flank.shakes.trick

Day 12 is a Sunday and it’s early evening, approximately 6pm. We do sometimes come to the park at this time, especially on hot days, as it feels relaxed and quiet. Today is just the same, there are no students or groups sitting round the benches. There are a couple of families with young children doing what we are doing. There is even a family on the tennis court! That is twice now I have seen that. There is a couple on the bench (middle aged), sitting quite separate so not the same household but obviously close. They have cycled there and have bought plastic wine glasses and are enjoy the odd one. Is this an illicit meeting you wonder, have they told the other halves they are just going for a bike ride but really they are meeting someone they have connected with via Tinder?

Chloe is riding round on her scooter and finding dogs. There is Monty from yesterday and a pug dog too. The owners have little chance of escape as she will just follow them round the park chatting and playing with the dog. Luckily pretty much everyone enjoys it and will play along.

This area is starting to move towards the middle of the park again and away from the wall. There is: 4 trees, 2 blackbirds (male and female), 1 pigeon, 1 tampon, 20 pieces of litter (including cigarette ends), 3 feathers, 1 buttercup, lots of daisies and grass, path, 2 dog walkers, 4 dogs (including 2 that ran in without their owners).

I like this time as it feels so relaxed and we are starting to see some regulars too.

toys.vouch.gent

Today we are in section 11, so starting a new row. I am a quarter of the way through the 40 days. This reminds me, 40 days is where the word quarantine comes from. In times of the plague sailors entering from Europe had to isolate for 40 days and it was called quarantine. So it seems rather appropriate for the time we have just been through despite the fact it has been considerably more than 40 days! I am back on the opposite side of the park and on a boundary again.
In the section I saw: 1 tree, 1 cat, 1 dog (Monty) and dog walker (lots in the park but not our section). 1 daughter with scooter, 1 whiskey bottle, 13 feathers (more than usual so is that something to do with the cat), 20 pieces of litter, lots of cigarette ends, 1 wall (incidentally the cast iron railings once there were cut off in WW1 and you can still see where they were), path, grass, daisies, leaves.

It was quiet today, with most people on their way home or taking their dog for an evening stroll. I saw a cat in my section. I have never seen a cat in the park, strangely there were no birds around today. My daughter is riding her scooter around and I can see that she has found a dog to play with so it won’t be long before I see her so she can show me her new friend. A young girl is walking along the wall, holding her mother’s hand. Her mother is carrying a bottle of red wine (not open, obviously for a Saturday evening in not watching football). More disturbingly I can hear aggressive, drunken shouting coming from one of the flats opposite. It is hard to tell from which one as there are no open windows but there is a lot of swearing and it feels horrible but then stops. Both me and the mother with the wine stop, wondering if it will escalate and what would we do if it does. It doesn’t.

People are playing tennis and I see my retired doctor again, with his backpack but this time cycling so he is in more of a hurry today. How curious!

insert.cling.rises

section 10 and today I have been to my knitting group at a cafe by the park. It is the second time for 15 months we have met in person and not on a screen. Things are opening up and you can see this in the park. It is midday, cloudy but not cold and it is busy. There are students sitting and chatting in small and large groups. There are friends who are delighted to see one another because it’s probably been ages. People walking to town, some in deep thought and others stopping and taking in the day on their way. Some guys are playing football and there is generally a relaxed atmosphere.

Today’s section is a boundary section is quite full of different terrain and items, so very different to the last two days of just grass. There are: 2 dog walkers and 1 dog, 1 football, 2 lampposts, 1 bench with 3 people sitting on it, 4 trees, 2 paths, 1 blackbird, lots of people walking through, 2 feathers, at least 28 pieces of litter (not including cigarette ends), hundreds of cigarette ends, 1 old aerial, snail trails, grass, buttercups, daisies, fallen leaves and dried holly leaves, wall, knobbly trees and 1 tree vagina.

As I said there are a lot of people in the park, but in my section quite a few walk through on the main path. Two men are very deep in conversation and it is obviously important work, they must be very important men possibly architects or council office workers. A family are sitting on the bench, or so I first thought, but the woman is sitting a little away from the man and his daughter and I have realised that they are on a date. Possibly the first time she has met his daughter. It seems a little awkward but ok and they are chatting and smiling so looking good. I mentioned the woman wearing orange trousers, they suit her and I look at her as she comes a bit nearer and at my own jeans, maybe I need to add more colour to my wardrobe!

