Here And Now At The Cloisters On A Tour Of The Gardens.... Very Interesting

More About The Great North Wood

From around 2016 I think!

I have an ongoing interest in the The Great North Wood. When working on projects about The Crystal Palace I became entranced by the idea of the wood that previously covered much of the local area - It would have spanned from Camberwell to Croydon!

I recently developed two music and storytelling projects for adults with learning disabilities about the Great North Wood. The first was a weekly class for adults with learning disabilities based at West Norwood Leisure Centre about The Great North Wood, developed with a collective entitled Sound Tracks. This comprises of Keith Park, Emmie Ward and me.

The second project was in association with The London Wildlife Trust and funded by the Crystal Palace Park Fund. Coralie Oddy, Emmie Ward and I developed and delivered 10 sessions for adults with learning disabilities in Crystal Palace Park about it's history - centring on its history as part of The Great North Wood. Find out more about Sound Tracks here.

In May 2013, I jointly created a tree walk in Crystal Palace Park with a museum colleague. The walk included nature activities and storytelling about the Great North Wood for local children.

In June 2015, I jointly curated an event about The Great North Wood in Brockwell Park as part of the MADD 2015 programme. The event included folk music, blue printing and storytelling.

‘I wish I were a cat’ .... trying to follow the style of the book to create art works... either an origami cat/dog or cut out clothes and trees etc from origami paper.... Native English Speaker at a Vienna Primary School... 

a few words symbolise my evening

ethics, consent and project information forms....

May Day Music Sessions

May 2017

Hello! So having had a break from blogging and sharing of ideas, I decided that it is time to share again! My current sessions are based on the theme of May Day and I and sharing them with groups of adults with learning disabilities.

I have devised three session plans but each with the possibility of being repeated and extended upon. Thanks goes out as always to the people who probably have as much to do with these ideas and plans as I! So firstly to my colleague Emmie Ward - together we led joint sessions with a May Day theme around this time last year. Since then I have had 'Unite and unite, let us all unite!' on my mind! Emmie needs to get her own blog up and going :) Also credit to the English Folk Dance and Song Society - who have a fantastic online resource bank. (I really must add some more links to this website).  For now just type in EFDSS Resource Bank and you'll find a plethora of resources including info on May Day. I used that as my main source of research in terms of the the things that take place on May day.

I found some rhymes in a lovely and very small old book that I have from my family and I have made up simple tunes to them. The Padstow May Song and Hal An Tow (A Helston song!) are both great and very catchy and with interactive possibilities. I couldn't really find a version to listen to of the Mayers Song, (despite googling to the best of my not always the best googler ability.) However, I like it as a rhyme too - as I first found it.

Looking at my plan below I can already see the elements that I have not actually carried out yet. Either because I decided to simply and repeat or to adapt to the different people in the group. I hope it is of some interest/help to you. I am still finding my way in the sessions I lead, especially when newer groups, however, this theme does make me happy :)

Extra songs/activities:

The Trees Grew All Around/We are Beating the Bounds

I can see clearly

Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World

Singing in the Rain/Raindrops keep falling on my head

Story/script ideas

Use a tone chime or similar – this time I used a triangle to set the tone/scene

Explain that the next few sessions are going to be on the theme of May Day and the May Day celebrations that have taken place since a long time ago!

Session 1

-Sing the hello song – allowing people to smell the scent of real blossom/flowers

-Say that it is the evening/morning and House name is getting ready for May Day.

-Say the individual names of people there who are getting ready.

-Introduce the soundscape and any related items.

-Then for session 1 for example, say persons name is collecting flowers/leaves for the May garland. Then go through everyone individually with different items to addand build hoop with them. Say that house name is trying to make the best garland in the whole of town name. (In an excited way!)

-Also prepare the horse with e.g. wooden clapping mouth and decorate with bells

Rhymes and Songs

A May Day Rhyme

{C} Good morning, Missus and Master,

I wish (up) you a happy {G} day;

{C} Please to smell my garland,

Be {G} cause it’s the {F} first of {C} May.

The Mayer’s Song

We’ve been a rambling all this night,

And sometime of this day;

And now returning back again,

We bring a branch of May.

The Mayer’s Song (Final Verse)

The moon shines bright, the stars give a light

A little before it is day,

So God bless you all, both great and small,

And send you a joyful May

The Cuckoo

The cuckoo’s a bonny bird, he whistles as he flies

He brings us good tidings, he tells us no lies;

He drinks the cold water to make his voice clear,

And when he sings cuckoo the summer is near;

Sings cuckoo in April, cuckoo in May;

Cuckoo in June, and then flies away.

May Gosling and ‘May Goslings past and gone. You’re the fool for making me one’! 

You have to admit it does look very cute with its mini wind jammer on it! Tried it out a bit more with my friends daughter and today I also listened to more spoken word - gave out a few more of my mini flyers to the people speaking the words and making some music... I still have many more places I could go to at this stage to get contributors... However, I now need to wait for a little bit and see who gets back to me as well as start reading for the theory part of my research! Ill write a longer journal entry, but can say making this community trail is a way for me to get to know the local community more and for that, it is worth it already!

Unicorn tapestries & plants at The cloisters

I must apologise for the absence here!

I have not kept up this blog as much as I wanted to. I have been adding the little updates of my recording on my Facebook Page - and have not found a way to link those up directly with this page! I will try and write some more posts here. However, in the mean time here is a link to my Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/CPPAudiotrail 

You can also follow me as ret_uk on Twitter - which is linked with my Facebook updates...

In brief, I have now finished two weeks of my main recording for what I hope will be a pilot audio trail of the park. I have really enjoyed it and been extremely appreciate of everyone who has helped me in some way - from suggesting people to contact to being interviewed or even creating music for it!

I will continue to collect stories as they come, but will not actively pursue them during what will become a time of editing and report writing!!

tascam tried out outside...

So yesterday I had the help of a friend to try out my new tascam audio recorder! Epping Forest - well a side road was the destination and all seemed to go ok! I just need to be brave and go out and practice myself now. We tried out my lovely rycote windjammer and tried out different recording levels and a couple of microphone positions. I'll maybe upload an excerpt at some point! If anyone wants to know any more technicalities then I can let them know.

I've also been thinking a bit more about interview questions for people contributing. I already have a list, but as I get nearer that point and talk with people, it becomes a bit clearer I think. In the past day or so I have decided that it would be a good idea to concentrate on a first few initial locations for the purpose of my course project. If there are more stories to be told, then I can continue with them in my own time. I feel like it takes the pressure off a bit to have a complete tour and it written about before the end of August! I shall see! I am thinking of concentrating on the top of the park, because the bottom already has the dinosaur audio tour. I'll keep you updated!

Well I do believe that winter is just about here… and so before it fully arrives I wanted to upload some of my favourite photographs of the beautiful London Autumn with the crisp but stunning light… it may be like that every year, however, I noticed it specifically this year :)

Victoria Park - to accompany my previous text!