Makin' some NOISE: Blog

Downing Street Fun and Launch Happenings...

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:46:17 GMT

**ring ring**

Me: Mum, hi, it's me. Did you just feel it?
The earthquake!! My bed moved, i thought it was the burglars coming back again, but realised they must have been really strong to make the whole house shake, and it was only scallies in the first place any way and they're all skin and bones from their daily diet of White Lightening

White Lightening? Remember that time when i was 13 and you found me in the front garden asleep?

What do you mean it's half 2 in the morning, your working nights, what does it matter to you? Your right, dad probably slept through it. He wouldn’t have woke up unless it had brought a crate of Carling with it and a Sheffield United FA Cup final. It would have probably been the best earthquake in the world.

Sorry i didn't call you earlier, I've had the most amazing day, and i was so tired, i was dead grumpy on the train as well, so stuffed my face with the left over nibbles from the launch. It all went really well considering the hecticness of it all, and you know how scared i get at these big do's. I wouldn't have pooped me pants if i wasn't so busy!

Well, i got the train with North West NOISE 2006 artists early doors, there was Jessica, you know the lass who won the 'My Life in the News' project last year and got to spend a day at BBC News and met the world service team; there was Andy '2Hands' Tunney, he got a Dream Job through NOISE as an in house illustrator for Time Out Manchester, and Hui Ling, she was one of Wayne Hemingways faves and she even got to spend a few week working with him at his company.

When we got there we taxi'd it to our first location where we met up with the rest of the artists for the photoshoot we were doing all day before the big do later that night. It was dead fun. The idea was to get the artists 'protesting' in the name of their art. You know all those placards i told you about last night when i was having a bit of trouble with the velcro? So, each artist would be holding their artwork up printed on the placard, and when they stood next to each other it spelt out NOISEfestival.com. genius. We did mini protests in Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square. It was like something off the TV, and the security were on us like a shot, but we had bits of paper to say we had permission. I bet they thought they had a reyt sting but we were like 'sorry govn'r all le-git here mate'.

I've told you before how when you're on a shoot, things always take 3 times as long as you planned. You wouldn't Adam and Eve it, sorry i picked up a bit of rhyming slag while i was down there, how long it takes to do one interview. Your episode of Eastenders tonight mam, would have taken at least a day to film, it's not all done in that order you know.

You'll never guess what happened mum, I bought a well nice dress, and it wasn't even from Primark, and i ripped my tights, so I flashed a whole lotta leg at Downing Street! No i didn't look common mum, I looked hot, I think I saw Gordons curtains twitch.

It was the most surreal thing, I flashed my passport at the gate. Remember when we went and you were telling me that you used to be able to walk down the actual street. It's all change now. 2 huge gates, police with proper guns, and then you go though a metal detector you get in an airport and your free to go! I thought you'd have to get chaperoned down, but you can walk freely down. I thought id trip over, but i shimmyed down Downing Street, and it's not as big as you think. and there was no policeman on either doors, and Gordons door was open! He'd probably left the cat out or burnt the tea.

I know you were expecting a call from inside but they were so strict about mobile phones, you had to declare them as you went in, i got a little told off for using mine. It’s everything you probably imagined, but not very homely. I know you told me to behave but I couldn’t resist a glass of red, then a glass of water, then another glass of white. I was proper pooping me pants mum. I had the job of showing everyone the best of NOISE on my clamshell. Oh sorry that's the technical term we use for the portable DVD player. I boom boom worked the room.
It's a royal shame i take after you in some ways. Ok ok I know i will wish i look as good as you when I'm 50 but I’m a bugger for remembering names and faces. I chatted to one woman for ages about the cool ways of NOISE and it turns out she was a waitress.

Do you know what? I think everyone was a little bit buzzing after the do. who else gets to say they spent the evenin in a place you only see on the telly? Afters i had to put me jeans back on, and Mr Darlings secretary let me change in the meeting room. I changed me pants where they make all the decisions!!! I dint nick owt mum no, it got all a bit big brother for me when i was having a wee.

Tired now mum. It hasn't all sunk in yet, but it'll be great day at the office tomorrow.

ooo ooo mum before you go, I'll email you a photo tomorrow…email...y’know on the internet....oh forget it, it's in the post.

Bleeds areas, the high res debate n late nights…

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:45:42 GMT

Printing stuff is hard. And I don’t like making decisions that could end up in me working back at McDonalds banished from the creative industries for an eternity, and always be known as the girl sent 40,000 posters to print with the 3 typos - I just couldn’t live with myself. I demand I’m not put under this pressure again, it hurts my chest, I can’t sleep until the flyers and posters arrive and I just keep taking it out on the ones I love the most.

To bridge the gap between designer and Mr Poster//Flyer printer there’s me. Usually the job of an in house graphic/print dude, but we have no such luxury. Anyways regardless of what I’ve said above, (and I don’t usually go back on my word) it’s sorta nice to know that your handy work’s going to be seen by thousands, even millions. On the other hand, that’s a very scary thought…

Elliot’s busying himself designing the posters, and badges back down Souf. Which is proving a tad difficult because you have to keep bouncing emails back and forth to make minor changes, and we were on a very, very tight deadline to get these bad boys, designed, signed off and printed before the launch.

Which leaves me to design the stickers and flyers, ok delegation to Jess on the flyers. The badges were coming back looking ace, but not quite there yet. There was a wicked one that said ‘I heart NF’, but we figured it looked a bit like we loved something else (use yet noggin on that one). And at the brink of a launch at Downing Street we weren’t too prepared to get into that sort of tangle..

Two more things that needed on this rollercoaster marketing material mission were designing were 2 massive boards for the windows in 11 Downing Street; and some placards. Your not allowed to stick posters on the walls in Downing Street, in case you rip off 100 year old, Indian restaurant style, flock wall paper off the walls. Solution? Prop huge boards up against the windows. And how does one measure the said windows for such boards? Simply take a photo of oneself on a visit to 11 Downing Street with your arms outstretched and get some one to measure you, and do some complicated maths upon your return.

As if I wasn’t pooping my pants about the new host of printers we’d got on board to do our marketing business, if we get to Downing Street with these two huge expensive boards and they don’t fit….I’m going to run away, I’ll just give my NOISE uniform back , bow my head and live in Mexico…I’ve mentally prepared myself for something going woopsie. Not to mention pissing off a printers in Trafford by making him come into work on his day off to print some placards.

Placards…did I not mention this? Each NOISE artist who’s accompanying us to Downing Street will get a placard depicting their artwork and an initial, so when they join forces for a photo it spells out ‘ NOISE Fesival.com’ - cunning, no?

Come the eve of launch, I’m sat in the NOISE office at 11pm velcroing placards to wooden poles after meeting the printer in Yates bar to exchange a hefty cardboard box for a cheque…I thought it looked dodgy…but which drug dealer nowadays carts cardboard boxes of marijuana around in exchange for a cheque….it’s all chip and pin these days….

make-shift Ronald- photoshoot fun

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:24:59 GMT

From the moment we sat our festively round derrieres back at our desks after Christmas, it was all systems go getting this budda bad boy organised.
Over the last two years we’ve worked together me and Rosie have figured out our strengths and weaknesses between us. I crumble at the sight of a spreadsheet and can’t even open the petty cash tin. So Marlow busied herself sorting out the finer details of the launch ie: train tickets, invites, letters, logistics, and finger food. I went off to find some new promotional material for NOISE 2008.

