Lots to see on the River Kelvin

I love doing the school run on bicycle along the River Kelvin. My seven year old can cycle the 2 miles there, plays with friends in the park after school, then cycles two miles home. He's a very energetic child and all this exercise is helping him to be calmer and more focused when he's in class. I love seeing how the plants and trees change throughout the season. In the past few weeks I've come home with occasional bunches of wild garlic to make into omelets or to eat with pasta or noodles. The oniony smell of this plant is strong in the air along the Kelvin at this time of year, though the taste is a lot milder and not overpowering at all. The white star shaped flowers of wild garlic look beautiful dotted amongst the bluebells. I love it because it is like spinach when cooked with a flavour similar to leeks and it has many health benefits. It has high levels of folic acid, an essential B vitamin. It also acts as a prebiotic, encouraging the growth of friendly bacteria. This is vital if you suffer from diabetes, have been on a course of antibiotics or have a weakened immune system. Wild garlic also has mild antibacterial properties to ward off spring coughs and colds. I never thought, that when we moved back to Glasgow, I would be coming back from the school run after a pleasant cycle along the river, reaking of garlic with a spider dangling from my nose. 

There is a group called the Friends of the River Kelvin and you can see some of the amazing wildlife photos that are posted on their Facebook page here. We have seen a fox and her rough and tumble cubs playing on the bank, a cormorant with large bat-like wings held out like a vampire's cape, a dipper bobbing in and out of the water then taking off like a jet, flying close to the surface of the Kelvin. We've seen ducks and goosanders with their ducklings and have enjoyed talking to some of the photographers, hearing how one was standing in the Kelvin nearly up to his waist to get the best shot. I've seen the photos of Kingfishers but we've yet to see one; that will be a special day. I'm looking forward to the Friends of the River Kelvin Summer Gala on Saturday 7th June. There will be live bands, activities, food and craft stalls and even canoe rides down the Kelvin. 

The Clarion Glasgow Rides Again

The Bike Station who provided bikes and maintenance support. 

Colleagues.

The whole group together. 

The high road to the canal; the low road along the Kelvin. 

Fresh air and peace and quiet. 

A ride that catered for mixed abilities and experience. 

Through the bluebell woods. 

For many years we have taken part in the Jack in the Green spring Festival in Hastings on the May Day bank holiday weekend. With links to the Celtic celebration of Beltane it became very popular in the 16th and 17th centuries as the Works Guild tried to outdo each other with more and more elaborate costumes. The tradition of parade goes back to Carnivalesque when the usual rules and hierarchies of society were subverted, turning the world upside down, challenging social structures. As well as releasing the spirit of spring from the cold clutches of winter, the festival, which was revived in Hastings in the 1980s, brings the most unlikely of people together and encourages interaction and free expression while being part of a united group. The town's controversial Tory MP Amber Rudd was seen walking in the parade - she wasn't dressed as a chimney sweep - the original main performers until the Act which stopped boys climbing chimneys was passed - she was dressed in 18th century finery. Many people oppose her low value for money road building scheme that is ruining countryside in Combe Haven Valley as well as causing distress and disruption to residents of Sidley. Her claim that the low value for money road will ease traffic and improve air quality on Bexhill Road has been proven to be inaccurate by the Campaign For Better Transport. They state that new roads lead to more traffic and pollution. At the same time there has been little investment in public transport and cycle paths that were installed through grass roots campaigning have been destroyed by extreme weather and are unusable. When it came to light that the land, which is owned by Trinity College Cambridge, has vastly increased in value since the road build started, the true objectives became clear. Have we as a society got used to the carnivalesque escapism of getting out of our minds then going back to grudgingly accepting poor standards of living? How many in this day and age demonstrate the beliefs of socialism which offered from it's beginning an alternative to a life of drudgery by educating, agitating and organising? 

