#Clapton pond

[richwall101]

New Style Routemaster London Bus on the Famous No38 Route Clapton Pond to Victoria Bus Station and all points in between. These new buses began service in 2011.

[stellabarak]

Alkinois Project Space, Art Athina 2023

It turns out my pots have arrived safely to Athens! and I will be flying out there soon to be with them when they launch at Art Athina.

Alkinois is run by wonderful ALix Janta and supported by Romain Britton. They have selected my work to be part of the two-person presentation as part of their booth at Project Space section at Art Athina 2023.

A couple of days before I leave to Athens, we have a mentoring session with Susan Bright.

I tell her about the women's stories and narratives behind each of the pots, how they came about. We talk about naming. There's one pot - which I have called Frothy since the beginning. It is a name that isn't quite a name that I am not sure about. I have re-named her Charlotte. After discussing with Susan and the expert advice of her daughter, unanimously Frothy is voted to stay. 🏺💕

The journey to Art Athina begins like all contemporary art fair journeys, at an airport. This time it is Gatwick on a grey and overcast day. I leave Hackney (Clapton Pond) first thing in the morning in order to get to Gatwick on time. Whilst my pots have arrived safely to Athens, not all is going smoothly on the ground as Alix and Romain are setting up the booth. You can't take out the stress of art fairs.

Eileen is a bit tricky and may have a chip on her shoulder, but I think she definitely deserves to be shown since she has travelled so far to be there. I take my flight and arrive very late on the night of 13th September into Athens airport. I can't wait to see the install!

Booth C5 is a two-person presentation together with the paintings of Marco Villard.

After the stress of installing and last minute touches, the venue is flooded by journalists and visitors. It has been a while since I've seen so many people congregating in one space at once. I am overwhelmed.

The fair is a huge success and the ladies get a lot of attention! So much that I hadn't quite anticipated. It is great to show them at my home in Greece, amongst friends who came by to visit and see them up close and in person.

Eileen is definitely the star of the show, stealing a lot of support for her leaning structure.

With many thanks to Alkinois, Art Athina, the curatorial team & Olympia Tzortzi & all the fellow artists and visitors who came by.

[mokkapresti]

But I love you so much - Handmade collage More 🐸🐸🐸 !!! (at Clapton Pond) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl08QHJqfuv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[petnews2day]

Meet the changemaker: Ollie Olanipekun on bird-watching, community and how he’d like to shake up the travel industry

New Post has been published on https://petnews2day.com/pet-news/bird-news/meet-the-changemaker-ollie-olanipekun-on-bird-watching-community-and-how-hed-like-to-shake-up-the-travel-industry/

Meet the changemaker: Ollie Olanipekun on bird-watching, community and how he’d like to shake up the travel industry

How did Flock Together start?

I was posting pictures of the birds at my local pond on my Instagram. A fellow black guy started naming the birds. I had never met anyone of colour in this space before and I’d been doing this for 10 years.

I asked where he lived, thinking he’d say the South Downs, Scotland or some beautiful vast green space. He told me that he lived in Stoke Newington, north-east London. I was like, ‘Bro I’m five minutes away. I’m in Clapton!’

I called him and explained my idea for a bird-watching collective and he was on board.

We hosted our first walk on Walthamstow Wetlands in June 2020. We had 15 people and it was very informal. Then we posted the photos online and BOOM. The response was, and still is, overwhelming. We’d tapped into something the world needed and didn’t know. Our audience was incredibly ready and no one knew.

Visibility is the most basic way to encourage people to participate. We committed to posting photos from day one. We documented the experience and shared it online. A lot of us had never seen brown people in nature. At the start it was weird. Two-and-a-half years later we’ve normalised that. There’s still work to do, but we’re committed.

How are you disrupting the way the natural world is seen?

We want to use this collective influence to have impact in a space where it’s desperately needed: conservation.

