I’m hoping to enter the Cornwall Film Festival again with a very short dance film (90 seconds) using the Cornish language and dance. I want to use a poem, translate it and use the rhythms of the language to inform the movement. I need to set the background for this, so here goes….
In 1992 I was 11 and started secondary school like every child across the country. My first field trip was a Geography excursion to the Minions on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, UK.
The beautiful location was completely drowned out by the rain. We were all soaked through and exploring a place that I didn’t think would have any impact or assimilation to my future. When we got back, the trip was recounted in our Geography, Science and English classes. One of our tasks was to write a poem about the minions for English. The poem that I wrote was entered with everyone else’s into a competition, the Gorseth Kernow. The entry was for English verse, 11 and under category. I never thought I would win, I just wrote a poem like everyone else, but I did win and suddenly the place became to mean a little bit more. Here’s the poem:
Minions
By me, aged 11
Dark and gaunt against a
granite sky,
Stand the Minions,
old and proud.
Stones ravaged by wind
and rain
Shrouded in mist
and mystery
Like a ghost glowing majestically from
Stone to Stone.
The Hurlers dancing in a
Circle of magic
With the wind whispering an
eerie tune.
The Cheesewring stands
tall like a
giants table, waiting for
the feast to start!
Who will approach the feast?
Could it be the ghost of Rillaton Barrow
that causes the senses to tingle with fear?
Land that stood the test
of time is now
broken and crushed by
man’s ravenous search
for wealth.
Crumbling engine houses
stand like monuments of man’s
invention and greed!
How many ghosts lay beneath
the wounded ground in
tunnels like a rabbit’s warren?
Nobody knows the secrets
of Minions, that holds the land
in panic, fear and wonder!
Stacy Weeks©2012
The next part of this story happens around a year ago to 15 months. The English teachers that entered my poem, in reflection, were two of my favourite teachers; Mr Rowan and Mr Griffiths. Although Mr Griffiths never actually taught me, he was always pleasant and friendly. Mr Rowan had the amazing talent of being able to read aloud and make the characters come to life. Ok so back to the story, some friends came to visit and we decided to go for a walk and I suggested minions as my husband had never been there and I hadn’t visited the place since I took photos for a GCSE Art project in 1996. Will try and find the watercolour painting I did, but it might be a while…
We all drove up and parked in the car park, got all our dogs out the cars and set off for the trek. We walked past the Hurlers (a series of stone circles, reputedly men turned to stone for playing the game of hurling on a Sunday) and started our ascent of the Cheesewring (see below) at Stowes hill or pound as its sometimes called.
We got to the top and had tea and mince pies and took in the view, which is spectacular. we got talking about the place and I said about the poem and my teachers etc. We then packed up our bags, took a few pictures and started to descend. As we were going down there were three figures coming up, as we got closer, I recognised 2 out of the 3. It was Mr Griffiths and Mr Rowan! I could’t believe it, it was decidedly spooky to see the two people that I was talking about. This got me thinking about the space and what it meant to me and if it wasn;t for all these things it would just be another pretty sightseeing spot, but it wasn’t. To me the Minions are a place of childhood, a place of wonder and place where everything starts to fit.
I recently sat in on a research seminar, regarding Serendipity. I did not put these together whilst listening to the lecture but when I had my dinner this evening (between writing this), I found myself thinking back to this moment. Coincidence or a ‘cosmically’ planned engagement set up and waiting to happen? I don’t know but what I can sayis this, the film I am proposing now has more magnitude and ressonance than it did before, my love affair for translating landscapes is beginning to find its roots and I’m very excited to be working in this location very soon.
…….P.S. if you look closely in the first picture you will see the figures of Mr Rowan and Mr Griffiths standing on top of the natural stone formations.
Do I See What You See? 