I’m writing this blog after pressing send on the text that has been created for Life Through Laundry in
Barrow-in-Furness and oh, it feels a bit weird!
I hope Esther and Emily at Quiet Down There like it, I hope all at BarrowFull and Women’s Community
Matters like it, I hope all the people I have met throughout the project like it, and I hope Barrow likes it!
Actually, more than that, I hope it does justice to all the conversations that I have had, the generosity
of everyone who has gifted words and thoughts to the project, or I have spoken to. I really do hope so.
It has been much more of a personal project than I ever thought it could be, being back in Barrow.
Meeting people I haven’t met before, making new friends and exploring these special spaces that
laundrettes hold in people’s lives, where connections are made, relationships are formed and care is
woven into the fabric of the buildings.
The theme of holding has also been so important throughout this project. Holding and looking after
the things that people may have shared with me, some of which will never end up in the final product
but will be held in my heart.
O my heart! It felt pretty emotional pulling everything together. Curating the three poems that were
created from words gifted through the booklets was so fun, and reading the handwritten notes felt like
a chatting to 44 people who I have never actually met! I wasn’t sure if people would want to fill them in
but every time I went to the spaces where my postboxes were, there was a lovely surprise inside,
with people taking the time to respond to my often odd questions!
I spoke before about seeing home through new eyes and I feel that I have also discovered a new
voice through this project. The collection of text has turned into an anthology of poems and I do not,
by any means, think of myself as a poet! However, the words and stories have seemed to want to be
formed in this way, so I followed their direction!
I truly believe that anyone can be a writer but I don’t often listen to myself when it comes to me.
The writing I do as part of my theatre practice is never seen written down by an audience as it is
spoken out loud, so the thought of my scribblings being there, printed in black and white has felt
like a big step. But I have taken inspiration from a friend I have made throughout this project who is
about to start her own creative writing journey. She has wanted to write down her work experiences
for a long time and she has rallied her colleagues together and is just going to go for it. And so am I!
I just hope everyone likes it!
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