My one and other journey

The summer of 2009 will go down in my personal history as one of the more pivotal times of my life. I made many grand decisions about my life and every conceivable emotion was hitting me day to day. To say it was a tumultuous journey wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

But I had constant companions for my navigation through the choppy waters. A lump of granite on the north west corner of Trafalgar Square and all the weird and colourful cast of thousands who stood on it, worked behind the scenes and commentated on it online.

At the start I saw myself as one of what would be 2400 people. Nothing more, nothing less. Then twitter entered my life. When I came down (physically) from my hour I read the tweets that had been posted. They were all so lovely and I tweeted people back to say thank you. When I got home, wanting to keep the experience alive, I popped on the stream to see what was going on… oh and someone had replied to one of my thank you tweets. I’ll just reply again. 4 hours later I have found myself talking to a random bunch of strangers all of whom seemed to have something indefinable in common with me.

And thus began the transformation from plinther to tweckler.

People have come and gone through the 100 days. But some have stayed to the bitter-sweet end. Everyday we would all get a little more comfortable and let a bit of ourselves show. Some people literally bared all while others held their cards close to their hearts. In time emails, skype names and telephone numbers were exchanged and friendships were being forged beyond tweet deck and the plinth.

We were also joined by the web droids. I am sure it was our witty and sparkling tweeting style that brought them to twitter - not getting news on borking feeds and relieving the boredom of being stuck in a glorified broom cupboard. They became honorary twecklers and furnished with affectionate nicknames with some appearing on the plinth just for the entertainment of the tweckling tribe (possibly).

Of course this is where you could say I have had a bit of a ‘unique’ plinth experience. At the start of the journey I certainly didn’t think I would end up being charmed by the wit, shadow puppet skills and expressive eyebrows of a droid, but I have been indeed. Lucky for me he is evidently fond of massive butterfly wings and crap dancing. Happily.

I was a bit torn coming up to the last day. Was I a plinther or was I tweckler. Both twecklers and plinthers were going to be there on the last day. Who was I going to identify with more? In the metaphorical party would I be standing in kitchen gossiping or would I be in the living room dancing like a loon?

But when it came down to it there was no contest. The last night started for us together drinking soup, skyping with those who couldn’t make it and occasionally checking out who was on the plinth. Every time I met someone it took a minute to adjust to not talking to an avatar, but we all soon got over that and even managed to talk to each other in sentences of more than 140 characters.

But as dawn broke the terrace began to fill up with media and plinthers. And it all felt so odd. Who were all these people? Why were they all of a sudden interested in our corner of Trafalgar Square? Why are we being so polite to a really dull plinther who is out staying her welcome? So I watched the media circus move down through Trafalgar Square following the last plinther.

In the distance, beyond the cameras stood a little group of nerdy cool types by the portacabin. Our droids together again. I would like to think they were sharing memories and tales of borking feeds but more realistically they were discussing how quickly did they think they could get to the pub for a drink!

And watching all of this from the steps beside our beloved, now lonely plinth was 2 twecklers. Taking it all in. I would like to think they were talking about the merits of the last 100 days, but more than likely they were debating how long it will be before sleep deprivation took them over and they started seeing pink elephants frolic through the fountains.

I started my plinth experience physically in the same place as I started it. I was in London on the first day and sat for about 30 minutes watching the 10th plinther from the stone benches on the side of Trafalgar Square. 100 days later I was back there. This time shouting abuse at the sky arts presenter, rating the pigeons for aesthetic and entertainment values, surrounded by friends, looking forward to a shiny new future and in a very different place in my life.

I was on the plinth for an hour. An hour I will never forget, but I was a tweckler for the whole summer. And that is what kept me company through my journey this summer, brought me friendship and serious sleep deprivation on occasion.

4191 people contributed to the #oneandother hashtag-a-thon and of those, around 30 regulars need to pat themselves on the back for being generally fantastic. You have all been a part of what has made the project for me. Thank you.

A thank you to the lump of granite.

It is fair to say that the plinth has given me more than I gave it. Yes I might have brought a bit of humour, colour and bad dancing to it in the wee hours, but it has given me so much in return.

So I would like to say thank you…

Thank you for the renewed sense of who I am. Yes I am the sort of person who dresses up as a giant butterfly and dances badly to wildlife themed songs. And you know what, I am proud of that!

Thank you for a whole new set of friends. I hope they all know what they mean to me. Some non-plinth friends don’t quite get this. Surely these I don’t know these people properly, I had never met them. But when you have laughed, cried and shared your life with a group of people, they do become true friends.

Thank you for helping me move on with my life. I was stuck before in one place. Not sure where I was going and what I was doing with my life. Doing something so far out of my comfort zone has given me the confidence to go and grab life by the hands and do what I know I want to do.


And last, but not least thank you for bringing a bit of romance into my life. Which is a very pleasant surprise and one I am enjoying greatly. But I am not one to kiss and tell, so no juicy gossip here folks!

So for all of these reasons, all the laughter, all the tears, all the company, I would like to thank Antony Gormley, the tweckling tribe, the droids, the plinthers and that beautiful lump of granite. You are all stars and I love you all in my own little funny way.

Married to the Plinth

Going on the plinth is a little like getting married. Well for me it was certainly. For weeks I planned and dreamed about my big day. There was my costume to create, catering to be organised (ok haribo to be bought) and music to be chosen.

I found myself daydreaming about it, but never really believing it would happen. I knew no one who had been up, so none of my friends really got what I was talking about, but all feigned interest and excitement beautifully. I even got a notice in the local paper.

And the big day came! It took on a surreal quality, I kept thinking to myself, I can’t believe today is actually here, I am going to be up there in a few hours! The mixture of fear and excitement drive you forward through the night and onto the plinth.

