Norton St Philips and Storywalks

I have been working over the last month with Norton St Philips school near Bath, on a project to digitally install interactive trails around their village, as part of a project funded by The Shine Trust. This is designed to lift literacy, learning and attainment within their year groups 2, 3, and 4.  

So yesterday was my third day with the school, and it started with telling a story to get their creative juices flowing. We then moved on to creating simple story walks, mapping locations, writing chapters, and understanding where they are on the google map. Now who can put a finger on the school roof?

We always plan each session in advance, but with a pioneering project there are times when we need to respond on the fly by segmenting or tagging a task differently. I feel I have so much to learn from the professional educators at the school, how to effectively respond to the spectrum of learning styles and capabilities in the class and keep it all on an even keel, whilst still making overall progress is tricky. But I did feel chuffed yesterday, when the room was a hush with just pencils on paper, and everyone was immersed in their tale.

So we are creating the story trail together, of which the pupils are designing, writing and mapping, and in that process cover plenty learning goals. In fact Mrs Vowell said 'On day two we pretty much covered the whole of the ICT curriculum, not to mention the literacy and team leader skills as well. ' 

So what are the current successes?

Well, on the first day we went out onto the Mead, which is a beautiful cricket pitch and play park in simple and safe walking distance from the school. I had prepared a tale where story walkers had to choose a leaf for 'Winning the Forest King's Honour', but to do this they had to take their leaf to see the Forest Kings Judges.

These were digitally placed all around the Mead field and they then journeyed around these chapters visiting the characters. Spider liked soft curly leaves, whilst Moth liked ones which she could see through, each child took it in turn to read the story on the iPads as the tale triggered. One child who will not read in class, nor at home, and not even to the class room assistant, amazingly read out loud to the group from the iPad, brilliant.

On the second day, we had a full on day of literacy where the pupils created their own tales which we then tested in the afternoon. Putting their text into a dynamic environment, seems to sharpen their expectations, their words are instantly live which puts the pressure on. But I like to remind people it is still text, still written words just parcelled up differently and then hidden, and of course everyone loves a secret, so they have to hunt them out to reveal.

This mix of old style reading and writing, coupled with the the ability to geo locate, brings in so many more skills which the pupils seem to relish in it, forgetting that they are doing the tough stuff of everyday learning.

Yesterday we started building four full walks, authored by the pupils themselves, and building further on the Forest Tree King tale, and we got some stunning writing. Here is an example, imagine you are holding your smart phone (or 3G iPad) and you walk across the Mead to the Pavilion, at about twenty paces short, the text below reveals and you can read.

Congratulations, you have found Buzz the Bee. She is yellow and black and has a deadly sting. Buzz has had a hard time sleeping lately because of all the leaves rustling around. She has searched all over the mead for a leaf that has the most colours on. Now you have come along she has a better chance of finding the leaf that she wants. But Buzz is usually out with her friends so you must count to three and then all together say bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Then you will have summoned Buzz, lay your leaves on the path and whoevers leaf has the most colours on will not only win a point but will win her heart. 

Brilliant, and this is just one little nugget, over the next three sessions, we will take and add images, choose locations for their characters, walk, test, and test each others again. Each time we will be reading and writing, using creative thought processes, team building, navigating through maps and new software (storywalk engine), and having a lot of fun. Perhaps we have found a way to sugar the pill a little, it's too early to tell but we are tracking the students progress, and each day feels like a rosette of achievements. 

We are also mindful though of the staff heavy sessions, and the additional tech the grant has provided. Would the same staffing levels be able to make the same progress without the Story Walk Engine? I wonder. How much can we attribute to the project, is a mute point, but all I can say is, currently the project is feeling very strong, the last thing one boy said to me at the end of yesterday was. 

'Home time day already. Oh, I'd love to carry on.'

BASE jumping!

Some of you will already be aware that I was nominated for the 'Trailblazer' award for my Storywalks, from the British Award For Storytelling Excellence, known as BASE for short. Even more exciting though was the fact I had been shortlisted!

The other nominees in my category were 'The History Press' who specialise in regional folk stories, and  are unusual in that they actively search for regional storytellers who know the local tales and then put these into print. This is a logical solution as surely if you are to publish a book about local folk stories then you should go see the specialist, ie the Storyteller!

Also Katrice Horsley, the current UK story teller Laurette was in my category, so pretty stiff competition, but the vote was to be a public one via the Story Awards web site. Happy to be content with bronze (and realistically keeping my feet on the ground) I thought it would be silly not to ask family and friends to cast a vote for their favourite, and perhaps a few visitors to my Somerset Art Week venue which was on during the month of voting.

