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Score #10 by Roger Boyle

Three pictures: on top there is an image of Joni Smith's "Concrete Ribbon Road", below that is a postman with an E7R box and to the left of that a blue index card with words pasted on. [score base: blank blue index card; photo and score: Roger Boyle (2021); score text: Always/move away from the restrictive/the passage of time,/investigates—rather than celebrates/find materials to make/an old-fashioned archive/and check the accuracy/by touching/something.]

Roger and I will be walking his score the last Tuesday of every month until 22 February 2022 (the day before Terminalia). Please join us as we investigate the passage of time and ‘find materials to make an old-fashioned archive’. 

Next Walk: 28 September 2021
Location: Wherever you are
Time: Anytime
Share: Use the #52More on social media to share your walk, or e-mail me with your results and I will add them to the ongoing blog (blakemwalks@gmail.com).

June

Blake, Mathilda and Roger; 29 June 2021; New York City, USA,  Greifswald, Germany and Llanfarian, Wales.

Blake collected handwriting he found along his route from the Upper East Side to Astoria, via the Queensborough Bridge.

A handwritten shopping list pictured in front of a chain link fence with the Manhattan skyline in the background A hand holding up a receipt in front of a row of Citibikes in Queens. The word Julia handwritten above "Touch of Beauty" on a pink card. A sidewalk is seen in the background.

Mathilda collected leaves, flowers and a dead moth, ‘looking closely at the trees and plants’ in Greifswald. Her investigation made her feel as if they were ‘being formally introduced’.

A collection of leaves and flowers on a white background shot from a side angle. The same collection of leaves and flowers viewed from above.

Roger retrieved a cushion from his friend Clive’s house, where he has ‘a mass of old stuff stored in one of his barns’.

A pink cushion on a table in a back garden.

July

Blake, Roger, Jackie and  Mathilda; 27 July 2021; New York City, USA, Norfolk, England, Co. Wexford, Ireland and Greifswald, Germany.

I walked through Sunset Park, Brooklyn and archived the sounds of the city, which I recorded through a handwritten remembrance (continuing my collection of handwriting). Roger’s walk ‘took in most of the interesting parts of Great Yarmouth and Caister’ and collected a variety of  bric-a-brac. Jackie traversed ‘the shoreline of Cahore’ on her birthday—‘a good day to consider “the passage of time”’—and collected signage in an extension of our previous exchange. Mathilda journied into her garden ‘ to find more leaves and greens’ for her ‘Tuesday archive’.

Three pieces of paper overlapping with cursive handwriting on them. In the top corner "collecting my own handwriting" is written three times, wiht most of it disappearing behind a piece of paper at an angle. That paper reads in print handwriting "Score A Memory of Sound"; in cursive it reads "Jingle Bell Rock playing through a boom box in the park. Below, but in the background reads "jingle jangle, jingle jangle, jingle bell jingle bell jingle bell rock jingle bell jingle bell jingle bell rocks. In the bottom right corner a final piece of paper reads "And Peak Views. A squishy ball skweaking, a dog toy possibly, children's voices laughing, hopping [crossed out] squealing, bouncing, talking. Water splashing from puddle jumpers. Water splashing from sprinklers. Sirens buzzing. Two mean speaking behind me, indistinct. Chirping birds (but not as distinct as those from the cemetery this morning. A series of objects lying on a table: A salt sachet from South Quay; Cardboard tags discarded from a recently purchased garment, also from South Quay; A blue-green clothes peg (Nottingham Way); "Fun Leisure" - Caister beach, post-swim; A pretty flower from the Caister fort that did not survive pressing too well. a sign with a person running off the edge of land into 4 squiggly lines that depict water. It is surrounded by a red circle with a slash through it. In the foreground is an area with some wildflower growth and stones, behind the sign is a bit of water, with steps and a concrete path behind it.

