The Curator's Camera:

Allez! The B2E Wheelers get going

 

The day has now been and gone, the B2E Wheelers have rolled across their first part of the English countryside and, overall, it has been a success. The last part of that statement is probably not a universal rule, but more on that once we get outside of Hampshire...

Chris and I started the day in Bristol, posing outside the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery before we spent 40 minutes lost and trying to root our way our of Bristol city centre and onto Route 4. However, between the staff of Bristol's Specialized store and a helpful traffic warden (I know) we were put right and soon on the old railway paths zipping to Bath. By the by, if you ever get the chance to do this have a go, the paths and tunnels are great fun and not difficult riding either.

The weather was hot and it was lovely to ride getting sunburn after weeks of training in the cold and rain. That said, our wonderful plan of riding with the prevailing wind has been scuppered by the stiff easterly breeze we rode into all day - and it looks like tomorrow will be the same!

Salisbury - looking stunning today

Aside from lunch in Warminster, coffee in Salisbury and a few gritty sections of A-road the defining characteristic of the day was chocolate-box scenes of thatched villages and early harvests being done. I could keep gushing about this and the weather and how helpful the Garmin GPS systems were but the day wouldn't have worked at all without our dedicated soigneurs (aka the B2E Drivers). They not only ferried equipment, mixed drinks and braved traffic jams but scouted the very best coffee and lunch places in the southern counties (fyi, if you're ever in Salisbury make sure you go to the military museum cafe...).

The day ended, after over 70 miles of cycling, in sunny Dunbridge, the B2E Drivers having found us a pub to de-mob at. After having covered such a distance of cycle paths, A-roads, old railway tunnels and more than a few historic sites we wound down with a long drink in the heart of the English countryside (contemplating what could possibly be in The Wallops).

What goes on in The Wallops? The B2E Wheelers left that to others to find out.

It's been a great start to the ride and things feel good at the moment, tune in tomorrow to see how a second long day of riding feels though. One final thing, we were over the moon to find out this morning that we've now raised over £6,000 for our charities. Thank you all for your support and generosity. It means a lot and we hope to do you proud over the remaining 175 miles.

[PJH]

That Magic Number: the B2E Wheelers reach their first goal

 
Honestly, I think he would...

Thank you, to every single one of you who has dug deep to support the Meningitis Trust and Heart of Kent Hospice. Chris and I have been bowled over by your generousity and we're pleased to have reached our target of £5,000 to split between the two charities (courtesy of a donation by the youngest member of the Dobson clan, Zachary). On top of all this good news there's the added bonus that this isn't event the 'plus Gift Aid' total. With that included you have all been an even greater support.

I have a favour to ask though - would everyone who has not made a donation yet consider helping us do even more for these two charities? I'm told the Meningitis Trust needs £8,000 pounds a day to keep running and supporting families and individuals across the U. K. So, every extra pound we raise could help someone, somewhere get through one of the toughest experiences of their life. Also, it would be nice to break Virgin Money Giving's thermometer graphic... If any of this convinces you all you need to do is click right here.

Now all Chris and I need to do is spin from Bristol to Margate and enjoy an ice cream at the other end!

The B2E Wheelers get Competitive: Chris and the HOK Sportive

Chris gets his first taste of competition cycling. Photograph by SportivePhoto.

Having tested himself with a competitive ride around Kent last weekend Chris fills us in on his progress with a first guest post.

Sunday 28^th April was a beautiful, fresh day so just perfect for the Heart of Kent Hospice Cyclosportive.  Just over 60 miles through the Kent countryside starting and finishing at East Malling Research Centre and a good test for a B2E Wheeler.

Reinvigorated by my stop for a corned beef roll and a Maximuscle milk shake provided by Janet (my wife and B2E Wheelers support driver) at Staplehurst after 37 miles, the final 25 miles seemed to fly by even though I was cycling alone.  I knew the final hill was going to be tough but I crested quite well, even impressing one of the motorcycle marshals who pulled alongside for a chat half way up – I could still speak! 

Chris bosses the hills. Photograph by SportivePhoto.

I was actually on track for a gold medal time of 4 hours for 50 – 59 year olds when disaster struck.  The map provided by the organisers took me straight into West Malling High Street blocked by a famers’ market (the next one's on May 26th - Ed.).  The diversion pointed into a car park that I and four other riders explored fully for an exit that didn’t exist.  I eventually returned to the high street and ploughed through the market (good pun!) to get back on course but, alas, eventually finished in 4 hours 1 minute and 13 seconds.

