Creative Communities
Hawkwood College – heart of the Stroud eco-system
Over the weekend I revisited my home of 8 years, Stroud – a small town in Gloucestershire that has attracted lots of media attention recently for being associated with two of the founders of Extinction Rebellion, and with Polly Higgins – the lawyer who campaigned for ‘Ecocide’ to be ratified as international law. I only left in January to start full-time employment in the East Midlands, but hadn’t really had a chance to go back properly during the hectic Spring term. Only with that out of the way, and an Easter break under my belt, did I feel able to ‘come up for air’. Returning to Stroud after four months felt like a chance to take stock, and also to appreciate what I have had to leave behind. I am enjoying life in my new home city (Leicester), but I do miss the hills of the Cotswolds, and the special friends I have in Stroud. It will take some time to establish anything close to resembling the kind of network I have there. There is something in the water, it seems, for Stroud boasts a remarkably creative community – brimming with artists, writers, musicians, print-makers, publishers, sculptors, and crafts-people; as well as a lively mix of eco-campaigners and radicals as the recent news has highlighted. The weekend offered a powerful, visceral testimony to this incredible coalescence, with the memorial celebrations of two major figures in the town back-to-back: Polly Higgins on Friday; and poet and therapist, Jay Ramsay, on Saturday. Both events packed out St Laurence’s Church in the centre of town, and both events centred around beautiful, moving ceremonies of remembrance and multi-modal tributes. Many folk attended both, but in the one I attended and contributed to – for my friend Jay – I was blown away by the calibre of contribution (superb poetry, song, music, speech, and anecdote), and by the excellent co-ordination. What could have been a sprawling, indulgent ordeal was a tightly co-ordinated showcase, with very little over-running, and no egos. Everyone did it for Jay – and a gestalt quality was created: something bigger than all of us. It was profoundly moving and beautiful, and a tribute as much to Stroud as to the life that was honoured. I heard similar things about Polly’s event – including an incredible thousand-strong procession from St Laurence’s to Slad, which blocked the road as though it was a mini-Extinction Rebellion action. Life and art stops traffic in Stroud. While in town I caught up with very dear old friends in their lovely homes – enjoying their hospitality, companionship, and conversation; then on Bank Holiday Monday I dropped in on the annual Hawkwood College open day. This lovely, colourful, creative gathering offers a showcase of the Adult Education centre’s eclectic programme, which I contributed to, as resident in the town (running my Wild Writing workshops, and organising the Bard of Hawkwood contest, which took place at the Open Day, four years running). The grounds of the college are a verdant oasis, charged with the energies and care of the biodynamic agriculture practised, and it is especially lovely in the late Spring – a perfect backdrop to the May Pole dancing, stalls, music, talks, and workshops. It was poignant to revisit my old haunts – including favourite walks such as around Haresfield Beacon – and to think how it had all been part of my life. I have moved on, and I don’t regret moving, but I feel I can appreciate this remarkable community even more, with a little bit of critical distance. I had a productive time in Stroud – clearly some of that ‘woke’ fecundity rubbed off on me – and made some special connections: ones that will outlast geographical division, for true friendship knows no distance. No doubt there are other radical, creative ‘nodes’ around the country (Frome, Totnes, and Hebden Bridge to name some I know of) but there is always the potential for anywhere to become an emergent hub. All it takes is a cluster of kindred spirits to kickstart something. Sometimes it takes just one bold pioneer to take the initiative: sticking that flyer up, posting that social media notice, to draw folk out of the woodwork. Life is never ‘elsewhere’ – it is always right under your feet.
