spirituality – devizine.com

‘Devizes & Beyond’ is a collection of original poems in traditional forms and digital photography, inspired by life in Devizes and the occasional foray into the world outside. The exhibition covers eight areas of life from shopping to spirituality and is a colourful and poignant snapshot of what it is to be human in this beautiful place and brief moment of time, and the physical and metaphysical journeys we take on different forms of transport and through life itself.
(Gail Foster)

Those are Gail’s own words in her description of her exhibition this week at St. Mary’s; she has become a well known poet and photographic artist in our town, and it is a joy to behold this body of work on public display. There are various sections to peruse and ponder over, smile, weep and reflect upon, from “Shopping” and “Spirituality”, as Gail mentions already, to “Community”, “People”, “Transport”, “Creatures” and “Landscapes”. And the eponymous section “Devizes & Beyond”.

Some areas unsurprisingly cross over … “Community” and “People”, “Devizes & Beyond” and “Landscapes”, but that is no criticism… such is the breadth of Gail’s work and interests this is probably to be expected. What is presented is certainly worthy of at least thirty minutes of anybody’s time, and the calm, serene surroundings of St. Mary’s permits us all to take a while to sit and reflect on what we are witnessing and cerebrally imbibing.

We are treated to some two hundred and eighty two photographs, and eight poems within those eight sections. In the vein of the crossovers mentioned above, some poems lend themselves to being a sisterhood together : The beautiful, heart rendingly poignant “Children of the Avenues” reflecting upon the lives past and future of the offspring of The Avenues, especially the September 2019, immediately pre-Covid, schools’ intakes holds the same gentle and reflective space as “Blink ~ Seven Stanzas for the Seven Ages of Man” harnessing the concepts within Shakespeare’s monologue in “As You Like It”. Similarly “Singing River” and “This Barrow Strewn Land“ share a love for the Wiltshire great outdoors and its magical and wistfully timeless beauty.

Treat yourself to an indulgence with the exhibition of photographs of all sections and you’ll undoubtedly spot someone you know, a beloved place, something or somewhere to make you laugh, smile, weep – or even halt you with a jolt. Gail is not shy to show warts and all either… we live in such a beautiful part of the world and her wonderful photographic eye captures so many shots that are truly stunning, worthy of any great exhibition… but she also grabs the mundane parts of everyday life that are the reality of living in a small town. For every framed shot of a church yard entrance, a shaft of light in the Ginnel, there’s the kebab shop building site, a hearse, a crowded bus.

All of these display Gail’s wonderful eye, and patience, and her lifetime of living in, and love of, Devizes, but if there is one section that truly encapsulates the author and artist that is Gail Foster it is that of spirituality… her inner peace and connections with an ancient land, and organised religion, of ancient chalk-lands, stones and timeless vistas, and pagan and church ceremonies.

This exhibition covers so much, it is impossible to encapsulate it all in mere words. One will still be taking it all in for some while afterwards – I’ve been mulling over this piece for almost two days and I should probably take longer but I am mindful that we need to all experience this display so its imperative I publish this as soon as possible. To paraphrase Peter Quince, a Shakespearean character from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”….

I entreat you, desire you, and require you to visit Gail’s exhibition this week. Entry is free, open daily 10.00am to 3 p.m. until Sunday 26^th April, plus an evening opening opn Friday 24^th April from 6pm to 8pm.

And finally… to enjoy Gail’s eight poems from this exhibition in perpetuity, they are included in her next book, “”Singing River – a book of poetry”, which can be bought from Devizes Books from Friday 24^th. Get it early on Friday and you may be able to meet the author over the weekend to have it signed!

Can we please draw a red line under Pewsey’s Moonrakers St George’s Cross facade fiasco now Wiltshire Council has u-turned on a proposal forcing landlord Jerry Kunkler to paint over it? Providing we don’t draw a vertical red line at its centre-point, yes!!

Locally It’s created divided opinion, but reaching national media has wonked the entire narrative, in which many passing causal comments are either sadly misinformed, triggered, or both. For what it’s worth, far from being a patriotic flagshagger, I support Jerry, the “Moonies,” and their flag motif, but to understand why is to understand Pewsey, its manner, and the pub’s reasoning for doing it in the first place. Unfortunately nationwide few do, or even care to. All they see is their polarised falsehood that someone somewhere is attempting to take away their national pride; it’s pretty pathetic when you stop to think about it.

I profess this storm in a teacup really projects an equally bad look for leftwingers as well as the far right, and that’s what troubles me most. Understanding the difference between patriotism and nationalism is crucial. Holding a love and pride in one’s country is fair game, shared values, and the desire to improve it is never an issue. Nationalism, however, is a fervent, often exclusionary devotion to the nation, frequently asserting its superiority over others. To make this pride into aggression against others is the drive to xenophobia. But the bottom line is, that’s not what’s happened here and if you think it is, you’ve been hoodwinked by propaganda. I’m not even here to patronise you if you have, a lot of money has been put into it to make it powerfully persuasive.

The only defence you can reasonably put up, in my opinion, is that the pub is a listed building, and Jerry didn’t have permission to make such an alteration, for this is the only reason why it became an issue with Wiltshire Council. I get this, and sympathise, it was a bit naughty, but this is Pewsey, in the nicest of ways it’s a law unto itself, and that’s part of its charm! I really don’t differentiate between this and when Just Stop Oil harmlessly threw some red powder at Stonehenge; no permanent damage done, just paint, it’s reversible.

Justifiable I say, considering our loss of so many village pubs in this current financial hole, a landlord must do whatever they can to stay afloat, and Jerry’s had some publicity over this, hopefully The Moonrakers will prevail because of it. It has always been dubbed “the Moonies fun pub,” by locals, and the boot fits. It is, as Pewsey resident lefty vegan Pants’ guitarist Fal Carmicheal suggested in probably the most surprisingly supportive and informative Facebook comment on the matter, “it’s just a pub in a village where people go to watch sports on a big TV. He may be a Tory Councillor (has been for years) but he’s not a fascist, his pub isn’t a hive of NF goons.”

Providing some history and a few expletives to enhance his anger, Fal expressed Jerry’s family are firmly rooted in Pewsey, that “his father flew Spitfires during the siege of Malta.” And continued to explain the façade was painted a decade ago, in support of Pewsey’s Shelley Rudman in the 2013 Winter Olympics. “It was done purely as a mark of support for various sporting events, all of which he plays on his big TV in the bar. Nobody here fucking cares that his pub has a poorly-painted red cross on it. It’s just Jerry’s pub.” And that, my friends, is the Pewsey spirit in a nutshell!!

Wiltshire Council announced, “The Eastern Area Planning Committee has granted listed building consent for the retention of painted England flag decoration on the front of The Moonrakers Inn in Pewsey.

The decision was made despite the planning officer’s report, which recommended the committee refuse the application on the grounds that the painting of the front of the pub fails to preserve its special interest as a Grade II listed building and its setting in the Pewsey Conservation Area.

However, after considering the officer report, planning policy, and all material considerations, the committee resolved to grant consent.”

Landlord Jerry Kunkler thanked all for “the support you have given me relating to the painted George Cross on the front of the Moonrakers. Permission was granted this afternoon to allow it to stay.”

Context is everything. This was never an intended affiliation with the far right, and after all, how is the decoration any different from a mainstream shop altering a building to advertise itself? I say common sense prevailed and wish Jerry and all at The Moonrakers the very best.