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.

 

 

Carnival of Big Cats

 Carnival of the Cats

Sunday 23^rd April  

The cats are coming!

Meeting time: 14:00

Meeting place: at the Iceland end of Spring Gardens: look for us on the pedestrian area near the Sylvan Car Park, SK17 6BY

End time: probably about 15:00

 

follow the scimitar-tooth!

In a celebration of the Lost Animals of Derbyshire, we’re bringing our Big Cats to Spring Gardens.

Over the last 4 months ( look at this blog for lost of Lost Cats posts), people have been exploring the animals that lived here once. We’ve concentrated on the predators: Cave Lions, Scimitar-toothed Cats, Lynx, Wolf and Cave Bear, but others have wandered through. There have been pop-up mammoths and wild horses. There is a swarm of invented prehistoric mice out there somewhere

 

Now, we’re bringing them back: walking our animals along Spring Gardens,  before settling on the lawns of The Slopes and watching visitors admiring our town (and not eating ANYONE)

(Please note, we’ve switched the end of the Parade from Pavilion Gardens to The Slopes)

 

Join us for a wander, a prowl and perhaps a growl

 

Bring: 

• 
  
  yourself
• anything you have made with us in one of these workshops
• or your own Lost cats/big cat wonders
• a picnic to nibble on The Slopes
• a Lost Cat inspired cake if you want: maybe a Cat Cake or a cake that looks like a mouse or that a mouse has just nibbled

Keep track of any updates, extra mice and occasional purrs on our social media:

Look for

Babbling Vagabonds

Buxton Our Street

Creeping Toad

 On social media

Find out more:

check out Buxton Museum and Art Gallery both on line and in the flesh (just across Terrace Road from The Slopes) for information on the animals that lived here once! If you visit the museum you can see a cave lion's leg bones and a Homotherium's scimitar teeth!

Lost Cats has been a Creeping Toad project organised for Our Street, Buxton, to encourage people to look at our town and reflect on change and promise. Our Cats are also part of the Wild Escape initiative connecting museum collections with the wider world around us. Other partners include Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust and Buxton Civic Association

forget George and the Dragons, we’ve got Big Cats

Wild Cats in Buxton Woods....

 

Wild Cats in Grinlow Woods

Tuesday 4th april 2023
let your imagination and your cats run wild!

Let your imagination and your cats run wild!

Make your own cat mask with our artists and then take your cat for a walk in the woods and send us a photograph of the cat in its home.

We know about Scimitar-tooths, cave lions and lynx. You might create the cats no-one had thought of before: limestone leopards, shadow cats, cats as green as oak leaves and as dangerous as rockfalls.

• Materials are provided 
• this event is free  but you need to book a palce
• Part of the Lost Cats of Buxton project: for more information, go to: https://creepingtoad.blogspot.com/2022/12/all-teeth-and-claws.html
• Each session will last approximately 45 minutes to allow plenty of time to work on your creation.
• After making your Cat Masks, you can wander the woods as freely as a Wild Cat in search of a place to settle down, or perhaps have an adventure.
• Please arrive promptly at the start of your booked time slot as it may not be possible to extend beyond your allocated finish time.

Who this is suitable for: Suitable for all – but activities will be aimed primarily at families with children 3 to 12 years old.

Meeting point: Poole's Cavern Visitor Centre, Green Lane, Buxton, SK17 9DH.

This session will be based inside the 'classroom' - the small building to the left of Poole’s Cavern Visitor Centre as you approach from the car park.

What to bring: All materials are provided. You may want to bring some water to drink. Toilets are available at Poole’s Cavern visitor centre. There is also parking at the centre (for a fee).

Tickets: This event is FREE, but places need to be booked to ensure a quality amount of time with the artists!

BOOK SPACES THROUGH EVENTBRITE : 

https://tinyurl.com/3a65adn7

This event is free as part of the Stronger Roots project, run by Buxton Civic Association. There are many other events happening throughout the year and you can find out more about the Stronger Roots project and Buxton Civic Association here.

