I’ve been asked to write a piece for the Restoration Trust about the time I have spent at Burgh Castle recently.
I was approached a couple of months ago to be a part of this group. I’d never done anything like this before so I was intrigued by it all. I attended the first session and just kept to myself and took in all the information that was shared with us. I was unable to make the second session so on my 3rd session I took my tablet along to try to get some videos and pictures as I would of felt uncomfortable using the cameras that where provided. So we started our walk around the site and I could see how much growth has happened so quickly with new plants popping up, the smell of the different plants and all the different bugs. It amazed me how it’s changed so little over time. I sat down after taking some photos to have my lunch and it was so nice hearing the birds, running water, everyone just chatting and other members of the public enjoying their day out too. Ian then got out – (that I can only explain as something looking like tin foil) – when the wind got blowing it looked liked water and the sound coming from it was amazing. I took a video of this and made it in slow motion. It was so therapeutic for me. We then took a walk by the river and it was so nice hearing the water and just chatting to different people. I’m going to finish here as if it the post is well received I may write more.
Photos and text by John Durrant
***********
The first thing I noticed at Burgh Castle was the vast growth in the vegetation since my last visit on 25th April.
The meadow of wild flowers we walked through to the castle was like a visualisation I used to do.
Visualising my own meadow back in the 1990’s ,with all the beautifully coloured plants and flowers with birds singing and the gentle breeze swishing and swirling through the vegetation, took me away from my challenging life, to a place of peace and beauty and safety.
Instead of the castle and Broads in the distance I visualised a gurgling stream.
I would sit beside it and I would be lulled into a feeling of being totally at one with myself and this idyllic place I’d found within my mind.
It was great that Sam showed us what to look out for when identifying flowers and plants. This hands-on learning is so valuable and inspiring. I actually did my first drawing since I created an animation of a story I had written in 2014. My Black Cat. I wasn’t even stressed about the phone call telling me about my H&S inspection tomorrow. It was helpful when I got home that I needed to find various things for our next session because that encouraged me to tidy up while getting them out. Instead of my usual panic attack my H&S check went extremely well in my new home.
Many thanks to all of you.
Drawing and text by Jeannette Beynon