Jacky Puzey

Shade Home began with the St Nicholas Markets event, and moved on into a series of private homes in Bristol. We worked with our hosts and their guests to think about what home meant to them, bringing the Shade story of migration and home across cultures into different Bristol homes, working with our hosts to weave their stories in with ours to create a new space of Shade shared Home.

The process began with walking the area and visiting the home, planning our route.

We looked at the history of St Andrews Park, explored Mary’s garden and shed full of treasures, from the banana trees hidden under the apple tree to on old 1950′s enamel measuring jug. We collected apples to make chutney and pie for the night, we talked with our hosts about making home, what readings they might like to do, and who would like to come – guest lists are shared between Shade and Hosts as appropriate.

We talked about hospitable tables, pineapples as a great symbol of hospitality, and Cedar began making a table runner for Mary, using Mary’s favourite bird motifs.

The event took place on Saturday October 23 2010.

We met guests in St Andrews Park, where they were introduced to the Shade cartel, and taken on a parade round the park, involving activism and bulb planting by Shade Activist China Fish and guests, exploration of sound and resonance by Explorer Leiza Mcleod and the whole group, and a parade in style lead by Shade Dandy Hilary Ramsden.

We then paraded back to Mary and Pip’s house, taking in local landmarks and style points along the way, to be welcomed into the house to another song of home by Mal, guest.

Shade performers lead their song of Home as another welcome, the tailor’s lament Utt Da Zoy, as Shade Hostess Jacky remembered literally sewing homes, her Mum making curtains as they followed her father’s business travels into new countries and new homes.

“Now I’m fascinated by tailoring, the unwritten cultures of cloth,  having the right suit, travelling kit and visas, being able to pass, to access the networks of global business, with your visas already sewn into your suit, your allegiances embroidered on your sleeves, the tacit fixers obviously welcoming, this time…And I started sewing the Shade cartel, learning to tailor, thinking about passing and borders…making bespoke for new identities and personal stories…

The first suit was mine, the Hostess,  diplomat, fixer, cook, tailor: matriarch. developing from my memories of travelling after Dad, from diplomatic do’s in the 1980s to Panama under the Americans…”         from script for event by Shade Hostess Jacky

Then the Explorers Leiza and Ruth took over, leading everyone up the garden path; guests were issued with Shade blankets by Shade Landowner Baljinder. Explorer Leiza served Saturday soup, her vegetarian version of a Jamaican classic, while Ruth made Borscht, remembering her family’s Eastern European roots and routes to England.

After the Exploration, Landowner Baljinder invited everyone back into the house for a change of borders and dinner.

During and after dinner, guests and performers made toasts and readings, about home and making home. Guests were invited to have new ID pictures done, this time being able to smile and choose their background of choice for a new kind of passport photo.

To finish the event, Shade Activist China sang to lead everyone off the table, following her favourite Rumi quote about a field under the stars, a home with no borders.

Thanks very much to Mary and Pip for being our generous Hosts for the evening, and to all our guests for being part of  the many magic moments that make up a Shade Home event.

Thanks also to Cedar and Sally, for Sally’s curries, and both of them  running the set up and backstage in the kitchen brilliantly.