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Saturday 25th April 2009 Six days until the launch. Apologies for not updating news this week but I've been flat out with work and trying to get everything ready for Thursday evening. I decided to buy a car to tow the caravan rather than hire one each time I go on tour. After doing the maths, it was cheaper to purchase a vehicle and then sell it again after the tour, than to keep hiring a car and have to continuously buy new number plates for the caravan etc. So I now have a car even though I can't actually drive..... I know, it's madness. Several people have looked at me askance when they find out I'm planning to tour the UK towing a caravan but that I'm incapable of driving. I was never going to let a little thing like that stop me. Kind hearted friends have stepped in yet again but I'm still short of a few drivers so if you fancy visiting some far flung Folk Festivals, do get in touch. This week the lighting was installed inside the caravan which has made a huge difference, progress was made with the roof, which will have a mini Maypole perched atop, the painting is growing in richness and I made a start on the painting of the cabinets. Mark Hubbard from Scena has been over-seeing the entire project and has kindly found a spare tire, fitted gas bottles, and made sure the caravan is road worthy. My dear friend Rupert Thomas, kindly donated fabrics from the World of Interiors and these are in the process of being made into bunting and the caravan awning. The past week has seen a dramatic advance with the caravan, both inside and out. Sadly we have lost Anna for the coming week as she is off on holiday, and we all hope she has a great time. Luca is back from his trip to Milan and today both he and Angela were able to add some colour to the swirling shapes decorating the exterior, which has made a huge difference. I on the other hand had the mind numbing task of filling in countless tiny holes left by the nail punch prior to my being able to paint the interior cabinets. Of course I'm itching to start getting the objects arranged. I go over and over in my head, how best to display them. Most of the caption notes are done although I need to set them out properly. Thursday 16th April 2009 In December last year, I approached the PR company Purple, with whom I have worked with several times before, to see if they might be interested in taking on a fundraising launch for the tour. While I'm also applying for an Awards for All grant, it still falls short of the sum I need to be able to take time off work, petrol, car hire, subsistence, accommodation in case that I can't pitch my tent, the printing of leaflets and any expenses incurred by my trusty team of volunteer drivers. To my delight they agreed and have been staunch supporters ever since. Tickets went on sale last week with invites being sent out to friends and likely supporters. The task of finding possible sponsors for food and drink, approaching bands to play, performers to perform, and rallying friends to help set up on the day, has occupied us day and night. It's been an incredible team effort and I've been pulling in favours from anyone I think can help. I'm hugely indebted to everyone at Cecil Sharp House for their help and am pleased to say the launch will take place in the Kennedy Hall at the end of April 2009. The tour will kick off in Hastings at the Jack in the Green festival on the 4th of May. Here is a list of the other festivals both confirmed and unconfirmed. The dates mentioned are when the caravan should be there, not when the festivals are, as some over-lap. 1. Hastings Jack in the Green, East Sussex 4th May (confirmed) 2. Shepley Folk Festival, West Yorkshire 15 - 17th May (confirmed) 3. Tate Modern, London 22 - 24th May (confirmed) 4. Wessex Folk Festival, Weymouth, Dorset 5 - 6th June (confirmed) 5. Leigh Folk Festival, Essex 24 - 25th June (confirmed) 6. Crawley Folk Festival, West Sussex 26 - 28th June 7. Hebridean Celtic Festival, Stornoway 15 - 16th July 8. Festival at the Edge, Shropshire 18 - 19th July (confirmed) 9. Cambridge Folk Festival, 31st July - 3rd Aug 10. Sidmouth Folk Week, 4 - 7th August 11. Broadstairs Folk Festival 9 - 12th August 12. Green Man Festival, Glanusk, Wales 21 - 23rd Aug 13. Towersey Festival, Oxfordshire 27 - 31st Aug
I thought I should mention how the interior is going. Peter Hanson is in charge of fitting out the inside with cabinets. I have gathered almost all the objects to be displayed over the last 6 months so know all the sizes etc. Some things are from my personal collection while others are on loan. Some weeks ago I paid a visit, along with Marti Dean, the museum's secretary, to our friend's, Graham King and Kerriann who live in Boscastle. Graham is the director of the Museum of Witchcraft which has been located in Boscastle since 1960. It houses the largest collection of Witchcraft related artefacts in the world and is a treasure trove for anyone interested in the subject. I first met Graham at the time of the horendous floods in 2004 and was able to help out in a small way. Over the years I have visited the museum and been able to use the wonderful library there. When I was explaining to Graham about the tour, he mentioned that I might be able to have some pieces from the collection on loan for the six months I would be touring. I have been extremely lucky to have garnered a selection of items for the Witchcraft and Superstition display. As for what they are, you will just have to come and visit the caravan. http://www.museumofwitchcraft.com Tuesday 14th April 2009 The Henry Bourne Project Sunday 12th April 2009 As part of the remit for the museum, I will be asking contemporary artists and photographers to contribute a piece of work to the museum collection that is a reaction to folkloric themes. For the tour I have been extremely lucky to be able to include work by the following artists; Claire Curtis http://www.clarecurtis.co.uk Here are some examples of their work. (some of these will be shown in the caravan but others are in the process of being made). Did anyone notice the Hare Moon on Thursday night? Some years ago a friend in Scotland found a dead hare in a