I intended writing something every few days on this, when I set it up a few weeks back.
Life has got in the way though and I've been a bit remiss in getting this page and blog up and running. I think we all need some direction in life but somehow, I keep changing my mind and instead of heading in one direction, seem to meander around like a lost cat.
So please excuse me folks, I promise to improve!
I've been reminded this week of the SEE MONSTER who arrived in Weston-super-Mare last summer causing a great furore within the local community.
I actually sold a T Shirt with one of my See Monster designs on the front, which made my heart flutter a tiny bit.
I know it's not exactly earth shattering news, but for me it made for a happy few hours as I found such delight in knowing that someone else thought it good enough to pay hard earned money for.
I loved the Monster, as you can tell by the revue I wrote below as a competition entry.
Sadly, I didn't even make the long list, let alone the short list but I'm going to share it anyway.
SEE MONSTER
Weston-super-Mare, the epitome of English conservatism. A Victorian seaside resort which like many similar coastal towns lost out when people headed abroad for sunshine and fun.
Nowadays, more a “day out” destination. Its new draw this year, the See Monster, part of the much maligned Unboxed Festival.
The Monster rising over the top of the long closed Tropicana pool has captured imaginations and despite everything, has been a huge success.
Young and old alike have exclaimed as they've climbed the 126 steps,
felt the cloud machine's mist, ogled the rippling kinetic scales dancing in the breeze and upon reaching the very top, delighted in the sight of the excellent sandy beach and glistening mud that Weston is well known for.
The views during the day extend in all directions. These high vistas, available for just eight weeks.
To the right, the Grand Pier and older Birnbeck Pier reach out into the water, like swimmers striking out for the two Holm islands in the distance.
To the left, another golden stretch, watched over by the Old Church of St. Nicholas, perched on nearby Uphill Hill.
The sprawling town of Weston-super-Mare itself behind and the Bristol Channel in front.
After dark the See Monster takes on a whole new persona and as you climb the steps, up through the belly of the beast, it seems like entering an enchanting and magical land.
The ever present waterfall thunders around your ears during the entire visit, sending out a fine mistle, that if you linger too long leaves your face damp with every sense alive and expecting more, and more there is as the delicious scent from the Garden Lab squeezes up your nose as you wander amongst the plants.
Even the queue to enter the site is an experience in itself as it snakes up the Prom.
No matter how many times you visit, there is something different to see and experience. A bloke with a typewriter writing poems, a shanty band on the helipad now transformed into an amphitheatre, a local poetry group showing their talents and that's a key word here.
The talent is local, the volunteers aiding and guiding the visitors are local, the security staff are local, the crocodiles of visiting school children are local.
This phenomenal structure, which arrived in the bay from Vlissingen has become part of the local community and many have welcomed it to their hearts.
The day after it arrived, the Prom at six am was filled with a smorgasbord of folk.
Youngsters played in the sea, an early morning dip before school with a quick change before heading to lessons. Older folk arrived with chairs and coffee, prepared to sit, wait and watch.
The skeleton structure whose like had never been seen in a Somerset coastal town such as Weston, floated on a barge just off shore.
Many had followed the voyage from Holland online and already had a vested interest in seeing this behemoth being beached on the shore.
The arrival just the start of the “Event”, already late but who cared?
Not anyone at all that I could see on the seafront over the following few days.
It was a delight of blazing sunshine, strangers chatting, new friends and watching an amazing engineering feat in progress.
Lifted by an enormous crane over the wall, with each leg guided into its socket. The fourth leg finally dropping into the waiting cup of the last of the four supports that had been long expecting the platforms arrival.
A thumbs up from the crew, the final clunk almost drowned out by loud cheering from the relieved and jubilant crowds.
Going forward, a viewing platform enabled visitors to follow progress.
Stairs, a lift, the external walkway, cloud portal apparatus, large trees, smaller plants, kinetic scales, a solar tree, a swirly stainless steel slide, windmills, topped off with the original crane and rescue boat fleshing out the bare bones of the platform.
At ground level, a sound studio, used by local grass roots media as well as BBC local radio.
As an art installation has it been a success?
Has it instigated conversation about renewables, reuse and the weather which was the original brief?
It most certainly has started many conversations both for and against its purported values, but it's done so much more than that.
It's been totally inclusive.
You could see, hear, feel, and smell the beast, ably guided by the willing volunteers and hosts, with no exclusions.
Sitting on the wooden decking of the amphitheatre, listening to the shipping forecast, watching the last embers of the burning sun, like liquid gold dripping into the sea.
Being gently rocked, as if cradled by a loving parent as the platform moved, was a feeling that will never be forgotten.