SHONA

Automatic Writing – 2 mins of free writing on each session of the day.  
 
AM – Movement Research
 
A good massage I feel the bones and sinews moving and am struck, as usual at the differences between bodies. My partner is a physical person, interested in and his the body – it’s easy to share with him.  He manipulates me around the space with light touches, I am totally with out fear even with my eyes closed. I hope he feels the same when roles reversed, he is a skilled mover. The devising exercise that followed was my first collaboration with this group, we strung together hand gestures we associated with protection and it evolved into a full body exercise and improve. Conversations about how one part of the body can show fear in isolation and how to give focus to an isolated part of the body. 
 
 
AM – Memories of Fear
 
I felt focused after the previous session, it felt like it was important to be so for the one to come, I could sense the emotions were on their way. We walked around the room and were encouraged to go deep in a memory of fear, it was quite rich to go there, I was scared of my choice it was a messy one, but I wanted to go there. It was very emotional to be chosen to be a sculpted body in the still images of another group members fear. I was sensitive during this session, it was good for me. I was shaken.
 
 
PM - Walk through the medina
 
We walked with purpose form the cathedral, past bushes of razor wire and a posturing tank, comically defending the French Embassy and into the circling passages of Tunis’s old town, the Medina. Every so often L crossed paths people she new, young men on mopeds, an older elegant women smiling, a famous historian, it was whispered to me. We walked on and round and through arch ways and passages, and past medicinal herb stands and leather craft goods, where I saw the bag of my dreams. A door was opened to us, one of the many colorful ones, studed with metal in beautiful patterns. A gentlemen welcomed us into the Tourbet el Bey (cemetery of kings) and a courtyard dominated by an orange tree loaded with the fruit. I tripped over a pile of them that had been rolled to the corner.
 
 
PM – Joining in E’s English class
 
It was great, the young men aged about 13- 22 were engaging and relaxed, clearly enjoying there weekly sessions with E I want to work with an organization like this. The group were very responsive, they wasted no time in diving in to our questions about fear and figures of fear they grew up with. They told us of the enchanted Hamm am of gold, abandoned houses being occupied by jins, markings indicating the location of treasure.  The Jin featured a lot, they were clear it was not to be mistaken with ghosts, fairies, spirits, elves it was something else, not definable and not somehow imaginable but they must be believed in as a decree in the Qu’ran.
 
 
Dinner
 
I started an argument between the French and Italian about whose country's cuisine was better, explosive.