Diversion

Trip to Birmingham


I have been to Birmingham for the weekend . Birmingham was in its Christmas dress, complete with Frankfurt market in New Street.












The many impressive Victorian buildings in Birmingham have mostly been refurbished. Everywhere there are traces of the past in old warehouses and factories, now changed in use to offices, bars, clubs or workshops. It is an energetic city, as it always must have been.


Life in Slovakia
In my hostel in the Jewellery Quarter I talked to a Slovakian woman who travels all over England looking after people with spinal injuries. She has no base here but lives where she works, and then when she can, she returns to Slovakia to see her Hungarian husband in Budapest, and her mother in Slovakia. She sends money to her mother all the time to help, particularly now that Slovakia has the euro and prices have gone up.

The Main Event

Pat Parelli and the young horse

My reason for the trip was to act as one of volunteer team in the Pat Parelli natural horsemanship event at the National Exhibition Centre. There were about 50 volunteers, plus a professional team from USA and UK and Europe. It was hard work! Ouch. I had to get up at 5 am on Saturday in order to get the 6.10 train from New street for arrival NEC 6.30 am.

However we got to see most of the events. I was so impressed by Parelli working with a young racehorse, no tearaway but with a quiet mind of his own, which was creating problems for his trainer and ultimately for his own future. Pat showed how the horse was pushing into everything. In Pat's words, he was using his nose and his shoulders to get his way, but was not moving his feet. Pat got him to think down to his feet and transformed this horse. So simple, but so effective.

All of us team were pretty tired by the Sunday evening, but also satisfied that we had supported this approach to horses as best we could. I met lots of old friends and made some new ones, too.It was very energizing to work in a group of people under quite a bit of pressure.

Still on the equestrian theme, last night I saw "Horse Boy", a moving film about an autistic boy in the United States who was only able to relate to horses. His parents took him to Mongolia in the hope that the shamanistic culture and the deep understanding of animals and nature would help him.

Back to work

Now it is time to focus on my work again. Did I say that my prints were accepted for the Edinburgh exhibition? I am glad to have had this weekend break in such a different world. It helps to clear the head.

An exhibition

I saw an interesting exhibition at The Waterhall, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Taking time: Craft and the Slow Revolution "considers how contemporary craft making practices embrace similar values and philosophies to those supported by the Slow Movement " (introduction to catalogue). I WILL WRITE MORE ABOUT THIS WHEN I HAVE HAD TIME TO READ THE CATALOGUE.