August

Roger, Mathilda and Blake; 31 August 2021; Aberystwyth, Wales, Greifswald, Germany and New York City, USA

Roger went on a jaunt from Glanyrafon, past Blaendolau, up through Mynwent Llanbadarn to Cwmpadarn and home. Mathilda continued her collection of leaves and flowers. I walked the west side of Sunset Park, and snapped photos in locations where I found handwriting.

Various items collected en route sit on top of a brown table: A nice fir cone; some blackberries (to be eaten, not archived); a handkerchief (to be laundered before archival); a bright crisp packet (actually an exercise in litter-picking); some Himalayan Balsam: voracious intruder, but loved by beekeepers for its late nectar. Leaves and flowers in a black frame on a brown wooden desk. A brown tag in the middle of the frame reads Score 10, 2021. There is other writing but it is obscured by leaves. A hand holding up a dirty, torn envelope that has the words BRAND NEW written on it in bold red letters. In the background is a sandwich board for Minnie's bar and cars driving down 4th Avenue A hand holding up a card for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with a handwritten address and phone number and the statement that there are services every Sunday at 10am. In the background is a path in Sunset Park with two women walking on it.

September

Roger, Mathilda and Blake; 28 September 2021; Aberystwyth, Wales, Greifswald, Germany and Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania

Roger, with a letter to post, ‘garbed [himself] against the deluge and walked to the post office down the road’; on his trip he ‘retrieved two closed loops’ and an ‘object that mystified him’, which turned out to be a broken mug. He preferred the mystery. Doing my walk in the Poconos, I realised I was unlikely to find handwriting in the wild. Instead, I enlisted Waverly to hide some handwriting for me and engaged in a walking scavenger hunt. Mathilda continued her ‘ backyard-archive’ with ‘Sprinkles of red ivy, and three nearly invisible white feathers.’
 
A rubber band, elastic hair band, and piece of a broken mug on a white background. A hand holding up a frame full of green and orange leaves, red ivy and white feathers. a pink note that says stop being held up by a hand in front of a road through the woods.

October

Roger,  Mathilda and Blake; 26-27 October 2021; Aberystwyth, Wales, Greifswald, Germany and New York, New York

Roger and I headed out in gaps between downpours. ‘Dodging the showery weather’ we both managed to remain dry. First, Roger found 4 things that ‘were circular, which pleased [him]  very much’, but he was unable to ‘resist the rectangular "Dim Anifeiliaid" sign’, before collecting ‘2 more circular things’. My initial jaunt through midtown Manhattan was unsuccessful in uncovering any handwriting I could collect — most potential objects were quite soggy really — so I set out the following day in Astoria, where I had the luck to find a small drawing. Not handwriting exactly, but one must always move away from the restrictive. In Germany, Mathilda collected leaves that blew through the window (in an image that includes her collections from November and December.

On the left is a sign reading "Dim Anifeiliaid Ac eithrio anifeiliid gwasanaeth hyfforddedig, No Animals except trained service animals, there is also a picture of a service dog in a green circle; on the right are 6 circular objects on a white paper, which include a partially bitten apple, two black rings, and a golf ball. a hand holds up a dirty pink post it note with a face drawn on it. The background consists of a sidewalks with an orange cone and a maroon awning with a few cars parked on the street. A series of mostly green leaves in a frame, though some are orange or brown. An open book is partially visible to the right of the frame.

November

Roger, Barbara, Mathilda and Heather and Blake; 30 November 2021; Aberystwyth, Wales, Dartmouth, Canda, Greifswald, Germany, and New York, New York

It was wet or windy for all of us, the onset of winter making itself clear. Roger was ‘at the mercy of a tempest with a Capital T’, so instead of adding to his old-fashioned archive he ‘struggled to the National Library and toured the exhibitions’, embedding a mention of the score ‘onto a "feedback" grid’.

Barbara and Mathilda both walked their back gardens. For Barbara, the ‘lichens and fungi are the real stars in this collection’ and she wished she could share the mushy, fleshy feel of them. Mathilda collected leaves off her pile of firewood.

Heather and I walked from Koreatown after feasting on kimchi. Heather discovered our handwriting as she waited outside the boba shop where I was getting us drinks. No other handwriting revealed itself on the walk. 

