'It is place, permanent position in both the social and topographical sense, that gives us our identity.' (J.B. Jackson)
The Early Years
I grew up in a small village, where I have spent a great deal of my life and still live today. Compared to a lot of places in the world it was a safe and friendly village. The inhabitants were all of a similar demographic, families with children of similar ages living in a small community. Everyone knew everyone and those who didn't kept to themselves, as a result I was allowed to roam free knowing that there would always be a familiar face nearby if anything were to happen. The village lies in a valley with a river running through the middle, on each side there are fields and woods, my house is right on the river at the edge of village which inhabits no more than perhaps 800 people. In this sense my upbringing was in many ways idyllic and fortunate.
'The home is of huge social significance. We spend much of our lives in the home, our primary emotional connections are shaped in the domestic arena of the home; where we live and how we live are important determinants of our social position, physical heath and individual well being.' (Short cited in Cieraad, 1999:ix)
Home in England, my house in the valley.
The village park where I would spend many long days with friends, sat on the hillside beside the school. In the center was the village green, with a shop and a church; your average quaint Devon village. We would often climb to the top of the valley and look down, pointing out each others houses. At that time it seemed that this view alone was all we needed and that the world beyond was of no significance. I think we were to engaged with the space we had. We weren't looking to travel, we were content with our bikes and skateboards and whatever. In a way I guess that we thought it would all be the same whichever village we went to. From the top of the valley you could see for miles and it all looked the same. Why venture farther when life is good here and this place is ours. On reflection there must have been hundreds of other citizens using the same roads and benches, the farmers on either side undoubtedly owned the fields yet perhaps due to the amount of time spent in each place and the fact that we had so many secret places that not many people knew about made us feel as though the space was ours. Not exclusively, for we understood that each space was either public or private, and in the latter case we were usually trespassing but with a certain pride. In the summer we would offer directions to tourists, we would carve our names into trees or make dirt jumps in the park. These actions served to reaffirm our sense of authority and belonging to our childhood years.
Village annual tug of war on the village green.
The school, attended by most of my friends at the time, was another popular space to congregate after school hours. I was one of the few not to attend the school, resulting in my feeling slightly more detached from the space. During the week the building and its grounds were alien to me yet formed much of my friends relations as the place the became united. Other friends of theirs attending the school yet living in neighboring villages would visit after school and there relation to the space was one to which I could not relate. For me the school was a playground without the elements of education and institution that my friends encountered. I attended the Royal School for the Deaf in Exeter, far from our collective territory this was another part of my world which I would transcend between Monday to Friday. Friends would await my taxi and welcome me back into the village to go out and explore some more.
The village was our place, our comfort zone, our territory.
Any exploration outside of the three mile parish that encompassed the village and its surroundings was made through our parents. This distinction between the independence of our exploration within the parish and the wider excursions to the coast or moors which was always decided by the adults. For example I could walk out of my front door and wander as I pleased. When taken to the beach however, we would be under greater supervision and even more so in the surrounding towns. This is obviously due to the perceived threat of such spaces but the result of which was to create the impression that these spaces were not so much our own, and although they became familiar with frequent visits, the impression was given that the outside world was not to be explored as freely as our own village. Had we all had the means in which to do so; transport, money... I am unsure that we would have expanded our horizons much at that age.
'A person in the process of time invests bits of his emotional life in his home and beyond the home in his neighborhood [...] its familiarity protects the human being from the bewilderment's of the outside world.' (Tuan 1990:99)
Looking back now I feel that I have come a long way from those days. I still live in the same village but cannot remember the last time I set foot in the park. My world has spread far beyond that which I knew as a child. Now I return home to eat and sleep, the only time I spend in the village is either at home, in the local pub or briefly stopping at the shop or garage for food or petrol. The familiarity of this place is such that I no longer pay any attention to it, it has become a part of me almost like my hands or my feet, requires no thought and doesn't really change. I can wander far from home for months on end and return with indifference.
Passing my driving test changed my life. I could travel independently from place to place. The freedom allowed me unrestricted access to anywhere accessible by road. The places I had spent most of my time, the beaches I had surfed since I was young, always reliant on the generosity of my parents were now places I would visit on a regular basis. This drive to various points of the local coastline became part of my identity. We would attach stickers to road signs on route to our favourite surfing spots, in a similar way to carving my name in the village trees, we were establishing our identity. These beaches and roads became a wider part of my world. I also began to acknowledge the possibilities of exploration, my car providing the safety and allowing me to travel further and further from home.
Once I had realised this ambition to see the world on my own terms, to feel the freedom of the open world and to find new spaces I began to look further afar.
