⸎ this is the sound

our annual feast of music arts and smiles

on Saturday:

Village Green:

thankfully it stayed dry:

but it was brrrrr indeed:

a fascinating installation by 

Stuart Bowditch and Damien Robinson:

signpost:

recordings donated by the public and 

the Essex Sound Archive:

snippets of other people's lives:

different streets, workplaces, parks, homes:

plug in your headphones and listen:

or put on your hands and 'feelsound':

 

take a seat, get comfy and enjoy

extraordinary sounds by Forest Fringe:

listening to kettles being filled and half heard conversations

while watching the world go by:

snippets of music, accents and song:

1'o'clock at the Uke picnic:

'play this' says Yvie:

so I strum and smile:

I watch bands, laugh at comedy hosted by Sundown Arts 

in the Meadow Tent:

Quirkish Delight make up tales of Dick Van Dyke:

I see friends I haven't seen for years and years:

and some I saw only yesterday:

craziest tent had to be The Bunker hosted by

TenBomb :

we got comfy in Grandpa Summers living room:

hypnotised by colour and random scribbles:

challenged them to pingpong and watched the mayhem:

we did so much more:

all day:

till the cold got to our bones:

and only home and rum would do:

⋕ part two

 friday and a trip to Tent London:

an edgy design show held in the Truman Brewery:

things that caught my eye >

digital fabrics:

{lab craft}

hand crafted textural colourfulness:

{Larkhappy}

line drawn wonkiness:

{Lizzie Mary Ellen}

amazing maquettes: *making these would be my dream job*

{Kingston University}

origami lights:

new ideas in dusters:

{JJam}

my favourite stand:

recycled + reinvented pieces by

Furniture Magpies:

hop on the train home:

wrap up warm:

then head off to the park:

we took our seats:

gloves? {check}

blanket? {check}

hot chocolate? {check}

oreos? {check}

a night of dance with Ballet Black:

how often do you get to do that!

* to be continued ....

⋈ how much culture can a girl have?

this week was the Rayleigh Arts Festival:

with free tickets for How to Speak Essex:

not quite as you would think,

a talk given by Martin Astell of the

Essex Sound & Video Archive:

he played us sound recordings from as early as 1906:

lilting accents and dialects:

from north to south:

east to west:

'little old boys' 'a'er noon' 'roobub':

how vowels are changed and consonants dropped:

it's nothing new:

they've been talking for centuries:

thursday evening and more spoken word:

this time from Sundown Arts :

any poem about chocolate gets my vote:

{crank up the volume as Stuart speaks quietly}

next a piece in the form of a break-up letter to a 

London commuter train:

written and read by Ray Morgan:

we sympathise:

'I cannot commit to you when you make me feel so cold,

even in the middle of July':

we are amused by Simon Blackman and his jaunty odes:
impromptu asides and audience reaction:


our hostess Jo Overfield makes us welcome:
her punchy lines and open smile:
sharing her likes and dislikes and a light hearted tale of the
30th birthday cake she was unable to eat:

finally, the straight talking Cherry Scott:
her say-what-you-see works of our locale have
energy, daring and poignancy:

all a privilege to hear and see:

to nod and smile and appreciate:

looking forward to the next Sundowner

at Village Green ......

*on a blog coming soon!*

☄ sunny 3pm

𐐅 home made

yogging: 

ready to be heaped with fruit for breakfasts:

it's ok! I've not killed anyone {yet}

as much as I love beetroot, 

I can't eat them all at once:  

Nic's knobbly and strange shaped cues &

my weird peppers and deformed chillies,

get a salting:

pickles for Autumn:

jars of goodness:

∯ saturdays are for ....

when there's a big blue Chevvy outside ....

and a sign with an arrow:

what's a girl to do?

when it's packed full of handmade treats:

and vintage finds:

and ladies dressed in 40's frocks:

with tea and cakes in china cups:

accompanied by beautiful ladies

singing quirky tunes:

bring home some bargains:

one pound a piece:

a red pot and a blue bag for me:

minnie ears for Libbie:

what a perfectly cool way to spend Saturday:

⊙⊗ you are here

click here ☞ X:

you'll love it:

I promise:

☼ parklife

sunday:

Polski Picnic at Priory Park:

we could have made traditional paper 

cuts like these ~ from Polcraft:

instead we tried macrame with Jolanta Surma

and wove hearts:

hungry?

pierogi ~ smacznego!

up the stairs:

through the hatch:

Chodzenie-Siberia by myclub:

we learned how the Prince Regis shaped the

fashion of 17th century uniform:

making it a glamorous attraction for men conscripts:

Libbie made her own neck cuff:

in response to the work:

we danced to St Nicholas Orchestra:

and I bought a Polish Pottery dish:

nam drogiego polskiej kultury: