , bracken, will spend my life going back there
when I can
Long walk today
Nine days walking left
I know that the tribe will continue to grow
Gulp
Hurray
( will never get back to starting weight let alone target )
Sent from my iPhone
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Week six and getting political
Week six was challenging :
We lost two of our staff members(due to end of contract not walking
out) so the pressure has really been on for myself and piers to manage
the whole circus ( not necessarily the best thing for ones marriage !)
Louisa Fairclough has been our artist this week , she has been making
pinhole cameras and taking many pictures by the light of the full
moon.she has taken some beautiful images and run great workshops.
I have really enjoyed the countryside around hartbury, ashleworth and
highnam. It has a really old feel and the landscape feels worked and
real.
We have had lots of visitors walking with us and news of the outside
world has started to filter through and burst our bubble community .
Cuts, cuts, cuts , is what I hear and it feels that the world has
changed even within the short time we have been on our journey.
I have also heard rumours that this project has caused a certain
amount of discussion "donkeys and art ,what a luxury, over the top "
It makes me feel sad , the value of art , nature , animals and I hope
what we are doing is hard to measure and evaluate in purely monetary
terms but in a world where the future can seem uncertain and bleak
there has to be a place for the arts, a value on a project that
encorages the public to walk in their own landscape and a recognition
of the therapeutic value of what we are trying to achieve. In a
nutshell ( I have said this so many times now !) we are delivering a
public arts project , a continous 8 week journey through the six
districts of the county on foot with four donkeys who carry our kit.
We have a cart with a solar panel so we make our own energy . Our
artists run free public art workshops based on their experiences of
the landscape . We endeveour to leave no trace when we leave our
camspots each morning . we welcome anyone to join us at any time and
walk.
In hard statistical terms we have provided employment for 18 people
over the course of the project , delivered workshops in 8 primary
schools , run 8 public workshops and 6 public camps , walked into
Cirencester Gloucester Cheltenham Tewkesbury with four donkeys and
reminded people of how we used to live and travel and how we could
still if we took some time.
I cannot even begin to quantify the people who have stopped us ,
followed us to find out what we are doing, walked with us, waved at
us, brought us water , carrots, pies , pints , tea , kind words or
stories of their own donkeys and childhoods. This project has no
social boundaries , we have met and walked with people from all
backgrounds and ages.
I understand that we are living in financially difficult times and
that hard decisions have to be made, I don't know how you decide what
to cut or what is worthy nor would I want too..... But ....... Without
sounding pretentious art, animals, landscape , walking are worth
funding and the more of us that do it maybe our emotional well being ,
not to mention our physical well being might be considerably better.
Back to more daily issues
We head off to the forest tomorrow . Our gang is growing , people are
joining us and the word is spreading .
The stars of the show are still the donkeys
All the donkeys have seen a farrier last week and they are all ready
for the last district.
If you see us do slow down , wave , don't beep your horn , even better
get out and walk with us for a bit.
.
T
We lost two of our staff members(due to end of contract not walking
out) so the pressure has really been on for myself and piers to manage
the whole circus ( not necessarily the best thing for ones marriage !)
Louisa Fairclough has been our artist this week , she has been making
pinhole cameras and taking many pictures by the light of the full
moon.she has taken some beautiful images and run great workshops.
I have really enjoyed the countryside around hartbury, ashleworth and
highnam. It has a really old feel and the landscape feels worked and
real.
We have had lots of visitors walking with us and news of the outside
world has started to filter through and burst our bubble community .
Cuts, cuts, cuts , is what I hear and it feels that the world has
changed even within the short time we have been on our journey.
I have also heard rumours that this project has caused a certain
amount of discussion "donkeys and art ,what a luxury, over the top "
It makes me feel sad , the value of art , nature , animals and I hope
what we are doing is hard to measure and evaluate in purely monetary
terms but in a world where the future can seem uncertain and bleak
there has to be a place for the arts, a value on a project that
encorages the public to walk in their own landscape and a recognition
of the therapeutic value of what we are trying to achieve. In a
nutshell ( I have said this so many times now !) we are delivering a
public arts project , a continous 8 week journey through the six
districts of the county on foot with four donkeys who carry our kit.