They had to be designed first…

Denise had seen this wicked designer last year at one of the end of year shows that we frequent annually. His name’s Elliot Rooney and he likes skulls- and if you know me I’m one for a bit of skulls. Extra Crossbones the better.

So we got Elliot up to Manchester, and contacted a nice dude called Danny who Denise met on the train once. He’s a part time model and rock star from down Sowf. Also on the guest list for NOISE 2008 photoshoot fun was Jess Holt, NOISE intern and graphic design graduate. Jess would be shooting the er..shoot. Her first photoshoot since leaving uni so the pressure was on for Jess to remember what to do with the lights and gels and her brand spanking new camera.

I was on hand to do a bit of costume fitting and Make-up, yes make-up…brilliant. That is my handy work the eyeliner you see on the poster.

The idea behind this year’s marketing campaign is to portray the creative side of a new artist along with their run of the mill not so creative side. The side that helps fund the creative side. It’s also saying that NOISE will help you show off your creative side etc…a cheeky nod to the Mc Job and the 9 to 5s.

To get the costumes for the shoot we went on a rather fun shopping trip to a place where restaurants, catering places, shops etc get their uniforms from. There were some pretty horrific things in that shop. The sort of trousers you have to fasten under your boobs, blouses that if they got a whiff of heat would spontaneously combust and some spectacular tabards. Practical clothing but cruel if you ask me. And I should know, after 5 years service under the scary fast food clown, you can and will not look attractive whilst flipping burgers and making chips.

Gordon you've left your door open...

Sun, 25 May 2008 16:11:41 GMT

As i shimmyed down Downing Street I noticed Gordons front door was open, i was gonna pop in and tell him to be careful you don't know who's about these days, the areas gone a bit down the pan of late. But figured he's be alright because at the other end of the street there's 2 sets of iron gates, with two heavily armed guards, a metal detector, and an x-ray machine even before you get to the 'beware of the dog' and the 'no cold callers' signs.

Bet he never gets anyone trying to sell him dishcloths and picking up his old fridge.

After bribing a few people in the know, a sneeky back hander here and there, and getting my baps out to Mr Prescot, the official NOISE 2008 was at 11 Downing Street. But before i tell you all the juicy details of our big day in the Capital city, and explain the journey there- (not the Virgin down to Euston, but actually all the work that went into 3 hours of hob-nobbing parlimentary fun)

Times are a changin’

Fri, 09 May 2008 10:38:55 GMT

So that was that and this is now. NOISE 2006, firmly wrapped up, 2008 on the horizon. It’s exciting, it’s me, Rosie, Neil and Denise starting the whole rock n roll rollercoaster again. Foundations have been made (the long-standing little nuggets here and there, that’ll ensure 2008 goes off with a b,b,b,BANG!)

My NOISE 2006 Blog will be a little footnote* in the history making bonanza that was NOISEfestival.com’s very first showcase for young creative talent making sure that new artists, whoever you are, wherever you are, get the chance to have your work seen, heard, respected and renowned.** ⁪

I’m, dam proud to have been a part of it, and I hope you have enjoyed the journey along the way.

Let’s draw one of those squiggly lines under 2006/2007, a caption that say’s “to be continued” and turn the page for Chapter 2, ‘NOISE 2008’
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

*foot·note [foot-noht]
1. an explanatory or documenting note or comment at the bottom of a page, referring to a specific part of the text on the page.

**2,000 exhibited bits of work, raging from moving images; still images with African Tribesmen, roadside shrines and a tart in railway carriage. Drawn items of metropolitan cities, mutant fish and 2hand sketches. Feminist statements with a Disney kick, casts and textiles with a neither regions theme. Contraptions to make Rover happy at the dinner table, and that homeless chap comfy in a cold doorway. Spitting rhythms, melodical lyrics and unforgettable lyrics. Fashion statements fit for the Paris catwalk or Market Street or Elle Decoration for that matter. Combining cultures in interior design to discovering heritage identity Krushin’ on the Drom or mashing up the TATE, in the Urbis ICA and Magma; on the TV, the wireless, print, and online. ⁪

Team NOISE

Fri, 09 May 2008 10:18:47 GMT

One day in October 2007, me and Rosie had our weekly look through some of the things people had been sending through after our call out for a new web dude. This one Leeds based chap caught our eye. The words ‘Joomla’ sprang out the page.

Life at NOISE generally revolves around a few things, namely the Outlook Calender and Joomla. J- to the – A is this big bad website development program that looks quite scary on the surface but can work wonders when you mix it with a bit of Dreamweaver, PHP, HTML, components, modules etc. It makes websites look and act pretty smashing thank you very much, but it can be a right pain in pain in the arse sometimes- me and Rosie have been known to get Joomla rage

Anyway enough of ol’ geeky me. I could go on for hours about the delights of the in-built Sonic on the Sega Master System, the marvels of BitLord, and how not to try and turn your laptop into a makeshift sound system and blow the speakers…and then in one big swoop Victoria Turnbull, was now so uncool she was the new black.

So, Neil came along one day for a chat, and then he came back the next day, and then he sorta stayed. We have a male in the office at long last to counter balance talks of shopping, shoes and smelly boys. He’s gotta a cool taste in music and is a big geek like me. Neil is busy re-designing the new NOISE 2008 website, mashing up ideas, codes and programming. From the looks of things it’s gonna be a right little corker!

Broken English and a plate of meat...

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:06:28 GMT

As ever a random life I have.
Last year I woke up on my birthday in Mauldeth Road park at 11 in the morning surrounded by school children, with a few friends near by.
This year I bring in my birthday stood on a stage in the middle of Naples, in front of 500 people getting hugged by a range of Italians.
Then in a square outside a bar an Italian Blues Brothers tribute band sang to me surrounded by about 60 Friday night revellers drinking mojitos and basking in the warm medditaranian night.
NOISE is looking to hook up with European Festivals across the continent to swap and exchange ideas, art and creativity for the next NOISE in 2008. Rosie went off to France in May, and I trekked off the Barcelona and now Naples.

I was invited to be a judge as part of a new music festival in Naples. The panel of judges included, a TV presenter, music producer and journalist, a music promoter, another music writer and a nobhead from Manchester.

I can't even speak Italian so most of the time I was pretty quiet, nodding and taking advantage of the nibbles.
It's been magical - if not slighlty nerve wracking. As you probably could have guessed from my last post in Barcelona i poop myself on planes. And here i am taking 3 planes in one day. I may have taken too much night-nurse and nitol because i could see shapes in the clouds, and one of the most bizzare things was walking around Rome airport and thinking that everyone was talking Mancunian when infact they were all talking Italian. To say I'd taken too many in my nervous state was a bit of an understatement. By the time i got to Naples i was ravenous. I have never spoke Italian in my life and started to jot down things i NEEDED to say..all in the back of my notepad- and tryed to memorize it on the planes- and forgot it all.

I was picked up from the airport by a dude who didn't speak much English- and was put up in a lovely little hotel where i banged the laptop on and found some tunes i didn't know was there.
The Festival took over a square in a cool part of town, there were empty shop fronts covered in graffiti that had been overtaken my cool kids wearing ripped jeans and riding mo-peds. The stage was surrounded by historical beautiful buildings, a stark contrast to the rocking choons that were coming out of the youngsters who performed. One band wore Marx-esq fake noses and glasses, and donned Doctors whites to play Vandals style fast paced punk. I thought they were ace- even though i dodnt understand what they were singing about. Me and this other judge loved em, but i later learnt that they were close to be disqualified, because apparantly loud rants about the Mafia doesn't go down to well in broad daylight in the middle of Naples.

