Yes, That Was The Weekend! And what a weekend it was – full of stuff. In no particular order, it involved: Black Annis, sun, poeting for water, sun, burgers, rain, mud, poeting for Artbeat, Chris Conway, Sing for Water, sun, cycling and tea.
The weekend began on Thursday with Chris Conway’s gig at the Donkey which kicked off (LOL) the Clarendon Park Artbeat festival. This is a celebration of arts and artists in the C P area and it was officially launched the next day by a resurrected Richard III, a not-yet-dead Peter Soulsby, Leicester’s only all-female Morris Dancing troupe, Black Annis, and other musicians and poets. Sadly I didn’t get in on the act early enough, having only recently moved to the area, but next year I shall.
After that Saturday featured an extremely wet start, but brightened up in the afternoon by which time I was able to go to an ‘open house’ poetry and music session on Avenue Rd. Avenue Road is utterly imponderable; no-one can figure out the numbering and I wandered up and down for several minutes before I found no. 42 (it would have to be 42!) where a number of people were standing around being offered a drink. I did three poems which impressed the gathering: I responded to someone else’s poem with ‘The Flood’; then I did Richard III and finally took the opportunity to practise ‘Find the Way of Water’ for Sunday’s ‘Sing for Water’.
Oh! I forgot to mention – on Friday the most important event of all took place, which was The Syringing. I got a proper, old-fashioned nurse who told me to ‘take no notice’ of what the doctors said but just use olive oil for ten days before coming to see her. Then she flushed my ears out with a deafening thrum of water and showed me the resulting debris. I am thinking of sending it to Madame Tussaud’s so they can open a new wing…
The joy of hearing was overwhelming. Everything was so clear and loud! and most importantly I could now do my poem for water. This went down very well and everyone joined in the chorus. Here’s the poem and a picture of me doing it:
Find the Way of Water
for Sing for Water 2014
Chorus:
Find the way of water x 4
1. Find the way of water
down between the rocks
find the way of water
in between the locks
when the river’s flowing
when the water’s showing
there’s a way of knowing
water finds a way.
Chorus
2. If I am a river
if I am a stream
starting with a quiver
starting with a dream
when the river’s flowing
when the water’s showing
there’s a way of knowing
water finds a way.
Chorus
3. If I am a river
mighty Shenandoah
rolling water-giver
rushing to the shore
when the river’s flowing
when the water’s showing
there’s a way of knowing
water finds a way.
Chorus
4. If I am a river
shining like the sea
with a silver shiver
running clear and free
when the river’s flowing
when the water’s showing
there’s a way of knowing
water finds a way.
Chorus
5. When we wade in water
wading in the sea
gonna reach that quarter
river running free
if the river’s flowing
if the water’s showing
there’s a way of knowing
water finds a way.
Chorus ad lib
© Liz Gray, 2014
All proceeds to Water Aid
Kirk out
Sarada Gray 