SEVERAL NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES ON THE MOORSCAPE WALK
Well it was like this. I wanted to do something to mark the completion of Moorscape, and came up with the somewhat obvious idea of a walk on a stretch of moorland with a bunch of people. The idea was to have a gentle walk, maybe a couple of hours, that finished up at a pub – even if it was a linear ‘there and back again’ walk. Then another brainstorming conversation with good friend Miguel led us to the additional idea that we could take photos along the way. Miguel and I rarely have any other type of conversation.
Miguel and his many brothers have multiple talents, and are something of a life force at The Fuse. They recently started a film club called Around the World in 80 Films, to showcase films from around the world that never hit mainstream cinema, and there have been some spectacular and wonderfully odd ones. Our storming brains took us in several directions, but the one idea that stuck was for us to create a screenshow for the title track of Moorscape, and maybe show it before one such film.
So a gang of us set out on Saturday 16th April for a linear ‘there and back again’ walk to The Old Nag’s Head pub in Edale , which marks the beginning of the Pennine Way. And the many brothers brought along cameras and video gear to supplement the many smart phones that littered the pockets of the other walkers, and they took many photographs and much footage.
However, the linear ‘there and back’ walk somehow metamorphosed, in a ‘let’s just go round the next corner’ kind of way, into an 11 mile trek across the fabulous moors around Edale, complete with a frantic scramble down a dangerous ravine before the light left us and the threatening skies poured down on us. Five and a half hours after leaving The Old Nag’s Head, we finally sat down for beer and a meal with too many photographs to shake a stick at, bones that kept clicking and clunking, and muscles that we didn’t know we had refusing to let us get out of our seats for another round.
What a special way to round off a fabulous creative experience. Moorscape is out now and can be purchased through https://johnreed.bandcamp.com/releases with more arrangements shortly to be announced. And we will let you know when we are screening Moorscape, because we may try and use technology to make it a more widely accessible experience.
Wild Walking Waldeaux