I had gone further than required, at a higher average speed than required but only the time counts!  Two months later and I would have been 13 minutes inside the gold medal time for a 60 year old.  Roll on next year!

So, congratulations to Chris! The B2E Wheelers are doing some more joint training this weekend, so I'd best be off and get the bike in the car. If you've been inspired by Chris's efforts and want to sponsor us you can find all the information here.

Going round in circles: the B2E Wheelers get training

Starting to get excited - perhaps too excited...

While June is still a little while away excitement is starting to build in the two B2E Wheelers camps (see above for one example). Why is this? Mostly it's down to all of you, we've already raised £2,000 (even more with wonderful Gift Aid) and are well on our way to our goal of £5,000. Chris and I can't thank you enough for this, especially since I'm aware there will probably be a moment on the ride (Monday morning, perhaps?) when all of your encouragement and generosity will be what keeps us going.

A bonus reason is the training, which is surprisingly fun. The first question that jumped into my mind after deciding to do this ride was, 'how do I train for it?' Thankfully, I'm quite lucky and have Richmond Park, a now well-renowned training ground for team cyclists, just across the river. 

View Larger Map

Richmond Park is an ideal training ground for a number of reasons, firstly that it has some good climbs for hill training and secondly that it happens to have a road that runs all the way around its inside. So, you can do an easy stretch of 13 miles (door to door and 1 loop) or a calf-aching 34 mile trek (door to door and four loops). I'll be honest though, in spite of my 33 mile hack with Chris the four loop trek has eluded me thus far.

I'd be lying if I said this was the limit of Richmond Park's charms, it also happens to be a beautiful place for a bike ride. More on that in a later post but suffice it to say it even challenges Chris's picture-postcard training run (the winner probably depends on whether you prefer deer or thatched cottages).

Before I get too enthusiastic I'll sign off from this week's post. I'm off to the North for the weekend and am trying to work out if I'm dedicated enough to the cause to stick my bike in the car and take on Lancashire's rolling / damned steep hills. We'll see.

Thanks again to all of you for your support, if you'd like to see how we're doing for yourselves why not call into the B2E Wheelers' page at Virgin Money Giving?

[PJH]

The B2E Wheelers 'Warm' Up

The B2E Wheelers hit the road for the first time... will it end well?

With only 68 days to go until the B2E Wheelers hit the road Chris and I decided we should do our first joint training today, a warm up if you will. Of course, in keeping with spring 2013, there was nothing warm about it.

We did a circular route Chris cycles on a regular basis, 33 miles around the Kent countryside (which looked beautiful even in this frigid weather). The map below gives a sense of where we went and those of you who know the area will have an idea that you get to go down and then up at least one large hill during the course of the ride.

Overall Chris had a good trip, he's experimenting with the Garmin he bought for the 'Banksy to Emin Ride' and it has opened up a whole new world of route mapping, performance information and shareable data (the raster map below is courtesy of the Garmin's tracking...). I, on the other hand, had a less than auspicious ride! Make no bones about it, I am unfit and will need to put some hours in before June. Sutton Valence hill is a tough climb at the best of times but it undid me today and I need to be up to that challenge - at least - before June rolls round.

The warm up ride, brought to you by Garmin and Google Earth

The defining part of the day though was the cold, something we (hopefully) won't have to deal with in June. Everyone likes a walk on  a brisk day but the wind could cut right through you this morning, something it would have done to me if Chris hadn't lent me an extra layer before we left. Shocks to the system aside though it was a great ride and we'll be looking forward to doing more of them before June.

Before I go, a quick word of thanks to those of you who have already sponsored us. We've had over £900 of donations so far (over £1000 including gift aid) and we're nearly a fifth of the way to our target! The generosity shown is fantastic and please do keep the donations coming (you can do that here) so we can provide these two great charities with even more support.

[PJH]

[For those of you who are new to the B2E Wheelers you can find out why we are putting ourselves through these freezing rides here]

Introducing: the B2E Wheelers

Giusto Cerutti copes with one of the many possible problems facing the B2E Wheelers. From Wikimedia Commons.

A break from usual service on Curator's Camera to talk about a weekend project; preparing to cycle from Bristol to Margate in early June, 2013. The point of this tour of the south of England is to raise money for the Meningitis Trust and Heart of Kent Hospice. Why these two charities? Well, Heart of Kent Hospice is the choice of my co-rider (and father-in-law) who has taken the planning lead, Chris Dobson.

