Author: FionaC
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Fiona’s full moon write-up
An astounding 22 people came to last Sunday’s Full Moon Walking night walk around the Stirchley / Lifford waterways. It was a walk that featured joint creative input from all Walkspace members and included instructions to ‘think like a parrot’, a talk under ‘the tree of shoes’ and a 28-day spell-casting using the lunar-charged moon water. Photos of the event by Pete are here.
Fiona has posted some reflections on the walk, which is part of a series of Stirchley walks she is running this year, on her blog. She speculates on how to ‘capture the moon’ by creating a post-walk artifact:
These walk artifacts are what I aspire to but I’ve yet to figure out what I can create from a walk that will be of lasting value. Last year, when I expressed an interest in art, my mentor Kate Spence said to use this time for exploration and play. Be interested and interesting. So I guess you can expect more random walk experiments in the months to come.
If you have seen some interesting examples of art walking outputs, please share them in the comments on her post.
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Dark moon walking 2
A second expedition into the darkest recesses of Stirchley and Bournville.
Cities, like cats, will reveal themselves at night.
Rupert Brooke
Before the clocks go forward at the end of March, we shall venture out into the darkness of our local parks and public spaces once more.
On Sunday 22nd March, just before New Moon, we shall reclaim the night by walking out of the cosy glow of the street lights and into the darkest corners of Birmingham B30.
By day our route is green and pleasant, traversing parks, canal paths and verdant walkways. By night we shall discover how different it all looks and feels when the path is not lit, the trees loom large and all colour disappears? Will there be fear or excitement, a feeling of power or of vulnerability?
I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day.
Vincent Van Gogh
This one-hour night walk offers the chance to venture into the unlit borderlands of Bournville, Stirchley and Lifford wards in the safety of a group. To blend into the darkness and embrace the power of our invisibility. To explore our inner fears as well as a sense of awe and wonder. By walking together, we aim to reclaim the everyday urban spaces that become off-limits after dark.
There will be short breaks along the way to contemplate the darkness or just to blend into the shadows, become invisible and think.
Spaces are limited so booking is essential. More details on the booking page or contact Fiona with any questions.
I like the night. Without the dark, we’d never see the stars.
Stephenie Meyer
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Fiona’s dark moon write-up
Fiona has written up her thoughts about Sunday’s Dark Moon Walking night walk through the parks and along the canal in Bournville. She’s structured it as a series of questions.
4. Why a night walk?
Because walking at night is otherworldly and comes with a sense of the forbidden. Green spaces, such as parks, canals and cut-throughs, feel off-limits and taboo at night. The absence of people in them makes you feel safer at night but it is simultaneously strange to see these popular spaces deserted.
7. Were you scared at any point?
Briefly – by a solitary figure standing at the edge of the woods in Cotteridge Park. It turned out to be a small conifer. This is where night vision can be deceiving and amplify your fears. The reflections in the pond also warped my depth perception of where the water line was.
Thanks to everyone who came, and who expressed an interest even if they couldn’t make it. The next Walkspace walk will be announced very soon!
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A walk underneath Spaghetti Junction
I went on one of Pete’s quarterly walks under the M6 Gravelly Hill Interchange and wrote a report of it on my blog.
Walkspace 