Old Cob Wall by C.Fox Smith

I popped in to see John Tizehurst the other day (he plays the accordion in my photofilm Memories of a house). I wanted to show him the pictures of him lighting the Jubilee Beacon from back in June. He's not been so well lately and I thought they might cheer him up. We had a lovely chat about this and that and as I was leaving he gave me a copy of this poem. Spoken in the old Devon way it sounds really lovely.

Old cob wall

    Have fell at last:

Us knowed he might

    A good while past.

Great-grandad he

   Built thicky wall

With maiden earth

   And oaten strawl

He built en in

   The good old way.

And there he've stood

   Until today

But wind and rain

   And frost and snow

Have all combined

   To lay en low.

Us propped en up

   With stones and 'ood

Us done our best,

  But tweren't no good.

He gived a bit

  And then a lot,

And at the finish

  Down he squat.

And now, since barns

  Has got to be,

Us'll build another

'Stead of he.

But not the same

  He was afore,

'Cos no one builds

  Cob walls no more.

On the Board

I've recently finished producing On the Board with documentary photographer Tessa Bunney about swimmers from the Serpentine Swimming Club in Hyde Park in London. The finished piece is currently on show at the Mercer Gallery in Harrogate as part of the Dive! exhibition - 'A celebration of the element of water and how the body moves through it', exhibiting from 12 June - 2 September 2012.



On the Board from Tessa Bunney on Vimeo.

Marking time

At the end of the last Hinterlands workshop we tried and failed to leave Devon. Busy planning and then running the workshop I'd forgotten to make plans for the Jubilee and it kind of crept up on me. So Mike and I decided we would stay and not make the mass exodus to London. On the Monday, me, Mike, Big Tom and my family all went up to Blackborough Beacon to see it set alight. John Tizehurst who featured in my piece Memories of a house (playing the accordion) is one of the oldest residents in the village and he set the Beacon ablaze. 

We all stood and watched the pile of wood burn. There's something very comforting and wild about watching fire and as we watched ours we looked out on the horizon to see all the other beacons blazing. It felt we were part of the history of these beacons being burned throughout time, firstly as a tool of communication to alert people to the approach of the Spanish Armada and now part of the spirit of smaller rural communities. It marked our own ending to our time in Devon and the next day we packed our things and headed back to Bristol to plan for the next workshop. All good things must come to an end.

The Hinterlands final day

Its been a very busy and engaging week and has passed very quickly. We've been extremely lucky with the weather and it's been so nice to sit out and eat dinner outside every evening with everyone. It makes all the hard work in the run up to the week seem worthwhile. 

We've been lucky enough to have Pascal Wyse, multimedia producer for the Guardian down from London to talk about his work with soundscapes and images and last night we had one of last year's participants Alice Carfrae back to talk about her work Tin Girls. There was silence in the room while she talked about the women she met who were survivors of trafficking. She showed the multimedia work she produced after last year's workshop which included performance, theatre, images and sound. The group at The Hinterlands raised several hundred pounds to help her put on an exhibition of her work and duckrabbit matched the money raised, making a total of around £900.00.  

We also heard from John MacPherson speaking about the land, the sea, woodland and belief. He showed some beautiful work and gave everyone even more to think about. It's always a treat to have speakers along for the week and although it's hard for everyone to take a break and drag themselves away from their laptops and audio editing, it provides a breathing space for inspiration and re-energises the group.

Last year was the first workshop and it's been tempting to compare the two years, but there really is no comparison. As with all groups when you bring people together and build a community over a week  all sorts of energy flies around and I've found this year every bit as enjoyable as last. It will seem very strange when everyone packs their things and leaves the site. Tonight though is the final night where the local community gather together to watch the films the teams produce. There is a real sense of fulfilment from the participants, the crowd and the people who've taken time to share their stories and it will be a very special event.

The Hinterlands workshop gets underway

We've got a lovely group of people here on this year's Hinterlands photofilm workshop and the weather has been gorgeous so far.  The workshop has kicked off in a very relaxed fashion with some beer and cider tasting and a lazing getting to know each other session yesterday. Today participants are hard at it in the training session with Benjamin and off to their stories tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will hold and it will continue to be a glorious week here in Devon.

It's all go

I'm off to my sisters wedding in Cornwall and not taking the pictures, duckrabbit workshop happening in a week and The Hinterlands featured in Hungry Eye Magazine today. All we need now is a bit of sun again.

Free place for The Hinterlands photofilm workshop with duckrabbit

Not long now until this year's Hinterlands photofilm workshop with duckrabbit and we are pleased to announce a scholarship place for the 5 day residential training week in Devon. The lucky recipient will attend the workshop, stay on site at the yurts and be fed and watered for free.

We want to help out someone who'd like to come, but can't quite scrape together the beans in this tough economic climate so head to www.thehinterlands.co.uk and click on the workshop button to read more. The closing date is Wednesday 16th May 2012 at 09.00 hrs.


You may end up feeling a bit like Tessa Bunney :-)