Farmer and community activist calls for return of 'rambling'
Dancer, choreographer, film-maker, farmer, community activist and Leitrim woman, Edwina Guckian, is putting a national call out to the people of Ireland to go 'rambling' this winter.
"Call in once a week to your neighbour or gather a few together to come to your own home, perhaps playing music together, sharing conversation, playing cards or any form of connection," she said.
"Maybe you could check in on a neighbour who is isolated or has no form of transport and ask them would they like to go visit a friend's house that they used to 'ramble' to. Those long dark evenings of winter affect us all. You don't have to be an elderly person to go 'rambling', all ages can.
"We all need human connection and a community coming closer together only brings greater things for all within it. The future is local, and community is future," Guckian added.
The 'Just Rambling' project run by Leitrim County Council in association with Creative Ireland and Leitrim Development Company from November to January seeks to bring about a return of the way where for generations, the people of Ireland wandered the roads of their locality in the dark months of winter, calling into their neighbours' houses.
"An unannounced visit, sometimes without even a knock, they were always made welcome. The news of the area was shared, cups of tea and food served, games of card played. Sometimes there was even music, song or dance.
"And then there was always storytelling that involved meeting on dark winter nights that would send you walking home all the brisker when your 'rambling' had finished," recalled Guckian,
Things in Ireland today have changed, she observed: "Our doors are locked, automatic gates keep spontaneous visits away, the TV and social media provide the news and stories and you have to ring a few days in advance if you plan on calling to the house.
"We have high speed fibre optic broadband connecting us around the world in seconds, yet no human connection with the people who live all around us.
"The Just Rambling project seeks to reverse that and bring back the old ways of a community connecting with one another, empowering the generations of today to ramble once again."
Throughout this winter, six homes in Leitrim will welcome their neighbours to their kitchen for a night of music, song, stories, food and good company.
For anyone that can't travel, volunteers in the community will be assigned to give them a lift to and from the house, said Guckian. Communities around the country are being encouraged to replicate the initiative.