field. There didn't seem to be any damage to the body so he was dispatched to the freezer and I was told about him. Some time later I managed to get him sent to a taxidermist in Scotland. I wanted to have him stuffed, standing and staring at the moon and holding a mirror. The Hare has long been associated with the Moon and is a deeply magical creature. Now each year, I stand my hare in the window to watch the Hare Moon, (weather permitting), and to capture the moon's reflection in the mirror. For some facinating information on the Symbolism of the Hare, take a look at Terri Windling's site: Friday 10th April 2009 This week has seen a dramatic start to the painting of the caravan. The initial designs for the paintwork were based on images I had taken over the years of various fairground rides. Looking at my early sketches they seemed too fussy and overly complex. When I spread them out on the floor and stood back, the design was lost in a whirl of flourishes and twirls. Thinking that they needed to read from a distance, I took a thick felt pen and just outlined the main shapes, adding here and there. The rest was stripped away and discarded. I knew that these basic designs were going to be placed in the hands of a master scenic artist so there would be a degree of surface decoration added anyway. With my pencil sketches transferred to clear acetate, we used an over-head projector to cast them onto the side of the caravan and then followed the lines in pencil. Next Luca and the painter Anna Claxton, began to paint in the outlines. The designs for the ends of the caravan were created by taping a piece of brown paper to the area. (1) The design was drawn by hand and went over with a felt tip. Taking a scalpel, the design was carefully cut out. (2) Then outlined in pencil. (4) After that the line is strengthened using a brown felt tip and a broken line. (5-6) Thursday 9th April 2009 Some time ago, when the tour idea came into being, I thought about it's main aims and objectives. If I was to tour the country to raise awareness of the project, to meet like minded people who may be supportive, to gather items for the collection and to ultimately find a home for the museum, then the whole appearance of the caravan had to be quite striking. I then thought of myself handing out leaflets, wearing an ill-fitting cagoule next to it. The two things just didn't marry. I remembered a chap I had seen up in Scotland at a folk festival. He was a story teller and had on the most beautiful embroidered coat. Now this is not the time to go into a dialogue on the power of clothes and personal image, but it did seem that I would need some kind of 'look'. Could my outfits not be drawn from folkloric sources I wondered? In a rather sad attempt to get something going, I bought a waistcoat in a second-hand shop and took it away with me at New Year's, where I would sit, patiently sewing pearl buttons all over it. Wednesday 8th April 2009 Today saw my first meeting with the dazzlingly talented Stephen Jones. He was given an Outstanding Achievement Award at last year's British Fashion "Oscars", and has kindly agreed to design and make a special hat to be worn for the museum tour and at the launch event on the 30th of this month. Stephen has put together the most incredible exhibition at the V&A, HATS: An Anthology. It runs until the 31st May. I would love to reveal what was discussed but want to keep a few secrets until the tour starts. Needless to say it will carry all Stephen's signature marks of wit and style..... Tuesday 7th April 2009 Today I went in to meet Luca, the scenic artist in charge of taking my pencil sketches and making them into a working finished design. We had masked off all the windows and then he had sprayed the entire caravan with a white undercoat. Using an over-head projector, we transferred the sketches, which I had more or less drawn to scale, to the sides of the caravan. Tomorrow the painting starts.... Monday 6th April Last summer I had a very interesting meeting with Hilary Williams, the head Curator of the Ditchling Museum. During our talk, she suggested that I would need to publicise the museum project and that one way of doing it might be to buy a suitable caravan and then tour the country with a mini museum. After some thought I began to search and came across a delightful 1976 Castleton Roberta Caravan on Ebay. I imagined that being over thirty years old it would be in quite a state of disrepair inside and so I wouldn't feel too bad about remaking the interior with display cases. The night of the auction I was poised with steady fingers waiting to trump any other bidders at the last minute. To my delight I was the only bidder and on the 12th Dec, Roberta was collected from a field in Suffolk and driven to Camberwell and placed under cover in the warehouse of the set construction company, Scena, who I have worked with for many years now. Imagine my dismay when I opened the door to find the interior in immaculate condition. It was a time capsule and the phrase 'One careful owner', doesn't begin to describe it. There was not a chip nor scratch to be found anywhere. With a heavy heart I mapped out what would need to be removed and what could stay. As it happens quite a lot of the fittings will be staying. If I'm to tour the UK for over six months, the kitchen area is a must. The wardrobe will have the door removed and shelves placed inside and the same for the loo area. Today, the 6th April 2009, Luca Crest and I began to transform the exterior. I have based the designs on various fairground styles but rather than have the bold, graphic look that most fairground art employs, I've imagined it to have been printed and then enlarged, something like an etching or screenprint. Each day this week I will take pictures and post them to show it's development. February 23rd 2008 The desire to establish a Museum of British Folklore was born of many things. Foremost among them was a growing feeling of frustration. Frustration can be a great motivator as we all know. Confronted and turned around, it can lead to positive changes in one's life. The seeds of my frustration lay in several areas. Being self-employed forces you to be resourceful. Without the safety net of an employer, you have to be far more responsible for yourself. While my commercial design work has thankfully given me a degree of financial stability, I've found myself anxious to return to making my own art work and projects. There's a wonderful moment in Tim Burton's film, 'Ed Wood'. The protagonist of the film, dispirited with a failing project, goes to a bar and there spies Orson Wells sat at a table on his own. Ed plucks up the courage to speak to the great man who gives him this advice. 