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13th April Easter Monday

Sun is shining and birds are singing But I am not Last night... As soon as I hit the sheets I knew I was in trouble Soft is too soft a word to describe the mattress I lay upon Memory foam 12 inches deep Like lying in gloopy marshmallow – consuming and horrifying I could not get to sleep – I couldn’t even turn without my pyjamas becoming all of a tangle and strangling me 12.30 am the Blues crews came in Still not asleep Still consumed in a suffocating mattress Every time I turned over it was like turning a wooden spoon in sticky toffee Determined to keep my eyes closed – I was once told by an acupuncturist that rest is as good as sleep – after what seemed like hours of I glanced at my clock 4.06 am More restlessness than ever by this point – I starred at the canopy of the 4 poster wondering if should get up and go home… In addition - my stomach was aching from the overload of fat 5.17 the dawn chorus began – one blackbird singing – soon followed by the other birds I imagined the songs as lullabies – god knows by this stage I needed a lullaby 6.30 - what sounded like bin men outside 7.30 - sound of life in the corridor – were they just standing and rocking on those creaky floorboards? 8.15 - my alarm went off If this had been my first night at Rosehill House I would have gone home… I sat in the breakfast room in a daze Only able to manage a bowl of (tinned) grapefruit as fellow guests around me ordered Full English with fried bread and talked about the Blues Some people began to depart – getting up from their breakfast table and bidding their goodbyes ending with “…see you next year…”

Monday 13 April Kerry with youth and community worker, Sharon Connery

Perambulating with the pull along cart (sit–on–able) walking, talking, and drawing

Along the canal mile and to the Prestige Building

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Sharon arrived at the hotel and we set off for our day along the Leeds Liverpool Canal Knowing that I could get the studiolab onto the towpath I decided to take the microscope - today being the day to take a closer look at tiny things

We set up near Site 5 – the aqueduct It was a fairly quite day along the canal Sharon and I - with no one around to talk to – began to draw

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I began drawing moss I’d collected along the towpath – Brachythesium rivulare – under the microscope, the green plant glistens like a jewel. The sun was shining and Sharon and I were having a very calm, quiet, and enjoyable time Each lost in the creative act of mark making But not for long…

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A mum with her three children were walking the canal – on their way to Brierfiled. Tina – the mum – often brings her children along the canal for a walk – “It’s traffic free and I feel safe…” Sharon talked with Tina, whilst her children – Jade 16, Reece 14, and Connor 9 – looked through the microscope at the moss and plant parts they collected – Connor was too small to be able to see through the microscope without the help of his brother lifting him And they looked at the ducks on the canal – they were amazed at how different the world around them looked when seen through lenses – particularly the binoculars – and being able to see the individual feathers on a duck

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After they left Sharon and I had more time alone…

At around one o’clock we encountered a gentleman whose tale of regeneration totally engrossed me Our conversation began by his interest in what we were doing… what was under the microscope? I told him that it was moss and invited him to take a look. We then began to talk about moss. He grew up in Devon, and knew of a very rare moss in Dartmoor and where it could be found – http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/au-bap14.pdf But talk of mosses and nature soon evolved into a discussion about land, houses, homes, regeneration, and geology… There is no way I can retell verbatim the tale I heard today. It was so bizarre and complex, that I need to hear it again… and next time take notes – or record it. Sometimes, when someone talks to me, what they have to say can be so compelling that all I can do – or want to do – is listen And this was one such occasion…

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The story is that of Mr John Rowe’s personal encounter with ‘regeneration’ and it’s impact on his life and his subsequent battle with the local council and Elevate …

It began with a piece of land to which he owned the ground rent Land within the Housing Market Renewal area Land where the terraces that stood there were under C.P.O.’s (Compulsory Purchase Orders) - earmarked for demolition Although John didn’t own the houses on the land – he and his father as owners of the ground rent - were earning the princely sum of 50p per annum per house. When the council bought the properties they were obliged to pay the ground rent – but didn’t There were 2 properties on the land that the council were unable to purchase because they couldn’t trace the owners – and under some obscure legal act – in the event of an owner being untraceable – the properties can be claimed by owner of the ground (the properties being Lease Hold) So John claimed these properties and decided that he wanted to renovate them rather than sell them to the council who would demolition them. This was his right as the owner – but the council told him that the properties were unsafe and needed to be demolished So John commissioned a structural engineer to check them out.

