Leap Day 2016 takes place – somewhat unsurprisingly – next Monday, the 29th February. This will be the second Leap Day I’ve taken part in, and it is shaping up to be quite different from the first. We are a bigger group of people this time, and we are not dependant on a single main venue. Although most of our creative curiosity will be invested indoors at various places, the weather will shape the day to some extent. It’s been a long time since I’ve looked ahead at the weather forecast with so much frequency and interest.
This time around I’m putting together a rough draft for the day. Timings are approximate and as the day unfolds, things intentionally get looser. I thought you might like to see where I am at right now:
Leap Day 2016 : Curiouser and Curiouser
10.30am…ish : Meet at British Library – Alice in Wonderland exhibition
Check in – cocreate desired mood, tone, expectations.
11.30am …ish : Down the rabbit hole : Surface at London Bridge – Oyster card may be useful here.
Walk to Tate Modern (approx 15 minutes – pass by Southwark Cathedral, Golden Hind, Winchester Place, Clink Prison, Globe Theatre).
Midday…ish : Making Traces:
How do you leave a trace?
- A footprint, a photograph or a mark of where you were?
- What do traces tell us about what happened before?
- What trace would you leave for others to discover?
1.15pm…ish : Lunch – Borough Market. Lots of options – around 10 minutes from Tate Modern
2.15pm…ish : Check in – how are we doing?
Open to the possibilities…Have you brought something curious to explore?
Options:
The Jean Cocteau Murals
Shoreditch Graffiti
The Garden of St Dunstan
Watts’ Memorial
Walk and Talk
Sit and Think
Kind note to self
Kind note to someone else
I’ve put this draft together using a mixture of my own curiosity and imagination, past experiences and conversations, Google, and the Secret London guide. The guide is an intriguing book signposting many unusual places in and around this lovely city of ours, though as I was somewhat sniffily informed by the appropriate help desk (there’s a contradiction in terms), the listing for Henry VIII’s wine vaults hidden beneath the Ministry of Defence, should not have been included.
A truly lovely group of people have agreed to take part this year, and if this looks like a useful, enjoyable way to spend a few hours in London next Monday, there are a couple of places left, at a cost of just £36. Message me if you’d like to come and I’ll let you know how to pay and confirm your place. And don’t worry if you can’t make it, there’ll be another Leap Day along in four years time.
