Moments that Move (3)

Moments that Move

 

This is the third and final piece from Jonny Viner. Here he continues to explore the sound that comes from different places. The art work is Any Crump’s.Thanks Jonny for placing these posts.

 

March 2008 – “The credit crunch is upon us” was all I could hear on the news, “The housing market is on a downturn”.  Again the news broadcast was devoid of hope in the current economic climate.  So what do my wife and I decide? To try and sell our house and find a new home!  We figured that we could leave it up to the housing market gods to decide if this was a good idea or not.  The nation was (and still is) in a state of panic.  Mortgage offers are down by 80% which means the first-time buyers are no longer there to demand property.  For every fifteen houses on the market there is one buyer, so it’s not a good time to sell.

 

There are moments in all our lives when the winds of change blow and good economic sense goes out of the window. We believed this was one of those for us. Our time in this our home had been rich indeed. In the first year we had over 40 different people bed stay for anything from one night to a number of months. Most of them we knew, some we’d never met.

 

New Horizons

    It was such a great time; there was fun, laughter, friends – we were sharing life.  We had times of banter, times of honesty, times of pain – all shared together.  One afternoon as the house bustled with activity, one of the guys said in his best geordie accent: “Day 19 in the Big Brother House, most of the housemates are in the kitchen cooking their tea!” We all erupted into fits of laughter, a moment of pure genius.  I recall another time when the ladies had all gone away.  There seems to be a different energy around when it’s just blokes chatting together; I guess we feel that we can share and be understood.  We got chatting, well just banter really.  One of the guys abruptly stopped the banter, and started talking about some of the issues he was working through, how he was hurting and couldn’t play the game of ‘it’s all okay’ anymore.  It broke the silence of the game we were playing; it’s funny how we can chat for hours about nothing when we really could do with airing our issues.

 

 

 

Sharing our home this way, for us was a real lesson in living.  But in October last year things changed – our last tenant moved out and there was no one to replace him.  It felt like a definite change in season; maybe time to move on.

 

The house had been on the market just six weeks when we accepted the one and only offer. Against all the cards we were on the move; just a few miles but to another city; the twin of Leeds here in the north of England-Bradford.  A new home, street, town and city to listen to. Our new home is just 4 miles away from where we are now, but it’s a new – a new place needing a new response. What sounds will emerge from our new home? And what are the sounds of our new city? We are all ears.

Have a look at Bradford and the following link on the BBC website. Are the cities of the north of the Uk beyond revival? Post your comment below

 

 

 

Moments that Move (1)

Over the next three days we are featuring three posts from Jonny Viner. In these three pieces he begins to explore the wonder of places that speak and moments that move. Jonny has just turned 30 and lives in Leeds in North East England.

 

Moments that Move.

Jonny Viner

 

It’s funny how a particular place can alter you!  10 years ago, I was living a sheltered existence in the suburbs of Leeds, getting on with my own life, making my own choices – living free and easy.  The place I was in was changing me, yes, but at such a slow rate I don’t think I’d be much different now living that way, day in day out.  I had decided that I’d go explore the world and go experience a new place.  India.  This was no profound decision to go discover myself; it was more a selfish whim – because I could.  The experience of being away from home for the first time can be daunting, traumatic even, but for me it was an adventure – I swapped the suburbs of Leeds for the slums of South East India. 

 

Whilst in India one of the things I did each week was to walk along the beach for a mile or so with my new friends (both Indian, German and English) to meet the local children from the fishing village.  We played games with them, read them stories and hung out.  The kids showed us such affection; they were always climbing on me, holding my hand or stroking my hairy legs!  It was one of the highlights of my week just to be able to play games and have fun with those kids.  I just thought they were normal kids, who had fun all the time, like I remember my childhood being – I was very naïve. 

 

About 3 months into my time in India I had a conversation with one of the guys that was heading up the team, we were chatting about what we enjoyed and I told him that I loved working with the kids down at the fishing village.  I mentioned how nice it was to have some fun and see their smiles.

 

I was unaware that my view of what we were doing there was about to become a little more focussed, probably more focussed that I could deal with.

 

He shared with me that the time was really precious to these kids, because, for many of them, we were probably the only adults that loved them as children should be loved.  He went on to tell me that in this village there was a massive problem with child prostitution and that the kids were sold for sex by their parents.  The ones who should have protected, seek out abusers, for the right price.  I was dumbstruck.  I asked what the police did about it. “Not much” was the reply, as many of the policemen would be either using the kids for sex or organising the ‘pimping’.  I remember how inadequate I felt, how broken up I was, I guess you could say that the small fishing village in south India shook me out of my happy little bubble and opened my eyes.

 

Thinking about the impact it had, I would say that a place does speak to you.  Some places speak louder than others – that village in India shouted so loud it still brings me to tears now.  Writing this, I can’t help but wonder if every city I go to is always shouting at me.  The question I should be asking is, will I unblock my ears long enough to listen, think and find a response?

Just a Normal Day

Just a Normal Day

Jonny Viner

It was just a “normal” day, but a normal day can bring any number of opportunities, as my two friends were about to find out…

Trips to Los Angeles are usually not ones that council estate kids get to go on, let alone two council estate kids who are ‘struggling’ (oh how I hate that label) in school with their behavioural and emotional needs. But that day was a day brimming with possibilities beyond their wildest dreams.

As I took them out of their lesson, the questions were already on their lips: What do you want? What have we done wrong?; are we in trouble? Questions I am sure they are well used to asking given the circumstance they found themselves in. Little did they know that they had been under my watchful eye for a number of weeks as I looked in the unlikely places for students I could trust to be ambassadors for their school.

“So,” I asked as we sat down, “do you know who the Dalai Lama is?” the answer was a blank look. “Ok, what about Desmond Tutu?” A feeble effort to save face came back, “I recognise the name…” I explained that they are two amazing role models who have won international acclaim for their work against oppression and towards peace. I told them that they were among 10 Nobel Peace Prize winners who have set up an organisation called Peace Jam, looking for the next generation of peacemakers to find a place in their schools and communities. I also mentioned that there is a conference happening in September that I want them to attend a long way from their hometown of Leeds. “Is it Bradford?” was the enthusiastic response from one of them, a stark realisation of the worldview I was dealing with. I said that it was a bit further than Bradford (seeing as you could easily walk there within an hour from where we were sitting). “Is it like, three hours on a coach?” was the eager comeback. I couldn’t keep them guessing any longer so I responded “try eleven hours on a plane”. A stunned moment followed as the reality of what I had just said sank in. The next word to leave their mouths was the word “sick” (that’s about the best superlative to be found in current youth lingo), and their faces were a picture of shock and disbelief.

Since that day 3 or 4 weeks ago, they have really come into their own. One has won a poetry competition, with a poem dedicated to the memory of Pat Regan, and will now represent the city of Leeds at the National final in Birmingham this Friday. The other has got his whole family raising money for the trip. Both have been working hard to stir up issues of peace in school and will go to LA full of their own exciting ideas. They will present what they have been working on to a Nobel Peace Prize winner who will in turn offer their wisdom and advice. They will then look to implement their ideas when the return to their community – and do a far better job than I could!

So to the next generation of peacemakers – you can rise from anywhere, do anything and find space to make a difference where you live. Remember, every day is a day full of moments that can change you from one moment to the next – if you are willing.