remember together, Pitlochry High School

'remember together' workshop led by Kate McAllan 

 

Over the course of a day pupils from Pitlochry High School took part in a number of memory collecting workshops, inviting them to share their stories of the Covid pandemic.

 

Many of these children encountered the onset of the pandemic at a time of transition: preparing to go to high school and moving in to the first few years of their adolescence. The contributions reflect a spectrum of experiences and emotions. 

 

The pupils reflected on the meaning of the remember together memorial. What does it mean to remember something difficult or complex? And how can we make universal works of art which make room for every person’s story?  

 

Using a series of prompts involving nature, friends, food and drink they painted their I remembers. 

 

Their responses tell of moments involving friends, creativity and cake-baking. Also at times there are stories of repetition, unease and loneliness.

The Colour of Memories

 

Recording details in small envelopes, pupils described their most vivid memory of lockdown and assigned a colour to this moment. The colours reflect the myriad of emotions involved. 

 

The names of the colours read like individual poems. Yellow was the dominant colour and there were several shades of blue.

 

One pupil remembered filling a time capsule with her brother and feeling hope for the future. She called this moment ‘Deep, meaningful blue’. 

Colour Names

 

Ultramarine blue

 

Cobalt blue

 

Cadmium green

 

Canary yellow

 

Naples yellow

 

Vermillion

 

Crimson

 

Rose pink

 

Sea green

 

Lemon yellow

 

Sky blue

 

Lilac 

 

Olive green

 

Orange yellow

 

Deep meaningful blue

 

Black

The Colour of Memories 

 

 

Light Blue

 

I remember me and my brothers weren’t getting along 

but one day we started building dens in the forest

and from that day we were closer than ever

 

 

Sea Green

 

I remember going to my auntie’s house at the beach

when it was nice and warm; the house was the colour

of the sea

 

 

Cobalt Blue

 

I remember most the day I found out

my gran Agnes had passed away and

I never got to tell her I loved her 

 and say goodbye

 

 

Mustard yellow

 

I remember being in my room for months

and not leaving much

 

 

Lemon yellow

 

I remember listening to people sing

‘over the rainbow’

 

 

Canary yellow

 

I remember my family and I went out looking

for those painted rocks that people would leave out.

The weather was nice that day and we went to places

we wouldn’t normally go. 

 

 

Black

 

I remember being trapped within the confines

of my room

 

 

Deep, meaningful blue

 

I remember the day I filled my time capsule. 

I was with my brother in the hallway, and I was filling 

the jar with anything meaningful. It was the first 

moment I thought about the future. 

I remember

 

Alec is creating a remember together memorial to the ongoing Covid pandemic, for Highland Perthshire, Spring 2024. These workshop were held on Thursday 21st of March 2023

 

remember together (Highland Perthshire)

These ‘I remember’ were gathered for a ‘remember together’ Covid memorial that I’m creating in Highland Perthshire; one of five commissions in Perthshire.

They come from members of the community and, as with the I remember book published as part of Scotland’s Covid Memorial, they give a sense of the diverse ways in which Covid impacted on all our lives. 

A collective act of remembrance is never a uniform expression of feeling: our lives differ and the pandemic laid bare some of the causes of those differences. These memories are also a way of restating a difficult truth: the pandemic is not over.

If you’d like to contribute a memory then please do, wherever you live. You can send them to info@alecfinlay.com.

I will be posting more information about the design of the memorial and its proposed location in the Spring.

Thanks to Julia Harriman for her help with the project. 

 

three friends of winter

The Japanese have a tradition which can be summed up in this poem; what are your three friends of winter?

 

what are your 

   pine

three friends 

   plum

of winter

   bamboo

 

 

these are Alec’s

   two hotties

three friends 

   warm towels

of winter

   & spinach soup

 

 

these are Emily’s

   snowdrops

three friends 

   yew

of winter

   & redwings

 

 

these are Tamara’s

   pine needle tea

three friends 

   late sunrises

of winter

   & empty beaches

 

 

these are Brighid’s

   feels normal being inside

three friends

   warm glow feeding birds at the window

of winter

   & all my best woollies   

 

 

these are Kate’s 

   Orion’s belt

three friends

   apple porridge 

of winter

  & wrapped in blankets   

 

 

these are Lizzie’s 

   two hotties 

three friends 

   winter sun 

of winter

   & a cup of nice tea

 

 

these are Cheviot’s

   dumplings 

three friends 

   hot pot pork ribs stew 

of winter

   with chewy cartilages

 

 

these are Anna’s

   soothing light
three friends 

   low sun
of winter

   & crisp air

 

 

these are Jenny’s

   chai tea

three friends 

   low sunshine

of winter

   & frosty breath

 

 

these are Elaine’s

   woodsmoke

three friends 

   Venus
of winter

   & early-to-bed rooks

 

 

these are Carrie’s

   wild spindle
three friends 

   vanilla kipfel 
of winter

   & pink mittens

 

 

 these are Robin’s

   hat

three friends 

   gloves

of winter

   & the moon

 

 

these are Susan’s

   mince pies

three friends 

   candles

of winter

   & a good book

 

 

these are Natalie’s

   bicycle lights
three friends

   woollen jumpers

of winter

   & grey geese

 

 

these are Anna’s

   whisky & ginger

three friends 

   playing cards

of winter

   & the woodstove

 

 

these are Rachel’s

   tarragon 
three friends 

   english breakfast
of winter

   & a wet dog

 

 

these are Jacqueline's

   tammies

three friends

   revels

of winter

   & Robert Wyatt

these are Brighid’s

   crisp white grass underfoot in the cemetery 

other three friends

   nature’s beautiful bones against the sky

of winter

   & sunsets of fire 

 

 

these are Garry’s

   patience

three friends

   woolly hat

of winter

   & Spring

 

 

 

these are Hester’s

   red-ice skies

other three friends

   candlelight

of winter

   & Tia Maria (& love)

 

these are Charlotte’s

   Twiggy

three friends

   Bella

of winter

   & the short-eared Owl

 

 

these are Ali’s

   double socks

three friends

   sprouts

of winter

   bin lid glitter

 

 

these are Juliet’s

  blue skies

three friends 

 geese flying overhead

of winter

  & long shadows

 

 

these are Tara’s

   wild- dapple-wind

three friends

   haw-burst -berry

of winter

   moth-dust-wing