WEEK 2: MYSTERY TOUR / FRANK TROUTBECK

With the theme of Editing being forefront in our minds, I turned my thoughts to the way we edit space - both how we organize it, and how we steer ourselves around it. Nature in the city comes right up to us here, and taps us on the shoulder. If we pay attention to small details then all sorts of hidden things start to reveal themselves: sky rats, seeds, secret flowers, falcon feathers, slime. But if we pay too much attention to the small, will we lose sight of the bigger picture. This links back into your Scale theme of last week. Good editing requires the minute and the mega, micro and macro to held in mind at the same time.

Anyway, keep your eyes peeled, and here's that poem:

The green man's unseen hand
spans traffic islands, urban demands,
vast city light glands, cars, buses, taxis, trains, cats and dogs doing handstands,
threading our space like a noisy noise garland.
- but don't worry, it's all been planned,
there's nothing to UNDERstand.
Just listen, wait, he won't come on demand,
appears in front of you as you're crossing the road:
a guide who simply shows how to get to the other side,
but that's nott the only thing the green man knows.
Quite apart from the blossoming roads, walls, windows, shadows,
the city still grows...
moss between the paving slabs
buddleia by railway tracks
grass massing in parks
millions of insects hiding in the dark
working together to carry nature's spark
through the city labyrinth that sometimes seems ruled by chance,
but all these things work beyond the merry dance of coincidence...

So meet the green man in the green man pub
near the green man roundabout
for shandy, organic grub, and hear him spout about
ivy leaves, how the city breathes,
through trees peopling streets,
how puddles are pools for ghost fishes to meet
and eels swim livid under london's bridges,
nudging out crayfish from muddy underwater ditches
like suds on dirty dishes.

The green man feels the city's bloody beating heart
in the twitter and dart of the black redstart.
A red-tailed bird, black body, cheeky eye,
it lives in high ruins, checks out the low sky,
likes power stations and railway sidings,
when the thames tide comes in it sings,
flicks its wings and goes out to find things.

Yesterday, vibing on some free wi-fi
i got an email from an uknown sender,
subject header: 'RE: Earth'
saying, 'the green man is a symbol of rebirth,
he's got green sticky hair
and he seems to be everywhere.'
See you there...

Thanks for having me on the mystery tour, it was a great afternoon. And good luck.

Frank G Troutbeck