Thursday 24 July 2008

NEW AND IMPROVED - THE CADUCEUS WALK II

By popular request a repeat performance of a walk around our city centre taking in the esoteric and weird Mysteries of Manchester.

During this walk we will be unearthing the mysteries of Manchester’s esoteric architecture - from a theatre built on Kabalistic and Rosicrucian dimensions and Manchester's famous three-sided, seven-tiered municipal building to the home of the greatest Elizabethan Magus and the ancient library that houses many great esoteric works. All thematically linked by the mysterious ancient symbol of the Caduceus.

Saturday 2nd August 11am. Meet inside the Royal Exchange Theatre Foyer (probably somewhere near the bar as it has seats and tables).

Thanks to Pegasus and Alchemy Man for arranging this

Thursday 17 July 2008

quote of the day

The city of cats and the city of men exist one inside the other, but they are not the same city.

Italo Calvino

Tuesday 15 July 2008

tripping over

glad to see the trip blog http://trip2008.wordpress.com/ is still active and has some updates on some splendid sounding international events. There is also a shout out for feedback from the TRIP conference; if you attended please do share your thoughts via the website or email (I belive participants recieved a questionairre)

i (and i'm sure my fellow loiterers) would also love to know what you thought about get lost - what worked, what didnt, ideas for the future, ways to improve and reach new people etc etc. Please share your thoughts. Reports, pictures and found objects also very welcome. The LRM hotline is now working again if you would like a natter or as ever you can email loiter (squiggleysymbol)hepzombie(dot)co(dot)uk but please be patient if a reply takes a few days as I don't always get time to check my inbox

From the LRM archives #1

becuase i'm still tired and a wee bit poorly but i want to keep the blog active... more get lost action reports will appear soon... but in the meantime this is the introduction to Where are You? Manchesters First Accidental International Festival of Psychogeography. I've resisted the urge to edit or amend....

View subject to change but this is what we can see now. It’s a few hours before the festival starts so please excuse our poor grammar and giddy bewilderment

When I first heard the word psychogeography I had a wonderful turnaround moment of clarity, a little epiphany. It encompasses lots of things I’m fascinated by but I still find the best way to explain it to you is with a picture.

Names have such power – they give life and strength and meaning although that’s something different to everybody of course. But they limit too and it’s the same with maps – its hard not to be seduced by boundaries, Perhaps I like making maps because I’m useless at following them, A straight a-z misses out all the splendid wonkiness of life.

If you asked 20 people to draw a map of the basement they would all make something different and I bet none of them would resemble the ordinance survey or a fire plan.I’ve always loved aimless wandering and exploring, my favourite pastimes include catching random trains and finding secret passages across town and (best of all) watching urban wildlife… but hey! I’m not just an idler, I’m a flaneur and this is a derive… disorientation as experiment, play as an artistic statement…

The Loiterers Resistance Movement is about this and more. We got our name from Phaedra who was lamenting the lack of uncommercial public space in Manchester; she said having fun in Brisbane gives you a suntan but in Manchester all you get is as ASBO.

Sometimes it feels like its all about money and power in our post bomb nirvana. Every space has an advert on it and why is Canal Street the way it is? Why aren’t there any nurseries or greengrocers or haberdashers in the village? Who made gay a business opportunity? How does that make you feel and what if it’s meant to be your space but you don’t feel welcome?

But there’s still magick too if you want to find it.Did you know the grass mounds by Urbis are designed to make you want to play – but are deliberately to small to hide behind? I like that bit of town, all the kids making it their own territory. Legend has it there’s a medieval street somewhere underneath the triangle – its where the great Elizabethan alchemist John Dee lived when he was sort of banished to Manchester. I imagine his ghost finds the museums shiny glass surface an excellent scrying stone. (You can see the arse mark of a devil conjured by Mr Dee on a chair in Chethams but that is another story)

Anyway, I was thinking about all this on Sunday. We were taking pictures for the launch night quiz. The autumn light was glorious, everything was glowing and a friend and I were rushing about showing each other favourite haunts before the sun set… I’d love to tell you what we saw but then you’ll know all the answers and the quiz will be no fun… there’s some great prizes by the way, all treasure I’ve found on the city’s pavement… its amazing what you can find when you’re looking but I really ought to stop. Too much stuff is suffocating.

We walked home through the park, eating falafel and laughing at how beautiful it was and how peaceful – mostly because everyone’s too scared to go there at night. I would be too if I was on my own (that’s another map I want to draw, a collaborative one about street harassment but I can’t quite figure out how to make it work, what do you think?)

It felt like the only place in town the modern panoptican couldn’t see us – cameras everywhere these days and don’t get me started about the beetham tower, there’s not room. We discovered new constellations amongst the stars whilst a fox watched us trespass on his land. Back on the street halogen glowed and litter blew around us as we passed the old factory and a roadside shrine. There was some barbed wire on the kerb – a morag trap – I fell and cut my leg.

As above, so below

I hope you like the exhibition (mmm.maps are sexy) and enjoy the accidental festival. It should evolve over time, there’s some great work coming to us soon from 56a via Italy that I’m very excited about, plus reports from the various expeditions and explorations. Please add your own embellishments, stories, maps and musings.

The LRM are planning further actions and some point soon we might even publish our manifesto.Its central tenet will probably be that we like flowers growing out of the side of buildings and yuppification makes us sad.

Glittery love and golden apples

The Loiterers Resistance Movement, December 2006 xxx

funny but in some ways i feel we've travelled so far but in a different light it's all still the same.

