In The Black Horse

Artist Poet, Paul Conneally, in The Black Horse, Leicester.

The God Connection

'the god connection' 

Ten Commandments

august 26 - november 17 2003

10 mountain sonnets

marlene mountain francine porad paul conneally stephen addiss nancy smith

gary gach cindy tebo carmen sterba ray rasmussen michael rehling gary blankenship

1

'Thou shalt have no other gods before me.'

[8/27-9/14/03]

another autograph collected the crowd unusually unruly

13-year-old reality tv star of her own fantasy

god sides with the feds the monument of 10 has left the rotunda*

no gods at all but lots of worship going on

many prostrate themselves as the alabama idol is hauled away

almighty microsoft what if bill gates is behind the pearly gate

built for the fox god a shrine on a hill

sleeping in the pew he dreams of madonna

such a jealous pussycat she says

japanese haiku who can get over it

studying all religions just in case

the running back on probation until after the season

all round the world cave paintings of fat mamas

the sound of bat wings above the feaces flecked altar

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2

'Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.'

[8/26-10/18/03]

toward shevinity 'on every high hill and under every green tree'

the toadsmouth a rock in the peak district that says you're almost home

so let's blast some more statues in afghanistan

obeying god's 2nd commandment the feds move the graven words

church green a lot of gw's in the collection basket

less likely to destroy the images of others if one creates

we'll be right back with more so don't touch that dial ok now this

sistine chapel the image of god on the ceiling

hungry as hell the 'big boy' statue beckons

the wall full of pinups at the local repair shop

the face in the mirror a joy to behold

ah censorship a jillion fewer images to clutter the museum the mind

the memory of a collection of ancient cock-shaped coat pegs

deck of holy cards with a few squirrels around st. francis

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3

'Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.'

[8/27-10/17/03]

stalled car in Israel the driver cursed in several languages

a hammer meets a thumb

mother nature and i politely discussed the heat and man-made air

jeez you're looking good!

god for a moment i thought you were someone else

from where god's name was placed in vain it's taken by law

grandpa's story the day his mouth was washed with soap

swear words on the bathroom wall

all those leaders with god in their mouths

teen 'cool man the deity says no more mall muzak!'

'god damn' not considered cussing in our crowd

'for pete's sake' and i remember my grandmother's displeasure

say 'jumping kangaroo' instead of repeating your dad and brother

oh shit

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4

'Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.'

[8/27-10/19/03]

late start on sunday not one beer before noon

sunday buffet at the casino all you can eat $5

the smell of incense and bells a priest's frock

a swell day for authority figures to eye the figures of kids

the magic screen on the altar shows pro football

the commandments moved from the courthouse locked on sundays

no television no telephone no car a far different outlook

stop give it a rest take a breath the sun moves on his own

the sunday school teacher on saturday night dirty dancing

sunday morning the adult theater every seat sold

a relief to know that decadent is okay 6 days a week

up at 11 too late for mass

a spider crawls under the kneeler

sunday social visit with a sick and needy friend

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5

'Honour thy father and thy mother.'

[8/26-10/22/03]

words almost all in haste i eat you i taste you i hate you

together or one at a time?

summer warning the disappearing act of the y chromosome

with the best nursing home which won't interfere with your own lifestyle

single parent household double the duty and only one paycheck

a poke in the ribs from mom at this commandment

at least visit the home before they move in

the teenager politely pleads with her addicted mom

sidewalk neckbroken dead pigeon somebody's mother

pushing the wheelchair slowly he remembers

at least on the days set out by the merchants

gluestick card an 'i love you' with the heart peeling off

finally grieving for the dead dad of his teenage years

the faded flowers replaced each memorial day

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6

'Thou shalt not kill.'

[8/27-10/18/03]

squashes a bug saying 'better luck next time'

today the peace tally greater than the war's

first obligation to protect oneself

after the natives are crushed law and order

the cat plays with the lizard and eventually it dies

unless in uniform or something you hold dear is threatened

in an upbeat voice the tv announcer repeats the body count

lumumba's fate the belgium soldiers watched him tortured and killed

the cat with a tail hanging from her mouth

a dead duck if it's that time of year and you've got a license

reversal - clean air regulations repealed

british american tobacco sponsor a school of business ethics

then the state murders the murderer of the murderer of fetuses

end of the fairy tale now that the witch is dead

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7

'Thou shalt not commit adultery.'

