ep38. Pivot/Twist/Pirrouet - West Park Park Bench Podcast

Caron Lyon13min

Caron Lyon

00:03

Greetings, and welcome to episode 38 of the West Park Park Bench Podcast.

Caron Lyon

00:11

Today I haven't decided which of the three words is going to be on the thumbnail but it is Pivot Twist Pirouette is kind of tied in with the balance theme that I've had this year. And it's about changing direction and a positive response when things don't quite go right. So you apply for something and you don't get the funding or you apply for something and you don't get the role. We spend a lot of time as freelancers putting eggs in baskets and although you put your eggs in a lot of baskets, there's a lot of eggs moving around. And How long do you keep a basket empty before recycling it? similar kinds of analogies of back burner pans How large is your cooker? How many back burners can you have?

Caron Lyon

01:13

So pivot twist pirouette. Things I've had to pivot on this year have been the TEDx events that at the beginning of the year when I realised that balance needed to be asserted. What was important to me is that I had a project that had a bit of longevity. It didn't necessarily have to have a legacy, but it needed to have a period of time in which I could work on it and only that and that it was my project. Fitting in the client work around it was key because that's kind of little drips of money and I don't get enough money to be able to sustain myself on those small client projects. So there needs to be a big central payday and I really don't want a single job, or at least not a single job that won't let me look after these other little projects. So when my TEDx licence was not approved, I very quickly had to Pivot.

Caron Lyon

02:34

Pivot was a big word at least in my networks during COVID As soon as COVID hit there was this pivot to digital pivot pivot to online everything had to stop and turn and that kind of pivoting of fluid movement, but it is one direction another direction it doesn't move particularly far. I would say my definition of pivoting. So pin hinges pivot on a door. So there's usually a range of movement within that pivot sphere. So yeah, the TEDx thing really, so my pivot has been the saviour of the PBS PBH digital free fringe, or the free fringe is generally a thing and it's a little Annex I guess, of Edinburgh Festival. Now the Edinburgh Festival is a multitude of festivals that all take place during the same time. And the Edinburgh free fringe, it is a an augmentation. It's an add on to the fringe, but it isn't part of the fringe office. At least what I'm coming to understand, but free and free for who and I think this is where the free fringe is a little bit of a misnomer. And on both sides. You can go and see a PBH digital free fringe show or a free fringe show doesn't have to be digital. That's the bit I'm doing the free fringe, you can go and you could walk in and you could spend no money. However the people that are putting those shows on I've also received no money. Also the venue's have received no money. So and if you didn't want to spend any money for the free fringe, you could go and see all of the shows for no money. Likewise, the performers could ask for no money, take no money, make no money, the PBH fringe itself with venues that very kindly give their venues for digital fringe for free fringe. The only person that does pay out money is the free fringe, because what the free fringe provide is a printed booklet. It provides the website it provides the infrastructure on which we can promote the free fringe online. All the people that take part administratively, they're all giving their time for free. People who are performing are giving their time for free. Money isn't the only value. I mean, yes, we need money. to feed and clothe ourselves but there is portfolio presence. Or there is R&D. There is taking a show that will bring people in because you can't not charge money. And the idea is is that you do bucket speeches.

Caron Lyon

06:00

So that was my pivot because otherwise I'll end up talking a lot about that because that is going to consume the next two months for me July and August are going to be about understanding exactly what it is putting on the shows. I've got a shedule which I can't wait to promote once it's all formed together. And then when the printed brochure is out, there'll be a PDF. And this year, the show that I'm going to be doing live is 'If you can't be there be here', which I did last year. It will be that but instead of using the wider Edinburgh Fringe programme, it's just going to focus on the PBH free fringe brochure. That's the programme that 'If you can't be there be here' is going to be looking at and diving into and seeing who is putting on free work, getting some of them into the live studios and finding out how they're doing with their bucket speeches. And that's going to be a whole new thing. So that's my pivot. So I'm quite pleased about that's given me drive through the summer and it will give me a portfolio piece that I feel I've got a little bit of sustained effort into.