We are on the boundary, as I said, and on this side we can see the building that used to be the arts centre, with the sculpture come water feature out the front. The Arts Centre closed a few years ago much to a lot of people’s upset and now I am not sure what it will be, probably flats. Apparently, according to my friend and the councillor I spoke to the other day, it used to be a ladies teacher training college before that and it is next to the QE college for further education. However we will see that better in a later section.

admiral.circle.safety

Section 9 and today, with not so much need of hay fever medication, I managed to remember to press the red button on the video. We have moved away from solely grass and today there is some path. In fact the path that goes directly through the park so it is generally quite busy with, not only people coming into the park but it is also used by people just walking through on their way into town. A thoroughfare you might say. Today is much cooler and cloudy, but still pleasant so the park is busy with students. It is about 11am so they are just hanging around in groups on the benches and grass as well as on the wall near the college. One particularly cool, if not quirky group must definitely be art students as only art students would have that style. They just hang around talking about art just like the artists of The Left Bank in Paris in the second half of the 19th century or the expressionists in New York in the 1950’s. It makes me think of The Rebel with Tony Hancock, one of the finest films of all time. No one is actually sitting in my section but there is a woman sitting on the bench very close who is waiting for her sister to finish her work, so they can go off and get some lunch. A Muslim lady walks through, looking very beautiful with a yellow hijab but she looks sad and deep in thought. There is an old man, who walks briskly and an older couple walking hand in hand. Maybe it’s their anniversary 50 years, Shirley and John. There is one dog walker and two dogs, Pippa and Biscuit.

I did see a blackbird but didn’t manage to photograph it and a crow nearly came into the section but not quite. My dog walker and dogs are below and just as I was leaving, a park keeper, Edward came into my section so I had to capture him.

Rise.liked.decks

Section 8 And today there was a video mishap. As in, I made a video walking round the section, talking about what a sunny day it was and that at 9.30 in the morning it was quite quiet. There was few people in the park at the beginning of my video but more came throughout it. Including 5 dog walkers and 4 dogs, but none came into my area. The light today was beautiful and I talked about my artist of the day, Monet, the master of light. How Impressionism led to expressionism and how we view things today. I even told how I had been on a trip to Giverny whilst in university and we had spent 27 hours on the coach and half an hour there. I saw deliveries and people just getting on with their life. All this I talked about on my video. Except the video is not there! So I completely messed up! I apologise. I will add my sound recording and talk more of what I have seen too, but no video.

I think I will blame today’s mishap on hay fever and I certainly am feeling the effects of it at the moment whilst in the park. Today once again was all grass, there were no trees or paths and no one came into my area whilst I was there. As I said I did see dog walkers but didn’t get to talk to any today. I saw 16 pieces of rubbish, 1 sparkling wine cork, I pair of glasses, 2 feathers, 2 blackbirds lots of daisies and buttercups.

As I mentioned, there were few people in the park but there were some sitting on benches just taking in the lovely weather whilst there is still a breeze. One woman sitting on a bench wearing a lovely hat, but I feel she had no hair underneath so maybe she is recovering from illness and is enjoying the lovely day and just being. She is smiling to herself and looks happy, it is nice. Another man is sitting, reading a newspaper on a bench. He has walking sticks with him, but I think he lives very close in the houses surrounding the park and he often sits there. In the autumn he plants crocus bulbs over the park so that in the spring the park is even more beautiful to look at if he is feeling ill and is in his living room.

I did have a slight detour which I wasn’t going to mention, but because of the video issue, I think I will. After being in the park I went to see a friend who lives by the park. She was a founding member of the Friends of Stanhope Park and runs a WhatsApp group for people who live round the park. So many people are fond of it. She talked about the history of some areas so I will talk more about this as we reach these areas. She also took me to see another local resident who was Bill Dixon, the former leader of Darlington Borough Council who told me that I should be calling the park Stanhope Green. It was important to him as if it’s a park, it can apparently be shut down but a green can’t. So I will tell you it is Stanhope Green but this is still Park Life!

I will add some pictures of the skies today as they were so beautiful and I had wanted to show you in the video.

tame.fame.effort

Section 7 and this section is just grass. There is no path or trees not even a bin or bench. I had half expected quite a few people to be in this section whilst I was there as it is a lovely sunny day, but nobody in this bit. There is however quite a few students sitting around elsewhere taking in the sun, mainly in groups but there are a few sitting on their own too.

There really isn’t anything much in this area: no trees, 5 pieces of rubbish, 3 feathers, lots of daisies and buttercups, twigs and cut grass, 3 dogs and 3 dog walkers.

