Holbrook Village Green, 28th August 2024

Home to both the village hall and quoits club, the Holbrook village green sits almost slap bang in the centre of the village. With the COOP supermarket, Methodist Hall, Swan public house and an independent butcher all nearby, this area of the village is the central hub of village life. A member of the village community informed me that the old air raid siren was located by the village hall and was sounded to call the members of the fire brigade to action. Some research into this suggests that using sirens was not uncommon in Britain after Second World War, and that not everyone was happy about this. I think that people who had lived throughout the blitz would have been quite traumatized hearing the siren for decades after. There is a village in Suffolk that still maintains its siren and who test it each May. A similar sound can also be heard in Norfolk (near Holkham and Well-Next-The-Sea) to announce that the tide changing. What interests me sonically about the village green in the present day is its flagpole, upon which the union flag is raised and lowered daily like many other villages across the country. Even the gentlest breeze causes the rope to clang and vibrate against the metal pole. I wanted to record the sound of the rope clanging against the pole with both traditional microphones and contact microphones, and hoped that the clanging could be used for the rhythmical element of a composition. On a breezy day I set up the equipment just before noon and sat back to listen. There was a palpable hum of activity as people came to run errands or shop. And, as always, a pigeon could be heard cooing away. Whilst I was recording, the sound of the dustbin lorry approaching could soon be heard. This sound is one of the regular sounds of any community and the hissing and clanking of the heavy lorry can often jar your focus from whatever task you are currently doing to run out and check that your bin is ready for collection (as missing it would mean a lengthy period of time until they would return). I love the sounds of a bin collection: the hissing of air brakes, pneumatic lifting, the drones of an emptied wheely bin wheels on concrete, the slamming of lids and occasional shouts from the workers, and (if you are lucky) the beeping warning sound of the vehicle reversing. This episode was made possible through funding from Arts Council England through their Developing Your Creative Practice grant.