Thank you Ashbrittle!

The good weather held out just a little bit longer so that we were lucky enough to have fair weather during The Somerset Journey's visit to the village of Ashbrittle. We were warmly greeted by members of the village both young and old, although none as old as England's oldest Yew tree (3,800 years old to be precise) which resides in Ashbrittle's churchyard. There was some story telling, noise making and er...many a tale about beans...to be had with the locals joining in the festivities, making lots of noise,  and adding their own suggestions for the name of our wind vehicle. Thank you very much to all the people of Asbrittle for helping us 'sound out Somerset' in your village! We look forward to meeting you again at 'The Battle for the Winds' in Weymouth.

Our next BIG gathering will be at The Langport Festival on Saturday June 2nd from 02.00pm - 06.00pm. Please come and join us on Cocklemoor!

For more photos from the day and other events click onto our flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/somersetjourney/

Follow us on twitter: @somersetjourney

See: Where else we are travelling on our 'gatherings' page

Taunton Olympic Torch Day!

The Somerset Journey started off in style and sunshine yesterday as part of Taunton's Olympic Torch celebrations. The day kicked off with a parade through the town centre at 11.00am in front of hundreds of enthusiastic local school children and spectators. The procession included The Big Nosie Band and additional wind gathering contraptions and vehicles made by Somerset College students.

The celebrations continued throughout the day in and around Somerset Square with Fuse and Street Linx performing and inside The Brewhouse Theatre Lightwaves videos were screened throughout the day. However the biggest event was saved til last when from 06.00pm onwards an audience of around 2 to 3000 people watched the wind gatherers and vehicle enter The County Cricket Ground to launch the beginning of the official torch ceremony! There was a whole host of local talent that took part including Escape Parkour and beatboxing from Dom Beatbox.

Thank you to all who took part and watched us perform, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did and we look forward to seeing you at our other gatherings! We'll be in Ashbrittle this Sunday from 02.00pm - 04.30pm so please come and visit us!

The Wind Gatherers arrive in The County Cricket Ground, followed in procession by The Big Noise Band and school children from Schools in Somerset.

Hanging around with the wind gatherers!


Share with us your photos from the day, or let us know your thoughts by leaving us a comment on our blog, or contact us at:
somersetjourney@yahoo.co.uk
For more photos look on our flickr page:
http://wwwflickr.com/photos/somersetjourney

And our professional photographer, Richard Tomlinson's photos on:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtomlinson/

More photos!

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Sneak Preview of our vehicle!

A first sneak peak of the Somerset Journey 'Wind Gatherer' and Wind gatherers in costume. Nearly ready for the beginning of our journey now, all our vessel needs is a coat of paint and we'll be ready to fly into the wind! More photos coming soon!

Sounding out Somerset- Listen to our horn as we pass by...

The first sneak peak of The Wind Gatherer.

Thunder and Lightening Man



How to turn the 'Somerset Journey' Flyer into a pinwheel!

We will soon be distributing our 'Somerset Journey' flyers out to pubs, schools, clubs, theatres, village halls, libraries and more; into all the far regions of the county. The flyer provides the dates, times and places we will be visiting on our journey. Hold on to your flyer tightly so it doesn't blow away in the wind, we'd love it if you could join us for some of our gatherings. Use the flyer to guide you and once you're finished with it, why not turn it into a pinwheel and watch the wind in action! The slideshow below shows you how you can make your own pinwheel and hopefully you'll feel good for recycling the flyer after the events.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Our journey begins soon. In the mean time you might like to take part in the workshop below, hosted by Tim Hill and Dave Young...

All the World’s A Stage

A workshop exploring outdoor performance.

 Wednesday 16^th May 2012

10.00am to 4pm

Venue: The Cultivate Hub,

The Brewhouse Theatre and Arts Centre, Taunton TA1 1JL

This day event is open to anyone interested in the possibilities and potential of outdoor performance, a major growth area in the arts and creative industries and something that can touch and include everyone.

Starting with a short overview of the history and development of outdoor

performance, the day will explore elements including costume and visual design, sound and music, big images and processional devices, food, performance and more, as well as practical issues around event production and management.

We will end by looking at how to dream, devise and create your own event.

There will also be a focus on some of the events happening nationally and regionally in this year of Olympic and Jubilee celebrations.

The workshop will be led by Tim Hill, producer of the Celebrating Somerset programme for the Cultural Olympiad. Tim has worked with companies like Welfare State International, Macnas and Cirque Bijou and is musical director for The Battle for the Winds, www.battleforthewinds.com .  

Tim will be joined by Dave Young, one of the country’s finest makers of big outdoor images, machines and giants, who was one of the makers of the beautiful floating beacon recently seen outside The Brewhouse Theatre and at Bridgwater Marina. Dave is currently working with outdoor theatre companies Macnas in Ireland and Walk the Plank, as well as being the lead maker on the Berkshire Giants project.

To book a place or for more details please contact Tim Hill at timhill@thrivesomerset.org

Transports of Delight is part of the Making Your Mark training scheme, helping to develop skills, ideas and partnerships in the outdoor creative industries and arts. It is organised by Tim Hill and the Creative Somerset team, based at the Brewhouse Theatre and Arts Centre in Taunton.

Making your Mark is supported by Somerset County Council’s Creative Industries Fund and The Arts Council.

Image by Dave Young

Sounding out Somerset is now on SoundCloud!

Follow us on 'SoundCloud' and listen to the songs, stories and sounds we make and record on our journey to sound out Somerset!

http://soundcloud.com/soundingoutsomerset

Or why not upload your Somerset Sounds onto the SoundCloud and share them with us?