Intervention 1

Ben and Leonie

Dérive

Site 1 Amsterdam Hash MuseumWhat kind of area are you in?Residential street in Kings Norton, a long, straight road of terraced houses that all looked the same except this one and the one next to it. Cars were parked along the road, seems like a fairly safe, middle class area.

What’s going on there?Very little is happening, a builder is going into one house, you can hear the sound of tools, there are one or two pedestrians walking along the street and one person walking to their car. There is also an old woman glaring at us out the building window.

How comfortable do you feel?Fairly comfortable, it feels like a normal street that you can happily walk down, slight discomfort from the woman watching us.

Do you feel out of place?Slightly due to standing to take notes and being watched, don’t stand out by walking along the street. Feel slightly out of place due to not knowing where we are, or how to get back to somewhere we do know.

Site 2 Werthiem ParkWhat kind of area are you in?Farm foods Supermarket and car park. This is just off a busy main road (one way street) which is the main throughway in the area. The homes opposite are terrace houses which give the impression of a working class area. How comfortable do you feel?Fairly comfortable, its similar to Selly Oak. It feels like any other busy main street. However the repeated house alarm stirs a feeling of irritation.

What’s going on there?People are shopping. A lot of people are driving, resulting in congestion. Some pedestrians walking House alarm is repeatedly going off. Do you feel out of place?Not particularly since its similar to where I live. Also I recognise this area because it is near my house, as a result I feel less distorted than in the other locations. Maybe feel slightly on edge because of the house alarm (possible crime).

Site 3 Marionetten Theater What kind of area are you in?Cotteridge, a residential street with terraced housing, looked slightly run down. Nearby shops linked to tools and manual industries, short walk from the canal.

What’s going on there?A painter working on the front of a building, the noise is very audible from the busy main road onto which the street leads.

How comfortable do you feel?Felt okay to be there, however it didn’t feel like a safe area to be late at night, especially with the busy main road.

Do you feel out of place?Somewhat out of place as the road seemed to be one only used by those living along it, or working on those houses, it didn’t appear to be a through road or shortcut anywhere.

There was a slight limitation to the time of day we chose to complete the intervention, peak time meant trains were expensive and so we couldn’t venture as far as we would have liked, our derive was restricted by time constraints. Due to this we did end up at one point close to somewhere Ben recognised.

Didn’t feel particularly uncomfortable or out of place in any of the areas, it still felt familiar as it was still Birmingham, still relatively close to home.

Summary