Sunrise Celebration

We are very disappointed this weekend. Our first festival of the summer has been cancelled. No Sunrise Celebration. We were really looking forward to four days of chilling and eco-friendly activities and music, near Yeovil. The massive flash floods in south Somerset on Thursday have wrecked an already water-logged farm land. When we arrived at midday Thursday, we were told to wait, as the site was being dried out and repaired after rain damage. We were let on an hour later, and the mud was already knee-high in places. We did manage to pitch the tent, and have a wander aroung the Woodhenge and outlying fields. But we didn’t get onto the site itself, or even the proper camping area. Meetings were already taking place with local authorities, who later closed the site, as the rain fell in torrents, and we sheltered from thunder and lightning under groaning canvas. We arrived home at 9.30pm, tired and wet, with a car full of soggy possessions.

 

sunrise-celebration

Clouds gather at the Sunrise Celebration

Here are some photos posted by a festival-goer.

The positive side is that we are atleast now able to visit the Vegan Festival that is happening in Bristol this weekend, so will hopefully experience some of the atmosphere we should have had at Sunrise.

Guerilla Gardening

I’ve read a couple of articles about Guerilla Gardening in a some newspapers and magazines recently. Its a fantastic thing that these people are doing; transforming areas of the grey urban environment into floral oasis, taking direct action and taking things into their own hands to bring beauty and life to these spaces. These people are transforming urban spaces, such as roundabouts, traffic islands and verges, wherever there is a patch of earth, through secret planting. Usually this is done at night, and in secret, a form of non-violent direct action. I have discovered a few sites about this, though I haven’t explored them in great depth. Guerilla Gardening  and   Permawiki

 

 

There is a new book out about this, Guerilla Gardening.

Power to these people. The more the better. I love this sort of creative and altruistic action, where people are doing things for the benefit of all.

Bear Flat Arts Trail

     This weekend is the Bear Flat Arts Trail, with artists opening their studios and homes to the public. This area is just on the outskirts of Bath City centre.

 

We visited most of the sites late morning and early afternoon, and saw a great variety of art and craft, in some lovely homes, presented by some very friendly people. We visited 11 sites in all, and particularly enjoyed very accomplished paintings by Paul Brasson (portraits)  and  Ben Hughes (landscapes). Both have very informative websites, and Ben has a great blog detailing his experiences painting around Bath city centre.

 

We also enjoyed Barry Dicks prints, Erika Fieldhouse’s atmospheric photographs, Pat Toplis’ beautiful paintings, amongst others. It was great to see so much creativity and variety.

 

The Future of British Comics

Is The DFC the future of the great British comic? David Fickling is trying to save or resurrect the traditional british comic. He has a long and impressive history in the book trade, and is starting a new comic that looks very good, varied, strong stories, and attractive and exciting visuals. It is largely aimed at children, where there is a huge gap for a quality graphic story periodical, that isn’t a tv or film tie-in. But it looks like it should also appeal to those of us of a greater age, with an interest in graphic narratives. Visit the DFC website for details and previews.

Intelligent Music

 We were in Bath on Tuesday night to listen to some music. On our way we stopped in The Salamander.This is a Bath Ales pub, with great decor and atmosphere.

 

We had a drink in here before going to the The Raven of Bath,a free house, with a great selection of ales, and a cosy and individual character. We went to see what was billed as “intelligent music”, and we were glad we did. Amongst the acts performing in the intimate venue was a singer/songwriter from Westbury, Leander Morales. He had a wonderful voice, and was backed by a great guitar player. We look forward to seeing him again soon, in Frome either in June or July. He is organising a cabaret night at The Olive tree in Frome on Wednesday 11 June.

 

Great places to go out

Since moving to Somerset in September we have had a great time exploring the area, and finding places to go and things to do. We are managing to get out and about in the evening, with and without our children. Last Saturday we took advantage of the open museums events in Bath, experiencing American music and dancing in Queens Square, before walking up the Royal Crescent, which again was free to BANES residents, and had music and dancing, and other activities by people in Georgian dress. We hadn’t been before, and found it very interesting.

From here we walked to the Roman Baths for the 8 pm opening, and were taken on a guided tour, with a variety of characters telling us their stories.  We enjoyed all this very much, and the baths at dusk, with the abbey behind was a very picturesque scene. Though we have been here for nine months now we still feel like we are on holiday!

Radford Mill Farm Adventures

We had a very pleasant evening last weekend at Radford Mill Farm, near Timsbury. The farm is being run by a group of people from The Tribe of Doris, an arts collective. They have taken the farm over to try to run it along organic principles, and to offer arts activities and facilities in a fantastic environment. See here. We had a great time chatting to people, listening to the live music, drinking cider, and bopping to the music.

The farm is in a beautiful setting, nestling in a picturesque valley just north of Paulton and Midsomer Norton, on the way to Bath. We wandered around the site at dusk, exploring the grounds and the old mill, and had a fantastic time. We will certainly return.

They are planning a programme of events over the summer months.

South Bristol Art Trail

Had a very good evening at Number 40 Gallery, Bristol, on Friday. Its a brilliant gallery space, displaying some very beautiful and stimulating art work. We always enjoy the exhibitions and the company.

Hannah Broadway has created some great new digital prints, that are very attractive and appealing, a skillful combination of traditional and digital techniques. 

We were pleased to meet artist Paul Ashley Brown and I enjoyed a stimulating conversation with him, putting the art world to rights. I always appreciate talking art; the process and practice. Paul was showing some large works, a combination of image and text, that had a strong narrative  quality. They immediately struck me as looking like isolated scenes from a graphic novel, and had a very engaging quality. They are boldly drawn and rendered in crayon. We particularly enjoyed his small books, Sum Yo-Yo Stuff, and purchased a couple. These are filled with doodles and sketches, very comical and witty. We had a good laugh at them.

Do visit the Number 40 Gallery if you get the chance, or view the website to see more interesting work.

Unfortunately, we were unable to visit any other galleries over the weekend. There was alot going on and hopefully we’ll catch up on it some way. 

Neil Gaiman – Coraline

Read this book recently. I do tend to read more children books these days, with having children of my own. Though to be honest I’ve always had a thing for children’s books –  Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland, to name a few.

I discovered Neil Gaiman many years ago, around ’89, through his Sandman graphic novels. I was introduced to them by a young art student I was living with. He was just beginning his studies and I had just completed mine, and was living the life of a struggling artist. 

Coraline is a disturbing story of a young girl who discovers a parallel world in her new family home. The book is filled with strange and eerie images, and a threatening atmosphere of foreboding. The book contains several  illustrations by Dave Mckean, Gaiman’s longtime collaborator, which represent the characters and action beautifully.

 

I see now they are a making a film of the book. Let’s hope its done well.