We have a cart with a solar panel so we make our own energy . Our
artists run free public art workshops based on their experiences of
the landscape . We endeveour to leave no trace when we leave our
camspots each morning . we welcome anyone to join us at any time and
walk.
In hard statistical terms we have provided employment for 18 people
over the course of the project , delivered workshops in 8 primary
schools , run 8 public workshops and 6 public camps , walked into
Cirencester Gloucester Cheltenham Tewkesbury with four donkeys and
reminded people of how we used to live and travel and how we could
still if we took some time.
I cannot even begin to quantify the people who have stopped us ,
followed us to find out what we are doing, walked with us, waved at
us, brought us water , carrots, pies , pints , tea , kind words or
stories of their own donkeys and childhoods. This project has no
social boundaries , we have met and walked with people from all
backgrounds and ages.
I understand that we are living in financially difficult times and
that hard decisions have to be made, I don't know how you decide what
to cut or what is worthy nor would I want too..... But ....... Without
sounding pretentious art, animals, landscape , walking are worth
funding and the more of us that do it maybe our emotional well being ,
not to mention our physical well being might be considerably better.
Back to more daily issues
We head off to the forest tomorrow . Our gang is growing , people are
joining us and the word is spreading .
The stars of the show are still the donkeys
All the donkeys have seen a farrier last week and they are all ready
for the last district.
If you see us do slow down , wave , don't beep your horn , even better
get out and walk with us for a bit.
.
T
Sent from my iPhone
Sitting in car
I feel a bit melancholy and cabin fevered
We have been at over farm for too long now and I want to move off
We have had acreally good few days here ( sort of)
I am feeling weary of being the hostess at all times,
Someone said that it
Was a bit like the Katie price and peter Andre programme , out walking
with a family aaaaaagh
Piers and I agreed this morning to not disagree publically !
So many things to report , will have to bullet point
Walked into gloucester park via the dual carriageway , donkeys
exempleary
Workshops in the park , a bit fraught but donkeys success
Walked back , nearly bad accident , lot of swearing
Public camp supposed to be that evening
No one arrives
Realise that molly can now drive , piers has taught her, watch my 14
year old daughter driving very well around the field
Not sure how I feel about this
Pat Roberts and friends turn up to do music
Very good !
Wake up again , groundhog day feeling
People turn up early from kingfisher care home for workshops,
I am still in my pyjamas
Donald turns up to give a walk
I am still in my pyjamas , what is going on, no one here for anything ,
Group of cyclists turn up
Realise that we are advertised in the Gloucester festival brochure and
people are going to drop in all day
I get dressed
Lots of people drop in
Pinhole camera workshops very good
We leave for the night to see giffords circus
It is great
Full length mirrors not so great
Return to camp
The next two weeks are going to be really busy , many people walking
We have been at over farm for too long now and I want to move off
We have had acreally good few days here ( sort of)
I am feeling weary of being the hostess at all times,
Someone said that it
Was a bit like the Katie price and peter Andre programme , out walking
with a family aaaaaagh
Piers and I agreed this morning to not disagree publically !
So many things to report , will have to bullet point
Walked into gloucester park via the dual carriageway , donkeys
exempleary
Workshops in the park , a bit fraught but donkeys success
Walked back , nearly bad accident , lot of swearing
Public camp supposed to be that evening
No one arrives
Realise that molly can now drive , piers has taught her, watch my 14
year old daughter driving very well around the field
Not sure how I feel about this
Pat Roberts and friends turn up to do music
Very good !
Wake up again , groundhog day feeling
People turn up early from kingfisher care home for workshops,
I am still in my pyjamas
Donald turns up to give a walk
I am still in my pyjamas , what is going on, no one here for anything ,
Group of cyclists turn up
Realise that we are advertised in the Gloucester festival brochure and
people are going to drop in all day
I get dressed
Lots of people drop in
Pinhole camera workshops very good
We leave for the night to see giffords circus
It is great
Full length mirrors not so great
Return to camp
The next two weeks are going to be really busy , many people walking
Sent from my iPhone
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