Make your own mouse?

Lost Cats and Prehistoric Mice!

Design and make your own prehistoric mouse or a streamer cat on a stick!
The Pump Room, Buxton
 Sunday 2nd April

 

WHERE? the Pump Room, Buxton, SK17 6BH 

WHEN? Sunday 2nd April,2023, 11am – 3pm

HOW DO WE JOIN IN? This is a free event and materials are provided. No booking is needed: just drop by and join in. Allow 20 - 30 minutes to make an animal. 

Drop in and design your own animal flag with colourful streamers to fly on a stick. You might make one of our Lost Cats or you could design your own prehistoric mouse. Will it be friendly or ferocious. Will it be fierce? Will it have sabre teeth and a huge smile?

 

The Lost Cats are coming back! From Cave Lions to scimitar-toothed cats and lynx, many wonderful animals have lived here in the past. We’re getting ready for the Carnival of Lost Cats on 23rd April and our streamer animals from the Pump Room will be welcome to join us. 

 

This event is hosted by Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust and we hope they will not regret inviting shaggy, sabre-tooth mice into the Visitor Centre!

Lost Cats and Prehistoric Mice is part of the Lost Cats of Buxton project for Buxton Our Street. It is also part of The Wild Escape initiative

Big cats and prehistoric mice

Big Cats and Prehistoric Mice

The Lost Cats of Buxton

Final events

 

The Lost Cats are growling, prowling, purring their way through these last weeks of winter and gathering their muscles for the leap that will land them in the middle of St George’s Day on 23^rd April. This is also the weekend of Earth Day and rather than marking the death of a dragon, we are celebrating the richness of wildlife that reaches from the days of our lost cats (up to 100,000 years ago) to today and the woods and hills, the rivers, meadows and mosses of Derbyshire

 

There are school workshops snarling their way through this week and next, and then there are public events where you could come and join us!

 

At other times you could

walk an imaginary cat through the woods

·      Visit the Museum and look for the bones of a Cave Lion’s leg

·      Sit in Grinlow Woods and imagine the wonder of a cave lion wandering through

·      Walk along Spring Gardens and think of the ghosts of ancient cats peering in the shop windows!

 

What’s coming up?

This is a heads-up post – details will follow but why not get these dates in your diary or stuck on the ‘fridge, or written on the walls of your cave-home

 

Sunday 2^nd April

Lost Cats and prehistoric mice!

At the Pump Room, Buxton

Design and make your own prehistoric mouse or a streamer cat on a stick! (and no, we didn't really think there were scimitar-toothed mice but we loved the idea...). More details here: Prehistoric mice!

 

Tuesday 4^th April

Wild Cats in Grinlow woods 

Mask making and then we challenge to wear your masks in the woods and get some photos of the Returning Cats of Derbyshire. Details and tickets:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wild-cats-in-grinlow-woods-tickets-594585921497

 

 

Thursday 13^th April

Giant Cats and More Mice

Help artists from the Babbling Vagabonds to make a life-size cave lion puppet…and make more of those terrifying prehistoric mice to take home! Details on Museum events pages soon

 

Sunday 23^rd April

Carnival of the Cats

Our final day, when we invite everyone who has joined in activities already – and anyone else who hasn’t! - to join us for a Parade of Lost Cats, Giant Cats, Prehistoric Mice, puppet Snow Cats and Garden Tigers along Spring Gardens and into the Pavilion Gardens

Maybe bring a picnic to relax in the gardens afterwards

Maybe make the most mouse-like cake you can to tempt a Cave Lion into sitting beside you…

Maybe just enjoy a catful of colour of shape and creativity

 

Details for all these events will follow soon!

 

Lost Cats is a Creeping Toad project for Buxton Our Street in partnership with Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, Buxton Civic Association, Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust and the Babbling Vagabonds. WE are part of the big, brave and adventurous Wild Escape...but aren't sure if we want our Lost Cats remembering they are Big Cats and escaping along Spring Gardens....