On the Hoof

  Where nothing happens, twice – this phrase was coined by Vivian Mercier in the Irish Times , 18 February 1956, when he reviewed Samuel Beckett's play, Waiting for Godot . The characters Estragon, Vladimir, Pozzo and Lucky have been reenacting these two moments of nothing in countless repetitions since Beckett finished writing them in January 1949. The truly astonishing power of the play led San Francisco Actors' Workshop director Herbert Blau to take it to the San Quentin prison in November 1957. The idea that the play (in which nothing happens twice) could be transformative had now crossed the Atlantic. Rick Cluchey, an inmate at the prison, was serving a life sentence when he heard it being performed over the loudspeaker system. The experience had such an effect on him that he went on to form a drama group with other inmates to stage the play. He eventually won a chance for parole and met Beckett. He continued this friendship and pursued a life anew in the arts. The story ...

One idea could be to introduce a small herd (four to begin with) of Exmoor ponies under the aegis of "conservation grazing." The perimeter of the grounds is already securely fenced, and by introducing a cattle grid at the entrance ponies would be prevented from from roaming––New Forest-like––onto the surrounding roads. The central set of humans are effectively contained in their particular buildings much of the time, and the gardens linked to wards are already protected by high fences. In this space the people mostly belong to the buildings, which allows you to imagine the ponies safely enjoying access to most of the grounds, especially the meadows that form a beautiful boundary to three sides of the institution.  The presence of the ponies could be used to emphasise the relationship of the humans to their environment as well as to each other. The ponies could provide a reference point around which relationships could be re-articulated. Their presence could become a focal poi...

  Saturday 1 June, 2024, I walked around the meadows that surround the Bethlem Royal Hospital with a colleague who works there now. We caught a bus from Crystal Palace which wound through the back streets of Beckenham and Bromley before finally dropping us off at the northeast corner of the site, a bit of a stretch from the main gate. After about five minutes’ walking, we found what seemed to be an entrance, where a gap between a small set of maisonettes revealed a gate and pathway through trees that beckoned to us. But the gate was locked fast, the grounds were impenetrable, and the fence was unscalable. We resumed our route along the road to find the entrance to the grounds, then my friend led the way around the bottom meadow, past beautiful trees, a large house now boarded up and padlocked, and up to a desolate site that once housed an IAPT operation. We stuck to the fence line, which provided a secure boundary all the way around, and passed no one. As we approached the southwes...

There are eight Exmoor ponies, all geldings, living on a lovely piece of public land called the the Law in North Berwick, Scotland. It's on the coast, a short train ride from Edinburgh, and they've been there since October 2013 thanks to the initiative and vision of an exceptional man employed by the local council at the time whose name is Duncan Priddle.  The main feature of the land is a volcanic plug which gives the place it's name: the Law. It is all that remains from an ancient eruption and it sticks up 187m in an otherwise gently undulating landscape. The ponies regularly climb to the top of the Law and Sylvia Beaumont, who lives nearby, is often there to take their photos to post on the FaceBook page dedicated to this small herd. Earlier this year she captured a moment where the ponies were drawn to a man playing his bagpipes with the Law in the background. The video she took of the moment was enchanting . We went to visit Sylvia and the ponies this summer, and for t...

I gave a talk on Zoom a few weeks ago to my colleagues in the equine facilitated practitioners group (LEAP) where I trained. On the back of that, one of my colleagues invited me to visit her place to see how she manages her venture. I looked on the OS map and discovered that her yard was based right next to an Anglo-Saxon burial site on the North Downs of Kent. I saw that it was a short riverside walk from a station that was directly connected to one near where I live, so I dug out my enhanced CRB certificate and my passport and we made a plan for me to visit the very next weekend. When I arrived I saw three women deep in conversation close to a chestnut horse who was standing quite still, as if presenting his whole right side to their gaze. This was Frank, who had made it all the way to 36 years old and now looked rather tired. The three women were talking seriously about him, making plans, and deciding what to do. I noticed the quality of his fur, the look in his eye, and his stan...

I was keen to return to see how W was doing after our conversation on Saturday. John phoned ahead, and the yard manager warmly welcomed our proposal. It was unusually quiet – staff were away for some training. Some of the horses were taking afternoon naps. Others, including W, were munching their way through their hay. We left him to finish his lunch and went to say hello to a whole row of horses who lived in an alley at the rear of the stables.  When we returned to W, he immediately came to his door and greeted me. His mouth was not so angular today, but his eyes were 'tented' whenever something caught his attention. The main gate clanged, and a small dog started barking. W turned towards the sound, raising his head, eyes tented, and looked to see what might be approaching. A friendly man walked into the yard in a purposeful way and I smiled at him. Standing next to W so that I could mirror him, I followed his gaze towards this newcomer and pointed, saying out loud "Who...