The Spring Equinox on 20 March was the first date-locked event of the year. Druid Order, Tower Hill. Thirty minutes on the tube, an hour in the cold, and the first frames of Year One on the cards. It was a quiet start, which felt right.
The week that followed was less quiet.
Homer Sykes replied to my outreach and agreed to meet. We spent two hours at his home with his books open on the table. I have written about that visit in the Journal. What it confirmed, practically, is that the project is being taken seriously by people who have spent careers doing this kind of work.
The outreach picture has moved considerably since the last entry.
Confirmed subjects & conversations since 19 March
Graham Lubbock - Rememberer
Thirty years with the National Trust at Blakeney Point, lifelong Blakeney and Cley resident. Confirmed as a Rememberer subject. Pre-visit call set for 28 May, fieldwork to follow in the East Anglia window.
Robert Frewen, CLA - Yorkshire Dales
Replied from North Yorkshire. A long call followed. The result is a four-day stay based near Reeth in August, covering Makers, Stewards, and Rememberers across Upper Swaledale - a region I had been approaching carefully. It opened faster than expected.
Timothy Puddephatt - former BABA Chairman
Replied and wants a call. That call is tomorrow.
Joshua Redfearn, POST Hove - Large Format
Confirmed a large format 4x5 session for 17 April. Available light in the morning, strobe in the afternoon. The first serious large format session before field work begins.
Adrian Blackmore, Countryside Alliance
Replied same day and forwarded TEA to the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation with a prior briefing already sent.
Travel blocks confirmed
Two field windows are now locked in the calendar: 5-14 May and 1-22 July. Henley Royal Regatta and Swan Upping have moved to 2027 to accommodate the July block without compression.
CIC status
Still pending. Companies House has not yet resolved the “England” sensitive word flag. The fallback names remain ready. The work is not waiting on it.
Next date-locked event: Jack in the Green, Hastings. Early May.