On stories and sharing

Although things have been quiet on the blog I've had lots of brilliant phone calls and connections. I'm giving people the opportunity to edit and approve anything I share so things will start to appear out of order and might be bit slower. 

When I make theatre it's really important to me to be clear about whose story it is to tell, it can be very appealing to tell other people's stories. I usually think people should be given the resources and support to tell their own. Sometimes it's ok to tell other people's stories, only ever  with full consent and an ongoing conversation about that. The stories that appear on this blog are a little bit mine, a little bit other peoples and a little bit what happened between us. So, I'm working out how to navigate that.

In the meantime, I went down to the river and found some excellent pieces of crockery, a bit of clay pipe and a piece of broken glass with 'return' stamped on it - I love it. It makes me think of Lauren returning to Gravesend, of the tide always returning. 

I also had a call with Annie who interviewed for Duncan Grant’s blog (which is a wonderfully generous space of profiling other artists) I really enjoyed exploring his work and the other artists featured. Annie, like Duncan was bought up in Gravesend but now she lives in London. While it’s mainly me answering the questions I do get a local tip off – the sausages made by and sold at Harvel House Farm Shop are wonderful. You have to walk past the pigs to get them which is a test even for a carnivore, but they are worthy a significant detour. I think Annie is looking forward to the next opportunity to get some!



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flotsam and Jetsam - Day Two

Image
I got up at 6am so I could go down to the river and arrive for low tide, 6.40am and sunrise, 6.45am. A lucky convergence – two natural cycles syncing up to start the day and the residency. I wanted to disrupt my usual day, and seek out connection with Gravesham. Except I stayed up late reading the children’s version of The Kalevala. I started with the English translation for adults but I was really tired. The children’s version was great but I ended up not going to sleep until 12.30am.  So I didn’t actually get up at 6am. I snoozed until ten past and then raced around to cycle down, not getting time for breakfast. It was cold and misty and grey, although the first photo doesn’t look it. I had a good mooch about along the foreshore, found a shell and beautiful piece of mother of pearl from an oyster. It was grey with mud and green with algae.  The pebbles were a similar colour to those at St Andrew's Quay – more bits of broken, river softened brick here. I sat on a rock and calculat
Read more

Trosley Country Park & a glimpse of Vigo Village - Day 5

Image
I feel like I’m getting some impressions of Gravesend and the importance of the river to Gravesham but the interior feels a bit of a mystery. I decide to take myself to the furthest point away from the river in Gravesham.  The drive to Gravesham from East London feels quite intense, I’ve used both the Blackwell Tunnel and the Dart crossing on my previous visit. The roads are quite empty but are clearly made for huge volumes of traffic. There are roadworks, four lane roads and lots of interchanges. I wonder if all that traffic will return? What will a year of living through the pandemic change our commuting and travelling behaviour for good?  I usually use public transport, an environmental and practical choice that’s accessible to me. I’ve borrowed a car from a friend to enable me to support family who have been unwell, in a lower risk way. The journey to Gravesham by train is easy by comparison to the drive. The roads feel like an imposition, unconnected to place. They are a way to pa
Read more

Working for happiness

Image
I started the day with a Facebook Live from the Confidence Queen Genny Jones . In a packed and joyous half hour there was a friendly check in, some really great simple but powerful tips on setting goals, encouragement to connect and support each other and then some dancing. Bobbing around to 'Don't Stop me Now' was glorious - I don't dance often enough. I'm going to make more time to do this. It's a visit to Gravesham day, having completed a Covid test I drive over to meet with Mandy Hare, a Cultural Manger at Gravesham, which includes responsibility for The Woodville. Mandy began her career in the West End, before moving into managing venues and now she has a wider, more strategic remit. Since The Woodville first closed its doors because of the Pandemic (exactly a year ago) her working life has changed completely – and yet sort of not at all. There have been brief periods when The Woodville re-opened, with social distancing measures but much of her time has be
Read more