How do you tell the story of a site that has been so inspirational to so many for a 100 years in just 3 minutes? Here’s how….
This short film was produced by Rame Conservation Trust and Maker Memories, with local film maker Tom Kirkman and poet Jason Butler, to mark the centenary of Maker Camp 1923-2023.
The film traces the social and cultural history of the site from 1923 onwards showing how the past is inextricably linked to the present via a series of threads: connecting people to nature; art; music and well-being.
Still Here
by Jason Butler
There is a place atop a hill
White walled, calm and still
By rolling fields and ceaseless sea
A century of sanctuary
By Astor’s hand, a grand design
A respite during bleaker times
An ancient barracks redeployed
For underprivileged girls and boys
A home from home, with open doors
For those in need, the young and poor
A retreat to nature, green unspoiled
Its strong roots deep in fertile soil
Reaching out beyond the Sound
To the cobbled streets of Plymouth town
A piper’s call across the Hoe
A siren song of ebb and flow
In Charabancs came hopes and dreams
And ferries bursting at the seams
On rising tides they came ashore
With eyes alive and wide with awe
Brought to life, some fairy tale
Exploring seas with billowed sails
Tales of old in sepia tone
Adventurers in monochrome
Skimming stones across the foam
Connect to nature, free to roam
Beneath the ageless firmament
An evolving sense of permanence
Each memory, steeped in history
A vibrant thread of tapestry
A century past, those threads persist,
Pulled together, tightly knit
A patchwork unified and stitched
A harmony in perfect pitch
Young or old, the same song sung
Those voices speak in unison
Of freedom, nurture, light and joy
Self-expression, art and noise
A strong connection found inside
Unleashed with doors flung open wide
The present echoes with the past
Experiences forged to last
The ghosts of laughter in the rafters
All those happy ever afters
The resonated melodies
A therapy for maladies
A hub for creativity
This forgotten corner, by the sea
bestowed throughout with rare life force
As all are welcome through the doors
Feel their warmth within the walls
Actors, poets, troubadours
Performers, craftsmen, artisans
Revellers in camper vans
Movers, shakers, renovators
Custodians and innovators
Maker’s home to these and more
Her reach extends to distant shores
Whose preservation perseveres
Through trust and care of volunteers
All here to stay, the message clear
A hundred years, and we’re still here