Many of the bands were not my cup of tea, but nevertheless by all means great. The over all winner was my favourite- a new wave ska flavoured, male fronted band - who gave me a copy of thier album as a bday present as they left the stage.

I was only there for 2 days so I thought I'd cram in all the Italian classics, I had e pizza, e pasta, e ice cream and a plate of pork (the language barrier got the better of me)

I also had a ride on the back of a motorbike, with no helmet. I read that Naples 'was the most violent and dangerous cities in Italy' , it maybe, but I've never been met with so much friendliness and lovliness. And the 2 kiss thing I was well getting to the swing of things and lunging for everybody.

Then there was the flights. I missed my connection to Manchester so I spent most of birthday in Paris airport, awkwardly asleep on a plastic chair. I thought I was going to spend all night there so i put on me 'Birthday Girl' badge, bought a muffin and bottle of wine and sang 'Happy Birthday' to myself.

The plane back was made better by a woman sat next to me who was more terrified than me.

7 Planes, in 2 weeks, my carbon footprint is blummin massive.

I do hate all these traveller types who go on about 'god, I had the most amzing time in India where i stood on top of a mountain with a naked hippy and really found who I was about, and what life really means, while the hippy stuck a smoking stick up my arse'.

But I did have a randomly great time.

The home of pizza

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:38:44 GMT

This made me laugh. Ok I laughed then I got a tiny bit scared.

Click Giovani Suoni
Then 'Enter', then 'Giuria' on the top navigation bar.

'Giuria' incidently means 'judge' in Italian.
Scroll down the romantic Italian names and you'l me self at the bottom.

On Thursday and Friday night I'll be on the judging panel at a new music festival in Naples, Italy.

Bloody hell

cheese sandwiches and Spanish Old People

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 22:21:35 GMT

The cuisine of Spain is famed for its tapas, seafood, fesh veg and lush fruit, and in the past two days all I have managed to eat is two cheese sandwiches. and beer cus, at the end of the day everyone knows what 'beer' is in any language and i have got a case of the terrible vegetarian language barrier.

My Spanish has got me far these past few days...'pardon' when I bump into someone. 'rethebo' when I need a receipt, and my old favourite 'Ola!' , you can't go wrong with the odd hello. I even sent a lady to the 5th floor of my apartment block by pointing at the buttons and asking 'cinco?' She may not have been going there...

I love Spain because it's full of brown wrinkly old men who always need to sit down. Even on the big massive street in Barcelona, where there are those silver painted mime artists who think they're robots, they have special old men seats. Not even next to each other, but randomly scattered. So walking down the street you can bet ur ass every 10 yards you'll find an old man asleep.

I managed to catch a very odd installation slash show today. I even had to sign a release form before i went in, and there were paramedics waiting outside. I'm not one for installations, to be honest I can take me or leave em.

It started with 60 or so of us watching an odd projection of what looked like the dancing a baby from Ally Mcbeal, then a whole lorra smoke filled the room, mixed with strobe lights, then pulsating coloured lights. You know when you poke urself in the eye (if your as stupid to) and you get those strange little red greeny splashes in your eyes, well that was what it was like, but not just straight ahead but to the side of you and mixed with the smoke and sub bass surround sound - i thought i was going to punch the girl beside me. Well done you crazy artist you, that's not art, it's messin with me vision you wierdo.

Sonar is split up into about 5 different areas. You have your main stage – an outdoor affair in the middle of a huge courtyard; two other stages in some other rooms; a record and industry fair, with stalls advertising new music initiatives, magazines, labels and fashion thangs; then a new media section- where the latest technology has a chance to strut their stuff.

The theme of this year’s Sonar Tech was magic, and a bunch of innovators and tech supreemos had created installations in them of all things illusion – and as the blurb said, the internet and advances in social media is like a big illusion, you see the end product but non of the workings that give the end result. There were displays of interactive shadow puppetry, touchy feely forks and knifes (you had to be there) and a big silver floaty balloon.

Every half an hour there was a live show. So’s not be rude I sat myself down to take a gander. Well…I wasn’t expecting a guy to take a knife to his arm and cut a huge gash into his skin. There was a also a dude who sat at a desk and hovered his finger over a white sheet of plain paper, deep in thought as if pondering what next to right. As if by magic words appeared on the paper under his fingertips, without a pen or wires under the table to be seen. Paul Daniels..eat yer fooking heart out.
Moving on from the weird…

I had a meeting with a dude from Switzerland who runs out-source programming for a range of European radio stations - one that I’d set up whilst in Manchester- which was bizarre.

In fact this trip has been uber liberating for me. I never thought in a million years I’d have the guts to go somewhere on a plane on my own. Never mind traveling on a tube or talking to random irish people who own a dance label. I’m proud of myself, and you can bugger your trips to Thailand, and traveling the world with only a backpack- this once shy girl who cries when a plane sets off has only gone and bloody done it.

But I keep getting the heebeejeebees every time I go back to the apartment cus a guy that rents a room there is dead quiet and apparently he’s away for a while, but you can’t be too sure can you?

My flight was not until late this afternoon- so i spent the rest of the day wondering the streets of the city and strolling about 2 miles up the beach trying to find a bar Denise was telling me about. I didn't find it, but had a little sunbathe on my own next to a man who had a really hot bike with a skull and cross bones spoke.

I can't wait to tell everyone about my adventure..and how we can figure something Sonar-like into NOISE 2008.

ooooo, ooooo, but lets come back again one day, as us, not just me

So there was this woman and she was on a airplane

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 22:12:43 GMT

My second day in Barcelona, I'm sat on the tiniest balcony with me laptop in me, well lap over looking terracotta rooftops, satillite dishes; to one side of me is the ocean and to the other sise is mountains I can't even see what is at the top of, but I know the lights twinkle at night time. Peoples washing hangs in the balance 12 story's high, and I be questioning where my smalls were gonna fall if I was them.

But this is Spain, and as is the nature of the county, anything goes. It's uber chilled out, maybe its the sun, or may be it's the cheap wine. (I bought bottle of red vino for €1.01 and i thought that was a bit ruddy steep)

Sonar was wicked. Although I spent 2 whole hours trying to find it. I thought it couldn’t be THAT hard to find the biggest dance festival in the west in this city, but it was. I traveled tube after tube, going down street after street, stopping for an ice lolly and trying to remember the Spanish for receipt. I even tried latching a group of yoofs who looked like they were heading to a festival and almost ended up in their apartment. It was fun, I had my ipod on, and without asking for directions, with only my a-z of Barcelona and Less Than Jake to help me I found it…

I'm sure I saw the guy who sang the Macarena get on the tube.
I’m not one for striking up a conversation with anyone…but I had a mission and I wasn’t going to fail, so with a few cerveza in the sunshine down I went in head first for schmoozing at Sonar 2007.
I hung out in the Sonar Pro area, a make shift haven for museos and industry professionals, trying to latch on to converations mid way through, leaving NOISE magazines here and there and trying to get an ear for this 'dance music'.

I'm having a ball- and picking up some ace ideas for NOISE 2008. Who needs mud up to your eyeballs and a tent- when you can have Spanish sun, some wierd technilogical advancements and humming bass?