A hand holds up a Post It note on a sidewalk in midtown Manhattan. The pavement can be seen with cafe tables and plants, and two sets of legs walking. The street can be seen slightly in the background with yellow cabs. The Post It is handwritten and reads: Phase Plan 1) highlight areas w/ phase (1 through #) w/ construction barriers in place (temporary) to seal area from non work areas & temporary sprinklers at entrances. In a row on white paper, a twig with fungi, two twigs with lichen, one medium sized, one long, another twig with fungi, a bunch of red berries, a slight twig with one mushroom on it. A square card hanging on a clip. The square reads in English and Welsh: 'This image represents my Wales because...' next to a small image of old fashioned writing. At the bottom Roger has written 'Score #10' in red pen. A series of mostly green leaves in a frame, though some are orange or brown. An open book is partially visible to the right of the frame.

December

Barbara, Roger, Mathilda and Blake; 28 December 2021; Dartmouth, Canada, Chatham, England,  Greifswald, Germany and New York, New York

The day after returning from California, the city welcomed me with a bonanza of handwriting for the archive. In Canada, Barbara continued to collect sticks. Roger, walking through Cobtree Manor Park and Mote Park, where ‘ people were obviously being very neat and tidy ‘, he was able to ‘retrieve a glove that waved at [him] (mislaid by a 7yo, [he]  think[s])’. And also ‘a rather nice thing, that clearly fits into another thing, somehow.’ Mathilda ‘collected grass after the first snow melted’.

A white hand holds a stick with a u shaped end over mossy ground next to a body of water. An arm in a tan coat with a white hand holds a short, but thick stick over mossy ground a body of water. The edges of the water are covered in ice or snow. An arm in a tan coat with a white hand holds a y shaped, brown stick in front of trees near a body of water. A forest can be seen across the lake. An arm in a tan coat with a white hand holds a long grey tan stick in the centre of the frame. On either side are trees and beyond is a body of water. A forest can be seen across the lake. An arm in a tan coat with a white hand holds a y shaped grey brown stick in the right of the frame in front of a tree. A body of water can be seen and a forest on the other side of it. An arm in a tan coat with a white hand holds a small twig over a body of water. Another stick can be seen floating in the water. A pink glove with a black square in the middle and a round, cog-like item with 4 small pegs on it, placed on top of a white notebook. A crumpled white, ruled a4 paper being held in front of a house with an inflatable Santa Claus. A long series of numbers and dates in a handwritten table format fill the page. A hand holding a tag in front of scaffolding. It says SKU# in bright red print. 161 9546-1 is written in hand after. A yellow piece of ruled paper on an orange background. Handrwitten on the page is Western Union Envia Nely Jimenez Oaorio Felipe Valcarcel MTCN #: 0071179027 Monto Esperado: $960 Dolares A series of mostly green leaves in a frame, though some are orange or brown. An open book is partially visible to the right of the frame.

January 2022

Roger and Blake; 25 January 2022;  Aberystwyth, Wales and New York, New York

In New York City the cold weather made me eager to find handwriting quickly. Something upon which the city delivered as I made my way to the East River. Roger walked through the Penglais Woods on a ‘great day with a feeling of very early Spring.’ Some things (not pictured) could not by physically collected: ‘a fine old iron fence, a bench memorialising my deceased acquaintance Bruce, a fallen giant, a pretty pipe nigh an ancient dilapidation.’ His physical collection came on his walk home, ‘via the Physics MakerSpace’.

A hand holds up a small white bag that has Peach Cobbler written on it in black sharpie. Beyond you can see sidewalk trees and city lights. The skyline of Manhattan is visible in the far distance. A hand holds up a crumpled piece of notebook paper with various things scribbled on it and crossed out. In the background car lights are visible on the street. Objects sit on a desk in front a computer keyboard. From left to right they include a black downpipe corner, off cuts from a 3D printer (a yellow triangle, red bit and blue circle, and a fircone in front of the offcuts.