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After receiving the structural engineers report John decided to fight to save these properties – which has turned out to be a long drawn out fight for his rights as a property owner – http://www.biggartbaillie.co.uk/ideas--insights/all-articles/property/compulsory-purchase-order-objection.aspx It began with a public enquiry in 2004. And this is where it all gets too complicated and bizarre for me to remember with any clarity What began as a public enquiry turned into a full on legal battle during which the council brought in an expert in geology who stated that the properties were built on top of a tectonic fault – http://www.platetectonics.com/book/page_15.asp – and therefore, regardless of how sound the properties might be – they would need to be demolished because they were not built to withstand earthquakes - and therefore were potentially dangerous and unsafe. This threw a spanner in the works of John’s case. He had to find a seismic expert to comment on the council’s findings… He asked for the case to be adjourned – to give him time to find such and expert and compile a counter case for his right to keep and renovate the properties… He found such an expert and the case continued … However, the council went ahead and demolished his properties – on an August Bank Holiday Monday – without his knowing – or his consent This case is still unresolved – and continues… In amongst all of this, John was living on Cog Lane, Burnley, occupying the end terrace in a row that was under C.P.O. One by one the terraced homes were bought up and boarded up and John found himself being the only remaining resident in the row. John tried in vain to get help and support from his local M.P. But the only party willing to help him through his ordeal and struggle with the council was the B.N.P. Ultimately this support led to John becoming a B.N.P candidate At this point I stopped listening and said “I have no interest in the B.N.P. I am very happy to be living in a multi cultural Britain” I wanted to make my position very clear to him. He told me that Ethnicity was not the reason why he joined the B.N.P. saying that all British citizens have rights regardless of the colour of their skin – “…the B.N.P. is about social justice…” Having never given the B.N.P the time of day I have no idea what they actually stand for – I have made my assumptions based upon news broadcasting – and I assume that I want no dealings with this political party – I now have to decide if I want to spare any of my time to read their manifesto… right now I don’t… even thought I spent almost two hours talking with the Burnley candidate and found him to be interesting, intelligent, eloquent, and people minded – John has been in conflict with the local council and Elevate for five years http://www.burnleybnp.org.uk/2008/07/john-rowe-under-siege-burnt-out/ I told John that I have been doing some work for Elevate – specifically in relation to areas where houses have been demolished and/or are boarded up – and the impact this is having upon the remaining community. Elevate are wanting to implement creative interim uses for such sites.

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I’ve been working as a lead artist and consultant, and in June Elevate will be inviting 10 creative practitioners to work up ideas – in consultation with the local communities - to propose creative interim solutions and uses for cleared sites. http://www.elevate-eastlancs.co.uk/main/News?newsid=19 Elevate’s mission statement (2004) http://www.elevate-eastlancs.co.uk/main/FILE/38 talks about “blue sky thinking” however, in 2009, with the onslaught of the economic downturn, blue skies have transformed into brown fields… After encountering so many stories about living within a regeneration zone – and hearing about individual’s struggles – I am now questioning more than ever the ethics of regeneration and the role of art/artist within regeneration… But John said to me – “Organizations like Elevate need people like you” John doesn’t know anything about me or my work – all I did today was listen to John – and perhaps that’s what he meant – the voices of the people whose lives are being disrupted by a regeneration process need to be heard, and their subjective tales need to be told. My conversation with John was intense – and I missed out on talking with many other passers-by But Sharon talked to others – and took notes – all part of her diary of events. She told me about Frank from Bolton who’s 78 years old. He was cycling from Leeds to Liverpool with Susan (61). For them cycling along the canal is a totally relaxing form of exercise – “it’s away from traffic, and mostly the towpaths are good. In places the canal is idyllic and we loose track of time… we see so much wildlife… and it makes us feel fantastic”.