The award ceremony was last Saturday, and my wife and I travelled up to the midlands for the show, and even though voting had been closed and counted two weeks before, the winners would not be revealed until the night, Oscars style. So I was asked to write a speech no longer than 4 minutes, and initially thought that there was no real need, but then the part of me which yearned for it to come true said that I should, which was probably a darn good thing.

So my heart was on my sleeve when the Trailblazer nomination came around, and astoundingly when they said the words 'and the winner is - Christopher Jelley' my legs went totally wobbly and I was just dumbfounded.

The rest is a blur so to speak, but the photo's of the night look like I knew what I was saying, all I can say is amazing. The other nominees have outstanding work and I was thrilled to be shortlisted with them, but to actually receive the award is astonishing. 

So Saturday was an incredible day but Tuesday was way up there too as it was my first with Norton St Philips school near Frome, as teacher Claire Vowell won an award from the SHINE TRUST, (one of only eleven granted in the UK) to use GPS enabled Storywalks to help with her pupils literacy.

And even on the first day we made progress -  a child who would not read in class, nor to the classroom assistant, and certainly would not read at home, read my story walk aloud. Out in the field, away from the classroom, perhaps he was not feeling the same constraints as imposed indoors, amazing. Lets hope there are other successes over the days I am working with them, and we are able to lift their attainment levels.

As progress is made I shall post and let you know all about it. If you want me to bring interactive story walks into your school then please do get in touch. Together with Claire Vowell of Norton St Philips school, we are truly trailblazing, and hopefully doing something new with literacy. 

As we all know some kids can sit still to read and focus, whilst others find it a lot harder, they would rather be climbing a tree or running across a field, but if you could place the story up the tree, or across a meadow . . . . . ?

Why must you hold your breath at the instance of a sun setting?

So Somerset Art Week is in full swing now and I have not just one offering but two, the first and more formal is at Venue 23, Number Seven, Dulverton, which houses the fruits of my Coleridge Way projects along with my Tell Tale cards, and also being the base for the storywalk 'The Watching Way'.

This tale is an art trail of kinds, not only can it be read through your smart phone in the usual way with my digital storywalks, but it asks you to create art along the walk into Burridge Woods. But best of all other walkers who have trodden the path and read the tale will have added their little organic sculptures too, all left to decay in the natural way.

  

My other offering is a labyrinth at Westcott Farm, here there are ten artists exhibiting for the duration of Art Week, with sculpture and paintings alongside my coiled path and Gordon Field's 'Tree Aura Project'. I've blogged a little about this before here, so I won't cover that ground again.

So on Friday the finishing touches were put into place with Davina and myself wrapping the central focal tree, which is the one the labyrinth ends at, or more accurately centers around, and where walkers will hang their offerings. When I originally suggested I would mow a maze in the Westcott Orchard, it was a simple proposition, I survey then draw up, plot it, and then cut it early so that over the summer it will become tight and established. But every time I visited to mow, or thought about the labyrinth I would have another idea, and then another. So what started out as a rather simple offering has become a little fuller and more considered.

So what were these epiphanies? Well the first added element were the teasing tags, I felt I needed to ground the project and inject a little humour somehow, enabling the whole to become more accessible and engaging. Tags are the feedback medium of the now, gone are the comment or visitors book, it's write your words on a tag and hang it on a well placed branch or bundle of willow, Barrington Court has one for their SAW offering, and they are in my opinion, a great addition.

So I set about writing lots of odd questions to challenge the walker to interact, rather than just enjoy, at first I thought just a couple of questions would do but over a hundred and twenty later they still keep coming.

Here are a few examples

'Where will you hide the badgers?'

'What would you place in a strangers pocket without them noticing?'

'On the Kings table there is room for one dish made by you, what is it?'

'Why is it important to hold ones breath at the instance of a setting sun?'

With a box of teasing tags you need a vestibule to gather the tags and prepare your journey along the coiled path, and what about the tree at the heart of the labyrinth surly it needs a little magic? We must wrap it like we used to in projects of old!

So all these elements have come together, they are parts which create a greater whole, and I am really excited to get back and see what tags have been chosen and what words written.

The labyrinth is open during Somerset Art Week only, as Westcott Farm is a private space, so grab the opportunity now, and see the other artist's as well, including Gordon Field's 'Tree Aura's' which are also in the Westcott Orchard. 

