The last two weeks have been frustratingly slow. Firstly because of my baby being unwell and then due to me being unwell, so I feel very much behind where I hoped to be at this point. I haven’t finished collecting at the quarry and haven’t properly started at Letchworth Common. A foggy head is all I have to work with at the moment and it’s really not getting me too far. Wading through treacle is about the feel of it.
I did managed to get out to a site once this week. I thought I’d start looking into my next site, Norton Common. This is going to be quite different to do. It is a busy, managed nature reserve located right in the centre of town. However there is much edge-ness to it as well. It has a place in most Letchworth minds and I think probably every Letchworth dweller has some kind of experience or encounter related to this place. I have heard many stories throughout my time living not too far away and have my own ones to add. But it is a big place and I can’t possible focus on the whole thing so I’ve been looking for a way in.
A few weeks back now I got a message from my aunt who has been following Hidden Landscapes Project. She reported seeing someone camping in Letchworth Common and even took a photograph of his blue tent tucked away within the undergrowth, to show me. So on Thursday we met up and she took me along to where she had spotted the tent. Whoever he was, he had now moved on and here was an opportunity to find out more about him and what he had been up to. Jen told me the story of how she was out walking her dog and had first seen the blue of the tent through the trees just off quite a busy path. As she walked on, she saw a man sitting on a bench near by. Linking the two together she assumed this man to be the tent dweller. She described him as being in his 20’s, thin and gaunt looking and as if he was ‘drugged out’. He was wearing a woolly hat and a brightly coloured jacket. He was just sitting on the bench, staring into space. She described how he made her feel nervous to walk past although he paid her no attention or even looked at her.
On locating the spot on Thursday we were both a little disappointed. There was hardly a trace and without the story I wouldn’t have had any clue that there had been someone at all. We searched around for a while looking for any signs of habitation and I became determined to find something to go on. The only evidence that we managed to find were, interestingly something very reminiscent of the branch constructions I found at The Boffy; an empty mackerel tin; a recordable CD and possibly an empty condom wrapper, although it was hidden under a bush and we couldn’t get close enough to see for sure. So looking at the possible explanations for this lack of material, it could either be his time there was very brief (although I know from Jen that the tent was there at least a few days) and he took care to leave it as he found it OR someone has since been and done some tidying up! (Jen also reported that she had spoken once to a lady that does go litter picking in the Common)
Anyway, I have decided to pursue this lead further and attempt to find out more about this particular spot, just feet away from a main dog walkers route. I think a more thorough excavation might uncover a bit more. The other area of the Common that I will look at is the place called The Pudding Basin. A relatively small area that has once been quarried for chalk, I believe. This circular tree covered dip (again only feet away from an open, managed walking area) has attracted activity and after a little scout around on Thursday, showed several potentially interesting features to work on. Hopefully a few rain free days and shaking off this cold might help me get back on track. I still have quite a lot of unfinished business at the quarry too!
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