One of the reasons I decided to leave Hastings and come back to Glasgow was because I became aware of the huge investment the Scottish Government and local councils have put into renovating the vast canal system and creating new opportunities for walking and cycling safely. I want to be able to show my six year old the benefits of regular outdoor activity and for us all to enjoy this as a family.  We now often cycle two miles to school and back through Kelvingrove Park. It is a great way to start the day and my son's teacher has noted he is better at settling and focusing in class. Much of the "bad behaviour" boys become labeled with is just a need to burn off excess energy. We were amazed one day cycling home from school to see a fox and her cubs playing on the bank and a duck with her ducklings. There is no better celebration of spring than nature itself. 

And we have not been deprived of our yearly spring parade. This year I was honoured to be asked to design the poster for Glasgow's celebration of the International Worker's Festival. I loved walking and talking in the march with guest speakers, journalist Owen Jones and Kerry Fleck of the Belfast and District Trade Union Council. A bit like the Jack in the Green parade but the green is exchanged for red, it was raining and the marchers filled the O2 Academy to hear powerful speakers highlight issues that are affecting the workers and most vulnerable in society; those who have always had to fight for the rights that we take for granted today. These rights have been won by many years of Socialist Campaigns and tragically many are being reverted by the Coalition Government. This was an engagement with the problems of society rather than an escape from it and all the more empowering for it. Three food banks a week are opening in the UK, the poor pay a higher tax rate than the rich, by 2015 1.4 million jobs will be lost to the public sector, unpaid and zero-hour work has risen, an MP claims £37,000 for a second home while the bedroom tax has led to people committing suicide, bankers (who caused the financial crisis - not the poor) have had massive pay rises while 70% of nurses had no pay rise at all, a welfare cap will push as many as 345,000 more children into poverty. If ever there was a time to face the realities of the way our country is run it is now. 

I feel more hopeful now that I am back in Glasgow and have been surrounded by people who are actively involved in all sorts of grass roots campaigns (many of which as I previously noted are supported by the Scottish Government) as well being aware of the strength of and support for the Unions here who have won campaigns even in the current climate. One of the highlights for me was going on my first group bike ride with the newly revised Clarion Cycling Cub, which was organised by the Glasgow Trade Union Council. We came together to have our bikes checked by the Glasgow Bike Station who were volunteering their services. They also had bikes for people to borrow who don't have their own. Unlike most cycling clubs which involve cycling fast on roads, have predominantly male members and involve lycra and leg shaving (yes men shaving their legs!) this was a mixed group of women and men with a range of abilities and experiences. So two routes had been planned: one along the Kelvin and back and another continuing to the canal path and on towards Kirkintilloch. In the spirit of all the May Day events there was plenty of humour and we set off with someone joking that we were splitting up already and not to mention the war (in reference to a German colleague) as a lone piper marked our leaving with a cheery tune. 

Past bluebells and the pungent scent of wild garlic along the river Kelvin it was not long before we were out in open countryside leaving the city’s traffic and noise behind.  We were able to travel at a good pace on picturesque cycle paths without being near any busy roads. It was a pleasant and relaxing ride for seven and a half miles until we got to the Stables pub in Kirkintilloch and were choked by fumes from something being burned in a nearby field. So much for fresh country air! So we didn’t stay long and set off back to Glasgow for more May Day festivities. Riders naturally paired up and chatted along the route. I spoke to a Glasgow City councilor about vegetable growing; family cycling and the Hastings road protest I was involved with. The Clarion Cycling Group was set up as a socialist group and we demonstrated this by all travelling together, waiting for those who had fallen behind and sharing ideas and beliefs. One of the points Owen Jones regularly makes in his writing is the necessity for discussion and sharing opinions. This is how we step out of our personal worldview and embrace diversity. Somehow it felt effortless while cycling along the canal. I’m looking forward to our next adventure. I might even shave my legs. 