The conservation space is tired. I’m hearing the same thing that I’ve been hearing for 20 years, from the same people. They’re just talking to each other, and they all look the same.

Think about people of colour and our relationship to nature. A lot of our families back home still live with nature and always have done. The knowledge we possess should be something the whole world is desperate to hear. But we’re not being platformed and profiled.

We’re all so busy talking to the privileged: stop using plastic, stop fast fashion, stop this, stop that. And there’s a lot of people that we’re not even considering in this conversation. I want Flock Together to focus on those people. How do I get a 17-year-old kid on the estate who has never considered nature a space for them, to be excited about it? Because if I get him or her excited about nature, they are going to understand the need to protect it. At the moment the conversation is just passing them by.

What is the next stage?

First, infrastructure. Second, taking institutions and reappropriating them for a new world. The Scouts, as an example. It was great for a lot of people, but it’s tired in its offering. Do young people today need to learn how to tie a knot in the rain, or will they get more benefit from understanding that green spaces will benefit them and their mental health?

Are we giving young people life skills for the industries they want to go into? Can we put leaders in those industries that these young people can relate to?

We’re not about jumping on board with old, tired formats, but creating new systems. I’m very much about coalition, so we’re finding the right organisations which might not have had a light shone on them.

Who needs to be making nature more accessible?

Gatekeepers! Whether that’s the brands or the institutions. Do more and do better. The best way a brand can support a community group is to put up the money and get out of the way. That’s the crux of it.

For institutions, representation and visibility are essential. We know your issues about trying to bring new audiences in. So reach out and get them in the boardroom and listen to them.

Would you ever want to do trips with Flock Together? 

We’ve got ideas to do a Flock Together tour. The world is crying out for it but unfortunately a lot of these organisations are still just doing the very tired formats serving the very same audience. The black pound is extensive so commit and you will see a return.   

You’ve got to just look at every space that people of colour have been allowed to flourish in and what that’s done to those spaces. Fashion, sport, music – why can’t travel see all this? It boggles my mind to not understand why there’s no one out there who is capitalising on that. 

Where’s the best place you’ve been for bird-watching?

The Gambia. It’s home to more than 600 bird species. Geographically, it’s a big migration stop-off point. My mind was blown. If anyone says they’re not interested in birds, take them to The Gambia, walk 50 metres and you’ll see 25 different bird species. I guarantee they’ll be hooked in minutes!

Where would you like to go next? 

Mongolia. To go and watch the eagles in Mongolia and watch that culture and their relationship with the birds… I think I would lose it completely if I had that experience.  

I know some people might see it as problematic because these eagles are trained to hunt but from a cultural point of view, these communities rely on that and they do it in a respectful way.  

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in bird-watching?

Don’t have expectations. It’s the experience around bird-watching which is so important. The nature. The time to yourself. Not having your phone in your hand constantly. Those are the elements that make bird-watching great. And if you’re gifted a sighting, then that’s the magic. But magic can’t come every day.

Go to your local green space and you’ll see several species of birds. And the next time you go, you’ll look for them and you’ll see others. You will quickly start to notice yourself looking into trees, into bushes.

You don’t need any equipment, but to get an entry level pair of binoculars you’re looking at about £30. You should also pick up the Collins Bird Guide. I call it the bible. Me and Nadeem live in that book. 

Where else are the Flock Together walks happening?

Tokyo is the main one. They’ve got an amazing community there who goes out every month, but we’re in talks with the US and taking it to Africa. We’re thinking Atlanta in the US. It’s one of the blackest states in the US and I think if you can make a noise there, it will reach others.  

Can you tell me a little about your book, Outsiders?

It was incredibly hard to put together. It’s very personal: part memoir, part manifesto. For anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider. It’s a kind of manual to use nature to help you get through anything. We’ve got big plans to see it in schools. We want young people in nature. This book has stories of how myself and Nadeem — two guys who talk and look like them — use nature to get through difficult times.