[8/28-11/17/03]

she took his $4 million ring but who'll wring his neck

one count of sexual assault a felony at the lodge and spa

it used to be the charge and now it's the defense

unless you get married first

just don't embarrass me she said

unless you are one of the happy majority

delightful bliss i don't want to know!

every third weekend and thanksgiving day at daddy's

his seven-year itch annually

patriarch with wives galore his lust for another married woman

spiritual retreat this time at the motel 6 with the lights out

hot for herself the clerk turns on to her guy customers

not considered adultery lesbians in the news

mounting excitement the whole village collects stones

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8

'Thou shalt not steal.'

[8/29-10/25/03]

supermarket surely one purple grape will not be theft

his home is not a hotel despite the towels

except converts from other faiths and goods under 'fair exchange'

a town for a toe debit or credit

a convicted ceo on parole limited to the usa for vacation

prayer in school and denigrated neolithic females in church

the poor box empty under the gold altar 

just before the long weekend the price increased after?

high to low low to high stocks and bonds reversing positions

pyramid scheme one scam leads to another

a t-shirt with a mummy's face on it from the british museum

hope iraqi kids enjoy their new schools the teachers well-paid

you can download 'smells like teen spirit' for free**

musical chairs a trillion dollars poof up in smoke

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9

'Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.'

[8/29-11/03]

restaurant three gossips sup on their friends' imagined faults

but i heard it on good authority from my daughter's friend

you can lie all you like particularly about those not next door

careful what you say there are laws against slander

at court she says what he says he didn't do

now tell us what was the real reason dubya you went to war

we all just assumed it was true

the latest poll 45% say the truth is not, 50% undecided

wmd's i say they're hidden in his boxer shorts

blair claims saddam could shoot his load in forty-five minutes

arnie's recall he can't remember all the women he's groped

rammed through the adult court system for life the 13-year-old

listen somebody knows but isn't talking the others blowing smoke

talking heads spread another rumor left unsaid

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10

'Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house'

[8/26-10/18/03]

down the road a new double-wide & a warm-looking heat pump

the conservatory filled with the right sort of plants and conversation

a leaf outweighs your monuments by the weight of the universe

can't be impressed i don't recognize any 'a b c' car

ah then okay to contemplate his rock garden!

there goes the neighborhood

either it's too small or who'd want the upkeep?

& what's my apple doing in your kitchen?

at midnight the neighbor's hedge moves a yard closer

once it was my house until i lost my job

on the sun deck a great view of the pool next door

tho he's got a cute ass and 2 x 2 oxen i dig the wife & kids

three lawn mowers and two washers in the side yard

just a fence away from blue ribbon tomatoes

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notes

*alabama state capitol

**smells like teen spirit from nirvana's 'nevermind' cd

History Rewritten

history rewritten

fuel demo tragedy claims one last dance

bush seeks another life say muslim motorists

gems uncovered danger of adult aged five

celebrity brides enjoy days of misery

history rewritten by strike on blair

holocaust tide turns superbug risk

breakdown watchdog fears costs surge

warning freeze your pink cat litter

threatened mobile phone attacks police

lets slow everything

paul conneally

13^th sept 05

 shreadlines piece created by Paul Conneally from cut up headlines in the Daily Telegraph

OLYMPIC - Back to Basics

OLYMPIC - wordsearch landscape, London Olympic Development Site - Paul Conneally 2006

I will be moving away from photography, though not completely, in terms of documenting and representing in 2014.

I will return to new ways, some very old, of conveying place, space, time, people and the feelings set up through encounters with them.

A new set of Wordsearch Portraits and Landscapes will emerge along with frottage, print, found object and ephemera pieces.

New interventions are planned and further iterations of Shopputting, INVIGILATOR and LIAR (Look I Am Reading).

This said I'm sure that photographs will be appearing, if not in my planned commissioned pieces, certainly here!

Paul Conneally

Grow Sheffield - Wordsearch Portrait of Jerry Simon - Postcard - Paul Conneally 2010

Our Parting Kiss

our parting kiss 

a mixture of salt 

and sweet peppers

Paul Conneally

Scaffold High: The Deconstruction of the Spire of St. Mary de Castro

St. Mary de Castro Church, Leicester, December 2013 - Paul Conneally

St. Mary de Castro Church is having its spire dismantled, taken down. It is the second oldest church in Leicester. King Henry VI, the 'boy King' was knighted in the church in 1426. The poet Geoffrey Chaucer married his first wife here. 