Find the Glasgow Clarion Cycling Group on Facebook

My blog post and photos of Hastings Jack in the Green Festival

School Outdoor Learning: Spring.

Planting alpine plug plants. 

Upcycled pallet and plastic bottle planter and planting in the wall.

Wall planted with alpine plug plants. 

Using pegs to represent bird's beaks. 

Nest building. 

Became land art. 

Making the most of the school grounds. 

I have been volunteering every fortnight for a couple of hours to help Primary Five with outdoor learning at my son's school. Sarah from Woodlands Community Garden is funded by a grant to plan and deliver the activities. The children have created a recycled plastic bottle and pallet planter which they painted a couple of weeks ago. This week they planted some cuttings in it. It stands against a wall that is used for access to one of the playgrounds. The wall being made of rocks held in place with mesh is a perfect spot for planting some alpine plug plants which the children really enjoyed doing. In fact they have been so enthusiastic about all the activities. As well as planting and learning about plants the children made nests. They used wooden clothes pegs to pick up twigs and other materials. The pegs were a clever way of demonstrating how the birds use their beaks. It was lovely to see the children carefully arranging the things they found to create visually pleasing designs. They looked guilty as though they were cheating when they started to use their hands to collect more items such as stones, which were to represent eggs. The collection of different textures and colours of natural materials and the design of the nest became more important to them. So without instruction the children had turned a nest building activity into a land art activity. There are more ideas for making land art with kids by Richard Shilling and Julia Brooklyn here. Outdoor learning provides an opportunity for children to work spontaneously, break the rules and discover new, pleasing results on their own as well as being good for physical and mental health.

Love is in the Air

Spring in the botanic Gardens Glasgow. 

Auld Lang Syne

One of the reasons I decided to move back to Scotland was because there are so many places I want to explore. There are places I regularly visited as a child, others as a student and some places I've yet to go to. When I was young I spent a large part of my holidays and weekends outdoors. I've realised with my six year old, like my parents did with me and my brother, that children are happier when they are given plenty of outdoor time; the wilder the places the better. The same is true for adults, though many of us have lost touch with this attachment to nature. It took my last (and hopefully final) episode of severe depression to realise that being outdoors, somewhere in nature was essential for my well being. Before that, it had just been something I did once in a while on a whim.

In Scotland hill walking has always been a popular activity for many with whole families venturing out whatever the weather. I remember a family picnic by a loch high in the hills when the sky turned black and we were pelted with hailstones. Life doesn't get more real than that. A taxi driver I was talking to in Glasgow told me how he first went camping with his Scout group. His Scout Master agreed to give him the key to the camp shed so after school on Friday he would raid his mum's cupboards and fridge, hitchhike to the campsite with his pals, spend the whole weekend there building fires and looking after themselves, then hitch back to the city for school on Monday. So much freedom has been lost with the changes in our society that are a result of fear. Many working class mining villages were built in the countryside miles from the cities, like the one my grandparents lived in. Imagine the feeling of climbing to the top of a mountain when you spend most of your life stifled underground.

I love the wilderness and wild places. Venturing outdoors can be so much more fun, especially with young children, when nature is adapted and maintained in a sympathetic way. A great example is the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park near Aberfoyle which was designated as Forest Park by the Forestry Commission in 1953 to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. In August 2013 the visitor centre, known as The Lodge, opened after a £1.6M revamp into a state of the art facility with nature exhibitions, live CCTV so you can watch red squirrels, ospreys and blue tits at close range, a shop and cafe. There are a number of waymarked walking routes that start and finish at the Lodge as well as a link to the National Cycle Network. We decided to try the Waterfall Trail. All along the route we discovered outdoor play facilities that kept my six year old entertained and that delighted me. It was a cloudy day with short rain showers meaning we passed only a couple of other families. I imagine on a gorgeous day it will be very popular and busy. We could have a whole industry of places like these, helping to protect wildlife, create meaningful employment as well as provide safe places for therapeutic interaction with nature. When I got to the outdoor nature hide I was expecting to be disappointed and not see a thing but there were hundreds of little birds flitting about between the numerous bird feeders and we were amazed to see two red squirrels. The photo of one of them isn't great because I don't have zoom on my camera.