Flock Together organises monthly nature and bird-watching walks for people of colour. Follow them for updates and dates on Instagram.

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[bebopfilms]

Clapton pond

[bluebuzzmusic]

Elements Festival Announces New Location, Massive Lineup Ft. Kaskade, Rezz, Claptone, Sofi Tukker, Nicole Moudaber, Zeds Dead + More

Festival season is upon us and we can hardly contain our excitement to get out and start experiencing all of these events. Just announced today is Elements Music & Arts Festival’s 2022 lineup that is sure to have any festival goer ready to buy a ticket. Some of today’s brightest stars will be gracing the stages over the 3 day festival including Kaskade, who will be performing a special Redux set, Nicole Moudaber, TroyBoi, Seth Troxler, Rezz, Claptone, Sofi Tukker, The Knocks, J. Worra, Zeds Dead, and many more.

The lineup isn’t the only thing to notice. This year’s Elements is poised to flourish more than ever before by laying roots for the first time in the fields and forests of Long Pond Pennsylvania. This new site provides a built-in food, water, parking, car camping, and safety infrastructure, with a history of hosting events 5x the size of Elements, and a shorter drive to all major cities on the East Coast. 

Talking with founders Brett Herman and Timothy Monkiewicz, they stressed that safety is one of their five essential pillars for Elements 2022. They’ve established a 5-point plan and roadmap for all to see, which you can view here. One key feature is that the new site is on solid ground with drainage designed to handle inclement weather. The 2022 staff has been hand-selected by a new board of advisors, who have over 25+ years of experience dealing with large gatherings, to meet the highest standard of event knowledge, guest hospitality, and crowd safety protocols. There will also  be more than double the options for food, water, bathrooms, medical, and wellness services to reduce wait times for all.

When asked about what they are most excited for this year, the guys say “the venue! It’s our biggest canvas yet, and the woodland areas are even more beautiful…we will be recreating and improving everything we love from the past few years and adding a massive amount of new features, art, and interactivity.” Another detail unique to this years event is Car Camping. Brett and Timothy add “with our larger site with onsite parking, shuttle buses are no longer necessary, so you can drive right up to where you’ll be camped.”

One of the great things about Elements Music & Arts festival is that it’s so much more than just the music. They feature carefully curated Health and Wellness programming including yoga, aromatherapy, dance, comedy, sound baths, multidisciplinary workshops, and more. The 24-hour food court offers an array of healthy & organic local food sourced from Pocono Organics, including vegan & gluten free options for those with dietary restrictions, as well as water stations for guests to fill up their hydration pack or water bottles

To all of this year’s newcomers, Brett and Timothy say “welcome to the community! Elements is an extended family, and we welcome all. Also, go with the flow! We hear from many first timers that the unexpected was what they loved the most. If you miss a DJ set because you are having fun blowing bubbles in the forest with a performer dressed like a unicorn, don’t worry about it! We want to encourage all newcomers to make friends, seek new experiences, and have the time of their lives.”

Tickets are now on sale here.

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Elements Festival Announces New Location, Massive Lineup Ft. Kaskade, Rezz, Claptone, Sofi Tukker, Nicole Moudaber, Zeds Dead + More

source https://www.youredm.com/2022/03/16/elements-festival-announces-new-location-massive-lineup-ft-kaskade-rezz-claptone-sofi-tukker-nicole-moudabar-zeds-dead-more/

[mrepstein]

Brian Epstein’s Address & Telephone Book

A small leather bound pocket address and telephone book that was owned and used by Brian Epstein. The book dates to 1967 and it consists of 57 pages of addresses and telephone number some of which are typed, some of which are in Epstein’s hand and some which have been added by hand on his behalf. // (click HERE to view more pages from the book)

The book contains a total of 404 entries - a selection of them are listed below:

A

ATV Ltd 

ABC Television Ltd 

AIR London Ltd. 