Down in the Sonar Tech area there's a section to test out the lastest in web- delevlopment. One section, Sonar highlights the best music sites making an impact on the ol' internet. Big things are happening in the world of samples, mash-ups and copyright. The big question is should a track be soley owned by the artist or can it be laid out as an open invite for DJs, producers and budding bedroom superstars to tinkle with to make it something extra special? Check out Creative Commons for more on this, and how you can sample/ use specially licensed tracks

The odd thing was..Sonar doesnt want you just to stand at a desk to surf these sites.No siree, You have to wrestle yourself into a chair come recliner come desk- and visit the websites almost lying down - legs acimbo- with huge earphones on. It was one thing trying to get in them, and quite an adventure getting out of them. It was like Krypton Factor.

I took snaps of everything like a mad-man- scribbled notes - just so's when i get back to the rainy city it'll be like I'm bringing back a little bit of Sonar with me.

Sonar by night kicks off in a few hours. I may pop along, after a ickle siesta.

I'm having an amazing little time on me own, but I'd be lying if i didnt want someone else here, if only to sit here and share this amazing view with me.

bueno no?

the eagle has landed....

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 14:12:00 GMT

Having woke up in Manchester and tried to take something back in Primark this dinner time, I'm now sat on a balcony over looking all these lush twinkly lights of Barcelona at half 12 at night.

It's warm and I can see people getting ready for bed.

Oh and I'm on my own. For those of you who know me, I am terrified of flying, so this is a pretty big deal for me, even though i can't quite remember getting on the plane.

So far I've managed to wake up a pair ‘friendly’ Spaniard blokes when i tried to open their apartment with my keys, and splashed red wine half way up the window and interior of the aero plane and myself.

This is all very bizarre, it may be one of the most stupidest things i have ever done, or one of the most fantastic.

So here's to me adding 'o' to every word to make it sound Spanish, and having my own little adventure!

Leavin' a jet plane Pt1

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 14:10:42 GMT

To get a tiny flavor and some ideas for our next NOISE extravaganza, we’re heading to a few European festivals this year. Looking for artists and installations to switch over to the UK in 2008 and European lovlies to help share the NOISE love. We’re on a three woman mission to get contacts and buddies to join the NOISE fun in 2008.

First port of call for Turnbull and Proctor is Sonar Festival in Barcelona. A annual festival of the best new digital innovations, technological advantages and three days of busting electro, dance artists and musical movers and shaker.

‘cept Proctor couldn’t make it, so I headed there on my own to mooch with the Sonar Pro (industry types) lot, and the mission was ‘to take Sonar back to Manchester for all to see’

But before all that I had to put my huuuge fear of flying to one side, and board a plane on my own, and with my limited Spanish find my apartment on the outskirts of Barcelona on my own…

I’m excited or scared…or excited I dunno. I think I’m scared…I can do this. In fact I have no choice…best start downing that Night Nurse…

Viva Espanola!!!!!

rollin' out the red carpet in Appleby

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:04:24 GMT

The first screening of ‘Gypsy Fair, Krush on the Drom’ took place today in Appleby, about 4 days before once again, thousands, upon thousands of people descend upon this quaint little village.

The timing of the screening was purposely planned; and took on board what the group and policeman were talking about back in Feb. In the eyes of the police force and many of the key figures in the Appleby community, a lot of the residents could do with a little re-education about the fair, its history and its significance amongst the Gypsy and Traveller community. The air of misunderstanding, prejudice and ignorance are not un common occurrence within the town, or the wide community. Ultimately and one of the foremost reasons why the film was created was to dispel myths let people adopt another point of view about the community.

We invited people who starred in the film, and figures from the community whom the fair has a massive affect upon. The mayor and mayoress came along, with chains and everything, as did a local reporter from BBC Radio Cumbria.

We decided to hold the screening at Lady Annes Pants..sorry Lady Anne’s Pantry, the café we filmed in back in February.

It was bizarre coming back up to Appleby again, last time I was up here it was raining, it was a bit stressful, and I was happy, albeit a bit sad to be oop in these there hills again.

We’ve also had a quiet word with the Tourist Information centre in Appleby and we’re going to be selling the documentary thee over fair time. As you can imagine, the town does a roaring trade in anything fair related over that week, from tea towels to oddly shaped stuffed horses, the Gypsy and Traveller community also love buying videos of each horse fair, whether that be Appleby, Stow or Lee Gap, I’ll be surprised if you don’t find a knock off one on sale up Lee Gap this September.

The screening went lovely, and there was enough orange squash, and quiche to feed an army.

It was a smashing finish (or start – half full/ half empty?) apart from an upsadaisy with the DVD; the printers burners had broke half way through the copy of our DVD. One in 4 copies hadn’t burnt properly, and after only checking the first 10 minutes, about half an hour in the thing started skipping. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Welcome to the on going tale of ‘things are never simple’ at NOISE.

All in all…we’d only gone and bloody done it Rodders…

testing, testing..is this thing on...

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:03:06 GMT

The Gypsy Fair film had finally finished being edited, in record 3 weeks and a bit. The final stage was recording the voice-over and what better place to do it than in the BBC, well it’d be rude not to while we’re here.

We invited the group to come down from Leeds and booked in a recording studio in the BBC Radio6 and Radio5live corridor. It was exciting! And I saw Lard from legendary Mark and Lard waiting to use the studio after us. My DJ idols as I was growing up!

The kids were well excited to be in the BBC, and I showed them the suites they edit Question of Sport in and took them up to the canteen, where I lost most of them.

To finish the day off I’d set up an interview with Rokker Radio – the radio show broadcast down souf on BBC Three Counties which is made for the Gypsy and Traveller community. By the powers of technology I’d set up a pre-record from the BBC Manchester studios to be broadcast on the Sunday show.

There’s one thing about the group that makes me laugh. They’ll talk to anyone, and dead inquisitive, they’d talk the hind legs off a very large animal from a woman cleaning the canteen to a big bloke sat behind his desk in the offices of BBC Radio Manchester.

So that was that!! The last stage of production – I can’t quite believe that Gypsy Film is now complete.

The last thing to do was design the cover of the DVD, get them pressed, get ready for the premiere and get the kids an Arts Award…

..and it went ‘woof’….what did it do? ‘Woof’…

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:55:54 GMT

The little fire turned out to be a massive ‘un. We’d all established I’m rubbish in a crisis, and 4 days later me and Rosie were let back in the office to rescue some more ‘needed’ items that we required to keep the “office” running for a weeks without a physical office. Such as the server, computers and some files. As happens, the VHS, plastic wallet and magazine I’d saved 3 days previous weren’t going to quite set us on our merry way.

With no office we set up shop on Denise’s kitchen table and turned her living room into NOISE HQ for about 3 weeks- which was weird not only because I could make a cup of tea with out getting of my chair, but the only shop within walking distance was a Chinese wholesalers, and lychee juice didn’t quite quench my thirst.

As it turns out the tiny rooms behind our office that lived the server was left virtually unscathed by the fire- and the room upstairs we use to store extra bits and pieces, such as artwork, stuff from the 2006 exhibition just had a little bit of scorched black in the corner of the ceiling. About 1 foot outside the door the ceiling had caved in and the room opposite was a complete right off. You could say we’d had a very lucky escape.

In the weeks after the fire me and Rosie spent a few days wondering around the Northern Quarter trying to find another office, but to no avail as they were just too far above our price-range, and had no room for the swing After about 3 weeks of in-kitchen office fun we were on the move to the BBC. The beeb rent out offices in the new broadcasting house on Oxford Road.

