Revisiting a project in the year of its 20th anniversary [2016].
Will the threatened storm wash away the feast for the tribes? Touch and go but we were blessed – it didn’t rain and a fantastic gathering it was too.
The ‘Thread of Life’ was a project initiated by the Countryside Commission to mark the upgrading of the Cotswold Way Footpath in the summer of 1996. Professional artists (performers, musicians, sculptors, craft and costume makers) worked with children and teachers in four rural Primary Schools close to the southern end of the Cotswold Way – Hawkesbury Upton, Horton, Marshfield and Old Sodbury. In addition to the workshops in schools the project also included a visit to Bristol’s Theatre Royal to see Travelling Light Theatre Company perform ‘Tir na n’og’ (a play based on a Celtic myth), and culminated in an event “Lughnasa – a gathering of the clans for a ‘Celtic’ summer celebration” on 12th July 1996 at Old Sodbury Camp, an Iron Age hillfort on the Cotswold Way.
The event also provided the opportunity to say farewell to the pupils moving on to secondary schools. The project was managed by Travelling Light Theatre Company with Changing Places Environmental Arts Trust and supported by South Gloucestershire Council (Northavaon at start of project) and the Countryside Commission.
Old Sodbury Camp, the Iron Age Hillfort, provided a broad framework of ideas for the entire project and was used as a vehicle to explore the geology and natural history of the site and how these elements determined or affected the development of the immediate and surrounding landscape. The major theme however was The Celts, their history, culture, art, myths and stories, hence the connection with the Travelling Light performance and the Celtic title of the celebratory event.
Thread of Life Resource pack
I was part of the team involved in the devising process for the project from its earliest stages, and researched and wrote the book that provided a historical and geological context to the Celts and to this particular landscape along with imagery and ideas for activities for teachers to use with students to further explore the Celts. The pack also included seeds known to have been grown in the Iron Age and notes about Celtic music and instruments with an accompanying tape.
The teachers’ resource pack for the Thread of Life project
Below are sample pages from the teachers’ resource book I researched, wrote and designed. Only a few copies were produced as it was just for use in the schools and the images I used were sampled and copied from all sorts of sources, and I admit, not credited! If anyone has objections to any of the image usage (I do apologise!) please get in touch with me via the contact link in the menu bar above, I’ll then remove the relevant picture(s). Click on photo below to see all pages of The Thread of Life book.
Sample pages from the project book produced for teachers in the four schools we worked with.
Celtic Story poster
During the project, and in keeping with the non-written Celtic tradition, I echoed the role of a Celtic storyteller by recording photographically the developing threads of performances and workshops in the schools and the final event and ‘wove’ them together to create a picture story of the entire project, which was produced in poster form; copies were given to everyone who had participated.
‘Thread of Life’ project resource book
Here’s a link to pdf pages of the Thread of Life resource book mentioned above.
Liz Milner 