Tom Arnold Ltd 

Neil Aspinall 

Artistes Car Hire 

Annabels [nightclub] 

Alexander’s Restaurant 

Ashley Steiner Famous [talent agency] 

Al Aronowitz 

Atlantic Records 

Eric Andersen 

Bob Anthony 

B

Bryce Hanmer & Co [accounting firm] 

Bedford, Okrent & Co 

BBC Television Centre 

BBC Broadcasting House 

Al Brodax 

Cilla Black 

Mr. & Mrs. Tony Barrow 

Mr. & Mrs Don Black 

Bryan Barrett 

Jack Barclay Ltd  [Bentley dealership] 

Peter Brown 

Mr. & Mrs. B. Bullough 

Mr. & Mrs J. Bullough 

Miss J. Balmer 

Mr. &. Mrs. Ivan Bennett 

Eric Burdon 

Francisco Bermudez 

Lionel Bart 

David Bailey 

Bag O’Nails 

Tony Barlow 

Ray Bartell 

Rodney Barnes 

Bruno One Restaurant 

Sid Bernstein 

Kenn Brodziak 

Leonard Bernstein 

Al Bennett 

Beverly Hills Hotel 

Brian Bedford 

Scotty Bower 

David Ballman 

Bob Bonis 

Bill Buist 

Arthur Buist 

C

Dr. Norman Cowan 

Curzon House Club 

Crockfords Club 

Clermont Club 

Cromwellian Club 

Paddy Chambers 

Radio Caroline 

Michael Codron 

Cap-Estel Le 

Mr. & Mrs. J. Cassen 

Columbia Pictures Ltd 

Eric Clapton 

Capitol Records Mexico 

Michael Cooper 

Roger Curtis 

Neil Christian 

Maureen Cleave 

Thomas Clyde 

Cash Box 

CBS Records Ltd 

Denny Cordell 

William Cavendish 

Caprice Restuarant 

David Charkham 

Capitol Records 

Columbia Broadcasting System 

Bob Crewe 

May Cunnell 

Car Hire Co. for Lincoln 

Dr. Kenneth Chesky 

Capitol Records (Voyle Gilmore) 

Irving E. Chezar 

Danny Cleary 

Bobby Colomby 

Bob Casper 

Andre Cadet 

D

Daily Express 

Disc & Music Echo 

Decca Records 

Bernard Delfont Ltd 

Bernard Delfont 

Noel Dixon 

Jimmy Douglas 

Chris Denning 

Simon Dee 

Rik Dane 

Dolly’s [nightclub] 

Hunter Davies 

Terry Doran 

Pat Doncaster 

Norrie Drummond 

Alan David 

John Dunbar 

Peter Dalton 

Kappy Ditson 

Robert Dunlap 

Robert L. David 

Diana Dors 

Ivor Davis 

Tom Dawes 

Brandon de Wilde 

Don Danneman 

E

Malcolm Evans 

Clive J. Epstein 

Mr. & Mrs. H. Epstein 

EMI Records Ltd 

EMI Studios 

Geoffrey Ellis 

Etoile Restaurant 

Tim Ellis 

Terry Eaton 

Kenny Everett 

John East 

Bob Eubanks 

Esther Edwards 

Ahmet Ertegun 

F

Alan Freeman 

David Frost 

Georgie Fame 

Robert Fraser 

Andre Fattacini 

Dan Farson 

Billy Fury 

Barry Finch 

Marianne Faithfull 

Robert Fitzpatrick 

Warren Frederikson 

John Fisher 

Danny Fields 

Francis Fiorino 

G

Dr. Geoffrey Gray 

Hamish Grimes 

Derek Grainger 

Rik Gunnell 

Rik Gunnell Agency Ltd 

Derrick Goodman & Co. 

Peter Goldman 

Christopher Gibbs 

David Garrick 

Geoffrey Grant 

Mick Green 

John P. Greenside 

Michael Gillet 

General Artists Corp. 