How exciting was it to be in the BBC?! I’ve spent about 4 hours getting lost in the maze that is the New Broadcasting House, and we have to wash our cups in a tiny sink in the disabled toilets, with a hand dryer cleverly placed underneath so that when you wave your hand under the tap the ridiculous G-Force that is omitted from the blower sends water gushing towards your face/ legs - and flings what ever you had on the sink side almost down the toilet..it 's like an adventure everytime you have a wee.

As Rosie booked the perfect week to go off on holiday me and Denise finally finished off packing up the old office into boxes at around midnight. I also managed to get round to doing the pots that I’d left on the Friday before the fire, hoping to do em on the Monday of the fire. They were smelly. The next day was spent with 3 massive tattooed men with a van taking NOISE and filling up a metal cage in a safe-store unit and the rest to our new office in the BBC. These safe-store places are weird, and I bet you could live in one for only like £30 a week- you’d just need a toilet and a bucket to have a wash, so that’s 2 buckets and a roof over your head for the price of night out.

So here we are now, in the bowels of the BBC in our little dinky new office, where the windows don’t open and it’s a bit dark; but you can be guaranteed to see Gordon Burns in the canteen- but tis a shame I can’t invite him back to play on our swing.

Disco Inferno…

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:47:33 GMT

A entry originally posted on my other blog. Oh sorry, you weren’t supposed to find out this way…I mean they’re completely different to you, no, you don’t even know them, and it all started off as a bit of a play- around…it’s not you it’s me, I mean I’ve changed, people change….

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Oh no!
This weeks been the worst week I've had in a long time..

Was pretty excited to have me office to me self again on Monday (there's a swing, and over the past few days have been trying to see how far across the room I can reach when i jumped off - so was planning to work on that again...)

On Monday morning Manchester's Northern Quarter had it's own little drama as a masseeeve fire took place in a building on Dale Street, which closed down half of the area, including my building.

Fancy when the boss called and asked how I was going on

“Well, I’m not actually at work, I’m stood right outside though, but I can’t get in”
“why?”
“Fire, a big ass fire”
“where?”
“Just behind our building”
“well let’s give it till the afternoon, and see if they’ll let you back in”

Not quite sure she pictured the actual scale of the blaze…

I was finally allowed in on Tuesday along with a few other people from my building, with a man in a hard hat and a big torch. I made a joke as we went in the dark, smelly place.

"Why don't we just take the lift"

Well, that went down like a lead balloon. Too soon?

I had 10 minute top to grab what I could and leg it out of there before they started demolishing the neighbouring shell of a building. I panicked, and grabbed what I could. When I got out I looked down at my stash and I’d managed to ‘save’ a magazine, a VHS and a folder. I’d be shit on supermarket sweep.

I'll save you the details but it looks like a whole network of small independent companies, a whole chunk of Manchester’s creative industries are out of action for a month or so...

So what else has made this week effing special too?

I've just wiped my whole IPod. Me little pod had plugged its ass into so many people's Itunes, it'd docked it's white thang into so many computers that I'll never get all of me tunes back..and I'm truly gutted. From lush little playlists, to sentimental numbers.

From a riff to a lyric, sometimes a song is all you need to bring back memories that last a life time and make you smile.

Balls

Did i mention a taxi reversed into me as well? - walking disaster

(stop laughing)

Welcome to post production

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:28:30 GMT

24 hours of footage, or something daft like that. A whole days worth of footage! And I was worried that we were going to be a little light on the ground for footage. We’ve enlisted the help of an editor, Paul to help us make all this footage into a documentary that fulfils the original proposal, is jam packed full of culture and heritage and that will above be entertaining and educational.

Apparently there’s enough footage here to make 3 different documentaries running on various different themes and subjects…

For few days we took the edit suite up to Leeds to give the kids a few workshops on how to edit using the final cut pro system. They realised how much editing is involved in the making of any production, whether that be for tv or film. Every shot is a cut, and was purposely put there to create meaning, connotations etc. Post production can be as important as the production itself. Clever editing can cover a plethora of mistakes, fix continuity Then there’s the stuff that can be added during an edit, filters can be placed over shots to make the scene lighter, captions added, voice-overs, and in this modern fangle dangle world of ours CGI and SFX…

And you can go a bit stir crazy being an editor, and you don’t even realise. You could quite happily re-listen to a 5 second clip, around 60 times with your nose pressed against the monitor. We’ve decked the back room of the office into a mini suite, that gets abnormally hot..so R2D2 our little air conditioning unit has been wheeled in to help Paul.

It's taken me 4 days working 15 hour days to digitize all the rushes.

In non media talk: its taken 60hours to feed all the footage we shot into the editing system. And you can't be half arsed about this- each tape needs to be named, each shot named -so that it's easy peasy for the editor to see what and where stuff is. But mighty difficult as you can expect for some one who knows nothing at all about the project to come in and make sense of all this footage.

Welcome to post production....

It’s all come leaps and bounds since my day tediously editing VHS.

I could go on for about 10 blogs about the editing of the film, but to cut along story short, it ended up looking nothing like i imagined. I am damm proud of it. The beggining is my favourite- even though listening to the continous editing of it almost gave me a humerous mental breakdown...

On top of the film, we've invited new bands from NOISE 2006 to feature on the soundtrack...

I love it!

Yerts and Bowtop wagons....

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:46:04 GMT

In the middle of south Cumbria was where we found ourselves for the next and may I add the final shoot of the Appleby Fair documentary. Oop the side of a road, behind an A-Road nr Ulverston - lost. Now I’m sure this was where our next interviewee lived.

As it happens we’d drove past his home like 6 times, as he didn’t live in a ‘house’. He lived in a Bow-Top wagon, kept his stuff in a static caravan, with his son and granddaughter, who lived in a yert round the corner.

I was magical!!

Walter was a predominant figure in the Traveller community, he’s been travelling up to Appleby in Bow-Top wagon every year since the 50’s. Although Walter was not a Gypsy, he supported the Traveller way of life, was even the Traveller representative on the New Fair Committee.

He was a wonderful person, with strong opinions on how the fair was run, and had built each of his wagons by himself, and had even wrote a book on how he did it. Walter even knew Grandma Cannon, who we’d spoke to last month.

I was appointed sound person for the interview and we got a cracking shot of Walter at the side of a fence with his horses. The horses kept biting the cameraman, so I was silently chuckling…I can’t wait to see the footage of the shaky cam, and knowing full well I’m pissing my sides on the floor trying to steadily hold the boom…

It’s funny times like these, in the middle of what has been an arduous project, and a demanding shoot that makes me happy to be doing what I’m doing. I’m tired, but as we pack up to head back home the sense of enormous achievement and pride wells up inside me like a big warm glow. A Dream Job, I think so. I get to travel and talk to the most eccentric of folk, hit it off with complete strangers and delve into a culture unbeknownst to me until 6 months ago.

As we drove off and headed back to Manchester, I think we all felt that little glow of achievement, and what followed later that evening was one of the most loveliest nights of my life.

See I can be heartfelt. It just takes a man in wagon to bring it out.

Stop Smoking.

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:55:02 GMT

My hotel room was top, if you were over 6ft tall you’d bump your head and it slopped ever so slightly…

2100
“ they’re no smoking rooms”
“not even if I hang out the window”
“the fire alarms will go off, strictly no smoking”

0200
** BANG **
** BANG **
** NOISE OF SOMEONE RUNNING DOWN THE STAIRS **
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry”

0800
At the breakfast table

The cameraman had nipped out for sly ciggy last night and the door had blown shut behind him, so he was stuck outside in his coat with in only his underpants..

