Mr. Brock, Fenny Compton, England

 

I wake up at 3.45! I couldn’t understand why that song was playing in my phone in the middle of the night. A sleepy voice next to me said “is your phone". I realized then that it was time to wake up. Today is the London shooting day for #project60. I was excited; after all, I do love traveling. I just need a good reason and I had one. Is good to go to a city where you already know your way. Less surprise factor, but less risk factor too. You move faster and you know where to go. My destination, however, was not the city, but Fenny Compton, a small village one hour north of London by train, near Banbury. It will be my first time. The surprise factor!  Even knowing my way I couldn’t avoid spending good part of my morning in different queues waiting for tickets: train to Vitoria station, metro, and another train to Banbury. And there I was, sitting on the train, curious to finally meet Mr Elbank in person after all the social media interactions. I let Noiserv play in my iPod meanwhile I was looking over the window to the green British landscape. I couldn’t avoid laughing with the name of the song "this is maybe the place where trains are going to sleep at night". What a name for a song!  Mr Elbank arrived just like I imagined him. I had this strange impression. Do I know this guy already? In that moment I had the feeling that I did know him since ever. Maybe my friend Jesus Villar has a point: reincarnation does exist. A good start makes all the difference. We went to the village's Pub The Merrie Lion for a snack, and, of course, for a beer, make it two; after all we are in England. It is funny to get into people’s worlds so quickly. Brock presents me to everybody in the pub. I was imagining what they may think....Hum... another Brock’s beard guys. I think that at this point they are used to it. The shooting was fun, Brock knows what he wants. That makes things a lot easier. In a second I had all my things around the house, transformed temporally at Elbank Village Studio, and more important, I felt at home. We practice the new “Elbank look” over and over. It seems to work. A big full day where we reached our goal, where we exchanged ideas and projects, where we learned things from each other, where we became richer persons. Brock was happy with the result. I was happy too, for me and for him. Sarah and the kids arrived. Another dynamic start. The kids are lovely Elkie and Olive, and the ice was broken easily with a simple tool. How to make elastic bracelets? Sarah cooked a magnificent risotto, and I was invited for dinner. The red wine and the Portuguese cheese from São Jorge Island came into the table.  What a wonderful time. The project 60 seemed to be just a detail of the day. In the end it was all about people, experiences and relations. The perfect ingredients to ensure that our journey (in life) is really worth it. I give a big goodbye hug to Brock. I promise him that I will be back for the exhibition. I took the train back to London. I felt that small knot in my stomach. I know myself! I left something in Fenny Compton today. I definitely brought something too from that amazing family. Thank you Mr Elbank.