Dog walkers – one couple briefly came into my section with ‘Millie’ who was very small and obviously very adored. Then Pip and Brad with their owner. A man, probably Mike, who was undoubtedly an IT expert who lived alone and collected vintage LPs. His favourites being ELO, Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd however he has a whole room dedicated to his LPs and keeps a database so he knows exactly how many times each one has been played. (Well that’s what I think!)

guard.ruled.dark

I am in section 6 today so on row 2. I am near a boundary wall still but tomorrow will just be in the park with no wall. Today is cloudy and breezy, not cold but a slight chill, which after yesterday is actually a relief. The park is quiet today, although there is at least one person sitting on each bench. The atmosphere feels relaxed as all around you can see people getting on with their daily lives. Workmen delivering, working up scaffolding and people getting in and out of their cars. In here though it is quiet and stationary with only one dog walker (Dave and Cheri) moving around.

After adding sound yesterday I have decided to add the sound of each section daily. Sometimes it will be quiet, with little happening and other days, who knows, we may get some excitement.

As I said the only dog walker was Dave the musician (plain trousers today) with Cheri the dog. They came into my section so I talked to them for a while. I have a feeling this may be a regular thing. Dave the musician recommended a graveyard that was round the corner. Indeed you could see the entrance from this section so I decided a detour was legitimate. I will put one photo here but will include a panoramic view on the photo page too. I felt when looking round the seeds of my next project growing so we will see.

It wasn’t the most interesting day or section today but I found:

1 dog walker and 1 dog, 31 pieces of litter, 19 feathers, 1 dandelion, lots of daisies and twigs, 1 tree stump with lots of fungi.

Just to say tomorrow I won’t be blogging as have a busy day with my daughter so see you the day after tomorrow for day 6.

flags.cult.pretty

Section 5 and we are in a corner section today with and entrance so potentially a few people walking through my section. It is a Saturday about 6pm and today has been really hot and sunny. I am here with my daughter who is riding round the park on her scooter which means I am possibly a little more distracted than usual. She has a habit of disappearing completely out of view for about 10 minutes and just when you are thinking, should I worry?, she appears again. The park is still quite busy and there are a few dog walkers out but not too many in my section. There are a group of lads playing football, who go just as I start to film so they obviously want to hide, maybe it’s the Scottish team here practicing for The Euros! Another group of men walk by piled high with beer so there must be a party happening nearby, I didn’t ask to gatecrash as those days have long gone!

Interestingly there is an electric fenced area in this section and I have to say that despite years of coming into this park I have never noticed this before. I obviously can’t go into it but have a look round and there are a couple of large trees next to it. I sort of wonder if I examine too much round this area I may find something I don’t want to. Like a human hand that dropped out of the back pack of the retired doctor. I maybe gloss over this area a bit because of this and spiders obviously. Also it makes a buzzing noise.

Today I saw: 1 ripped off poster, 3 feathers, 28 pieces of litter (mainly cigarette ends), lots of webs, 1 bin, 1 bin bag, 1 dog poo bin, lots of spider webs, many twigs, leaves and sycamore keys, 3 dog walkers and 3 dogs.

I said there were 3 dog walkers, there were more in the rest of the park, obviously a popular time but only 3 in my section and one walked through so quickly I didn’t get a chance. The other 2 dogs were Cheri and Jasper. Cheri’s owner was Dave with very fancy trousers, a musician I feel. He told me about a nearby graveyard I never knew about that was great to photograph so I will look sometime. Jasper’s owner, name unknown maybe Dave too? Lived nearby and showed me another photographer he knew that I will look up. Actually thinking about it pretty much all the dog walkers were men on there own so it is obviously the time that men feel the need to get out of the house.

lately.born.safe

Section 4 and I have given this one a title, which I will explain in a bit, but I think a title for each day is the way to go. Today started cloudy and grey, but by the time I got to the park it was quite sunny. It is 2.15 and the park is reasonably busy again mainly with students but I think it must be time to return to classes as they all seem to stand up at the same time.

Apart from students there are two women sitting on a bench in quite deep conversation, it is tempting to get nearer to find out what they are talking about but my assumption is that it is about The Great British Sewing Bee as that is definitely what I would want to talk about. There is an older man walking, for a second I thought it was my retired doctor again but realise it wasn’t and as he doesn’t have a backpack I think he is just walking home from town not wandering the streets. A student comes through my section with his arm in a sling and jumps over the wall and you have to ask if that is how he broke his arm in the first place? Anyway back to the section and today there are:

1 tree, 6 feathers, 1 blackbird, 11 pieces of litter, 1 CCTV camera, 1 dog walker, 2 dogs and lots of grass and daisies.

As I mentioned I would explain about a boy named Sue. There was a dog walker with 2 dachshunds one miniature and one standard. I gave them different names in my video, but after I talked to the owner I found out they were called Maggie and Sue but that Sue (miniature) was in fact a boy. Obviously a Johnny Cash fan, but hey aren’t we all?