The venue number 28 is open 10 - 6 every day except Tuesdays.

And one last idea, which in itself has snowballed to quite an event! This is the Westcott Fire Walk on Saturday 2nd November 2013. The orchard is on a steep valley side and the idea is to pop cameras with long exposure lengths on the adjacent valley. At 4pm gates open and when it's dark we will process along the labyrinth path with lit torches and create light trails. Everyone who holds a torch is really holding a paint brush and will be part of the art. 

Tickets are £5 on the gate, to include processional candle, with additional candles available on the night at £3.

Accompanied children are free although we stipulate a 1:1 adult child ratio for obvious reasons.

This is a 'Friends of SAW' event so if you buy your annual membership on the night (from £25) then the entrance fee will be refunded. We will need help too, so get in touch and become part of the art.

PS do you know anyone who can play the fiddle? just an idea I had whilst I was resting!

And shortlisted for the British Awards for Storytelling Excellence is . . .

I received a phone call one evening last week from the British Awards for Storytelling Excellence, BASE, explaining that I had been nominated for an award - the short list to be announced the next day...

Friday morning arrived and I tentatively checked their website to see if my name appeared on the list and there it was! Short listed in the Trailblazer category - an award to celebrate someone, not necessarily a storyteller who has pushed the boundaries of storytelling, reaching new audiences by embracing the new technologies available today.

Also short listed are publishers The History Press and the current Storytelling Laureate -  Katrice Horsley. So some stiff, well established, highly respected competition there then - no pressure!

I am absolutely thrilled that my work has been recognised on a national level and feel highly honoured to be placed along side these elite.

BASE aims to highlight and promote the diverse range of exceptional performers currently working within the UK and the awards, now in their second year, are the perfect way to celebrate this traditional profession that has deep roots within our society and yet still remains relevant today.

The final decision is made by public vote so it would be wonderful if you could spare a little time and vote for me on their website, you will need to register to do this; do enjoy discovering the other performers and artists short listed.

To vote click on the link here

I recently collaborated with the first story teller laureate Taffy Thomas who kindly started a tale in a Storyboxes for The Coleridge Way. Taffy Thomas is short listed this year  for Outstanding Male Storyteller. Other categories (amongst others) include Outstanding Community Project, Outstanding Female Storyteller, Outstanding New Comer and Outstanding Multi Arts Performance.

This short film explains how Storywalks work and was made as a taster for possible new walks on the Saltway in Kent.

The closing date for voting is the 1st October. There is to be an awards ceremony later that month which also promises to include a diverse selection of enthralling storytelling performances. I am really looking forward to attending this prestigious event - which in itself is reward enough.

As part of the forthcoming Porlock Literary Festival I will be at the Authors Day at Porlock village hall. The day starts at 11 am this Friday and closes at 3pm, which is a warm up for my Somerset Art Works festival, venue 23 at Number Seven, Dulverton. 

Hope to catch up with you all there, and don't forget to vote, thanks.

The Most Recent Post

Conygar Tower - folly ruins with QR code poetry beneath arch.

It takes ages to finally get to the point where a project is complete, and here I am, the last of the QR code poetry is installed in the landscape. So just to get you up to speed about this project, Jenny Mash and myself worked in three schools along the curtilage of the Coleridge Way, we took their pupils out into the landscape, just like Wordsworth and Coleridge liked to do, and wrote poetry inspired by nature and the natural world.

Scanning and reading the poetry,
no mobile reception required.

I then turned this poetry into QR codes, which are square bar codes, then laser etched these onto slate, a strong and resilient material which will stand the weather but also be at home in the landscape, the last thing I wanted was to add more visual litter to the environment. The QR codes are great, you will need a smart phone with a scan app installed (lots of free ones available), and cleverly there is no need for mobile reception as it just reads the picture and translates it back into text.

Porlock School with the Nether Stowey Gaol slate,
their word cloud (right) and also some finger post squares
which are held by the standing pupils.

I have written a few blogs about these before, and talked about Nether Stowey Gaol which had a slate installed by me earlier this year with QR poetry codes on. It also has a word cloud, which is a scattering of the words which the children harvested form their walks, then wrote poetry from. I then squeezed this through a cloud mangle, which counts the times a word turns up and makes it bigger or smaller depending upon frequency. There is a little more to it than this but you get the idea I hope, and you can see Porlock St Dubricius School with them above.

Here is a close up. 

