‘Ramblinactivist’s Videos’, 2021/27, 29th November 2021:
‘To See the Sunrise First Walk in the Dark’
Out to greet the first hard frost of the Winter, I wander east to see the frozen sunrise.
This area of the blog holds videos that feature the local landscape of Banburyshire, and occasionally, elsewhere.
To see all of my videos, go to Ramblinactivist’s YouTube Channel – and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!
‘Ramblinactivist’s Videos’, 2021/27, 29th November 2021:
‘To See the Sunrise First Walk in the Dark’
Out to greet the first hard frost of the Winter, I wander east to see the frozen sunrise.
‘Ramblinactivist’s Videos’, 2021/26, 23rd November 2021:
‘Birds in the Banbury Country Park’
I looked at the weather forecast and decided to head out to continue work on a video project. An hour later, though, and all that changed. Contrary to the forecast it clouded up and the necessary light started to fail.
A big bank of dark cloud was pushing in from the north; but on its leading edge it carried quite a surprise: Hundreds of migrating birds. And as I was stood next to Banbury's (pretty much only) waterfowl site, a lot of them decided to come and land near me.
‘Ramblinactivist’s Videos’, 2021/25, 17th November 2021:
‘From Banbury White Cross to a Misty Sunset’
It started out as just a walk 'around the block' to view the slowly fading colours of Autumn. It ended up as something a little more out of the ordinary as the temperature fell and the mist rose. Earlier that day I'd been listening to a lovely piece of free improvisation by Daniel Triunfo, ‘Mental Break’. As I walked into the dusk, spotting planets and stars, somehow the music just seemed to fit with the mood.
‘Ramblinactivist’s Videos’, 2021/22, 7th October 2021:
Walking the ancient Roman Salt Road east from Banbury – a diminutive relic of its status to the west of the town – I consider how property rights and land access continue to define our relationship to “the land”, and hence “this Land”.
Click here for the short blog post for this video. An MP3 version of the my music for the video is available on the web page.
‘Ramblinactivist’s Videos’, 2021/19, 23rd September 2021:
Walking into the twilight of an Autumn Equinox, I forage for blackberries, and try to see just how far I can push my video camera into low-light conditions.
Click here for the short blog post for this video. An MP3 version of the my music for the video is available on the web page.
‘Ramblinactivist’s Videos’, 2021/2, 17th January 2021:
‘The President’s Parting Shot’ – A Reflection on Threats and Resilience
Exactly sixty years ago, President Eisenhower give his ‘farewell address’ to the American nation; known today for popularising the term “military-industrial complex” . Today though this has arguably morphed into the “military-industrial-entertainment complex”, so intermeshed have those arms of modern society become.
Click here for the short blog post for this video. An MP3 version of the my music for the video is available on the web page.
‘Ramblinactivist’s Videos’, 2020/1, 3rd March 2020:
‘Out here on the perimeter…’ A March St. David’s Day wander in the dusk
‘Getting there’. Not much more to say about recent events really. Wandering off around the edge of Banbury to see the sunset and pass through the infinitely graduated shades of the dusk, I muse upon the words of Jim Morrison on being “out here in the perimeter”; this is where the most exciting changes happen.
‘Ramblinactivist’s Videos’, 2019/2, 1st September 2019:
Blackberrying by the first Autumnal new crescent moon
A busy day, with so many twists and turns, my much-desired walk takes place in the gloom of dusk. I’d been given some wind-fall pears; it seemed an obvious plan to try one of the blackberry-picking sites I’d scouted on recent walks to stew them with in a pie. More importantly though, with the first new moon of the Autumn, I wanted to cook-up something I hadn’t tried in a long time: a video.
‘Ramblinactivist’s Videos’, 2018/1, 7st May 2018:
On a walk from Leamington Spa, photographing two key sites for my collection of HS2 corridor photos, I have lunch at an historic hamlet. I planned to finish the afternoon with a long walk down an ancient trackway. Could a day out be any better than that?…
‘Ramblinactivist’s Videos’, 2017/5, 5th July 2017:
‘Summer Solstice, with Subtitles’
Come with me on an early morning, Solstice walk… Sometimes it's necessary just to shut up and listen – hence the subtitles. To simple be, rather than ‘being’. That's the essence of marking certain days by reconnecting with nature. It's not for experience of some other, perceived ‘natural’ time; it's for the change in perspective it brings amidst our distracted lives.
‘Ramblinactivist’s Videos’, 2017/2, 9th March 2017:
‘The Ignored Pollutant – Noise, Health and Ecopsychology’
Going out into the dark of a Spring morning, to hear the dawn chorus, I find myself pondering another, intrusive phenomena; noise. Noise is the signature pollutant of our modern era. While we may have concerns about air pollution or climate change, the creation of both these effects is in most cases accompanied by noise. In the urban fringe, and deeper into rural areas, the levels of noise pollution are now growing.