We met on the day of the Spring Equinox on Wyfold Lane in the parish of Rotherfield Peppard.
The week before the Spring Equinox, 20th March, Rachel, Future Machine’s artist companion began to feel unwell. Her lateral flow test was positive and she had Covid.
Happily, Juliet and a group of people from the village agreed they would go ahead without her.
In her driveway, Juliet introduced Future Machine and the wayfaring stick to those who would accompany her. The wayfaring stick, created by Juliet, is a holder of stories and sounds from the village and beyond. On the way to the common, Future Machine got stuck in the gate, too wide to get through to the daffodil and blossom strewn field where the gathering was to be held. The only way forward was to remove the larger gate. Villagers searched for the padlock buried for decades in the earth underneath, dug it out, removed the gate and pushed Future Machine through.
They stopped on the common where others from the village joined them to meet Future Machine, to speak to the future, hear the sounds of the beautiful warm spring weather as they were played by Future Machine, and listen to the wayfaring stick. They then went on a procession around the village, returning to Wyfold Lane for Elderflower Gin and Damsons dipped in chocolate. Rachel zoomed in to meet people and talk about Future Machine and the 30 year project.
Messages were left for the future, including a haunting Irish melody played on a harmonica by a visitor from Ireland.