Not only is there a strange camera crew in town, but now as rumour may have at, one that includes a peeping tom trying to bust into hotels….

----

Day 2 in Appleby, 2 more interviews to go and it’s a wrap.

First up is the ex-Mayoress of Appleby and now chair of the Appleby Fair Committee - an unregulated ‘unofficial’ governing body of the Fair - who’s members are made up from council members, representatives from the Traveller community, police, RSPCA and key figures of the surrounding area. The committee has been set up to try and give some structure to the annual gathering, to assist organisation, iron out problems and gather resources to ensure the smooth running of it. However, no-one actually wants to stand up and claim responsibility for the fair….

I’d plan to meet Ella at the town hall, which doubles up as a tourist information centre on the ground floor, and above resides the historical council chambers - you’d never guess from the outside, but inside it’s a sight to marvel. A wooden clad chamber - with portraits of each former mayor of Appleby decorating every wall- like a teenage obsessive’s bedroom. We were a little late as Sebastian and Mick had found a real gem of an old dude to interview - a mechanic slash local councillor, who had quite an opinion of the fair..

Meanwhile it left me to have a little chat to Ella, and take a personalised tour of the old council chambers, where decisions about the town are still made, and where clear as day, the charter that decrees the fair made by King James the something hangs….BINGO. I felt like Morse.

I also found a wig in a box...hmmmm, what with that and the leather bra...

Ella had lived in Appleby most her life, and explained that the majority of the people who complained about the fair are the folk who have only lived in Appleby for less than 15 years or so…exactly the feeling that I’d got from what the policeman was saying yesterday, as well as what the café owner said, and the man we spoke to who was dead against the fair, and holidayed in that week.

Amidst the interview the mic kept breaking, the battery went on the camera - and then the cables didn’t work. Which meant I had to run back up a massive hill back to the hotel about 4 times to pick up more equipment, i was out of breath, a bit pissed off and a big sweaty mess- I need to stop smoking.... cus I'd hate to get caught in my knickers

Sshh sshh shhoot 2 - Appleby

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:58:26 GMT

A café we pit-stopped for dinner at, kindly gave us an interview. This little quaint café is fit to busting during fair time. Today we share the space with an old fella and a lady feeding her baby. After a few moments of quiet persuasion the lovely owner and waitress spoke to Mary-Joyce about the fair. The waitress, who has lived in Appleby all her life remembers the fair from when she was a child, and it was fascinating to hear another opinion of how the fair used to be, from someone outside the Gypsy community.

It’s becoming apparent that through the sheer size of the fair swelling in numbers, then the folk of Appleby and the surrounding areas have had to become more accommodating to the increasing visitors. Which has meant farmers and such opening up neighbouring fields. The lady also remembered how all the shops knew most of the Travellers by name, and the atmosphere was much more friendly, there may have also been a possibility that her father knew Mary-Joyce’s grand-parents, so they both agreed to meet up in June, during the fair.

The owner told us how the money that they take in fair week pays for the rent of the café for the whole year. Now, if one business makes enough to sustain the lease of a business on a bridge with a river view…imagine how much money all together Appleby reeps in from that week in June. However from the feeling I gaged from other folk in the town over the last week - they simply shut shop - board up their windows and have nothing to do with the fair. Some locals even go on holiday during fair week. It’s not even about the money. So where are all these people that were against the fair? I tell you where….the call had been made, and they’d buggered off for the day. Strangers were in town with video camera things, a bunch of kids and a German….

Meanwhile a few metres up the road the rest of the group were causing havoc in the Age Concern shop…
-------------------------
I love charity shops me…another mans trash, is another mans...castle?

The kids had got into full swing of this undercover reporter thing. The group were in the middle of interviewing two old dears sat behind the counter of the local charity shop, asking them about the fair - trying to get an honest opinion from local point of view. And taking on board what I was saying about old people a few blogs back, this had to be gold dust footage…

And it was…at one point I had to stuff my scarf in my mouth because I started laughing. Propped up right behind the two old dears heads, on display along with the usual charity shop tat, an old vinyl and a the 178 Blue Peter annual was a huge leather bra with studs. S&M meets rural paradise. Perhaps there’s a mean underground swingers scene in Appleby, and that’s why everyone is so hush hush… we were just a leather bra and pvc gag away from un earthing a whole new world…

Outside the shop we bumped into one local who’d lived in Appleby for the last 15 years or so and went on holiday for that week each year, he didn’t like the fair, and feared for his own safety each time the fair came. Finally someone who opposed the fair! But the streets were strangely quiet, even for this town. Perhaps he didn’t get the call.

The guys had finished the interview in the café, and we hooked up under the statue in the centre of two and bumped into two young local moshers who gave their honest view of the fair. This shoot wasn’t turning out half- bad. With only 1 official interview lined up for the day with the kids, we’d managed to get quite a varied bunch of people on film. I do love it when things come together.

The last shoot of the day for the kids was to take them back up fair hill, just as it started to lag it down.
Another fine example of how tis place changes in June. For miles up to fair hill thee are wagons and trailers parked on the verges, on the round-about before the hill there’s folk fixing horse shoes, the neighbouring hill is rammed with stalls and people humming around, fair hill itself is like one huge trailer park, and there’s cars and people as far as the eye can see. Today; a field some sheep and a storm a brewing.
I’m actually really proud of the kids, they’ve worked so hard. If I was dragged round a rainy village when I was 13 for a whole day I’d be stamping my feet and throwing a tantrum by now.

Just one shot left- to get the kids to walk round fair hill and pick up what they are saying on the mics to use as the end credits - just that the radio mics didn’t work too well in the rain - so the very last thing we did was record a wild-track inside the mini bus- we could then magically over-lay this over the footage of them on the hill. Aah the illusions of post-production. Where the kids told us that they’d named a big sheep after Sebastian whilst on the hill….

Woo hoo….the filming was done!!! Ok, not quite but the bits where we needed the kids was complete, as they trekked off back to Leeds we had one more location, 2 more interviews to go and tomorrow was a whole-nother day…

oop in them there hills...

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:31:06 GMT

The last days filming for the Gypsy Fair project. I can’t quite believe it’s nearly finished!

After a day back with Simon in Leeds to teach the kids a bit more about interviewing, shot techniques and positioning and it was back up to Appleby to get the group to put into practice everything that they had been taught in the past year. And for some this was the first time that they’d be visiting Appleby without the fair being there. From going back up yesterday I can’t quite believe how much the town changes in that week. The calm and stillness is what strikes you first, and then there’s the lack of dodging wagons and horses…it’s so different.

A mini bus ride away for the kids, and a early car journey for me, Denise, Mick (the cameraman) and Sebastian. Which is the perfect time to do a bit of last minute briefing about the order of the day, and to explain my findings from a few weeks of research.

Something that has really struck a chord with what I’ve been uncovering is that there’s a possibility that there is in fact no such thing as the Royal Charter that decrees that the fair should and will always take place. In fact one source states that the Charter was given back to King James as Appleby didn’t want it, so it was never instated, so many argue that therefore the Fair shouldn’t exist. This new angle can be seen as speculation, so I’m not sure whether it can be used in the documentary, but the question can be asked about the charter- and I wanna see it!

I’m as nervous as ever on shoots that I’ve organised. Eeek!

