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Tag: Exeter
An Evening of Stories
Lat night I went with my friend to Exeter Phoenix, the local arts centre, where a group of volunteer researchers and story tellers gathered to talk about Exeter’s multi coloured history. We learnt about the city’s medieval Jewish population, and about a visit to the synagogue.
American GI’s were stationed here in World War Two and were segregated, with the black soldiers being kept over the river in Westexe and not allowed into the city centre. They won the hearts of the people in the St Thomas area and had some good times with the local high school girls!
Our Royal Albert Museum has had a beautiful carved and painted stone Ganesha in its colections for many years. It inspired some of the group to tell the story of how Vinayaka Ganesh became the revered deity, that drives away sorrow and obstacles. Maybe Madhu will tell us the story.
To bring us into the 21st century some young women from St James High School performed their own play, ‘Anna’s Story’, a moving story about the impact of racism.
There were several more stories and two super musicians, with an eclectic mix of instruments, who improvised thoughout the performances and during the interval. A fab evening and I’m looking forward to the next.
‘It is easy to forget how mysterious and mighty stories are. They do their work in silence, invisibly. They work with all the internal materials of the mind and the self. They become part of you while changing you. Beware of the stories you read or tell: subtly at night, beneath the waters of consciousness, they are altering your world.’
Ben Okri
Birthday Weekend Day 2, Respect
Exeter Respect is my town’s yearly celebration of diversity. It’s a gathering where the performers and creative artists get together with the community to say a big fat NO to racism and all forms of prejudice.
Respect has been around for about 15 years and gets bigger every year. Running for two days, about 20,000 people come to chill and play in the sunshine of this festival that is run by volunteers and is free for all.
‘ The Respect ethos is a simple one: racism and prejudice often spring from fear, and fear is often based on ignorance, so lets’ overcome ignorance by getting to know one another and sharing not shunning our cultures. One of the best ways to get to know someone is to enjoy yourself with them, hence our celebratory event and adoption of the old Commission for Racial Equality slogan: All Different, All Equal!’
This year Number One Son, Number One Daughter in Law and my Lush Grandbabies came to enjoy the day with me.
Weekly Photo Challenge
Funny, poignant, symbolic, incorrect, informative, foreshadowing…there are so many signs in the world.
That’s what Sara Rosso has to say about signs, the theme for this weeks Photo Challenge.
This is a sign on a waymarked path through the New Forest.
Still in the New Forest, this sign tells us that the Queen planted an oak tree in April 1979 to mark the 9th centenary of the forest founded by William 1 in 1079.
Keeping to a royal theme, this one should be clear enough to read if you click on it. Taken in my local area, Heavitree, Exeter.
Now look, you must go to the regatta, church, and an art exhibition at Salcombe. But, don’t even think about drinking there or cleaning your fish!
Let’s sing and play for World Peace!
As usual join in at http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/weekly-photo-challenge-the-sign-says/
Lazy Poets Thursday Tanka
Rippling down south
growing wide at estuary
wild nature of Exe
peaceful, a balm to my soul
to wash away all my tears
Travel Theme: Dance
Ailsa has a rich selection of dance photos from around the world! Most of mine are out of focus, so on the premise that my city is travel for most of you, here are some from England. Street dance!
Join in over at http://wheresmybackpack.com/2013/05/03/travel-theme-dance/
Maybe the Exeter Fountain?
Now I shouldn’t be blogging today but I saw this new sculpture on Friday, learnt a bit more about it today and need a fresh way to procrastinate instead of writing an assignment. Exeter hasn’t had a fountain for several hundred years, since the Great Conduit, an ornate fountain through which water was available to the public was demolished, but there have been whisperings.
Enter Simon Ruscoe, a talented local artist with a passion for public art. Simon has been working on a large scale sculpture collective, for many years hoping that one day it would be on permanent display in his city.
The sculpture below, one of the seven figures hand cut from steel is twenty feet high and it symbolises the difficult times we are living through. If placed in a fountain as Simon hopes, it reflects society’s struggle to keep our head above water, a group united as it strives to survive.
Art is meant to be thought provoking, but the local newspaper reports that this sculpture isn’t getting totally positive feedback. Among the comments are that it is too modern, the city should have a fountain recalling the blitz in 1942 as well as some positive comments. Well I personally love it, and I wish Simon Ruscoe luck with getting it permanently placed, preferably in Exeter. This is our chance to gain an icon as powerful as the Angel of the North or the Damien Hurst’s Verity, currently residing in Ilfracombe. If not, I’m sure that someone with insight and an open mind will welcome it.
Tell me what you think, would you like it in your city centre?
http://www.simonruscoe.co.uk to learn more.
Weekly Photo Challenge: A Day in My Life
Sara Rosso created the Weekly Photo Challenge this week and asks us to show our day. I really hope that all of you had a more interesting one than I did, I’ve been flitting around getting things done so that I can play for the next three days! You can join in at http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/photo-challenge-day-in-the-life/
This was new in town
I stopped a few minutes to listen to these guys
Stocked up with fruit
Shopped for Easter presents
Another Easter pressie, cute eh?
My granddaughter will have fun with these
Home for a cup of tea
I washed some of my scarves
Went out with the girls . . .
To the green
Then off to meet my friend from the train
So how was your day?
Sentimental Value
‘The personal value of an object, place or pet derived from the personal memories associated with it’ is what Jake at http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/2013/03/24/sunday-post-sentimental-value/ has challenged us with this week.
My first school, Heavitree, was rebuilt a few years ago and the children now have a lovely modern building and more outdoor space than when I was a pupil. All that remains of the original is the house where the headmaster Mr Knowles lived and had his office. The only reason we children went inside was to see the school nurse, get told off, or like me for extra tutoring because it was decided you had a chance of getting a scholarship for one of the posh schools. It’s no longer part of the school, but a dental surgery.
This is the old school, around the early 20th century.
I’m not going to say what year this was taken but I think I was about seven. The photo was sent to me by Lesley, two to my left. She is probably my oldest friend.
The school always had close ties with the church and now it’s renamed St Michaels.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Future Tense
Michael Pick says, ‘We spend so much of our lives thinking back, or looking ahead, and even though a photo captures only one moment in time, with a bit of thought it can freeze the process of moving forward, or the promise of things to come. Your challenge this week is to seal one such moment in amber’ and invites us to share to join the http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/03/22/weekly-photo-challenge-future-tense/
I thought this was an impossible task at first, but then I came up with these.
A connecting extension to a favourite walk.
On the strip of ground between the river Exe above and the canal, out of sight on the left, Devon County Council are building a new world class outdoor education centre in Exeter. The spiral stairs to the left are the way up the abseil tower which was nearly completed when I took this photo in January and the centre is due to open in April. A real investment in the future.
This is sadly a bit more worrying. The South West Coast Path is a 630 mile walk, one of Britains National Trails. The Devon Red Sandstone section here at Sidmouth which climbs sharply eastwards has been closed because of erosion. The path has become unstable in several places, and some homes are at risk of plunging over the cliff. Diversions are in place for walkers until more permanent plans are made.
Lucid Gypsy 