nearly every day

Nearly every day I cycle to work along the cut, its always different and it always makes me feel grounded, it reminds me I'm in Bristol and this is what Bristol's like...wet, muddy and tidal! Maybe I will learn how to take pictures off my phone so i can share any sights to or from work on the cut.

Use the iPaq to Photograph Your Walk!

Most of the photos on this blog were taken during mediascape walks, just using the i-paq (handheld computer) which is playing the mediascape. You can take photos, and make sound recordings, without stopping the mediascape. Here's Katie taking a photo - that's included in the Local Historian and Artist test Mediascape blog entry.

Who Eats Who?!

A cormorant
was eating an eel today
down by the water...

Local Historian and Artist test Mediascape

Thanks to Katie and Roy for contributing to and then testing the mediascape!

Underfall Yard and the Old Boatyard

Fast flowing water from the floating harbour comes out through the underfall yard into the New Cut.

The ramp for bringing boats down from the old boatyard is still visible in the mud of the south bank.

Butterfly Junction

Thankyou to Ben for testing out the Mediascape, including his commentary which features information about Butterfly Junction.

- Headphones being passed to a cyclist who stopped to listen to the Mediascape.

Ivy Broomrape IS Purple!

The IvyBroomrape that Katie spotted, flowering exceptionally early, (See photo, 02 May 2007, blog entry: Live and Laughing ) has changed from a soft pinkish yellow colour to a deep purple. There's lots along the North bank of the Cut between Vauxhall Bridge and the Chocolate Path.

Art at Vauxhall Bridge

Walking over Vauxhall Bridge today was a lovely surprise to see these clay tiles depicting features of the Avon New Cut. The info plaque (photograph below) tells how they were made by local people, and glazed with Avon mud, as part of an arts project with Jo Young for the Southville Arts Trail.
A great installation on the bridge - go and see it!

Form Added

I've added a form in the sidebar for messages to be sent in by email. This replaces the previous email contact which was via another website.

Walking About

Seven of us tried out the mediascape thisafternoon, walking the section from Gaol Ferry Bridge to Bedminster Bridge. It's quite different coming into the Bathurst Basin from that direction.
Useful tip: if you take a spare pair of headphones and a 2 into 1 mini-jack then two people can share the same ipaq!

Out and About

Bank Holiday Monday was wet, windy and finally sunny by the Avon New Cut today.


We saw a sandpiper just as we heard it's description on the mediascape.
And got lots of ideas how to make the walk better still...

Mediascape Credits

This mediascape was made by Jackie Calderwood as part of a research project for MA Media (Interactive Audio, Video Arts) at the University of the West of England (UWE) in partnership with the Southville Centre, Bristol.

Thanks to all who have provided content for the Avon New Cut Mediascape.

Local & Natural History: Roy Gallop, Anton Bantock
Recorded and edited by: Katie White
Revised and produced by: Jackie Calderwood
Photographs by:
Members and Friends of Avon New Cut;
Sycamore - Jackie Calderwood
Bluetit - Rob Waterhouse
Black Headed Gulls - Sam Bloomfield
Cherry Blossom - Beniamin Pop
Mallards - Sarah Digh

Thanks for the invite!

I've joined the walkaboutshout blog so that I can add some pictures and sound recordings I made at the New Cut.

Here's the first picture:
It's of bird-prints in the mud, but I found the ipaq hard to hold still, and this was as far as it would zoom. I might take some more on my own camera and send them in.

Back to Front

It looks as though the time and date are fixed on these blogs, so I can't cheat by putting 'yesterday's blog' up today!

These pictures were taken last night, the Beltaine (1st of May) moon over the cut.

.. that was AFTER the tip-toes, and BEFORE live and laughing.

Confused? All future blogs will be in the 'correct' order - until I learn how to change the date code!

Tip-toes

Mid-day at the Avon New Cut and good to be out in the sunshine.

The mediascape is ready to test, gps connecting, but not fixing on the map...
It seems the coordinates may be wrong after all.

Tried out taking photos with the ipaq, up at the west end of the cut.

Live and Laughing

Perfect weather, hot and sunny, blue sky and a bit of wind... good for gps!

After fixing the map coordinates, I met up with Katie for a live testing to see how accurate the zones are, and yes, it works! Lots learnt, and more work to do... a bit of tweaking around the Bathurst basin, more sound effects and photos of plants to add in...

The hawthorn's well into blossom. Mayday used to vary across the south west depending on when the hawthorn, or may blossom, came into flower. Sometimes it's late May, but this year it's been out for a week or two already.

Also out very early is the Ivy Broom Rape, spotted by Katie on the North side of the Cut along the 'chocolate path'. This usually flowers in June - so it's very unusual to see them in bloom like this at the start of May!