I’ve had a bit of whoops a daisy already, which saw me bartering at 11 o clock last night for somewhere to stay, but if you ask me in person, I’ll tell you all about it.

On the road to Appleby…it’s the end of February, it’s cold , it’s the crack of dawn, my hearts skipping a beat, but it’s tinged with a fleeting excitement. I love days out me….

Part2

After a quick breakfast…do eggs count as dairy? If so, I’ve proper buggered up this Lent thing. Jesus is frowning.

The first interview is the Sergeant of Appleby Police Force. The group were a bit apprehensive of interviewing a policeman, they saw him as the bad guy - but after listening to what he had to say the kids warmed to him. I cant blame them - he was lovely. Did you know that on average the arrests made during the whole of Appleby fair are less than those made on a typical night out in Carlisle on a Saturday night (trust me this is a good statistic, I’ve been out in Carlisle and it was 60p a drink and I tried to sneak into the castle). This policeman wanted to see that the Gypsy and Traveller culture was better understood by the locals, and that ignorance played a significant part in the tensions that arise year after year.

Why do I turn into a big kid when I’m around these lot? The shoot was in the interview room at the station bang next to the banged up bit ie the cells. Queue vic getting told off for pissing around in the cells.

I had to ask the policeman if it was true that a pregnant woman can wee in a policemans hat if she’s caught short, and it’s all rumours I tell you rumours…

Playing around with handcuffs, and some dinner later and it was off to shoot 2.…

Casing the joint…

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 17:21:19 GMT

Recce (pronounced "recky"): is a word used in media production, derived from "reconnoiter". It is a pre-filming visit to a location to work out its suitability for shooting, including access to necessary facilities and assessment of any potential lighting or sound issues.

I reconnoitred Appleby today, to check out the logistics of our shoot later on it in the week. I also had to go up and source more interviews for the 2 days and get an idea of shots, locations etc…

I took the Carlisle-Settle railway oop to Appleby, and with out coming across all Judith Chalmers, I fully recommend everyone at least once in their lifetime take this trip - it’s breath-taking and the only train I’ve been on that the train driver turns into a tourist guide and they sell keyrings and pens on the drinks trolley. Each passing train station looks like where Thomas the Tank engine lives, a quintessential slice of traditional England, that simply pisses all over Piccadilly…

You wont get a travel review like that on ‘I Wish You were Here’…

I was nervous, after my few weeks of research, calling up near, every local business in a 2 mile radius of this lush, yet vastly rural Cumbrian village- I had a feeling everyone was expecting me…

I’d managed to quite accidentally wear a rain coat and shades, so I looked like an inconspicuous 1940’s Russian spy. As I stepped off the train, I could swear blind there were curtains twitching, and a silent alarm buzzed in every house-hold where the words ‘outsider’ lit up; projected onto the screens of each TV screen in Appleby. I was paranoid, and scared that I was going to go down in Cumbrian folklore as the traveller that came from beyond and never returned home. Damm it was like those Roald Dahl ‘Tales of the Unexpected’…

I headed into the town centre and met up with a dude who’s set me up an interview with the ex-mayoress, I have no idea why he wanted to meet me. He only said hi and then said he had to go…I have a feeling he was checking me out- to see if I’d fit in his basement - along with the lone rambler who trespassed over his field…probably…

Me and my stupid raincoat stuck out like a sore thumb. I went into each shop and started looking at trinkets, toys, read magazines and started to strike up conversation with the guys behind the counter..

“Lovely weather we’re having..”
“ So, about that horse fair…..”

Wooop wooop, pupils dilated, and a sly hand went under the counter to press the ‘inquisitive outsider button’…As I left each shop I had a feeling they were straight on the blower to the next shop up the road to warn them of my impending visit.

As I jumped on the train home, all I could think that it was a Hot Fuzz kinda place…

**Appleby is a really nice friendly town…as I discovered a few days later, and is in no way all a bit Tubs and Edward**

The busiest week of my life!

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:32:31 GMT

I’d love to be an octopus right now. Not huge and slimy but with an extra few pair of hands. The last of the filming for the Gypsy project - woo hoo. I’ve wrote my plans down and stuck it to my wardrobe so I don’t forget where I need to be in the next few days, cus I’d hate to be oop in Cumbria when I’m supposed to be down in Leeds doing a workshop.

Friday…home shoots in Leeds - tick
Saturday… home to Sheffield - tick
Sunday…finalise my research
Monday….Appleby recce
Tuesday…Leeds workshop 1
Wednesday …Appleby on location & workshop 2
Thursday…Appleby shoot

The plan is: we’ve got Simon back up to give the kids some more camera training in Leeds, and then taking what they’ve practised head back up to Appleby and interview some locals about the fair- then the NOISE lot would stay a day later and get some more interviews.

But before we head back oop to them there hills, I gotta sort out some interviews with the locals, get their opinion of the fair- do they think it’s a good idea, do they actually enjoy that week in June when thousands upon thousands of people converge on their sleepy town? It was an idea of Roseanne’s to head backup to Appleby out of fair time, under cover (ish) and interview people on the street about the fair. An idea, that on paper looks simple, but as you can imagine, the locals weren’t as talkative as I’d hoped.

For the last week I’d been calling around shops, businesses and key figures of the Appleby community to gage feeling, history and organise interviews for the 2 day shoot. A lot of people would give their opinion ‘off record’ but most were a bit apprehensive about speaking on film. We weren’t making a Panorama exposé style warts and all - we were trying to make a truthful account of the fair from all sides. It was blumming hard.

But as of Friday I’d secured an interview with the ex-Mayoress and head of the Appleby Fair Committee, a local Policeman, a publican and a horse breeder, who wasn’t a Gypsy, yet supported the Traveller way of life. I was just getting worried that we wouldn’t have enough interviews to warrant a 2 day trip to Appleby..that was taking a huge chunk out of the budget. The pressure’s on….

I’d called round Farmers, committee members, fruit shops and learnt a lot more about the politics of the fair- things that are enraging locals, from the lack of official control to the state of the toilets. I’ve also become an avid reader of the Appleby Societies monthly newsletter - a riveting read of what is getting up the town folks noses this month - this issue boasted a tour round Cumbria’s post offices, I’m gutted I missed that one.

But wat was becoming highly apparent as this was a local town, for local people (and forgodsake don’t call em villagers, unless you want to be chased out of town by a angry mob of Applebians with flame lit torches), and word gets round of a 'stranger' in the midst..

On Monday I''ll be heading up to Appleby to do a recce before the 2 day shoot.. on my own <gulp>....

“you didn’t attract a man, men came to you”

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:01:53 GMT

The sun was setting over West Yorkshire on the council owned trailer site, with field all around and the slight hum of traffic - idyllic country living you may thing…not quite though, as there’s a shooting range just over the high iron fences; a not too safe playground. That would be an extreme game of man-hunt.

The shoot was going well - Roseanne had showed us round her bedroom and home, and showed us her pet ferrets munching a dead rat..lovely.

There was a bit of tantrum earlier when a trip to the petrol station for some sweets was cut short for filming. But I picked myself up of the floor and wiped my tears…

The final interview of the day was Grandma Cannon, who’s not far off 80 and has been travelling up to Appleby for over 60 years,and during the war. She was telling me earlier how she burned all her fathers belongings, memories et all. From what I learnt at the Archive in Liverpool last month, was that it’s a tradiotion amongst Gypsies and Travellers to burn the deceased wagons after they die; so what made the archive even more precious is that the photographs and collection would probably not seen the light of day if left with the families. So Grandma Cannon was keeping up with tradition by burning her fathers pieces.

