“This Saturday at 12.00 – Bring your voice, Grab some Maracas and Get on Board!”

That’s the advice from local campaign group Why This Field who are hosting a Picnic and Song-recording event this Saturday 13th March at 12.00pm on Lower Kevicc Field.

Besides enjoying picnicking together, in the shady bits particularly looking at the weather forecast, everyone attending is invited to perform a new song created specifically for the campaign, centred around the voice of singer Olivia Wilson-Egan.

The plan is to record people singing the new song and share widely to raise awareness about the field and community feelings to save it, as evidenced by a large recent survey.

Speaking to Olivia, I was told:

“Everyone is welcome and everyone coming will be supported to learn the song and sing it together for the recording.”

 

Growth from a Footloose Inspiration

Starting life as a suggestion from a Kevicc parent who’d just proudly seen his daughter in the school’s Footloose show, the song then progressed through Greg Shepherd developing the lyrics and putting a definite melody on it.

It then had the collaboration of four WTF members working on the lyrics outside the Mansion after a meeting one night.

After that, Adrian Birtwell kindly stepped in to play in Greg’s absence, following an injury, and did a really great job.

Explaing the song, Olivia says:

“We’re calling on the decision makers, the school governors particularly, to find it in their hearts to put people and community before pound signs. Of course we fully understand that the school needs money to make up for the shortfall in funding to update buildings. But the school is also selling other large plots on the school side of the road for housing that will bring in several million. The council offer for this section will protect the land and use it and the buildings for the good of the community, so many of whom are Kevicc students, past, present and future, so it must be prioritised. Come on governors – do the right thing!”

As followers of Totnes Pulse will know from a number of previous recent articles, the Why This Field campaign are working to support Totnes Town Council’s purchase of upper Kevicc Lower Field, including the Elmhirst Building, to keep it as a community asset, rather than it getting sold by Kevicc-DVLT-ESW to a ‘developer’ interested only in profit and using it to put up executive housing – commercial development.

To join the Picnic-Song event, come along to Kevicc Lower Field at 12.00 on Saturday 13th August. Bring a picnic, some sun-screen and a sun-hat, your voice and any instrument that tickles your fancy. For facebook users this is the Event Link:https://www.facebook.com/events/s/save-our-green-space-picnic/2395573193913919/