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Stay on The Bus

 

The Journey                   May 2019

Travelling along the coast of rural Wales from north to south, the 8 day journey involved passing by the shore line, the fields, hedging, trees and towns of the countryside.  I travelled by bus throughout the journey, and being on a bus demanded that I spend the whole of my journey looking out of the windows at the scenery as I passed through it.  The most memorable colour of my journey was green, a variety of greens seen along the sides of the costal roads as I travelled from my home; Dwygyfylchi in North Wales, to Abersoch, Harlech, Aberdyfi, Aberaeron, Fishguard, St Davids, St Clears then to the city of Cardiff, on the most southern coast of Wales. 

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I spent some of the 17 hours of bus time drawing impressions of the scenery as it passed by me - as I moved through it, the marks on the paper expressing the movement of the view, nothing was still everything was in motion.

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The bus paused for short periods at the bus stops along the rural roads, and I noticed the names of the small towns and villages as the bus passed through them.

I made some films from the window of the passing geography, and took some still shots while the bus was stationary and people dismounted from the bus and new passengers boarded.  I recorded the sounds of the bus journey; the various vibrations of the engine of the bus, the voices of my fellow commuters- their indistinct chatter diminishing as they settled into their seats and their journeys.

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I was passing through the homes and routines of people’s lives who were completely unknown to me. ‘ I am not staying around here, I am just passing through, I am moving on, I am gathering the sights and sounds, the fleeting impressions and the feelings being evoked in me as I experience these transitory moments in time.’ 

I was on a long journey from home to a long way from home.  I was alone in the sense that I did not meet or converse with anyone I knew.  People I spoke with were unknown to me, they were strangers and a fleeting part of my life, but these brief exchanges were a necessary part of my experience, and they were needed to enable my journey to function effectively.

The daily questions of my journey were;

Where is the bus stop?

What time does the bus leave from the bus stop?

What time does the bus arrive at its destination?

There was necessity and importance in being certain that these details were correct.

I have to arrive at the next town by lunch time to allow me the afternoon and evening to ‘explore and experience’, this new town.

I have to lay my head on a soft white pillow and sleep to renew me in preparation for the following days travel and discovery.  To be prepared for the next inspiring new experiences that were awaiting me.

In the villages and towns where I lay my head each night of my travels, I relish my exploration of the new streets; the pastel colours of the Georgian harbour houses of Aberaeron, and the pathways along the lush ancient river banks of each town I visited. 

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This was a journey of discovery, concerning myself alone in time and space, thinking thoughts that were undisturbed by the normal distractions and concerns of everyday life at home, the aloneness’ allowed to me to concentrate my creative mind on everything that I was meeting with – I was looking, smelling, hearing, thinking, feeling, drawing, photographing, walking, recording, writing, travelling, eating, showering and sleeping.  Busy!

I began a dialogue with myself about the experiences of this day by day curious life, and recorded some of my spontaneous chatter; in the cool church in Aberaeron, along the lush river bank in St Davids, on a bumpy bus from Harlech to Aberdyfi, and in a peaceful hotel room in St Clears.

I took many photographs and gathered images of things that interested me; metal railings and objects that I could see as stripes in formation, and as I roamed, I became attracted to distressed paintwork, rust and the discolouration of rotten and neglected things.

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