Word cloud of St Dubricius School, Porlock

So the last piece in the puzzle was Conygar Tower in Dunster, a little off the path of the Coleridge way but somehow it captures the romanticism of decaying splendor. Andy Player of The Crown Estate, Dunster has been fabulous support, and he is keen to involve the village in Crown Estate projects so was happy to assist when I approached him. A week to two back I finally fitted the dressed up slates to the posts, we had intended to use split chestnut from Conygar Tower but these were too short and I was worried as the seasons changed they would move too much and crack the slate. So tanalised posts were chosen and I left the final finished pieces with Andy to install.

Conygar Tower

Scanning the poetry

So on Monday I ventured up the tower with No 2 son with Fable the dog leading the way, and discover if the posts had been installed. 

All I can say is wow. 

The siting of the posts was the Estates choice and I am very pleased indeed, a true finale to the project, sensitively done and I hope appreciated by all who visit.  I do have some extra slates etched for exhibition during Somerset Art Week Venue No 23 in Dulverton, along with the Story Boxes and a few other pieces of my works. Plus Jenny and I hope to be working with another three schools during the Spring term of 2014 and completing the Coleridge Way poetry path. So if you are walking around Somerset and happen across these curious codes, etched on slate and glued to finger posts (with full permission I will add) then scan them and enjoy the poetry, the pupils wrote those words whilst walking in these places. 

Enjoy, and thanks to all who have been apart of it, but especially to the little poets themselves.

QR Codes on The Jubilee Hut, Webbers Post, Dunkery
with story box in the background

. . relish the rain and sun in equal measure

     In a shady valley not far from here, where the river slides over cool rocks beneath muscular Oaks, the Last Queen visited once. A small courtage followed and everyone barefoot (by decree) till the edge of Paisey Pool. There she stepped lightly into the cool waters and even the birds were hush as she dipped beneath the water, her train billowing in the flow. But when she emerged but a heart beat later age had been purged from her limbs and her body was lithe and supple.

     She turned to the company and addressed the barefoot lords who waited.

'These are the new rules of my reign' and the scribe began to take notes.

'Firstly . . . 

     We shall walk barefoot always, mirrors will be banished - our lovers, children and friends will reflect our beauty in all our transformations. 

We will dine on nothing but the finest, freshest fruits and berries. 

Celebrate each season, relish the rain and sun in equal measure. 

Have no need for clocks or time pieces other than the sun and the moon.

     We shall . .

Fragment from story book left in the box at Webbers Post

Continuation of the story above.

Yesterday I ventured out to the Jubilee Hut at Webbers Post with a little intrepidation, the last time I visited I removed a book which was full and replaced it with this one. It was only about two weeks ago, but the journal in question had become a visitor book, not a story book.

The concept of the story box is simple, find the box read the tale so far, add a drawing or paragraph but no more then leave for the next walker. So when it devolves into a guest book I feel a little saddened and hoped this one would not fall foul the same. I wrestled with putting a note inside saying 'This is not a visitor book, story only please' but I rile at that, my mind set is one of enablement, not of impediments. But once someone breaks the thread of a tale it drifts naturally into the visitor book mode. So with all that said, just before I set out I did print some thin book marks to tuck in the active pages to negate the drift.

Also last week I received an email from Katie Bourne who stumbled across this story box with her two year old and loved the project, she also mentioned 'the visitor book syndrome' and I knew she was looking at the newly installed journal which added to my anxiety. She went on to link to a Braunton project which she had managed a while back, similar to my storywalks work with GPS location triggered content, but Katie admits herself that some of the tech is already a little dated, but still worth checking out.

So yesterday I walked through the sun dappled trees at Webbers Post on the way to the Jubilee Hut which is where this box is installed. It is a stunning location, the crunch of pine needles, glimpses of deer (got close enough to pet two!) give me any excuse to go breath in the Exmoor tonic.

Illustration of Dunkery Beacon from this story box location

So I nervously approached the box, pleased it had not disappeared totally, (I am expecting to lose one or two over the summer). But the box looked perfect, with a good scuff on the lid (good, box in use), I opened it and found it well used in a relatively short period, but more to the point it was well used in the intended manner. Yes there are a few additions which wander off into the guest book cul-de-sac, but the meat is of tale, and more than I could have hoped.

Story Box on the bench next to my QR poetry project.