The church was founded in 1107. The church tower was built before 1330 for sure as there is a written record telling us that a man fell to his death from it in that year. The original spire was a broach spire. The broach spire was replaced in 1400 by a thinnish crocketted spire. The spire has been a source of problems almost since it was first built. One of Sir Christopher Wren's best masons, Henry Cotton, was given the task, in 1685, of taking off "5yds. In length downwards" and to build a new top.

Storm damage, lightning and other problems caused the tower to undergo rebuilding in 1699, 1757, 1763, 1783, 1871, 1901 and 1916.

More work since then has been undertaken periodically from then to the present day when it is now having its most radical treatment in that it is being completely taken down after being deemed unsafe. Work to put up scaffolding started on the 18th of November and it is currently at a height just below the start of the spire itself.

English Heritage has secured funds to take down the spire and the intention is that it will eventually be rebuilt although much fund raising needs to be done before this can happen. 

scaffold high

a workman leans out

in to the wind

Paul Conneally 

Leicester 2013

http://burnthewater.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/scaffold-high-the-deconstruction-of-st-mary-de-castro-church-spire/

A Stalk of Sprouts

followed home

by a stalk of sprouts

the Christmas turkey

Paul Conneally

Loughborough 2013

Running The Rails

Late at night 

to early morning 

the train station 

Rodents run rails 

men in lines of fours, fives  

and against the rules

alone

Wrapped tight 

against the November cold 

an oil faced worker 

Marching up the down line 

he counts out loud 

bending periodically 

to spray paint a sleeper

Oh can you hear

the blowing of the whistle?

Paul Conneally

Loughborough 2013

Jesus on Jarrom Street

three pints happy 

we leave The Font 

on Gateway Street

head towards 

The Sir Robert Peel

and turn right

against red bricks

behind a black spiked fence

hangs Jesus 

stadium bound

fans genuflect and

ask for a win

Paul Conneally

Leicester 2013

The photograph is St Andrew's Church, Jarrom Street, Leicester. The church was designed by the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott who also designed London's St Pancras Station.

The Coach Driver's Tip: Working Men's Clubs and Trips to the Seaside

New Parks Social Club, Leicester 2013

Sheffield and Leicester had a tradition of reciprocal visits between the large number of well used working men's clubs that both cities housed.

These days there are relatively few such clubs left.

In Sheffield, my granddad Conneally was a member of The Bellhouse Road Working Men's Club. I'm pleased to see that, just like The New Parks Social Club here in Leicester, it's still going.

Every summer, along with my friends, I'd eagerly look forward to getting tickets for the annual club trip to the seaside.

Skegness, Mabelthorpe, Cleethorpes, Great Yarmouth.

I visited all of them one year or another on the club hired coaches or charabancs, as my nan called them,

A convoy of twenty or so vehicles making their way to what seem like very distant beaches.

Dinner, meaning lunch, vouchers and a few free fun fair tickets are handed out to us as we bump through the flatness of Lincolnshire towards the coast.

How long can the last remaining working men's clubs hang on? Times are tough but with a free juke box every Friday and disco karaoke the last Friday of every month along with live entertainment the likes of New Parks Social and Bellhouse WMC are determined to carry on.

the coach driver's tip
candy floss, dodgems
and vomit both ways

Paul Conneally
Leicester 2013

Claustrophobia - Limited Edtion Print - Paul Conneally

'Self Portrait Great Malvern Priory Road North Car Park' 
Paul Conneally 2009

A new edition of 20 prints of this self portrait car park ticket by artist Paul Conneally from INVIGILATOR : MALVERN (2009) on used envelopes is now available.

Each numbered and signed print is on a different sized and type of used envelope and although an 'edition' each is essentially unique.

Price unframed including delivery is £15

 Contact: Love and Barley at LoveandBarley@googlemail.com

Pigeons and Tinsel

In the early evening, Town Hall Square has a two hour period stream of families on their yearly pilgrimage to see the Christmas decorations.

It's a wonderful place that the children will remember when they, years later, bring their own children to the same space, same time of year.