The Meningitis Trust is my story. In late spring last year my dad was taken ill with Meningitis, an infection that almost cost him his life. It has also had longer lasting effects, disrupting his balance, damaging his sight and leaving him deaf, meaning the process of recovery has been a long one. Since he was ill the Meningitis Trust has provided invaluable support to both my dad and my mum, listening to problems and offering helpful advice.

So, almost a year on and with spring 2013 around the corner the time seemed right to give something back. Now, perhaps a smaller, less demanding project would have raised enough funds to say thank you to the Trust but, to be honest, the charity's help was so great I felt a big undertaking was needed to illustrate the importance of their work. I also hope it will raise a little more by way of donations too...

A very rough idea of the B2E Wheelers' route. View Larger Map

The aim, then, is to cycle from Bristol to Margate over four days, leaving Bristol on Saturday 8th June and arriving in Margate on Tuesday 11th June. As we'll depart from the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery and finish at the Turner Contemporary we've coined the route, 'The Banksy to Emin Ride' (hence, B2E Wheelers) - more on the art links in coming posts. While the ride will be long Chris has been working hard to plan an amazing route and we'll take in some fantastic scenery along the way. I'm hoping it will all go smoothly, but I'm aware the chance of a few punctures and ending up like Mr. Cerutti (above) are high enough. I'm also hoping no one makes me shave my legs.

Over the coming months I'll be posting on the blog and keeping you up-to-date about our preparation before showing you all the fun from the ride itself. And, before I forget, if you think this is all mad enough to sponsor us for, or if you'd just like to support the work of the Meningitis Trust and Heart of Kent Hospice, you can use this link to go to the B2E Wheelers' sponsorship page.

Thanks for reading!

[PJH]

I don't like cricket...

Cricket on the Campo Grande, San Salvador. Image from the British Library Americas blog.

I love it. Sport infrequently graces the roll of Curator's Camera but today is one of those days. Back in 2012 I wrote a paper for a conference at the British Library on cricket in the Americas. More specifically, how the Library's holdings might be of use to those with an interest in the history of cricket.

Now, the British Library is not the MCC library, that will always have a monopoly on being the most comprehensive cricket collection in the world. However, it does hold a wealth of material, particularly (and surprisingly) with relation to the Americas. 

Despite the paper being written in 2012 I've only just gotten around to putting a PDF online, despite having written about its contents briefly on the Team Americas blog. That's now been rectified and if you'd like to know more about the history of cricket in the Americas and what the relevant records in the British Library's holdings are you can find a link to the PDF in the 'Publications' page of Curator's Camera.

The Height of Competition: Olympic Photography

The Olympic Park at night. Own photo.

After weeks of watching Olympic events on the telly I finally got to go to the Olympic Park and watch some sport this week, in the form of Paralympic swimming. The competition was amazing and we were lucky enough to see one British gold won and three world records set, although the competitiveness did not reach the brutality of 'Murder Ball' which is on in the background as I write this.

While the swimmers competed in the pool there was another round of competition going on in the stands - between the world's amateur photographers. This brings me to my point, that photography as both pastime and profession is an inherently competitive business often to the point of aggressiveness. My thoughts were jogged into this frame of mind as what can best be described as a scuffle broke out between two SLR wielding photographers in front of me in the stands. In short, medals were won, passions ran high, people stood up, shots were blocked and words were fired.

Team GB off the blocks. Own photo.

It was, to be honest, quite an ignominious few moments in an arena and mega-event meant to promote positive relations and better understanding between people (albeit through physical competition). Looking around the venue and walking around the park later I saw a few such spats take place and it reminded me of Susan Sontag's statement about the worst side of photographic practice; that photography is an inherently aggressive act. This is in particular reference to the fact that the camera is akin to a stare, an invasive gaze into the lives of others. Such an effect can be mediated, to some degree, but the fact remains that photography is a way of seeing saturated with power dynamics - and the photographer often holds all the cards.

This is before you even get to the deeper mechanics of photo practice and the deep desire of many photographers to get 'the' shot, an impulse further accentuated by the atmosphere and practicalities of photographing top-flight sport. Of course this is not the uniform atmosphere at these events, friendliness, creativity and fun also abound in the practice of other photographers in the Olympic Park. In some ways, I guess the lens used by photographers is a two-way gaze, allowing them to peer at the world while allowing the world to see the extremes of them.