John Gillespie 

Voyle Gilmore 

George Greif 

Ren Grevatt 

Milton Goldman 

M. Goldstein 

Gary Grove 

Henry Grossman 

H

Mr. & Mrs. Berrell Hyman 

Doreen Hyman 

Mr. & Mrs. Basil J. Hyman 

Mrs. A. Hyman 

Steve Hardy 

H. Huntsman & Son Ltd 

Simon Hayes 

Frankie Howerd 

Henry Higgins 

Chris Hutchins 

Tony Howard 

Wendy Hanson 

Marty Himmel 

Casper Halpern

John Heska

Ricky Heiman

Joe Hunter

Ty Hargrove

Hullabaloo.

Walter Hofer

J

M.A. Jacobs & Son 

David Jacobs [lawyer] 

Dick James Music Ltd 

Mr. & Mrs. D. James 

Mick Jagger 

Brian Jones 

Michael Jeffries 

Drummond Jackson 

David Jacobs [d.j.] 

Brian Joyce 

Gerry Justice 

K

Gibson Kemp 

Johnathan King 

Mr. & Mrs Maurice Kinn 

Kingsway Recording Studios 

Ashley Kozac 

Kafetz Camera Ltd. 

Reg King 

Andrew Koritsas 

Ed Kenmore 

Walker Kundzicz 

John Kurland 

Murray Kauffman

L

Larry Lamb 

Martin Landau 

Kit Lambert 

Dick Lester 

Mr. & Mrs. Vic Lewis 

Tony Lynch 

Radio London 

Mike Leander 

John Lyndon 

Bernard Lee 

Kenny Lynch 

Denny Laine 

Lomax Alliance 

Ed Leffler 

David G. Lowe 

Richard W. Lean 

Goddard Lieberson 

Laurie Records 

Liberty Records 

London Records 

Alan Livingston

M

Melody Maker 

Peter Murray 

Keith Moon 

Mr. & Mrs. G. Martin 

Mr. & Mrs. Brian Matthew 

Midland Bank Limited 

Vyvienne Moynihan 

Gerry Marsden 

Ian Moody 

Michael McGrath 

Cathy McGowan 

Mr. & Mrs. J. McCartney 

Albert Marrion 

Robin Maughan 

Peter Maddok 

Gordon Mills 

Brian McEwan 

John Mendell Jnr. 

Marshall Migatz 

Fred Morrow 

Chruch McLaine 

Vincent Morrone 

Jeffrey Martin Co. 

Gavin Murrell 

Dean Martin 

Gordon B. McLendon 

Sal Mineo 

Scott Manley 

Bernard Mavnitte 

Verne Miller 

N

John Neville 

Joanne Newfield 

Tommy Nutter 

Francisco Neuner 

Tatsuji Nagasima 

New Musical Express 

NEMS Enterprises Ltd 

Graham Nash 

Nemperor Artists Ltd 

Louis Nizer 

Bob Nauss 

Gene Narmore 

O

George H. Ornstein 

Olympic Sound Studios 

A. L. Oldham 

Myles Osternak 

Roy Onsborg 

P

Col. Tom Parker 

Jerry Pam 

Plaza Hotel 

PAN AM. rep 

Bob Perlman 

Allen Pohju 

Robert H. Prech 

John Pritchard 

Prince Of Wales Theatre 

Don Paul 

Sean Phillips 

Jon Pertwee 

Ricki Pipe 

Dr. D. A. Pond 

David Puttnam 

David Puttnam Associates 

Tom Parr 

Harry Pinsker 

Kenneth Partridge 

Larry Parnes 

Priory Nursing Home 

Viv Prince 

Steve Paul 

R

Radnor Arms [pub] 

Leo Rost 

Keith Richard 

Record Mirror 

Dolly Robertson-Ward 

Charles Ross 

Rules Restuarant 

Marian Rainford 

Bobby Roberts 

Bill Rosado 

S

Vic Singh 

Speakeasy [club] 