Much later, as Leicester's night time economy starts to close down and clubs spew their punters out on to the cold streets it's a different story.

An altercation of fists by the nativity. A couple canoodling and more behind a plywood Womble.

the long walk home

after the office party

pigeons and tinsel

Paul Conneally

Leicester 2013

Paul Conneally

The Sky Bus Home

Just for a change we go to the match on the bus. The Sky Bus from Loughborough to Leicester.

It's called the Sky Bus because it travels at least once an hour every hour of the day and night between Leicester, East Midlands Airport, Derby and back again calling at Loughborough in both directions.

It's £5.50 Loughborough to Leicester return.

The match was a disaster for us with Leicester City losing to local rivals Nottingham Forest. The day though was good with pints after the match in The Swan and Rushes and The Globe. We even had a steak and tiger pie each in The Globe. Yes a lost match but a good father and son day out.

The Sky Bus is a single decker with wi-fi. It leaves from St Margaret's bus station. It's about ten to eight when we board the bus. We sit towards the back where the seats are raised a little higher than those at the front. The kind of seats that little boys and men gravitate towards. The further back the better on a single decker whereas on a double decker, for me at least, the front seats upstairs are the bee's knees.

The bus fills up and just before we set off, as the bus driver turns her engine, a young woman, maybe 19 or 20 years old, gets up from her seat at the front and starts to walk down the aisle.

She has in her hand a brown paper bag which she proffers to each person she passes as she makes her way towards us and the back of the bus.

She's asking people if they'd like a sweet. Almost everyone takes one, little jelly coke bottles.

There is a buzz on this bus. People are talking and the ride is a happy.

We get off by the Territorial Army centre on Leicester Road, Loughborough. I notice that the bag of sweets has been placed by the driver for anyone getting off or on to take one.

Yes, a lost football match but we all gained something on the Sky Bus home and it was more than a sweet.

between stops
red berries
on a leafless ash tree

Paul Conneally
Leicester 2013

Up on the Roof

“When this old world starts getting me down,
And people are just too much for me to face—
I climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space …”

Up On The Roof – Goffin and King 1962

From now on it’s the roof for me when parking. Even in the rain.

There are not many outside free access urban vantage points to beat the top floor of a multi-storey car park.

This is Newarke Street Car Park, Level 10, the roof.

It’s currently my car park of choice for visits to Leicester City Centre.

I best like it empty.

I like it full of parked cars too.

I never take the lift.

Before a heavy meeting I always take five minutes or so by the margins looking out one way or another.

It sets me up proper for what might be coming and raises my mood.

Same after but one can’t linger as much as your car park ticket won’t raise the barrier to get out beyond ten minutes or so of paying.

That said there’s always time for at least one verse and chorus of “Up on the Roof” thrown up and out onto the Leicestershire breeze.

Today it’s not The Drifters running around my head but Kenny Lynch

“On the roof, the only place I know
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Let’s go up on the roof
Up on the roof”

Paul Conneally
Leicester 2013

http://burnthewater.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/up-on-the-roof/ 

 

Next Door's Drive

Newarke Street Skyline from Newarke Street Car Park, Leicester 2013

In Leicester for a Holocaust Memorial Day meeting, I park on the roof of the Newarke Street Car Park.

It's a beautiful bright November morning and I look out from the roof across Newarke Street towards the centre of town.

I notice for the first time the pattern in the cast concrete frontage of what was once a textile business but is now Voluntary Action Leicester. Beyond it some of Leicester's skyline.

Concrete has been around in one form or another for over a thousand years. The Romans made and used versions of it,  even here in Leicester.

It's a much maligned material but when made and used well can be wonderful in both form and function.

Some say concrete has had its day but there is surely still scope for new types and uses as we creep forward into this still new millennium.

after all these years
mum's footprint 
in next door's drive

Paul Conneally
Leicester 2013

Holocaust Memorial Day - Voluntary Action Leicester - Paul Conneally 

Every Street

There's an Every Street in Ancoats in Manchester, and one in Bury too, but this Every Street is in Leicester.

How does a street get a name like Every Street? In Leicester, Every Street runs along one side of Town Hall Square, between Horsefair and Bishop Street. It was made in 1879 when the then town (it was given City status in 1919), full of civic pride, set out and built Town Hall Square with its fountain and gardens in front of the entrance to Leicester Town Hall. 