'Visions are worth fighting for, why spend your life making someone else's dreams?' I wrote this down and pinned it to my notice board. I kept thinking of what it was that I always returned to when thinking of my own work. Myths, Magic, Fairy Stories and Folklore. In particular, British Folklore. It had always been a dream of mine that one day, possibly when I retired, I would try to establish a Museum. A museum that explored and celebrated the indigenous folk culture of the British Isles. It would be a fusion of many strands of my work, from set design, art direction, interior design and the conceptualising of ideas, to my personal passions and interests in the British landscape and it's seasonal rites and customs. It would be a place to impart a sense of wonder and history of the many living traditions that exist across the British Isles, some of which I have been fortunate to witness or take part in. A long time hero of mine is the misguided guardian of Kent and it's traditions, Thomas Colpeper, who stars in the Powell, Pressburger film, 'A Canterbury Tale' made in 1944. I could wax long and lyrical about the film and urge anyone with an interest in British Magical Realism to watch it. As with so many of their films it deals with the mystical power of landscape. It can also be seen to be about a nation and a set of values and a culture. However, it manages to transcend the obvious propaganda of the times and becomes something so much greater. There is a deep sense of continuity running throughout the film, the links between the past and the present just beneath the surface. In one of the many moments of wonder, Colpeper attempts to give a lecture to a group of soldiers and the films 3 main characters. He is silhouetted against a disk of light thrown by an old magic lantern projector. In almost mystical terms he describes that there is more than one way to get close to one's ancestors. "Follow the Old Road and as you walk, think of them (Pilgrims) and of the Old England. They climbed Chillingbourne Hill just as you did, they sweated and paused for breath just as you did today. And when you see the Blue Bells in the Spring and the Wild Thyme and the Broom and Heather. You're only seeing what their eyes saw. You ford the same rivers, the same birds are singing. When you lie flat on your back and rest and watch the clouds sailing, as I often do, you're so close to those other people......." The character of Colpeper has been compared to Puck, himself a character from one of Powell's favourite books, 'Puck of Pook's Hill'. Despite the trappings of Christianity, the film's strange atmosphere seems at times closer to Paganism than Anglicanism, with Colpeper a creature of the earth, who at times seems to magically appear and disappear. Anyway, I'm rambling now, like Colpeper, I've felt the frustration of not being able to impart something I feel is missing from my life and I'm sure many others. Why should it be that as a nation we don't really seem to value or celebrate our native culture? So many other countries in Europe have regional museums of Folklore. Folklore informs the culture that produces it and we produce a lot of it. There are approximately 730 recorded annual events, rites and customs taking place in the UK every year. A living cultural heritage, folklore links the past and present. Never static, it changes and adapts to new circumstances while often maintaining it's traditional qualities. It serves both to identify and to symbolize the group that originated them. The desire to establish a Folklore Museum is partly born of the wish to readdress the balance, to show that our Folklore traditions are just as alive and relevant to people today as they were a few hundred years ago. Times change and the meanings may not be the same, but the music and the customs go on with new relevance. 20th February 2008 This was the day I first met Doc Rowe. It was an inauspicious and somewhat damp night when I made my way to a Wetherspoons pub in Farringdon. We didn't really know what each other looked like but as soon as I spotted him by the bar I knew it was him. Doc is an incredibly affable and charming man with a blinding knowledge of British Folk Culture. Described as a National Treasure, he has thankfully spent over four decades, photographing, recording and filming singers and story tellers along with our annual customs Nationwide. His archive is second to none and contains artefacts, newspaper cuttings, posters and printed ephemera. In a word, it is unique. I knew that any project I might want to start would have to be done with the Doc's blessing and also hopefully, his guidance. Over several pints of Ale, I outlined my ideas. Naturally at this point they were quite unformed and just being pushed forward by my overwhelming enthusiasm for the project. Doc was able to point out pit falls and suggest ways and directions that I could go in. We compared notes of events we had been to and I hope he realised I was a kindred spirit. Like a shameless groupie I asked him to sign my copy of his May Day book. It was closing time when we tottered out and I remember sitting on the bus home feeling so happy...... and rather drunk. Since then we have met many times and I've kept him up to speed with every step I've taken. It's also been my great pleasure to meet Jill, Doc's partner. A more kindly soul it would be hard to meet. Jill also has the most sublime singing voice and I sat entranced in the National Gallery last December, having no idea that Jill could sing so beautifully. Anyway, enough of the gushing, they could read this at some point and I don't want them getting big heads.
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