Simon and Marijke 

Simon Shops 

Judith Symons 

Keith Skeel 

Tony Sharman 

Simon Scott 

Barrie Summers 

John Singleton 

Squarciafichi 

Don Short 

Dr. Walter Strach 

Walter Shenson 

John Sandoe Ltd 

Bobby Shafto 

Harry South 

Brian Sommerville 

Robert Stigwood

David Shaw 

Chris Stamp 

Aaron Schroeder 

Stephen, Jacques & Stephen [law firm] 

Leo Sullivan 

Gene Schwann 

Herb Schlosser 

Gary Smith 

Jim Stewart [co-founder, Stax Records] 

John Simon 

Jerry N. Schatzberg 

Lex Taylor 

Robert Shoot 

Lauren Stanton 

St. Regis Hotel 

Eric Spiros 

Howard Soloman 

T

Taft Limousine Corp 

[Sidney] Traxler (lawyer) 

T.W.A. Ken S. Fletcher [director, public relations, TWA] 

Derek & Joan Taylor 

T.W.A. (Victor Page) 

Martin Tempest 

Evelyn Taylor 

Twickenham Studios 

Kenneth Tynan 

Alistair Taylor 

F. T. Turner & Son Ltd. 

R. S. Taylor 

Michael Taylor 

George Tempest 

Norm Talbott 

U

United Artists Corp Ltd 

U.P.I. 

V

Klaus & Christine Voormann 

V.I.P. Travel Ltd 

W

Mark Warman 

Gary Walker 

Robert Whitaker 

Peter Watkins 

Peter Weldon 

Mrs. Freda Weldon 

Alan Warren 

Orson Welles 

Sir David Webster 

Alan Williams 

Dennis Wiley 

Terry Wilson 

Nathan Weiss 

Norman Weiss 

Gerry Wexler 

Y

Murial Young 

Bernice Young 

Z

Peter Zorcon 

[wjournal]

clapton pond, east london, 2017

[heyreilly]

Half way thru a 4 day week 💚 (at Clapton Pond) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwo2LQCAwJ7/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=t87xycxtx1tp

[avaliveradio]

Cabela and Schmitt's New Album 'Like A Stone' is coming out September 9th

Artist : Cabela and Schmitt New Release: Like A Stone (album)

Music Genre: Soft Rock Vibe:  Meaningful Located in:  Nebraska and Colorado Sounds like:  Tom Petty, Coldplay, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Imagine Dragons

September 9th :

Cabela And Schmitt  has a new CD "Like A Stone" releasing!  Includes new single "We Call Home" and previously unreleased new mixes of many favorites!  CDs and flash drives for sale, downloads on the Albums page!

https://cabelaandschmitt.com/albums

LIKE A STONE- Album 

A stone is permanent, stable, and unmoving much like principles, truth, friends, and love. Yet a stone one holds in their hand can be harmless and entertaining as a skipping stone across a pond, or it can also be used for harmful intentions.

We believe the world is good…this seems to be a view shared by fewer and fewer people all the time. With technology, we hold the world in our hands. Our devices can be tools for communication, entertainment, and loving messages, but also destruction.

We are bombarded with information, constantly…this is sometimes advantageous and sometimes detrimental. We have slipped as a world society into letting the opinion-based media, in general, influence how we think, act, and make our decisions.

Yes, we all need the news to keep up with current events, but we must hold on to our God-given freedom to use our minds to form our own opinions.

The Bible makes it very clear what our beliefs need to be based on. We cannot continue to foster animosity toward people who are not like us or don’t believe like us.

This war must end peacefully…there will be no winner, only losers if we continue on our current course. We have chosen to put certain people and ideals above God in our lives and thus we have created a world that appears to be broken, but in reality, it is we who are broken.

