Day 1 of LOAF14 is over, and it went well I think…
The art exhibition is looking good, I’ll post a few pics tomorrow maybe, if I get time to take some. The quilts look bright and beautiful… true craftswoman-ship at every turn. The shed looks resplendent in her new threads, and the performers are enjoying her shelter from the sun (and a little shower).
Some fantastic music already… we’re only half way through the weekend.
Breaking news… I sang, in my shed, at my event, in front of about 10 people I knew!
I didn’t die… or at least if I did, I am blissfully unaware of the fact!
It was fun. Every time I do something like this, I feel another cog clicking into place… I’m not going to start gigging all around the place, I’m not that sort of performer. But, I do have a sense of this leading me somewhere. I’m following my nose, being brave, trying new things, challenging and pushing and experimenting. I have a sort of faith. Not faith in a religious sense, but faith in a human sense, that people should make leaps and strike out into new ground. People are astonishing.
I was recently talking about the sort of television programme that seems to be all over the place at the moment… television that shows humanity in the worst possible light. And some of the people watching seem to be saying to themselves “well at least I’m better than THAT” then sit back on their smug behinds. I want to watch television that shows humanity at its BEST… brave, creative, enduring, caring… changing the world a bit at a time, affecting the lives of others, having faith in each other. That’s the sort of faith I mean that I have. I want to watch people that inspire, push, initiate, and provoke positive thought and action.
Now I’m not for a minute suggesting that me singing a two and a half minute song about a train journey to Crewe is life-changing for me or the listener, but it is breaking new ground… for me. Over the last few years i have had a series of life-changing events. I have come to the practical, not just theoretical conclusion that life’s too bloody short to waste time giving into nerves.
Of course I feel nervous, everyone does. But it feels great to sing a song, and people clap afterwards and tell you they liked it. You don’t get that sort of instant response for a piece of visual art.
I have faith that, as time goes by, the reason for these songs and performances will become clearer. But for the moment, I’m happy to just follow the scent and see where it leads me.