Caron Lyon

07:17

So twist. So twisting in terms of my balance is kind of coming down to the yoga that I've been doing weekly and I injured my shoulder at the beginning of the year and I think it was a public transport issue. I think I was on a bus in London, I had my kitbox with me, and I reached out and grabbed on to one of the swinging hangers that stopped when it when the bus stops and I think I wrenched my shoulder I think that's when I did it. And it became a big focus on how do I how do I make this better because it was really hurting but in the process. I stopped thinking about the rest of my body and now I've got some of my freedom of movement back it's still stiff and it's still aches. My twisting feels very restricted, and twist. Whether it's a narrative twist twist is important twist is what gives things excitement. It's what gives things the unexpected twist is what you didn't see coming in narrative and that really interests me in terms of twist and I think this pivot twist pirouette might have to be a question in one of my podcasts. The other thing I'm going to try and do I think this is a twist. The West Park Park Bench Podcast during August during the fringe will still go on but I need to stream it so what I'm hoping to do is still do it from park bench because I'm still gonna go swimming, but I'm going to try and run Twitter spaces at the same time. So that's going to be so the West Park Park Bench Podcast is going to be live on Twitter Spaces. Hey, not sure if that can be done. Not sure I've not done that before, but hey, I'm gonna give that a go. So we've only been three weeks so I'd only be three episodes. So that's the twist

Caron Lyon

09:34

Pirouette... now what I like about pirouettes I couldn't do a graceful pirouette right now, but it is the extension of balance and at the beginning of the year, the whole point of balance was to be grounded. It was to be able to put both feet on the floor and to plant my centre of gravity through my feet and be fixed and be balanced. But actually, once you have a balance that you are in control ofthe pirouettes, being able to be flexible and lithe and agile with your movement is the gift of balance. And I'm interested to see where that meditation kind of takes me throughout the rest of the year because I'm very aware that I did give myself some tips and tricks at the end of last year as I came out of my posture year and I completely ignored my own advice, mainly because I didn't listen to my own podcasts and then when I did review them, I realised that actually the main the main audience for these really is me and I really do need to go back through them and I need to listen to them because these meditations on single words and phrases when I come out of the swimming pool, are me trying to share wisdom with the world, but it's also me sharing wisdom with myself.

Caron Lyon

11:03

So one of the things that I have taken through most of my adult life is set of runes. I acquired this set of runes before went to university. I joined a book club in the would have been the late 80s early 90s. And one of the monthly books that I could choose I picked a set of runes, and I did I found them at various points in my adult life, a source of great comfort and and a great way of talking to myself I guess in a way you can self reflect with Chat GPT. Now it was kind of it was the old runic ChatGPT in terms of tapping into your subconscious and yeah, I might I might have to. I might have to, I might have to do do one of the episodes over the fringe with my runes because it's not. For me, it isn't about spirituality, it's about spirituality and spirituality. It's about self recognition. So that's brings me towards the end of this episode.

Caron Lyon

12:18

Um, do put them up the date that they recorded, but I'm a few weeks behind at the moment actually getting them up so I'm really hoping to get them up by the time I go to Treshnish and then I really want to keep up the Treshnish episodes so it will be unbenched in Treshnish may have to see if I can find some park benches. There's definitely a park bench in Tobermory Bay. I must do that one. There is a park bench. It's not a park bench but there is a very elegant bench that's more of a thrown a rock thrown on the walk along Treshnish coast and then there is a very elegant bench in the Calgary Arts and Nature park which I don't even know is going to be there this year because it was up for sale last year. It's got a wonderful nature walk that we take a little bit for granted because we've been there so many years. But there's some beautiful little bits and pieces that that pop up every now and again and there is a bench that has mosaics shells in the back of it and it's kind of thrownic glory. So yeah, there will be three unbenched. Treshnish events, podcasts Yay.

Caron Lyon

13:47

Thank you so much for listening. If you've got to the end of here, you rock

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