The Golden Gate
What’s the connection between Newport and Antarctica? Lisa Ash and Marc Fury give a sneak preview of their TAI session on telling stories
ONCE UPON A TIME in a busy, bustling port (not so far away) lived a strong, dark haired and quiet young man called Perce Blackborrow. Perce had grown up surrounded by Sailors and Seamen and the tales they told of adventure and excitement on the high seas. Stories told of beautiful lands, exciting voyages and riches, if you were prepared to work hard for them.
Perce left school when he was young and knew that he wanted the same adventures. He didn’t want to stay in his port town and suffer the poverty and hunger that the young men with no trade endured. He wanted to make something of his life, like the sailors in the tales he knew by heart.
Perce left his town at 17 and headed out on the first ship that would take him, a ship called the Golden Gate. It would be the Golden Gate to his dreams as it was bound for the beauty and mystery of a country called Argentina, a city called Buenos Aires, a place that so far had only existed in his imagination, his dreams.
The adventure on the Golden Gate, the vessel that took him towards his dream, was cut short when the ship ran aground at the city of Montevideo a new, vibrant city that Perce had never heard of but was the place of the exotic sights, colours and smells from his imagination. Perce and a friend were desperate to see more of these lands and they travelled by land to Buenos Aires to find their next adventure – an adventure that would bring both fame but also sorrow and struggle.
Perce and his friend, an American called William Bakewell, found a ship, a ship heading for the ultimate adventure – the Endurance was heading for Antarctica. William was an experienced sailor, having sailed on a number of ships but Perce, still only 18, was new to the seas and the leader of the adventure, a famous adventurer
called Ernest Shackleton, wanted only the best. Perce had dreamed of an opportunity like this since he was a boy listening to the sailors at home and was determined to join the ship. He hid aboard the ship, staying silent and hidden for days. He was eventually discovered and the part he played in the adventure of the Endurance is the stuff of history, legends, fairytales and nightmares.
When Perce was an old man living amongst his family and friends in the quiet safety of his port town, he often dreamed of his adventures and remembered the exciting stories told by the sailors that spurred him to take his chances aboard the Golden Gate. That first ship was not just called the Golden Gate, it was the gateway to his dreams. The stories he knew from his childhood, tales he could recite into his dotage, were the key to opening the golden gate to his adventures.
Stories and storytelling can make an enormous impact on the children in even our most deprived communities. They can and will be the key to opening the golden gate to opportunities and success. Join our workshop session at TAI 2015 to discover more.
Lisa Ash is communities initiative officer and Marc Fury is regeneration and communities initiatives manager at Newport City Homes