more editing to do
And will be turned into a fully illustrated article at some point.
In one word, CONSISTENCY
In essence, over twenty years, within a circle of about 30km around Hay-on-Wye, and Titley West Herefordshire, living and at times working in a whole range of small scale land work scenarios, from smallholdings, shared land use, to environmental work protecting absolutely critical wild habitats, I observed as follows: I have known well a dozen women who 'muck in' alongside any man working outdoors as total equal. All ages. Tough, skilled, spirited and with a completely can do attitude no matter what the weather..or smells. I started photographing and filming them 20 years ago. All are great enjoyable no nonsense people. Some true dusky beauties (if one wishes to 'objectify').
However, and sadly, they make up a mere 1 or 2% of the population. I have known and observed many men - that 98% - who toil on year after year, either alone or in only the company of other (womanless) men...
And in time all go sour...
Simon, captured here on the wireless this morning
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001v9g3 1 hr 05 minutes in
happily alone "self building our dream house" (probably on mummy or dady's money,inherited...or 'loaned'..) i can assure you.... when he is year on year for decades building someone elses house,or shed...or stock fences...alone.....
Or if he does have company its some equally sour alcoholic, or more often these days hard porn addicted, male workmate..... wont find it quite as perfectly dreamy.
In fact the truly sad weird thing of it all is that 1% or so ...the real outdoor rural women i have known, are always naturally 'beautiful' with rosy unlined faces and the best of all real smiles...
(like the solo men see on their pornchans no doubt)
But the truly 'serious' aspect to what has become only a miserable bleak landscape (if you are alone decade after decade as many small scale farmers are) is that we all know that when woman and man are gathered around some project - not because of any innate 'feminine' - simply because modern society became theoretically democratic in the best of ways - people gathered holding each other to account " ehh Fred.... all that wire netting you left in the hedgethere [to rot rather than be recycled] ... maybe our kids will scratch themselves on it shouldnt it be recycled like we do with with our beercans, too...?"
When i joined a small group in a local 'Ecology' party branch in middle of nowhere N Wales when i was about 16... (mainly for girlfriend opportunities), it was in fact at least 50% women... as it should be. And every single one of them if we needed to do actual green stuff in the actual environment would push to be at the front of the queue to roll their sleeves up ad het sweaty and dirty.
Of course the Caroline Lucases of the world, know better...blame it on business and politicians....as i do. Her. For being too narcissistic to even ASK any rural person - where most of the REAL 'recycling' [construction and building and fencing materials] must taker place ....tonnage... what is the real 'LIVED EXPERIENCE' problem....
refs ( blaming others)
Caroline Lucas https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001vbz4
Annie Leonard https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b0890k5b
pics addin later - Ralph and I fencing and renovatin old falling down buildings sheds and miscellaneous rotten wood arks, and gathering the wood for the burner 50 years ago....day in and out for 5+ years...
pics add in - loads of really sexy dirty women - well the 5 or 6 i managed to find time to grab with the camera..... between their jobs being rural and doing it all just as well as a bloke..and fartoo wise with real life to do, to bother sticking their pics on any internet
( consistency " well i actually care about environment and community based around the MANUAL labour required, [ machines cannot recycle old posts, wood, boards, etc] i will as a woman also maybe half the time for rest of life be out there doing the...work.... " not for a week, even single year when it ...looks good)
that duvet cover
is 30 years old
but smells today of the only 'perfume' money cannot buy, that is priceless - a jolly good airing in fine clean blowy stuff
Fifty years of the same old...
Time to call out now, THE ' choice'
50% of the population actually need to make
Because i know why, never mind one per chimney... all those rotten hulls stay rotten.
And it is in my can.
No plan;
until i woke all fresh and
kairos time
Their 'community' ..the 'environment' they bleat about
As if they don't bear any blame....
Except townies like Lucas and Annie Lennard
have no idea what the 'environment' is, never mind the one thing that went UNSUSTAINABLY wrong.... more than any other.
No of course its not their fault.
added to
notes
to finnesse later
pic of harbour
porth or coverack - zero deg women swimmers showing off they are tough enough for that! A dip in zero degrees...many show off just so in fact in the SW.
the recycling fences and wood is extremely long hard work
no one tells you about it...
MANYpics as i have gone about that 20 years...including much useful and reusable wood and building material recovered from the incomer bi*tch Mrs Rachman's skips... she needs naming as she even GETS 'green' grants... but there are nameless hundreds of others... nice sweet Jake and Hannah from Primrose hill (made up names)... between insta posts on "great eco minded community minded new hamlet we have found here in Hay" too busy to sort out the good reusable building wood or iron sheets, fromthe shed Jakeys taken down... so it goes on his great big bonfire for his 'community'of other bohos too ooh ahh about over spliffs and craft ale.... or in the skip..
(and the bitter farmers hate him and his fancy fey misssus outbid their family at the distressed auction, so much ...they burn their fallen wood in huge heaps to SPITE these incomer 'greens' (fact - only bit not a fact,that they even know what 'green' means...it not being on the curriculum at Cheltenham ladies
Notes to do
two per chimney
film of camp (Pastylandshire July 2023) to add
coquette
dilettante
pic of fallen tree awaiting esti 2016ish
dog pen wire - its a good fable
the left: language of division
"abuse" abuse abuse....not "help the blokes then you can instruct them bertween chopping logs, howto be a bit less abusey abusey abusey.."
pic of acid rain (we knew about failed over chemical intensive wasteful systems 50years ago)
film of me yet again at the 7 full days of excruciating ( even if enjoyed) work of sorting and stacking reusable wood panels and posts, then building damp protection around them... ( in one of Pastylandshire's ' community' camps.... summer 2023.. dozens of dreadlocked ultra greens all around preaching hey community ad econess will " manifest" itself if you manifestthe right vibes.... and the RIGHT kind of loving "vibes".... that usable wood ... 10 + tons....had been left to rot a year out in the rains.....not one of them even thought if lifting a finger to actually protect 'mother earth's beloved raw materials...rotting away...gradually unrecyclable when it was fully reusable a year ago...
....and several women would come by and make trouble..because thats all they know how to do.... one even made criminal allegations about a VERY well looked after hedgehog...as the RSPCA man saw for himself an hour later. i have very interesting recordings...
Not one of them in and out of their yogamatted surfie beautiful women vans nearby cleaning adtidying alldayfor thenext full mooadveture...said " seen you at it from dawn every day... thanks for keeping the noise down [ so i can sleep til lunchtime, remaining hotyoga beautiful... "do you want a sandwich...or even an hours help... i could dowith a realstretch!! :-) ...hey...well done.... we know she is troubled the hoarder woman.... oops too late now....can't help you ijustrealised...but we are superwomen on gojiis ... and look it, too...and look! i put something on instagram this morning weeping for the planet... and how we must all Be 'COMMUNITY' ... and share the lovin vibes... oh see you later i forgot gotta go for the bbq down in the locals' secret cove and our mate's made some lovely organic hash cookies.......you should come too....seems like you need 'wakingup' to the bliss...oneness with gaia.... "
more notes to add in
i did this for a living but gave up 25 years ago when child in the belly. You have to MEAN caring about the planet, all the way.No compromise.
Only hope, real honest writing
which means deal with ones own little inauthenticities, first...as great writers always have.