I got up there, and it was everything I imagined, I danced my little heart out, made a bit of a tit of myself, ignored the people who were drunk and generally had a ball!

Then it was all over, how fast did that hour go? There were all those people I forgot to thank, all the things in hindsight that could have added to the experience and, well - can I not go again please?!

So how do you cope with the post plinth blues? You get married, you get to go on holiday afterwards, you have thank you cards to write and presents to play with which all keep the excitement of the day going for a while.

But for plinthians, that is pretty much it! You get your t-shirt and then home on the bus to real life again.

So here are my top 5 ways to keep the dream alive for a little longer

1. Obsessively watch the live feed while thinking to yourself, ‘I’ve been up there!’ while becoming top 3 #oneandother tweeter
2. Befriend unsuspecting future plinther and help them with their hour, giving them invaluable advice like if you are going to play music, get decent sized speakers
3. Watch the Sky arts programme in the vain hope some media type liked you enough to show a short clip of your hour
4. Create a replica plinth in your garden and relive your hour again and again to the neighbours cats
5. Come join the fun in Trafalgar Square on the 14th October to mourn the end of the project.

So really being on the plinth really is like getting married, only you don’t have to spend silly amounts of money, talk to relatives you have never met or change your name! I just hope my love affair with the plinth lasts longer than my marriage...

The joys of being a big kid

I am a big kid. As I write I am wearing a sponge bob square pants t-shirt, I love climbing trees and I sleep under an Ikea leaf bed canopy. There is no denying it, a large part of my personality is that of an hyperactive 10 year old.

For years I hid this behind a mask of proper adulthood. I had a serious job with a lot of responsibilities, I bought a house with my boyfriend and I always knew what the Bank of England’s interest rates were at. I never played, the closest I ever got to playing was going for a walk in the forest, and even then, I stuck to the path like a good girl.

But over the last few years I have turned my back on all of that and particularly in the last 5 months. And I have really noticed a difference. My eyes are bright and my coast is shiny… Sorry confusing myself with the dog next door who is currently chasing his own tail. Ah to have a tail!

I often spend my days helping kids make masks and badges and it never fails to amuse me how many parents when watching their kids colour in ask, do you want me to help with that. As a kid that used to drive me potty! Yes dad, I can colour in, I’m not a complete idiot. Now I realise it was just my dad wanting to have a bit of fun!

Kids are what keep people young, but what do we do now that people are leaving having children later, or not having them at all? To all fellow childless adults, I say go out and play! Buy a Frisbee, go to the park, climb a tree and buy a colouring in book.

You might feel like a prat if you haven’t done it for a while, but believe me, once you get over that and let go, you’ll have a blast.

The minibeast :) xx

PS just a note of caution though, 3 pints of cider + an adventure park = concussion. I know, I have had first hand experience!

Connections with random people

This blog post is inspired by Dan on the plinth early this morning. I’ve never thought of blogging or writing in general before and have no idea why I am doing it now! But even if it is just an output for my random ramblings that no one reads, that is enough for me!

So onto my thought for the day. (all very Sir Terry)

Dan is only one of many random strangers I have made a connections with in the last few months. In fact I have made more random connections in the last few months than I have in the last few years!

Most of these connections are through the One and Other project. From the wonderful Helen who helped bring minibeast girl to the plinth to the amusing and often surreal twecklers on twitter via the woman in Sainsbury's who nearly wet herself with excitement when I told her why I was buying a CD player.

Past plinthers and plinth fans will be meeting in Trafalgar Square on the last day of the project. I was originally not going to go because I couldn't really afford the flights over. Then suggestions of starting up a fund for people who live a distance away came in along with offers of a bed for a night. And how could I not go after that! (plus ryanair were doing a fab offer!) *post script - Ryanair are scum. Never fly with them ever. I ended up not being able to use the 'fab offer' in the end. Well I could have done, but it would have cost me an additional £70. Over twice what it cost in the first place.

I am so excited about coming over and meeting all these people I have a connection with. In person... Which reminds me, did my mother not once warn me about funny men on the internet...

One of my more bizarre connections is with a fellow smart car driver. Yes some smart car drivers are sad enough to wave to each other, and I am definitely one of those people! I pass the same person nearly everyday and always wave hello. It always puts a smile on my face on the way into work even though I have never met him, and quite frankly probably never will.

Now here is the rub, I find myself at the cusp of doing the unthinkable, selling my beloved minibeast (I know, it would be like the Steve Jobs using a Blackberry, but needs must...). Now if I do, i will have no reason to wave hello, but my life will be a little bit less sunny each morning. So should I keep waving even though we have nothing connecting us other than driving the opposite way to work each day?

Which brings me back to my plinth family (or plinthily if you like). I will miss the project of course, but probably more I would miss those connections I have made with people from all over the world.

Can these connections survive car sales and projects ending? It would be a darn pity if they didn’t!

:)

I am not a complete idiot

News flash!!!!

I am not a complete idiot, thankfully! I have just discovered why I couldn't log in before.

So you never know, I might just start to blog.

If you are very unlucky! ;)

My first blog

Well here I am with my first blog. I am sure it will be very exciting!

About 4 months ago I decided to take my life by the scruff of the neck and try some new stuff. So in a slightly haribo induced mania, I entered for a place in Anthony Gormley's installation on the forth plinth. 

I had completely forgotten about it when I got a congratulations email! So here I am making plans for my hour on the plinth! 

But what to do?!

I know what I would love to get out of it, I would love to inspire as many people who might be up at 4am to make a little space in lives for wildlife.

But how do you go about doing that?! 

Lots of ideas floating about costumes! Most of which i will ahve to hope it is not windy, or i might find myself flying over the streets of London!