A SPACE THAT NEVER LEAVES YOU

First impressions are something that always stick with you. I was first introduced to the Listening Space garden in the heart of the Caversham GP practice, during the first lockdown in 2020. It was a sunny day in the middle of spring where everything was in its peak of bloom. I visited the Listening Space the following year in August, I was reminded of the importance of community, I observed how people came together from different roles and buildings around the surgery. They shared smiles, numbers and agreed on meeting the same time next week. But who am I to be overseeing everyone and talking about the Listening Space?

Hello, I’m Cassie. I’m a young person directly associated with Global Generation, currently working with one of many projects which just so happens to be The Listening Space. I first joined Global Generation as a generator, a youth eco activist group, I decided to stay active and over almost 5 years I have been part of many projects. My role during this project was being an action researcher, I worked with Lucy who took on the visual, filmmaking, recording aspect of this project. Along with Maedeh who took on a similar role as me, we focused on the writing and interview parts of describing and introducing the project. We, as young people, recorded and observed the relationship that has developed between patients and doctors develop in the Listening Space. We were able to get involved and vocalise how we as young people also need to build that connection with doctors who can be seen as intimidating at times due to their particular knowledge and the simple environment of being in a medical room. We bring that idea with us when we grow up and this has been highlighted further especially in this time of COVID.

Google claims summer ends on September 22. However, when I arrived bright and early 20 days beforehand on Sept 2nd, Autumn had invited itself in early through the cloudy skies and cold breeze. As I entered the garden, it looked deserted and alone. Nothing like I expected, how could that be? The Listening Space as I knew it, was often overcrowded with laughter and good vibes. I noticed the weeds overgrown through the pavement and the flowers were slowly losing their petals. However, as I stood there I also felt there was a quiet sense of life. The scattered arrangement of chairs around tables which were once sat on, were imprinted with community. I saw another GP Practitioner sitting by a table on his laptop along with GP Jane Myat and Health Connector; Jo Lynch, having a light conversation. Both Jo and Jane showed the continuous social aspect of the garden whilst the individual GP Practitioner reflected the safe sanctuary he felt there, both parties contradicted yet complimented each other. One showing the community yet the beautiful nature of solitude in the environment of the Listening Space. He must have felt comfortable enough to work outside his office to experience the feeling of nature by being on his own. Through his simple act, it reminded me that the Listening Space is truly for everyone; you don't need permission in order to sit there. Everyone owns some part of it.

The time came when I had to interview Jane; the other Action Researcher Fellows and I decided in order to include an honest, raw snippet of Jane's viewpoint, we were going to have a rough guide of questions, to ensure nothing was over scripted. There were many times when Jane mentioned memorable statements of her experience in the Listening Space for example; "at the end of the day, we're all humans and if we take off our uniforms then we can have proper conversations", which links heavily to the idea that inside their consulting rooms the GPs put their uniforms on along with their professionalism, whilst the garden outside allows them to remove that formal part of themselves and get to know their patients and co-workers. Jane also said; "The most radical thing you can do is introduce one person to another and that's when the magic happens", which was a beautiful statement all around due to its focus on community and connection making. Introducing one person to another is enough to build a positive group, which is just how the Listening Space and the Action Researcher Fellows came together. There were times when Jane also wanted me to ask her certain questions including how the Listening Space affected her profession positively; she had a lot to say about it. I think the most significant part of the interview was the experience of actually sitting face to face where we were more focused on each other. I was able to see how passionate Jane was about the Listening Space and how excited she got when she imagined future plans for the Listening Space which made me realise how important it is for Jane. For me as an Action Researcher, this gave me a more real reason to perform my role to the best of my ability.

As I was heading back to the Story Garden in King’s Cross, I recalled the back roads, the main roads, the parks along with St. Pancras Churchyard that we had passed through, some months before on a Listening Space Story Walk. It made me focus on myself: how grounded I felt. Placing one foot in front of the other and the journey there. I decided to not listen to music but rather the leaves crunching beneath me, the trees clashing against each other through the wind and the change of season aroma filling my lungs. I felt like I was experiencing everything through a new lens during a meditative state. Although I wasn't at the Listening Space physically, I felt as though I was carrying its values with me. That part of the Listening Space will never be able to fully leave me and I suppose you could say it leaves that form of imprint on everyone.

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Notes from the Garden