It baffles me that there is so much shame and misunderstanding about mental illness. When you look at it scientifically, events in our lives are imprinted on our brains. We live in a world where, not only are we at risk of trauma and injury, we also consume the trauma and injury of others constantly with a drip, drip, drip feed of horror news reports and violent entertainment. When something is imprinted on our brain in childhood it is even harder to shift. It may be buried subconsciously so that suddenly in adulthood depression comes out of the blue, maybe at a time when everything is going well in your life. It may be that you've reached a place where you feel safe enough to do the work to heal yourself. The main problem is thinking 'this shouldn't be happening' which is probably what everyone around you, who you will need for support, will also be thinking. Medication can help to control the worst of the symptoms but if it is used to suppress the experience you will be missing out on the work you need to do to move forward and grow. In my experience doctors don't understand enough about the needs of their patients when they come to them with depression. Psychological support is inadequate, extortionate and probably out of reach of the people who need it most. I believe depression occurs when our minds become stuck in our past experiences, anxiety is being stuck with thoughts and fears of the future. While it is far too simplistic to suggest a walk in nature will cure mental distress, the process of getting out of our mind, into our bodies and being present is one of the tools of recovery. It's only when we identify with ego based ideas of individualistic achievement that we label depression or break down as a weakness and a problem. We are also missing the fact that the people in the most pain have the opportunity for the most growth. Just be and remember how far you've come for auld lang syne.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

This Halloween I joined some zombies, witches, clowns and various other fantastic characters at my son's school to help with an afternoon of outdoor learning. A lady from the Woodlands Community Garden came along with some materials to make a start on creating some growing areas. She brought pallets and plastic bottles which will become vertical planters. After a brief explanation of what they were to do and warnings about splinters and nails in the pallets the children were split up into four groups of eight.

One group prepared the plastic bottles, one group sanded and painted pallets, one group played nature bingo with another parent helper and the final group came into the garden with me to play a bird identification game. Laminated pictures of birds had been hung around the school gardens with the name of the bird written underneath and each child was given a photocopied sheet of all the images. They had to find the corresponding bird image and write the name on their sheet. There were a couple of light rain showers but the children didn't mind, they were too busy dashing around in all directions having a great time. When they had found all the cards we met up and had a chat about native British birds which are now endangered such as the cuckoo and nightingale and what we can do to help birds through the winter months. The children were so excited to tell me all sorts of weird and wonderful bird related tales. 

In Scotland the school system already favours outdoor learning and in Glasgow there are many local organisations with qualified garden support workers, rangers and nature volunteers to help schools with their projects. At my son's previous school in England I was single handedly introducing outdoor learning activities and hoped that some of the teachers would take an interest. The head was really keen to develop this side of education but without local education support there was no need to do it and it would have been a big effort for teachers to try and include it in their already hectic timetables. So I worked with a few children at a time who were allowed to come out of class, did some lunchtime sessions and generally looked after the gardens. I applied for £10,000 lottery funding to develop some woodland in the grounds and to fund garden activities and was delighted to hear the school had been awarded the money. It should help considerably.

I was sad to leave behind the children in Hastings and all the work I had started so it's been great to start helping at my son's new school in Glasgow. It was a nice change to have everything already prepared for me and I look forward to seeing the ongoing projects develop and the children learn new skills. It's great to work in a team. My son brought his first friend home after school, a Portuguese boy who also started in August and who had no English at all. We did a fun craft activity making leaf monsters. I had pressed some autumn leaves I'd collected between tissue in a big heavy book and they stuck them down then added monster faces, arms and other decorations. I hope you had a fun Halloween too.