February 2022

Roger, Julius, Mathilda and Blake; 22 February 2022; Manchester, England, Eastbourne, England,  Greifswald, Germany and New York, New York.

Our last Last Tuesday. Roger walked central Manchester. Avoiding a deluge, his walk included subterranean canal tunnels, ‘which were jolly good fun’. Finding Manchester to be ‘a well-maintained city with remarkably little to harvest from the streets’ he collected ‘a beermat from the splendidly named "Peveril of the Peak"’ ‘a beautifully made, and brand new, I think, hinge’. His real memories are of the canalscape’ and the sense of achievement from our slow, old-fashioned archive... though he is ‘not too sure what he’s achieved.’

In Greifswald, Mathilda moved away from the restrictive and checked accuracy through touch. The first signs of spring: ‘A snowdrop was added to the archive’.

In Eastbourne, Julius explored the passage of time on a walk exploring thick walled forts. Repelled and attracted by the dirty grey, yellow walls, he explored the tactility of the ‘cold rough stone grained with over two hundred years of salt air eating into its surface.’ He pondered the paradox of a ‘d efensive structure designed to repel a nineteenth century French invasion’ now standing next to ‘a French eatery’. The fortress and its everchanging landscape a very physical archive of change and the passage of time.

In New York City it also rained, though there were no subterranean passages to shelter me. I looked for scaffolding and awnings where I could. New York City being an ideal location for litter pickers, the streets offered some fantastic handwriting samples to end my exploration.

Sitting on a wooden table: a beer mat, a ticket to the Van Der Graaf Generator, a parking receipt for the Holiday Inn York Street, a hotel room card with a name and notes written on it, a black hinge with plastic bits. A hand holds an appointment card with a name, date and time handwritten on it. In the background the pavement is visible, with the elevated subway line running along the street. Cars are parked next to the curb. Instagram post by @thetravelingtype_ showing a bunch of snowdrops blooming in a among dropped leaves. The text reads: thetravelingtype_ Always move away from the restrictive the passage of time investigates-- rather than celebrates find materials to make an old-fashioned archive and check the accuracy by touching something; bernieconniemcmc's profile picture: Beautiful [follwed by three hearts] thetravelingtype_'s profile picture: Thanks; patochan.s's profile picture: Love thisthetravelingtype_'s profile picture: The last "Tuesday walk" for Score #10 by Roger Boyle. A snowdrop was added to the Archive. #52More @blakewalks

A close up of a stone tower with a window with iron rods. Blue sky with clouds is slightly visible in the background. Below the tower from a different angle, where green grass, a pebble path and an exit out a stone wall can be seen. Text reads: "I walked around the tower gauging its defensive strength, its thick walls, thinking about what it must have been like for a garrison of soldiers housed together with only one or two small windows admitting daylight. On the top of the building would have been a gun emplacement with a ready supply of cannon shot. Its dull yellow dirty greyness both repelled and attracted me and I crossed the bordering patch of grass to lay my hands on the cold rough stone grained with over two hundred years of salt air eating into its surface. Whilst there were signs of some remedial work, the overall condition was poor and lack of funds has condemned the structure to a gradual ruination. The patterned grassed and gravelled areas provided divisions and walking areas in a space" with an image below of a circular tower in a bit of grass. Pebble paths surround it. Further text reads: "now designated as a Peace Garden. It's dedicated to all the residents of the town who were known to have been killed during German bombing raids over the town in WWII. So, yet another passage of time, layered and moulded together. I walked back out through the arched entrance and up the steps alongside, taking me up a slope so that I was able to view the site from a different perspective. Seen just behind the tower is Bistrot Pierre, one of a chain of restaurants in the south of England. This branch was constructed about four years ago. It serves French cuisine, menus are bilingual and so are many of the staff. It's curious that next to a defensive structure designed to repel a nineteenth century French invasion should now stand a French eatery. Changes, events and the passage of time are all inextricably bound together. I remembered the beginning of T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets; 'Time present and time past/Are both perhaps present in time future,/ And time future contained in time past.' And where was I?

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