It was lovely speaking to Grandma Cannon. I love old people - folk should listen up to their elders more often - they’ve got a lot to tell..and they’ve been through war, and lived off rations, and in a time when you had to go down the road to the phone box to make a call, long standing courtships and getting dumped in person. Imagine Facebook in world war 2, getting poked in the trenches and 24 hour live coverage from multi camera angles in Normandy.

Grandma Cannon was strong old lady - she lived on her own in a gorgeous trailer, with a flat screen TV, ‘this modern day stuff’ as she called it. She told us about Appleby fair in her day, before the stalls, when it was simply a horse fair for the men to do their trading- she explained courting, and was annoyed by sebastians question of ‘dressing up to attract a man’

“you didn’t attract a man, men came to you”

Already we’d heard of Mani’s grandma standing up her grandad on the first date. How things were much different in those days - you could still be flirting and holding hands 7 years down the line. No wonder old people are still together they never saw each other to piss each other off.

1 more polite cup of black tea later and it was time to head back…

I had a lovely day today. Grandma Cannon taught me a lot. There’s one wise old lady living in a trailer in Selby who’s proud of her culture and heritage and it got me thinking on the train back to Manchester about what she said it does take a bad few to give many a bad name. Focus on the good, open your eyes and you’ll be half way to a better understanding.

And forgodsake get me some milk…

Trailers, bungalows, caravans and black tea

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:49:15 GMT

The Gypsy Fair project is going lovely. My workshops are equipping the group with the knowledge to get them thinking about making a really cool film about their culture and heritage- packed with interviews, and footage that they suggested and researched. The group are realising that there’s more to making a film then waving a camera around ‘you’ve been framed’ stylee, the young group have experienced first hand what film shoots are like, and started thinking like real film makers.

This week in my workshop we looked further at interview techniques and I gave the group a task, which was thus, to create a film shoot as if an alien was coming down from space and filming their home. They had to think about elements which made their life unique, from how they lived, to family and friends. The group created story boards to conjure up ideas of shots, frames and camera angles. All this was leading up to a shoot we had planned in a few weeks time where we’ll be visiting a few of the groups homes to film how they live, what they enjoy doing. See, I knew I had this teacher thing in me somewhere, I’m like an onion, ‘what with so many layers?’ I hear you cry! No I’ll make your eyes sting and bring you close to tears…bud-dum pschhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ultimately this will be a wonderful, truthful insight into the Gypsy and Traveller way of life and dispel the misunderstood myths that are clearly abundant in the mainstream media.

Trailers, bungalows, caravans and black tea Pt2

I was in West Yorkshire, Bradford more to the point, to film 3 of the young filmmakers homes and families. First up was a Marni, who lives with her grandad, grandmother, mum, dad, 2 sisters, 1 brother, 5 horses and 3 dogs in and around a bungalow just outside Bradford. Marni’s grandad buys caravans for a living, and renovates them to then sell on to Gypsy and Traveller families. They live on a piece land behind a house they used to live in. They built the bungalow some years ago after buying the bit of spare land. Gypsy and Travellers buy land up and down the country and don’t simply set up camp on illegal sites, however it’s becoming increasingly common for families to be evicted from their own land or refused planning permission to build their own homes. Which is a bit daft if you ask me. Marni and her family were lucky though, and as well as the bungalow they have a set of stables to the rear where lives some big ass horses.

Marni interviewed her grandparents about the old Gypsy way of life, and she also gave us a tour of where she lives- which is in a trailer in the yard of the bungalow. Marni told us how a Gypsy living in a trailor is much different to ‘Gorgers’ (what the Gypsy and Traveller community call us settled folk) living in a caravan. Settled people live in caravans as a holiday thing (don’t ask me why, it’s another crazy element of being British, along with talking about the weather, the pop man and drinking pints of warm beer), where as Gypsies and Travellers see trailers as homes, so they are meticulously clean, and where the you should find one of those nasty chemical toilet jobbies is actually a store cupboard for blankets and duvets- as they think it unhygienic to have a toilet in the same place where you sleep, eat and live. Which makes a whole deal of sense if you ask me.

After a quick brew and a sandwich, well a strong black coffee, toast and jam - I’ve given up diary for lent- which is provin quite difficult and which Grandma Marni couldn’t get her head round. “How about a cheese sandwich? no?, Buttered toast? No?”

I was having a grand day, and now onto Roseanne’s and Mary-Joyce home. Roseanne and MJ live both live the same way as Marni, in a trailer, except they’re on a council owned site, amongst family and friends in Shipley, just between Leeds and Bradford.

Roseanne lives with her mum and sister two trailers down from her big sister Mary-Joyce, who has just moved in with her new husband and baby to come.

I spent many a summer in a caravan me mum and dad had in Cleethorpes- and I hated it. Horrible beds, tiny bedrooms, and it was always freezing. It was shit - and I’m still angry at my mum and dad for it. Plus I was always car-sick and my dad just thought I was being a wet-shit. But these trailers are something else, laminate floors! Laminate floors in a caravan! they were reyt nice. Mum take note....

“They don’t care about walking, the bigger the better”

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:36:38 GMT

At the museum we got an hour to take a trip to the sealife section and saw some baby seahorses in incubators and some little Nemo fish…We also caused mayhem in the shop by bouncing all the balls and buying lots of sweets. I’m not ashamed to say I am a big child.

The next location was Nico Design. Fashion is a huge part of the Gypsy and Traveller culture. It’s as far removed from the romanticised image of coins and floaty skirts as you can think of. It’s all about flashy labels, ‘blingy’ jewellery, highest of the high heels, designer shoes, immaculate make-up and neon, 90’s esq rave gear. It’s amazing. Travel up to Appleby or any other horse fair and you’ll be treated to a fashion show like no other.

Talking this into consideration, christenings and wedding are a big affair, and it’s something that a Gypsy and Traveller girl gets very excited about indeed. Nico Design, in Liverpool started life as a small market stall about 10 years, producing made-to-order, custom made dresses for weddings and christenings. The stall proved very popular with the Gypsy and Traveller community.

They’ve now relocated to a shop in Liverpool city centre and takes orders from customers from all over the world. But they’re not your typical bridal gowns or wedding dresses. Each Gypsy girl has her own idea of how they want their dress to look- and as Pauline from the shop was explaining; the girls will seek inspiration from a range of weird places. Girls come in with stills from Disney Films, like Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and even American Tail, but I guess it wasn’t the mouse’s outfit.

Each girl also wants their outfit bigger and better than the last girl, which results in some very large dresses. Think Jordan’s wedding dress when she married slick Peter Andre. One dress, Pauline had put on display in the middle of the shop, sported something ridiculous like 50 under skirts, measured about 5 ft wide, and weighed about 20 stone. She was telling us that she’s known heels to snap, and ankles to break down to the sheer size of some of the dresses. But the bride doesn’t care! And they love diamonds’ too - the bodice of the dress was covered in Swarovski crystals. The dress would have been sold for a mere £20,000 (although Pauline wouldn‘t disclose the exact price), and each process of creating the dress is closely guarded secret so other families can’t find out what the bride will be wearing on the big day.

Today has been a lovely little eye-opener. It was a llllooonngg day but things went very well indeed…pre-production is key my friend, but you know things never go as planned...