I added a little tale to the tale to gather some of the threads, took lots of pictures of the pages and then left the box once again to the wilds and whims of strangers. But when I checked my photo's at home last night, they were dreadful, so later that evening I drove out again with Davina (Walking Book Club), and not only did we see more deer, but a stunning sunset, and in that short time another visitor had added to the tale.

Brilliant.

So thanks to all those who have contributed, for me it recharges my faith in the creativity of strangers, the willingness to engage with the wilds of Exmoor, and add a little cumulative magic to the whole, just for the fun of it. 

I know that in years to come I will meet people who will remember stumbling across the story boxes, anonymously adding their mark or just enjoy seeing the of story grow there in.

The Story Box Story So Far . . .

Story box  book at Watery Lane, Nether Stowey.

Nether Stowey, Watery Lane, the first proper stretch of the Coleridge Way, where you leave the tarmac and traffic behind, this is the first act in a 36 mile play of ruts and rises, tunnels and vistas, heath and heather, cutting and combe. What has struck me, having been along pieces of the Coleridge Way regularly over the past few months is how the mood changes and transforms. Whether it's a quick dash in a cool evening to the story boxes, or more of a walk and rest with pencil and patience, the atmosphere is dynamic, never the same, always transforming, evolving, which I suppose this is what a living thing does.

  

But more recently my main focus has been the Story Boxes which I placed along the trail early June time. So how have they been fairing? and if you are unaware of this project have a look at this link with a map and descriptions of locations.

Well judging by these images I think rather better than expected, there have been drawings, poems, and little ditties, with a very small amount of abuse (I only left pencils in the boxes) The Coleridge Cottage booklet has developed well, though the paints I left inside were useless, and they have just installed an interpretation post in the arbour itself. Which is brilliant but when you need to focus on writing, it's not easy doing so with Coleridge's 'Lime Tree Bower' weaving it's magic across you.

Horner Garden Tea Rooms has a relatively small amount of work in, though we are just on the cusp of holiday season, so that should pick up soon. But even with only a little inside, it has the most beautiful drawing of a campsite in a valley.

  

The Jubilee Hut, which has Taffy Thomas' story at the beginning, has funnily fared the porest in my opinion, which is somewhat disappointing. It just devolved into a visitors book, with most inputs by Duke of Edinburgh Awards kids hiking through. The book in question has been visited a lot, as it's now full, but the majority of inputs have no story, or only tiny fragments of a tale which bare no connection to the task set. I have a mind to write a big note - This is not a visitor book - please write story or draw. I'll see how we go now that the D of E are out of the way, but they are by no means the only culprits, but did set the trend.

So dear reader my challenge is out to you, to gather your tales and head out to the boxes, restrict yourself to just the task in hand of adding a little to the story so far, doing a drawing but no more and then leaving the story box for the next to find and do the same. This blog I will keep short as I think the pictures speak the loudest, and at the end of the summer (September) the books are to be exhibited at Venue 23 in Dulverton for Somerset Art Week, and also Porlock Festival. So you still have plenty of time to hunt out the story boxes and add your little magic, I recommend you do as I have, and return again and again for this is how the Coleridge Way is rejuvenated.

two men went to mow, went to mow a meadow, two men, one man, and his dog, spot, a sausage roll and a bottle of pop, went to mow a meadow.

After two of the artist's walks at Westcott farm earlier this year, there came a point in the proceedings where I knew I would have to 'do something' and what could be more fun than cutting an old style grass labyrinth in their Orchard?

It's a simple enough concept, as a labyrinth is a single track path which weaves back and forth lots of times before actually finishing at the middle. This is different to a maze where there are constant choices, which you must solve to find your way through. The labyrinth is more meditative (though I always seem to end up running with my kids) and the path has kind of visual tricks where you think you will come to the end as you approach the centre only to realise that it throws in another loop before actually showing you it's heart, just like life I suppose.

There are grass labyrinths in the UK, one of which I remember seeing as a kid up in Yorkshire not too far from my childhood home. It sit's on an ancient roman style road, which are characteristically straight but not busy and not near any settlement. In fact it seems to be in the oddest of places, the view of rolling hills is nice but nothing special, certainly not an expansive vista as from a stone circle. The place is off the beaten track so you kind of have to go looking, and even if you do you could go by it without a second thought. I have been back a few times over the years but I distinctly remember saying to my Mum on the first occasion 'what is it' and she said 'an ancient game perhaps'

'Oh, what are the rules?'

'No one knows, somethings are truly lost in time.'