The councillors of the time gave this little street an impressive name to reflect its position as part of the political front face of an economically growing textile, hosiery and shoe manufacturing community. It was called Municipal Square East.

The name was hardly ever used by Leicester's residents. They all called it Every Street. Why? Well almost as soon as the square was completed a cab firm set up in Municipal Square East. The firm placed a large sign on the wall saying that anyone could get from this place in the centre of town to 'EVERY STREET' in Leicester by their cab service. Before long everyone referred to the street as Every Street.

Eventually the Town Hall politicians scrapped the Municipal Square East name and the street officially became and still is Every Street.

Paul Conneally

Leicester 2013

The First Time

the first time
I left my son alone
seat G 110
the West Stand
Walkers Stadium
was a big moment
for both of us
a pukka pie and a coke

Paul Conneally

First published at Football Poets 2004

Photograph: ‘The Only Way Is… Pukka Pies’ Paul Conneally, Leicester, 2013

Between Floors

a glance
between floors
the leaf on her shoe

Paul Conneally

Photograph: Newarke Street Car Park, Leicester – Paul Conneally

In the Kitchen at Parties

after a few drinks
we get on to the subject
of weird dreams

Heather brings out a book
of dream interpretations
but there are no examples
of dreams as strange as ours

we each have a go
at solving the mystery
of the dreams 

all our efforts fail
the meanings of
these dreams it seems
will stay inside our heads

three thirty a.m.
the lady of the lake
drags me down again

Paul Conneally
Loughborough 2013

Photograph: In the Kitchen at Parties - Paul Conneally

Women in a Web - Paul Conneally & Roberto Amoroso

Women In A Web - Paul Conneally & Roberto Amoroso 2011

Teachers and TAs taking part in a Splacist Workshop to explore and promote Learning Outside The Classroom.

The workshop was led by Paul Conneally and Roberto Amoroso at Forest Lodge Education Centre, Leicester.

We will make exchanges.
We will make adventures.
We will reveal beautiful moments.
We will reveal the ugly.
We will hold your hand.
We will whisper in your ear ‘let go’.

From the SPLACIST MANIFESTO

Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree - Fruit Routes Loughborough

As walkers on the Autumn 2013 iteration of artist activist Anne-Marie Culhane's Fruit Routes walk at Loughborough University they find Paul Conneally, once again taken hostage by nature, stood below a sweet chestnut tree, a board hung around his neck with these words chalked upon it:

under the spreading chestnut tree
I sold you and you sold me

George Orwell '1984'

He says a few words about chestnuts, chastity and hope and then reads not Orwell but the words to an old big band song urging the gathered to get their smart phones out and "tweet tweet tweet" at the appropriate point.

UNDERNEATH THE SPREADING CHESTNUT TREE

Underneath the spreading chestnut tree,
I loved her and she loved me,
There she used to sit upon my knee
‘Neath the spreading chestnut tree.

There beneath the boughs we used to meet,
All her kisses were so sweet,
All the little birds went “tweet, tweet, tweet,”
‘Neath the spreading chestnut tree.

I said, “I love you, and there ain’t no ifs or buts,”
She said, ”I love you,” and the blacksmith shouted “Chestnuts!”

Underneath the spreading chestnut tree,
There she said she’d marry me,
Now you ought to see our family
‘Neath the spreading chestnut tree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onm3LKXQDsU

Orwell alludes to the song, also a Boy Scouts campfire favourite, with actions and both Orwell and the song allude to the Longfellow poem The Village Blacksmith:

The Village Blacksmith

Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands. 

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man. 

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low. 

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor. 

He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter's voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice. 

It sounds to him like her mother's voice,
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes. 

Toiling,--rejoicing,--sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose. 

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Almost Diwali

Leicester Town Hall from 10 Bishop Street - Paul Conneally

I'm waiting outside the Christian Book Shop on Bishop Street for Tony Nelson. Tony's the chair of Leicester's Holocaust Memorial Day committee and I'm meeting him for the first time before he takes me to the committee meeting itself.

Even with the building work going on in Town Hall Square the Town Hall still exudes a faded civic pride. A flag flying from its highest point.

An African woman stops in front of me, looks from a piece of paper to me, to the paper and back again.

