You have to walk the walk.

Yesterday I braved ice and snow and stepped out in Nether Stowey, which is the beginning of The Coleridge Way, and it is kind of long over due as tomorrow I am working with Nether Stowey school and shall be word harvesting along this stretch of the path.

Watery Lane, so called as a little way up it becomes a stream.

I have already worked with Dunster and Porlock creating some fabulous poetry over the last couple of weeks, but now it's Nether Stowey's turn, and being at the foot of the trail it really is a key community. This project in some ways has been quite simple, work with local schools along and around the Coleridge Way route, and create poetry inspired by landscape and place in a similar manner to Coleridge and Wordsworth. 

Walkers go left here and Horse's right,
Horse's actually travel along the stream bed
for a few hundred yards or so.

But this didn't feel enough for me so I added a twist. If I turned the poetry into QR codes and re install them along the route, then when walkers and families find them they could scan and reveal the poetry created in situ. Plus the QR codes can be printed on materials sympathetic to the location, almost camouflaged. (More about this in another post)

So yesterday was a mix of jobs, firstly to check the route for tomorrows walk with Stowey school, no trees blocking the path or dangerous obstacles (you never know!) But I was also scouting out finger posts and way markers to see if I can install QR codes on them. But what is a QR code? This is one, written by Dunster school last week, scan with your smart phone right off the screen, (scan apps are free and they don't need wifi or 3G to work).

In the original concept, going into schools seemed a simple and easy exercise, but as I figured out the practicalities of delivering this myself, I came to the glaring realisation that I was way short on teaching skills for the ages of pupils involved. So by a chance meeting, in stepped Jenny Mash, a Teacher, Photographer, Jeweller and Artist in her own right, she agreed to work with me, structure the days appropriately, and lead the sessions. And although I gave her a few headaches along the way (sorry Jenny) so far the sessions have gone really well, I have a really nice cache of poetry already made up into QR codes, and still one final school to go. 

Nether Stowey Castle (remains of)
on the tor above the village.

So wish me and Jenny well with Nether Stowey school tomorrow, we will be out braving the icy blasts and harvesting words appropriately, up Watery Lane, and perhaps even on the ruined castle tor above the village.

But I shall finish on these words written last week at Dunkery in wind, cold, fog, rain etc (we had it all!) with Porlock St Dubricius's School.

Dawdling coldly on the stony path,
the smell of the gorse bush,
pitter patter,
rain hush,
rain hush.

The Fine Poets of Conygar Tower

When you say it was a cold day, do you mean, 30 mph winds, and snow in the air?! Well that's what they braved, the young poets of Dunster First, out there word harvesting despite the icy chill and risk of exposure. But rather than rant on about the weather and the sterling little champions pictured above, I think I will just post some of their poetry instead.

It was a great day, many thanks to all.

The trees are as squeaky as the squirrels

On my adventure to the evil black tower with a floating eye above to guard the great king below.

Who ever tries to see the king face to face must have their sons taken away, and their bodies burnt down to only one ash each.

I could hear grass waving below my feet and the small tall birds above in the air singing all around me. And when they stopped I scarced hearing the air whispering and then, just then, I stumbled across Conygar Tower

There was a rookery that belonged to a greenie, bluely, blackie Crow

 that squawked as you walked by,

it seemed like they were sitting next to you,

 when they were actually up in the sky.

The wind was like a werewolf, howl, howl it felt like frosted snow.

Whilst I charged through Conygar Woods,

I started to puff like a man carrying goods,

The stones clanked and the rough grass snapped

Whilst on the edge of the path that nettles sapped

Alex started charging round and round,

As though he was a bull with his tail bound,

Mrs Grey said 'stop running but he couldn't stop,

He tripped on a tree root and fell down . Plop!

Mr Jelley pointed out a gnarled old tree,

For it was near the path and we could all see,

It had gnarled old branches and with hardly any leaves,

and in our toes we all got the peeves.

We carried on till we reached the crumbling tower,

When all of a sudden we had a sparkling snow shower,

Anya tried to eat the shining snow,

the wind came over and my scarf was caught in the blow.

Some extracts from different pupils, others (like the last one) in their entirety. I have a whole heep of these from yesterday and who knows what gems lie inside. There are two more schools to do Porlock and Nether Stowey, and when their word harvesting is complete I will be turning them into QR codes, laser cutting them into slate and then putting back into the landscape from which they were inspired. But that's for a later blog.

Dunster walk and a little video

 

A Saturday or so ago I lead the storywalk 'The Winding Charm' which is the first I wrote with the tale and trail interwoven and I still think it's a pretty good show. But this was the first large group I have lead with the new storywalk engine (One click browser based access rather than convoluted files in apps) And what a day it was, 9 months of solid rain finally abated and we even saw the sun at one point! 

The walk around the village does take a while, but none were lost on route, everyone wanted to see that tale out and find out what happened. I take that as a compliment because we took over 2 hours to do it (big groups take time.) But then, what's the rush, for me the journey is the adventure, the arrival is the end, or as the quote goes 'It is better to travel well than to arrive'.

Four came over from North Petherton, another four from Bridgewater, and a family from Watchet, whom had seen the Facebook event posted whilst they were in the village. So they just jumped straight in, fabulous, it's good when tech delivers and connects like that.

But it was essential to have a good group because Richard Tomlinson from IgniteSomerset (Engine Room Bridgewater) did some filming, and made a cheeky little documentary. The front still of me scowling is a little off putting but it's a good insight into the storywalk procedure.

What do you think? and here are some more images from the day below. We made some great charms, which come across in the film well, there is a natural stop point in the story and everyone just dived in with threads and leaves.