Lost Cats came back

the Carnival of Lost Cats

When I look in the windows
I catch the reflection of a mammoth behind me
That is no longer there.

 

The drums played, the bells range, the cats yowled and the mice chittered. And when she was pecking, the scimitar-tooth ate members of the company

The Carnival of Lost Cats dared the rain (it stayed away until we were finished and the mice had scuttled back to their homes in other people’s wellington boots) and the dragon-killing legacy of St George to prowl through Spring Gardens in Buxton on Sunday 23^rd April

 

This was the conclusion of our Lost Cats of Buxton project where we had been celebrating the animals that once lived here. We had concentrated on the big cats for no good reason beyond ‘they’re very exciting” – cave lions, scimitar-tooths (Homotherium) and lynx whose fossils can be seen in Buxton Museum. Being a generous bunch, we were quite happy when bears, mammoths and wild horses cantered into the mix as well. Part of the Wild Escape initiative, Lost Cats set out to encourage people to look at museum collections and use that inspiration to go exploring and get to know their local landscapes better. In our case this meant you might meet revived big cats prowling through Grinlow Woods on the edge of town. 

 

Funded largely by the Buxton Our Streets project, we brought the memory of our cats to Spring Gardens, prowling along the street, staring hungrily into shop windows and reflecting on change.  We talked about loss and extinction and the way our world is changing now: another challenge to look at the world around us and think about what was, what is and what might be

 

Rather than rambling on, let’s share a couple of poems that grew from collections of thoughts, images and conversations at Burbage Primary School….

 

With many thanks to all our artists, makers, maskers, mice and monsters (you can decide who you are) and especial thanks to Babbling Vagabonds, 2 Left Hands (samba - find them on facebook: TwoLeftHands or Twitter: @twolefthands3), Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, Buxton Our Street, Buxton Civic Association, Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust and the Wild Escape for setting us all a’growling in the first place!

 

Schools involved

Earl Sterndale C of E Primary School

Buxton Junior School

Burbage Primary School

 

LOST CATS POEMS FROM BURBAGE PRIMARY SCHOOL

 

1. THE LOST CATS

With huge teeth and evil smiles,

Fierce and strong and dangerous,

They only hunt,

They don’t get hunted.

 

Lynx and lion and scimitar-tooth.

What would we do if we saw them,

Running across the school field?

What would we do if we heard them?

Growling through Grinlow Woods.

What would we do if they saw us,

Those silent assassins?

 

Looking good,

They would bring action to Buxton

And excitement to all our lives.

 

Lying in the shade,

Cool and prehistoric,

If they came back to the streets of our town,

It would be an honour.

 

 

2. OTHER ANIMALS

the hyenas have gone as well

Otters,

Playing in the river.

Bears,

Catching fish in Pavilion Gardens.

Wild horses,

Drinking from the river.

Mammoths, 

Walking silently, swinging tusks and trunks,

Elephant giants with wide tusks

That wouldn’t fit through our garden gate.

Bison running past,

Thundering through Burbage

Wolves howling on Bishop’s Lane,

There are so many animals we have lost.

 

Extinct,

I have never seen them before.

I could never see them now,

In Spring Gardens,

In Pavilion Gardens

On the peak of Kinder Scout,

But when I walk past the shops,

When I look in the windows

I catch the reflection of a mammoth behind me

That is no longer there.