On a bit of a tangent, today’s blog is about gun safety! Sort-of. I almost wrote about this a couple of years ago, but it kind of fell away, and I got busy doing other things. It wasn’t a priority, but it is again. It’s a complicated local situation, and I was struggling to get my head around it all, because it’s about planning rules and laws and stuff I’m not naturally knowledgeable of, and I have to be pretty careful about what I say about it. I’m not going to start on the complicated bits right now, but long story short is: Last weekend I found myself inadvertently on a live full-bore rifle range when I was out for a bike ride in the woods, because safety protocols were not being followed. It was terrifying.
It’s nice, actually, writing for my blog about it right now, because while I still need to worry a little about making sure I don’t get in trouble and type something angry and accusatory, I can maybe ramble on a bit, about things like how nice it is to be able to enjoy Scotland’s access rights, which sadly do not extend all the way across the UK (let me put a link to the right to roam campaign at the bottom of the page, they’re doing good work) and about thinking about the commercial forest landscape the range is in. I’m going to put a link to my letter to various politicians and stakeholders at the end of the blog, and say not much more about the incident here. I’m tired of talking about it, at least for this week. If you’re local to the Scottish Borders and like to go outside, it’s worth noting where not to go, and yeah, do watch this space, because we need to be able to be in the outdoors safely.
I’d actually taken along my not-quite-vintage polaroid camera – my second, which I bought only a month or so ago online, after I dropped the first one and it died. I’ve been trying to figure out how to make work about the commercial areas of the forest. The ‘natural’ ancient woodland parts are easier to fall into, I think, as there’s so much, so many different things to see and hear, the variety of trees and plants, fungi, birds and wildlife. The commercial parts, while only metres away in some places, are entirely different. They’re single-species blocks, planted in lines across the hills. They’re spiky, solid and hard, and mostly impenetrable. When you do get into the heart of them, they feel… sharp, vaguely threatening, and… boring. Lines upon lines of the same tall straight trunks. Some parts are mossy and green and look amazing, when the light shines the right way and the pollen bobs around in the breeze, they’re spectacular. Some parts are like the dead areas of bleached coral – blank and empty and sad.
I’ve been wondering if the only way to really understand the commercial forest is from above – in map form, or satellite imagery. From above, all flattened out, with all these strange shapes of green and brown, they become, maybe what they are: Crops. Industry. Constructions.
I took a couple of photos on my way up the hill (quick phone snaps of them):
See? in the one on the left, it’s barely possible to see the blocks of green that make the trees. In the one on the right, I kind of like the composition, but it’s not… representative of the way the woods look as a whole. It doesn’t have that homogenous feel. Hmm. More thoughts in process.
When I fell off my bicycle, exiting the rifle range later in the day, my camera went clunk inside my rucksack, and spat out this delight:
It was a final goodbye from camera number 2 – it’s not worked since. I’ve not decided if it’s trying to tell me something or I’m being overly optimistic.
Farewell camera number 2. I promise I’ll try to not kill camera number 3, if/when I get another. They’re like, £20 for a probably working one, so it’s not the end of the world, It’s just a bit sad. Also what do I do with 2 broken cameras?
Jessie x
Links 🔗
Right to Roam Campaign (England, but even if you’re not in England, it’s important, plus they have gorgeous illustrations by Nick Hayes. I thoroughly recommend his book The Book of Trespass – it’s great.)
The (edited so I don’t dox (how many xes does dox/doxx have?) myself) letter. Bear in mind there is more to this story to come.
If you’d like to help a clumsy clod to get another camera she’ll inevitably break, check out the links to Patreon and ko-fi in the menu! 🥲❤️
Jessie Growden 