Wednesday 17 March 2010

Science of Sound Week & a New Show

At last the weather has got warmer, and what better week to be travelling down to Middlesex to do our 'Temptation & Redemption Show' for Lent? The show went well, the hall packed, and many kind comments left in the comments book, and a couple of good friends turned up, but all just the day after a long journey - with a very winding diversion! so taking much longer than it should - and parting with a fellow member of the Collective, as they were off to Nepal for three months to do environmental community projects such as eco-gardens... We had swapped news, filled in masses of detail to one another about our respective artforms and arts scenes in respective counties...and then said goodbye. The day after was spent networking at a social gathering, and then it was back to the West Country and off to N.Devon for some Sound and Writing and Storytelling by Noise Workshops for Science of Sound Week! Which went brilliantly. The children seemed completely engaged and enjoyed the one on noises immensely - without it devolving into a mass of farmyard impressions as might have been feared! My own workshop on Words for Sound went really well, too - we played them sounds, noises and soundscapes, and they really got the hang of it. Two came up with wonderful scenes as settings for the sounds, good enough for film or poetry. One managed to describe what it was about the music that evoked a feeling of x, y or z - which was by far the most advanced point I wanted the workshop to make, and not something I thought we'd cover with the age group in question. And at the end, two boys came up and said they'd listed 184 and 153 words for sound respectively - now that, I think, really is a result! The teachers were pleased, their classroom teacher wanted to use the material for further teaching, the head was there for part of it and was charming, and Yolande as ever made us feel we knew where everything was in no time. Instow School is a school with limited space, but because everyone is piled up together, it means they really have to get on! And so there was the most amazingly friendly air of co-operation and goodwill between teachers, children, catering and admin staff, and the most relaxed head teacher, we'd ever encountered! And who needs more space when you're set on the side of a hill with a ruined windmill to explore just above, and magnificent views of estuary, sea and coastline all around? What a fantastic place. The staff room was laden with chocolates and biscuits as a thank you to all who came in to work during Science of Sound Week, so that made for a homely welcome too. We had tea with Yolande afterwards, and discussed the rest of the Week's events, the ever-present ongoing funding situations which were all too similar, and generally caught up.

Afterwards we had to go up the hill and see the ruined windmill on its wonderful vantage point (on only about the fourth or fifth day one could wear a jacket out of doors instead of a fleece!). It was a lovely atmospheric cylinder of stone, with tiny 'windows' and no roof, commanding a fine panorama of coastal seascapes. And then it was on to another part of the estuary, to have dinner with some newer members of the Collective - a delightful evening, and especially as Andi has been booked to make mosiacs on the beach during Appledore Visual Arts Festival, and Mandy had very kindly made me a gonfalon for the shows! I took pictures of her wool dyeing and spinning wheel for the website, and we talked until at last it was time to go. A very full five days it had been too.

Big thanks to Andi and Mandy, to Yolande for having us again and booking us to work in such nice places with such lovely people! To all the workshop participants who did so well, and the teachers of Instow Community School, especially Mark Gough the head teacher for hosting us.

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