New Sights in Familiar Places: the Olympics

Waiting for the road race to come through, Richmond Park during London 2012

I get the feeling no Londoner's blog will be complete in the next two weeks without a post on the Olympics. So here's mine, hot from the press and a morning in Richmond Park. I won't muddy this up with much analysis, instead I'll make a short point about the Games and how they remake the spaces in which they operate. There's a lot been written about this, not all of it positive in emphasis, but for my part I enjoyed the brief reinvention of Richmond Park as an international sporting venue.

  

One of the things that made the Park experience positive was that this is a genuinely free event with few restrictions in place on personal movement. More importantly, the crowds and even security present were very much in a festive mood (read: police outriders driving through like rock stars, slapping hands with members of the public). Also, there are not many other Olympic events where you can get quite so close to not only Olympians but the new Tour de France champion.

That said, not everyone was interested and for the main residents of the Park life continued as usual. In fact, I think the deer quite enjoyed it as they were bothered much less than they normally would be. Anyway, from this small experience I think it's fair to say that London 2012 is an event which is changing how we relate to the landscape of London in the short term - and hopefully in the long term too.

Learie Goes to Bat: A Window on Past Opportunity

Learie Constantine Heads to the Crease: Nelson c. 1930. Photographer unknown (to me).

One of the less well known pub quiz facts is that the first black man to be made a Lord in the U. K. was appointed Baron of Nelson (he was also appointed to Maraval, Trinidad, but that is another story). Given, the contemporary socio-politics of Nelson and it's neighbour Burnley this perhaps seems to be one of history's ironies.

However, it is far more significant than that and this post, using the photograph above will argue how the potential for a different socio-political outlook is still with us, if we look closely enough. Here, therefore, we will look on the above as a reflection on a missed opportunity and an invitation to change. First, some back-story.

Constantine was one of the great cricketers of his day and still keeps such company posthumously. He was politically minded and active and had a deep friendship with the scholar (and cricket writer) C. L. R. James. Constantine arrived in Nelson as a professional attached to the local cricket club; this is one of those underpinning elements of cricket that seems idiosyncratic in an age of million pound football transfers, but it has not only done cricket great good but society too. As we shall see.

Playing for Nelson not only afforded Constantine an access point to England, James followed him and stayed with his friend multiple times in his career. Further, Nelson not only did Constantine's cricket great good (as noted by James in Beyond a Boundary) it afforded both he and James an arena to communicate their political ideas about Empire to a new audience and develop them through this process. Some years later James noted:

"We ended up educating thousands, including ourselves. Those were the first days that we talked about West Indian politics and began to exchange and to clarify ideas."

James (1963) Beyond a Boundary, p. 156

During the inter-war period, James and Constantine did great work redeveloping ideas about the West Indies and West Indians in Britain. By no means was it all roses (there's a great passage to this effect on p. 155 of Beyond a Boundary) but the men and their audiences affected great change in the mindset of the area. This is what I see in the image above. It is not what I see in Lancashire now.

Post WWII Nelson and the other areas in Lancashire underpinned by the cotton industry fell on harder times. Alongside these hard times, mass immigration from across a fragmenting Empire also occurred and increasing levels of relative poverty in the town led to a shift towards seeing ethnicity as a more insurmountable barrier. As a result these areas are now often characterised by strong racial divisions and ideas of Otherness, a result of which was the rioting seen in multiple areas in 2000.

Within this context, where race is not the issue (social conditions and relative poverty are the issues) but the articulatory framework, the time where James and Constantine spoke in Nelson and the surrounding area can seem like a distant memory. However, the place and the people were important to the process of intellectual development driven forward by James and Constantine; this potential still exists in the place and in any place. The image above, where Constantine heads to the crease with an enthusiastic crowd behind him, is a link back to the 1930's and as long as it survives to remind us the opportunity to build a Lancashire and a World where racial perceptions are less divisive is not dead.

You see, Learie is still off to bat. Off to riposte the challenge with the crowd behind him. The image retains the ideas of Constantine and James and the support they were given in the interwar period. It also retains the hope that people can be encouraged to listen to the ideas of change so enthusiastically again. Our task, as viewers, is to allow the image to impact us and allow the potential embedded in it to remain active. 

Constantine and James, in different ways, were clear about the importance of dialogue, action and understanding in shifting the racialised attitudes of Empire. Now their ideas need applying to shift the attitudes of the neoliberal, capitalist realist state and this image is an invitation to do that.