Making Plans

What is RURAL?

Rural is defined as settlements with fewer than 10,000 people.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/communities

We think it's a small place, a village, with a community space, village hall, chapel, school, post office, mobile shops.  It might be the distance from cultural opportunities, in the middle of nowhere, not passing through, off major roads, where others don’t go, few buses, occasional shops, a pub, mobile library service.

Who Can we ask?

Tourist offices

Council archives

Local Arts Officers

Planning officers

Rural artists

Accessibilty partnerships

Local Studies Library- Derby

Matlock Archive

Library Services-What is the route of the mobile library service?

Churches

Local interest groups- Women's Institute, BRAG

Who might sponsor us?

Letters to Bike Shops- Edinburgh, Wiggle, JE James, outdoor shops

Bike Manufacturers- Derby Mercian

Cycling weekly- letter and blog

Vegan cycling

SUStrans- Bike Belles

British Cycling

Olympic committee

Fitness Magazines

Environmental support/charities

Arts Officers

What shall we do next?

Find a bike...

Getting on the road

We looked at bikes, been offered a trailer, been making lists of who to contact, places to go. And we were in the Ripley and Heanor News on Saturday April 2. Found a website that lists local festivals too. Need to check that out.

Ethics

It took 3 days to put our point across about the ethics of this project but we think the final article in Derby Telegraph overall was very helpful to us. It certainly raised our profile.

Last Sunday we looked at bikes for Sally L in Chesterfield. Hmm, lots of money to get something suitable. we need to look further.

Yesterday we went to the Homebuilding Exhibition at NEC. On the way we made a list of lists to make... people to contact (such as arts officers, schools, interest groups, pubs), how to identify isolated places (local authority planners, area geographers, Tourist Information officers), planning schedule (get bike and trailer, increase fitness, make artefacts, make museum box for trailer), devise marketing strategy (contact media, arts networks). 

The box needs to be very light so we discussed the possibility of cardboard. Lo and behold, at the exhibition we found a company that makes recycled decorating equipment- paint trays, brushes, rollers. Made from paper, card and bamboo, it's very lightweight so may be just the job. We must follow that up. This also raised the issue of the ethics of the project. We want to make it eco-friendly, supportive of green issues and small businesses. Maybe we can develop a relationship with a small bike shop. Perhaps they could sponsor us and we could get them publicity- a mention in the local press, an article in specialist cycling magazines. 

'We're up and running' cried Sally!

It's all about a museum we are going to create.  We've had this idea for 6 months now and we think we ought to get on and do it before we read about it happening somewhere else.  It started on a journey to Bournemouth, on a rainy Sunday afternoon.  To make the journey more exciting we began devising the stories behind obscure and quirky place names.  The more we did it the more fun we had.  We developed it by setting rules that we could only create meanings for places we had not heard of before.  The more unsual the better.  We thought it would be fun if others did the same thing on their journeys and join in with the game- twittering places they have spotted.  Having made a note of each of these places and passing Oxford famous for its museums,  we thought, hmmm, we have started to make a museum, a wunderkammer, a cabinet of curiosity...

During our time in Bournemouth working with young people at Kings High School, we experimented with creating artefacts and photographs that might not be as authentic as they first seemed. Here is one of the young people's ideas:

Flexi-brush

This is a flexible brush from the 1800’s which was used to clean plumbing and drain pipes.

Today we have decided to take the museum on tour.  To create a range of mobile containers.  There will be objects, diagrams, maps, remnants of scientific experiments, scraps, traces and residues of imagined histories.  Will people be intrigued? Will people be encouraged to contribute their own imaginations?  How will this evolve?

http://www.2sally4th.co.uk/