'A sense of place results gradually and unconsciously from inhabiting a landscape over time, becoming familiar with its physical properties, accruing history within its confines,' (Rydon PLACE)
Space & Place Abroad
Greece
Before I was born my parents were living and traveling around Greece. Two weeks prior to my birth they flew back to England due to the lack of a decent hospital. Being a influential space in my parents relationship and where the family began we would return to the same Greek village for years to come. Being integrated into the local society much as I have described my own village in England, the annual month spent in Greece was a home away from home. Unlike many children abroad at such a young age I was left to wander, protected by the local crowd who knew my parents, to any onlooker I was as much one of the villagers than an outsider. They fed me, entertained me, gave me access to the kitchen in the local restaurant and I could explore, mess around with the local kids and meet up with my parents as I wished.
France
Another place where we would travel for holidays was Messanges on the South Atlantic Coast of France. We would camp near the beach in the vast pine forest and spend the days at the beach and around the local area. It didn't take long to make friends with the local kids once more a friendship that I still maintain and return every year to spend the summer months with. Now I have my van I no longer need the campsite but can use friends houses and park in free camping car spots or in lay bys. This village and these people will always remain close to me, the fact that we meet for only one month or so every year makes no difference to our friendship, when I arrive it is as if I have only recently left.
Fuerteventura
Once my interest in surfing progressed there was little else I wanted to do. Being in the water was liberating, I could spend hours in the waves and come ashore only to eat and rest before heading back out. Greece therefore became less appealing than France due to the lack of waves. Fuerteventura became the winter destination that would represent family Christmas for years. This was a desolate island, volcanic rock covered in Saharan sand that had blew across the ocean. We found the north shore to be the best for surfing and soon became acquainted with a small village and the nearby town. Made friends with some ex patriots living nearby as well as some travellers that had settled for a while, working in the pizzeria or the local surf shop. Returning each Christmas for years to come these people became familiar faces each time although they were always older and more friends with my parents than myself. Most years we would be with other friends and families other than our own so that I would always have friends from home to surf with. With hindsight this and the surf magazines we would look at was the first steps into the desire to travel and surf all across the world.
Surfing and the ethos often connected to it is directly related to travel. The search for the perfect wave the crowd less beach of the most beautiful island. Surfing magazines are always talking of new spots and exotic locations yet to be discovered, warm water and constant swell. Each surfing community has its local crowd, for me there were at least a dozen friends that I still surf with on a weekly basis, each come and go for months on end, either planning a trip somewhere or recently returned with stories of adventure. As soon as we were old enough to venture further the foreign seas were already calling.
Australia
I competed in the 2005 deaf Olympics held in Melbourne. My swimming had already taken me abroad several times across Europe yet the possibility of travelling half way across the world was one that I could not let slip and trained hard to qualify. After the Olympics my family and I hired a large van and explored the coast line. Surfing at every spot we passed and camping out in the wild.
South America
I flew out to Argentina during my gap year between college and university. This was not planned to be a surf trip and we didn't take our boards. We worked our way from Buenos Aires across the coast of Uruguay up through Brazil surfing whenever we found a wave and a board. We then crossed the continent through Argentina once more and into Northern Chile, Bolivia and Peru where we surfed again at various points, we finished up in Colombia looking for waves yet finding none in the calm Caribbean seas.
Being abroad was not as different as I had imagined, the language barrier was no greater or worse than it was for me in England. Hardly anyone uses sign language in England, hardly anyone in South America. Therefore in terms of communication I felt no better or worse off, I could talk to anyone I wanted to in the same way as always, using universal signs and gestures. In this respect I felt just as at ease whichever country I was in, the vast majority of people I met were extremely friendly and I felt confidant that the world was on the whole a good and safe place. Colombia was often said to be dangerous and a risky place to travel within. I would agree that there are certain dangers and one has to be much more cautious in Colombia yet the people and the various places I visited brought me nothing but fun and adventure. I may be naive in my reflections but I still feel that to this day I would feel happy to jump on a plane and arrive in a new place without worrying about the possible dangers and threats involved. These threats exist everywhere, it is important to remember to be considerate and informed of each countries problems and situations but also to be intrepid and positive when abroad.
Hawaii
I attended the 2009 Deaf World Surf Championships in Hawaii. I was the only English competitor and travelled alone. I was met by organisors of the event and given a bed in a front room for the first night. What was amazing about the event was the number of Deaf competitors from all over the world that came together for three and a half weeks and lived, surfed, drank, ate together and had a great time throughout. I made many new friends some of which local, who let me crash in thier house the entire time I was there. We would hire motorbikes and eplore the island, looking for good waves or head into the rainforest. Once again I felt incredibly content to be in such a beautiful place with so many new friends that I could quite happily have stayed for years.
Now I am living back in the village where I was born and grew up, I am eager to go abroad as soon as possible. Although I have strong connections with the space I live in, I also know that it will always remain and I can return home whenever I choose.
