Sue: Week 4 Picture

As the crew organise the new pitch and set up the big top in Branksome, Charlotte heads into Bournemouth. She needs to time her journey and locate the practice at which she will be working as a locum during their South West tour. Mission accomplished and already feeling disconnected, she hurries back to the car, keen to return to her community of travellers.

Nearing the car park, the increasing smell of salt in the air becomes a siren call, drawing her towards the sea front.  As she falters in her intent to rush back, she finds herself in the familiar territory of facing seemingly simple choices that have deeper undercurrents.  There are three hours until knife throwing practice, so she is not immediately needed back at camp.  Head says her presence, beyond a sense of belonging, will achieve nothing. However, from experience, she knows that her absence may increase the waves of unease that constantly ebb and flow across the community.  These waves cause friction and factions across the camp but can also rise up to slap against her actions and her need to be accepted.

Heart led living leads to unknown consequences. She wishes she could have perpetual choices of moments in which to live and from which she could emerge unaffected by her supposedly informed decisions.

On balance, her best choice would be to return, but instead, Charlotte follows her desire to walk onto the pier.

As she reaches the pier, she is struck by the orderliness of the promenaders.  The collectively obeyed, unspoken rule is to walk towards the end on the right hand side and return on the left.  Charlotte veers right to join the outward-bound line.  Her plan is to walk to the end, look at the view, then return. A simple choice. Half way down, Charlotte, changes her mind. She walks into the empty middle space and turns to contemplate the land from which she has come. If anyone had taken a photograph, the resulting picture would show that her instinctive action immediately isolates her from everyone else on the pier.