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I also missed out on meeting Terry from Todmorden. Terry left the Pennine north and headed south in 1989. He returned to live in Burnley in 2000 – the hills and landscape drew him back, and he’s out “… come rain, hail, snow, and high water’ walking with his dog But I did meet Roger (66), another man drawn to Burnley through falling in love with a local lass. This was his first time along this stretch of the canal. He’d just been to Tesco – to get a few provisions – usually he takes the main road – but today, with the sun shining and time on his hands he decided to try the canal – His first impression of this stretch of water is that there’s too much rubbish but apart from that it’s a better route than the road and he’ll walk this way to the superstore again. Roger lives on the other side of the canal – near Pit Top, the old colliery. Part of the old colliery is now a recreational park with turf, swings, and football pitches, but some land remains unmanaged – subsequently – it has reverted to a natural and wild landscape. The near-by residents want to protect this area and turn it into a nature reserve, and so far they have been successful in gaining local support and an E.U. grant to help them achieve their goal. And there was the transitory banter of boatmen… “What’s in the cart? I Cant even begin to imagine…” “It’s Art…” “Oh – I like art…” (Whistle blows...)

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This morning – as we made our way to Site 5, I stopped to check out a patch of Japanese Knotweed

I began to inspect the hollow stems of last year’s growth and was intrigued to find traces of insect life inside. I popped the stem into a jar. I wanted to look at it under my microscope – and nearing 4.00 pm I had the opportunity to place the stem under the microscope to have a closer look. To my untrained eye it seemed as if I were looking at insect pooh – and lots of it. I know that many insects – including bees – hibernate during the winter months in hollow stems I wondered if what I was looking at was an over winter habitat of some kind...? And if so – then perhaps Japanese knotweed is having at least one positive contribution to the environment. Japanese knotweed is considered to be possibly the most invasive non-native species in the U.K. http://www.devon.gov.uk/knotweedbooklet.pdf Every year millions of pounds are spent on trying to eradicate it from our shores, and many a pound can be made in the eradication industry http://www.jksl.com/# So to discover that it may contribute something, in some way, to the land that it is invading, makes this plant seem a bit less scary. As does the fact that it is edible – and by all accounts very tasty - like young and mild rhubarb… http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/ancient/wild-food-entry.php?term=Japanese%20Knotweed

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As I was drawing the pooh filled stick we were approached by our final passers–by of the day – a young couple taking an afternoon stroll along the canal. They had passed us earlier whilst I was talking with John and Sharon was talking with Frank At the start of the conversation the young woman’s body language and tone was slightly officious. She immediately jumped to the defence of Burnley questioning why we were questioning people’s responses to the town. Sharon explained, and the young woman quickly became more relaxed. She told us that she’s fed up with hearing people bad mouth Burnley, and fed up with the negative press the town gets. She moved here with her mother when she was a teenager. She had no choice, but has come to love and respect the town and it’s people. She believes Burnley should be celebrated “It has an amazing history and industrial heritage” and she asked if we could set up a web site to record the oral histories and mining anecdotes, fearing that these tales will soon be lost if no attempt is made to record them. Bev loves living in Burnley and has no intention of leaving, and that’s why Tony, her partner, is now living in Burnley too. Yet another young man who fell for a Burnley lass! (a few years ago, Bev decided to trace her family tree and to her amazement she discovered that her ancestors, on her mother’s side, all come form Burnley!)

After they left us I finished my drawing. We packed up and I put the knotweed stem back into the jar . When I got back to Rosehill House I did an internet search for insects hibernating in Japanese Knotweed, but was unable to find any reference to any ecological benefit this plant may have in this country.