So that one, on a rolling hill in Yorkshire must have piqued my imagination for I have been fascinated by them ever since. So when I thought about Westcott Farm, for Somerset Art Week 2013 I couldn't resist, and drew map after map of paths in preparation. But better still as the orchard is on a valley side it is visible from the opposite side where a group of strong Oak trees stand, and artist Gordon Field hopes to work aswell. These two projects naturally merged with the maze becoming a journey, not just to the heart of the labyrinth, but also past Gordons Oak Tree Aura Viewing Boxes, but more about those another time.

Gordon Field and his mock up
 Tree Aura Viewing Station
(mark I)

So last week I put in the third cut, and the path is now written in grass, over the summer it will take a few more cuts and be in tip top condition for Art Week. But I do have more planned than just a grass path at Westcott Farm, for at the entrance will be a vestibule to act as a transitional space before entering the maze, with these 'rules' or 'instructions' for the walker.

1 remove foot attire and store here in vestibule in sensible manner

2 choose one passport per participant (also known as teasing ticket)

3 read instructions on said passport

4 travel labyrinth path in contemplation of said instruction

5 alight at central destination and scribe on passport in appropriate manner

6 tie passport considerately upon focal tree

7 disengage labyrinth to reclaim foot attire

8 pose new passport question on fresh teasing tag for new attendee

Couldn't be simpler, hope to see you in September?

 

Unfortunately I will be mainly at the Dulverton venue Number Seven manning my exhibition there and guiding people to the Dulverton site specific story walk 'The Watching Way', which asks you to make clock parts out of leaves and twigs for other walkers to find (and add to). 

So lots going on, but the good news is that the maze (sorry labyrinth) is looking fabulous, and after Art Week I hope to do some more with it so follow my twitter and facebook (storywalks) to keep up to date. But in the mean time here is a crazy little 60 second film with the first cut of the Westcott maze.

Enjoy.

Go straight to Gaol, do not pass go . .

Nether Stowey Town Gaol, the plaque can just be seen on the wall inside.

Last week I installed this laser etched slate in Nether Stowey town Gaol, (with full permission I will add) The local school in Nether Stowey, along with Dunster First and Porlock St Dubricius created poetry with me and Jenny Mash by walking in the landscape in much the same way as Coleridge and Wordsworth did 200 years ago. The weather was terrible, but none of the schools said no (thankfully), and the poems reflect this with phrases like numb, icy, and frosty!

Close up of the slate.

I took their poems and wrapped them up in two different ways, firstly they were made in to QR codes, and secondly I made a word cloud for each school. On the slate here in Nether Stowey, which is at the foot of the Coleridge Way walk, I decided to fuse these two formats together and give people a taste of the poems and harvested words all on one piece of slate.

So why wrap the words up into QR codes at all, why don't you just print the poems for everyone to read with or without a smart phone. Well it is a good question of which there are several answers but mainly it comes down to the oddly inquisitive nature of people. Everyone wants to know what's behind the door, or what the skeleton key may open, and in the same way I have hidden words in plain sight. All you need to do is scan them with your smart phone (apps are free) and the poetry will be revealed.

The Gaol and plaque

This technique of obfuscation is common, whether it's journey into a church to see the light streaming through the stained glass onto the alter, or a simple village treasure trail. The QR code is another method of placing the 'product' around a metaphorical corner. 

This in turn asks the reader to expend energy for a reward, in the treasure hunt the reward is in completion and putting this small task on the reader to scan the QR codes in my opinion embodies a greater worth in the work itself. If you have to travel to view, then that extra effort imbues the work with greater worth.

Alternately a cynic would say that funding is only every granted for new projects, never for repeats of old ones, and just doing poetry workshops with pupils, though great fun to do would not receive the funding rubber stamp.

Either way I have enjoyed creating this art work, the pupils have been brilliant, the teachers fabulous, I think the final art work looks stunning, though I did spend some time scratching my head working out how to deliver the product 'beautifully' and on budget.

So these slates are installed, along with the three pieces at the Jubilee hut (Webbers Post, Dunkery Beacon) And all are installed with brass screws I may add, so we don't get iron staining.

The tiles should be pretty hardy, the most likely damage will be through vandalism, which will eventually consume them all in time, and is always a problem with public art. I have taken some time photographing them in situ where they look A1, and lets hope they stay that way for quite a while.

Installation at The Jubilee Hut

Many thanks ARTlife for saying yes to this project, I have a couple more QR codes to install (Watery Lane) and also have some for my Somerset Art Week exhibition in September where I can help you scan the codes and reveal the poems.