"Are you for the nature group? I'm looking for the nature group"

"No" I tell her "I'm waiting for the holocaust committee" and help her look for a white door, she doesn't have a number.

almost Diwali
somewhere in the scaffolding
a builder's whistle

Paul Conneally
October 31 2013

One Upright Arm

We move together along the disused railway track towards the top of the Swannington Incline.

"Don’t look the dog in the eyes. He don’t like it”

one upright arm
sustains the cheek
come walk with me
when things go wrong
there’s always the hedgerow

Paul Conneally 2011

From ‘Health Walk’ Paul Conneally with Nita Pearson ‘Whitwick to Swannington and Back’ May 2011

 ———————————
Notes The line: 'one upright arm sustains the cheek’ is a fragment from “HOW RICH THAT FOREHEAD’S CALM EXPANSE” by William Wordsworth. Wordsworth tells us that the poem HOW RICH THAT FOREHEAD’S CALM EXPANSE was inspired by a print at Coleorton Hall, North West Leicestershire. Mrs Wordsworth’s impression was that HOW RICH THAT FOREHEAD’S CALM EXPANSE was also written at Coleorton Hall despite William’s note that it was written at Rydal Mount in the Lake District.

Corn Dolly: Anne-Marie Culhane Artist, Activist, Visionary

'Corn Dolly' Anne-Marie Culhane Photo: Jo Salter

The above 'corn dolly' headdress, made and worn here by artist Anne-Marie Culhane was exhibited as part of 'Spaceship Unbound' at the Castlefield Gallery 2013 along with the video installation of her work 'Corn Dollies'

Corn Dollies was a public performance at the House of Commons, London to correspond with a mass lobby of Parliament regarding GM foods.

Anne-Marie Culhane was director/choreographer for the performance/action which was made in collaboration with Friends of the Earth, Annie Ball, Miriam Keye and Caitlin De Silvy.

Costumes for the four performers were inspired by teachings from corn dolly veteran Dorothy Horsfall and stories of harvest and corn dolly rituals.

Topping Out 'Kiss the Gable' - Paul Conneally & Anne-Marie Culhane

TOPPING OUT – KISS THE GABLE – Paul Conneally and Anne-Marie Culhane 2013 Photo: Kev Ryan

Cultural Forager, artist and poet, Paul Conneally, anoints a garden Shed during Conneally and Culhane’s ‘Topping Out Kiss the Gable’ ritual performance piece at Loughborough University Fruit Routes Harvest Celebration.

The shed stands on the LANDSCAPING AND GARDENING SOCIETY plot at Loughborough University and was recently erected to replace the original shed which was burnt down earlier in the year.

‘TOPPING OUT Kiss the Gable’ is based on the ceremony of Topping Out that builders undertake when the highest point of a building is completed. In Conneally and Culhane’s version, switches of tree and other plants are bound together and placed at the apex of the shed. The hanging plant material includes rowan, holly and bay twigs to ward of bad spirits and bring good luck to the shed and all who use it.

Two ladders were placed against the gable and people at the Fruit Routes Harvest Celebration were invited to climb one ladder, kiss the apex of the gable and say a few words if they felt that they wanted to while at the same time being anointed by Conneally, who is up the other ladder, with Apple juice freshly pressed on site that afternoon.

After Topping Out and Kissing the Gable the gathered people moved to a bonfire where food, drink and conversation carried on into the night with music being provided by the band Solana.

Bill Brookman at Kev Ryan Performing Life - Private View

Bill Brookman performs during the opening night of artist Kev Ryan's latest exhibition 'Performing Life' in the Atkins Building gallery of Creative Hinckley in Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK.

'ALEX' - Modern Edinburgh Film School

'ALEX'
Modern Edinburgh Film School
Paul Conneally
May 2013

Alex Hetherington is a visual artist with a practice in film, text and sculpture who works under the title Modern Edinburgh Film School. He produces complex projects on the ideas of film, poetic form and sculptural process. 

"Portrait of artist Alex Hetherington - the image of Alex is the franked stamp on the envelope in which he sent an edition from Modern Edinburgh Film School to me in. A one off print on another envelope was made and sent to Alex from myself with pencilled message and signature on it. The 'clean' portrait of Alex as a franked stamp features the legendary Scottish football player Dave Mackay and may become available as a limited edition print or other artefact in the future." 

Paul Conneally October 2013