What is said cannot be unsaid, what is seen cannot be unseen. But there is hope knowing love can conquer all. Social Links & Website: https://cabelaandschmitt.com

https://www.facebook.com/cabelaschmittmusic

https://twitter.com/CabelaSchmitt

https://www.instagram.com/cabelaandschmitt

[spinstrackingsystem]

Chair55 Releases Third Single from Label – Walter Finley “While The Sun Still Shines (The Fishing Song)”

Based out of North Carolina, singer/songwriter Walter Finley is no stranger to the music industry. Walter grew up on the East end of Long Island and music was Walter’s therapist from his rough childhood. He spent a lot of time alone, sometimes up to 8 hours a day, which gave him ample time to hone his guitar playing skills. Musical influences include Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton, Vince Gill, George Benson, Chet Atkins and more recently Aaron Lewis. Walter has been the recipient of many awards and award nominations. Just look at this list: 2021 International Singer Songwriters Association US Emerging Artist of the Year, Queen City Awards-2020 Male Artist, 2020 Josie Award Nomination for Song of the Year-“While The Sun Still Shines”, International Singer Songwriters Association Nominations, including; Male Vocalist, Male Rising Star, Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year. Also, in 2020, Walter and his longtime companion April Dawn were the recipients of the Carolina Country Music Associations Duo of the Year. Now, Chair 55 is proud to announce the official radio release of “While The Sun Still Shines (The Fishing Song)”. “While The Sun Still Shines” has already garnered national and international radio airplay. “The song came about on the day David Bowie died”, says Walter. “I was living on a 30 acre farm and from my office I could see my fishing pond, about 3 acres and I never took the time to go walk around it and fish. Read the full article

[petnews2day]

Meet the changemaker: Ollie Olanipekun on bird-watching, community and how he’d like to shake up the travel industry

New Post has been published on https://petnews2day.com/pet-news/bird-news/meet-the-changemaker-ollie-olanipekun-on-bird-watching-community-and-how-hed-like-to-shake-up-the-travel-industry/

Meet the changemaker: Ollie Olanipekun on bird-watching, community and how he’d like to shake up the travel industry

How did Flock Together start?

I was posting pictures of the birds at my local pond on my Instagram. A fellow black guy started naming the birds. I had never met anyone of colour in this space before and I’d been doing this for 10 years.

I asked where he lived, thinking he’d say the South Downs, Scotland or some beautiful vast green space. He told me that he lived in Stoke Newington, north-east London. I was like, ‘Bro I’m five minutes away. I’m in Clapton!’

I called him and explained my idea for a bird-watching collective and he was on board.

We hosted our first walk on Walthamstow Wetlands in June 2020. We had 15 people and it was very informal. Then we posted the photos online and BOOM. The response was, and still is, overwhelming. We’d tapped into something the world needed and didn’t know. Our audience was incredibly ready and no one knew.

Visibility is the most basic way to encourage people to participate. We committed to posting photos from day one. We documented the experience and shared it online. A lot of us had never seen brown people in nature. At the start it was weird. Two-and-a-half years later we’ve normalised that. There’s still work to do, but we’re committed.

How are you disrupting the way the natural world is seen?

We want to use this collective influence to have impact in a space where it’s desperately needed: conservation.

The conservation space is tired. I’m hearing the same thing that I’ve been hearing for 20 years, from the same people. They’re just talking to each other, and they all look the same.

Think about people of colour and our relationship to nature. A lot of our families back home still live with nature and always have done. The knowledge we possess should be something the whole world is desperate to hear. But we’re not being platformed and profiled.

We’re all so busy talking to the privileged: stop using plastic, stop fast fashion, stop this, stop that. And there’s a lot of people that we’re not even considering in this conversation. I want Flock Together to focus on those people. How do I get a 17-year-old kid on the estate who has never considered nature a space for them, to be excited about it? Because if I get him or her excited about nature, they are going to understand the need to protect it. At the moment the conversation is just passing them by.

What is the next stage?