Sunday 6 July 2008

important message just recieved

From our man in the wilds of manchester... hope it reaches all in time...

I`m afraid my enemies at The Ministry have foiled our plans to visit the Hanging Gardens of Castlefield but the expedition to the Lost World of Pomona will still go ahead.

The scouts I sent on today`s reconnaissance send back reports of PRIMEVAL JUNGLE, PTERODACTYLS, EXOTIC WILDLIFE and the remains of a LOST MONOLITHIC CIVILISATION!

Rain or shine, please come dressed for adventure - sturdy shoes or Wellington boots and a waterproof jacket are strongly recommended.Brave and adventurous women and children are welcome to join the expedition but please remember we will be ENTERING THE HEART OF DARKNESS!

Message ends....

Thursday 3 July 2008

A Great Customer Experience


A parting treasure scavenged (or sort of stolen) on the Cafe Nero walk/endurance test. All employees are asked/ordered to follow these instructions.

Thanks to all those who worked towards getting the Get Lost Festival off the ground. It was lovely meeting you all and I look forward to many more future encounters. Keep in touch!

Best wishes and sweet dreams,
Kaspar
http://treacleonline.wordpress.com

Has anybody found the precinct paradise island yet? Maybe it's disappeared.

July 1st Sunday: hanging gardens and lost worlds

the monthly LRM communique (july 2008)

Dear friends, comrades and loiterers old and new

Thank you to everyone who made getting lost in Manchester such a wonderful wander. It’s not safe to hang up your walking shoes yet because it’s first Sunday, this Sunday (July 6th) and thus time for our customary shenanigans and there are a plethora of delights planned…

At 12 noon Jenny wants to play and invites everyone to join her in keeping fun alive on our streets. Please bring along anything you may need to share your favourite street game such as a washing line skipping, chalk for Hopscotch, Jacks, marbles, string for cats cradle and empty cans to kick

The meeting point for the games fiesta is under the giant bicycle outside Deansgate train station – which will also be, at 2pm, the meeting point for a rather wonderful LRM derive

An Expedition to the Hanging Gardens of Castlefield and the Lost World of Pomona

Join us for an expedition to the fabled Hanging Gardens of Castlefield - a hidden garden in the sky - followed by an exploration of the Lost World of Pomona. Safari suits, pith helmets and elephant guns recommended!

In case of shocking discoveries or tropical storms the Knott Bar is nearby for Sunday lunch and fortifying Indian Pale Ale. There is also a child friendly rendezvous by the giant bike - Love Saves the Day - where intrepid families can enjoy fine tea and lashings of organic lemonade before the off. I dare say the exhibition will end with appropriate refreshments and story telling too….

If, like me, you can’t be in Manchester this Sunday but want to still engage in first Sunday psychogeography I’d like to heartily recommend the excellent http://www.stunned.org/ for ideas and inspiration; in particular you can generate your own Joyce Walk because somewhere, sometimes, its always bloomsday.

The create a walk function is here http://www.stunned.org/walks/index2.php It’s the work of Conor McGarringle whose Freedom Trail of Manchester was one of my personal TRIP highlights and I suspect his bono locator could come in handy if I ever get to Dublin

Please forward this message far and wide and accept my apologies for any cross posting. I’ll try and get a proper mailing list sorted this month (tech help welcome; I prefer staring at the streets to the screen) and in the meantime find The LRM (Loiterers Resistance Movement) on facebook, myspace and at http://www.nowhere-fest.blogspot.com/

Love, lollipops and autoharps

Morag xx

Ps don’t forget the Peterloo Massacre Memorial- Design Day on Sat 5th July 08 2pm to 5pm, Mechanics Institute, 103 Princess St more details from
http://www.peterloomassacre.org/, also please excuse the vulgarity but I’m trying to raise funds to take the LRM message and radical morris dancing to Proflux and have a month to raise £500 so if anyone has any ideas, or would like to buy a very nice cake, please don’t be shy

PPS the LRM hotline is temporarily broken but will be fixed very soon, in the mean time email queries to loiter hepzombie.co.uk

Reclaim History


HELP DESIGN A MAJOR MANCHESTER MONUMENT!

Peterloo Massacre Memorial- Design Day

Sat 5th July 08 2pm to 5pm, Mechanics Institute, 103 Princess St, M1 6DD

The Peterloo Memorial Campaign (who successfully lobbied to have the offensive blue plaque on the side of the Free Trade Hall replaced) are inviting everyone interested to join them for a design session aimed at exploring potential designs for the forthcoming Peterloo Memorial.

“There's been a disastrous history of whitewashing the memory of Peterloo” said group spokesperson Paul Fitzgerald “and we're determined this won't happen again. We're taking the initiative here, and inviting members of the public to have their say as to what they think would be an appropriate way to commemorate this crucial event in the City's history. When Manchester City Council begin considering designs for the monument they've committed to creating, we'll want the ideas that come out of this event to act as great examples of what a decent memorial could look like.”

Artists will be on hand for the day, to work with people who wouldn't normally want to put pen to paper. There'll also be a slideshow of previous Peterloo images and other inspirational monuments. People will be welcome to drop in for a short while if they're unable to participate in the full event...

ALL WELCOME!

www.peterloomassacre.org

Tuesday 1 July 2008

the lrm hotline

The LRM hotline is broken; apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. Hopefully it will be back soon; if anyone can unlock mobile phones please holler

I'm drifting down south this weekend but will still be some first sunday shenanigans in the city... more details soon.... xx