First, infrastructure. Second, taking institutions and reappropriating them for a new world. The Scouts, as an example. It was great for a lot of people, but it’s tired in its offering. Do young people today need to learn how to tie a knot in the rain, or will they get more benefit from understanding that green spaces will benefit them and their mental health?

Are we giving young people life skills for the industries they want to go into? Can we put leaders in those industries that these young people can relate to?

We’re not about jumping on board with old, tired formats, but creating new systems. I’m very much about coalition, so we’re finding the right organisations which might not have had a light shone on them.

Who needs to be making nature more accessible?

Gatekeepers! Whether that’s the brands or the institutions. Do more and do better. The best way a brand can support a community group is to put up the money and get out of the way. That’s the crux of it.

For institutions, representation and visibility are essential. We know your issues about trying to bring new audiences in. So reach out and get them in the boardroom and listen to them.

Would you ever want to do trips with Flock Together? 

We’ve got ideas to do a Flock Together tour. The world is crying out for it but unfortunately a lot of these organisations are still just doing the very tired formats serving the very same audience. The black pound is extensive so commit and you will see a return.   

You’ve got to just look at every space that people of colour have been allowed to flourish in and what that’s done to those spaces. Fashion, sport, music – why can’t travel see all this? It boggles my mind to not understand why there’s no one out there who is capitalising on that. 

Where’s the best place you’ve been for bird-watching?

The Gambia. It’s home to more than 600 bird species. Geographically, it’s a big migration stop-off point. My mind was blown. If anyone says they’re not interested in birds, take them to The Gambia, walk 50 metres and you’ll see 25 different bird species. I guarantee they’ll be hooked in minutes!

Where would you like to go next? 

Mongolia. To go and watch the eagles in Mongolia and watch that culture and their relationship with the birds… I think I would lose it completely if I had that experience.  

I know some people might see it as problematic because these eagles are trained to hunt but from a cultural point of view, these communities rely on that and they do it in a respectful way.  

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in bird-watching?

Don’t have expectations. It’s the experience around bird-watching which is so important. The nature. The time to yourself. Not having your phone in your hand constantly. Those are the elements that make bird-watching great. And if you’re gifted a sighting, then that’s the magic. But magic can’t come every day.

Go to your local green space and you’ll see several species of birds. And the next time you go, you’ll look for them and you’ll see others. You will quickly start to notice yourself looking into trees, into bushes.

You don’t need any equipment, but to get an entry level pair of binoculars you’re looking at about £30. You should also pick up the Collins Bird Guide. I call it the bible. Me and Nadeem live in that book. 

Where else are the Flock Together walks happening?

Tokyo is the main one. They’ve got an amazing community there who goes out every month, but we’re in talks with the US and taking it to Africa. We’re thinking Atlanta in the US. It’s one of the blackest states in the US and I think if you can make a noise there, it will reach others.  

Can you tell me a little about your book, Outsiders?

It was incredibly hard to put together. It’s very personal: part memoir, part manifesto. For anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider. It’s a kind of manual to use nature to help you get through anything. We’ve got big plans to see it in schools. We want young people in nature. This book has stories of how myself and Nadeem — two guys who talk and look like them — use nature to get through difficult times.

Flock Together organises monthly nature and bird-watching walks for people of colour. Follow them for updates and dates on Instagram.

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[bebopfilms]

in flight

[owenrichards]

Mazes, Clapton Ponds, 2010. A promo photo for Mazes shot on my Contax T2. We lured the pigeons with crisps and I had to jump and take the photo at the same time. (Please note; no pigeons were harmed in the making of this picture!) . . . . . #bandphotography #promo #contaxt2 #kodakportra #pigeons #clapton #claptonponds #mazes #musician #band #archive #35mm

[marginalworld]

So fresh and so clean clean @yuckband (at Clapton Pond) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAQYCthHKvU/?igshid=l0lyphdyuouu

[maxdupuy]

Fall #maximedupuy #ilustrations #shape #characterdesign #fall #breaking #colour (à Clapton Pond)