Going, Going, Gone

I first came across Storehouse a couple of years ago and immediately fell in love with the platform’s luscious visual storytelling. The iOS app is easy to use and makes possible the creation of rich visual narratives using photo, video and text elements. Sadly Storehouse is closing down. Before it shutters for good on July 15, I invite readers to scroll through four PlayGroundology Storehouse stories that the app really helped whizz bang. Click through on images below to take you to the Storehouse stories…

Loose Parts Unplug and Play

My first Storehouse sortie captures the story of the first public play event I helped organize.

Click through to Storehouse story.

Skimming across the hay – no last straws here. In a flash the kids run over to explore. They are curious about the space, wondering…

Click through to Storehouse story.

Vernacular Play – Magdalen Islands

In Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawerence, a maritme play aesthetic.

  Click through to Storehouse story.

No text this time, the photos and video stand on their own. More though about Magdalen Island play experiences here

  Click through to Storehouse story.

96 degrees in the shade – Székely

This one is subtitled ‘Playgroundin’ in tropical Paris’ and tells the story of the search for a 1950s Székely designed playground in a Paris suburb.

Click through to Storehouse story.

These are the pataugeoires – shallow, kiddy pools. One is deeper than the other and both are exquisitely detailed with carreaux cassés – broken tile mosaics now virtually a lost art. Our new playground pal Yves created carreaux cassés like this when he was a younger man.

  Click through to Storehouse story.

Quebec City’s Big Chill

There’s no place to celebrate winter fun like Quebec City’s Carnaval. Look for the cameo appearance by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau…

Click through to Storehouse story.

It’s no time to be still when a breath of wind drops the mercury to -39 C at Quebec City’s annual Carnaval…..

Thrills, spills – snowy saucers on sliding hills.

Click through to Storehouse story.

I’m going to miss Storehouse. I had so many more stories left to share. Thanks to the Storehouse crew for making a fun place to play….

We’re Goin’ on a Playground Hunt – We’re Gonna Catch a Big One (in Paris)

 

Papa and I are up early to make the most of our last full day in the City of Heat. We’re getting prepared for a day of urban trekking. First order of business – sustenance. We head to our regular spot at the corner of Voltaire and Charonne after grabbing a couple of croissants each at the boulangerie across the street. The café au lait at l’Ingénu is just the fuel we need before the morning’s expedition to l’Haÿ-les-Roses gets underway.

We’re goin’ on a playground hunt, we’re gonna catch a big one. Yes, three days in Paris and we’re spending half a day on a quest for a 1950s playscape designed by Franco-Hungarian, Pierre Székely. Can you guess whose idea this is? Papa is very good natured about it and curious too. All we’ve got are screen captures of Google satellite and map views to try and find it. Oops, not as well prepared as I could be several thousand kilometres from home.

h

I guess we aren’t exactly the standard father and son duo off on a play adventure. As often as we’d done this in the past, at 80 and 57 respectively, we are a tad out of practice with the old roles. But it turns out that love and the pursuit of play are ageless.

We grab the Métro at Charonne, our home station in the 11e arrondissement, and slip over to Nation. I pull us up street side here for a few minutes to see the two huge 100′ high doric columns each topped with a king. They made quite an impression on me from the days we lived in Paris nearly 45 years ago.

As we make our way around the square, we encounter three kids in a spontaneous burst of play. Already the temperature is heat waving its way to 40ºC. Partially hidden from their dad’s view, the kids are running, dancing, jumping through a sprinkler. They’re happy as he continues to chat on the sidewalk. Each moment is an extension of freedom – getting soaked one drop at a time in this small patch of green.

From Nation we do the underground zip to the end of the line at Ville Juif. Nobody we ask there is familiar with the street names that encircle the playscape. Why should they be? It’s about 2 kilometres away from the station. But really, can you believe it – Rue de la Reine Blanche runs along the perimeter of our treasure? I was beginning to think it was all Alice in Wonderland. I’m ready to throw in the towel but that’s not in papa’s plans – no playgrounds left behind….

We do get some pointers from staff in a café and transit drivers. They set us out in the right direction to L’Haÿ-les-Roses. Once there it’s a like a game of hot and cold. Seemingly we move quickly in and out of range with people looking at us like we’re aliens or saying yes it sounds familar and is somewhere nearby. Two women, a cashier in the post office and young mom pushing her child in stroller, send us straight to the mother lode.

This is what it looks like nearly 60 years down the road.

h

What treasures to discover – texture, form, space and Yves Le Thuaut who saved the playground from demolition and is now working with others to restore it. See the more photos right here on Tumblr – 96 degress in the shade: playgroundin’ in tropical Paris. See la gruyère, le labyrinthe, les escaliers, les vagues, les pataugeoires et le corne de brume.

h

Truly a successful playground hunt though it must be said I couldn’t get over it, under it, through it. In fact I just wanted to be in it.

Check the smooth dismount from this concrete slide – no damage to my legs, or shorts!

Thanks to the as-tu déjà oublié? crew for introducing me to Székely.

Thanks to you for checking in – cheers from Canada’s far east…….

The Heat Within

It’s well chilly in Canada’s far east right now. Not arctic conditions by any stretch but bone penetrating cold from biting northern winds. The big freeze is later than usual and we of the wintry non-sportifying adults set are pleased with this tardiness. Recent temperatures are in the -10ºC range, say -20ºC with the wind chill.

Storytelling with Storehouse – click through for photo montage and short videos

The kids are the ones who get me out in this weather. Short walks, hand feeding chickadee expeditions and sorties of the sledding and skating variety are the order of the day.

It’s as if the kids have small furnaces at the core of their beings that keep them stoked, impervious to the elements. Fuelled by play’s exhilaration and the adventurous pursuit of hurtling velocity, these snow sliders are oblivious to the elements, inoculated against creeping chill (warm clothes are a must too).

The Sliders

It’s simple fun with uphill huffing and puffing and downhill squeals of delight. We have a small fright too. Lila, our youngest, stands immobile in the path of a sled barreling toward her. Brother and sister are on board but they are unable to veer away. It’s a direct hit and Lila is catapulted into the air her feet swept from under her. I’m thankful that aside from the tears, there’s nothing more amiss. I don’t think we’ll have any further standing still in the path of oncoming sled incidents…

Watch out for those sleds!

All told, we’re out for a couple of hours and pack it in just before we become walking popsicles. Even so it’s not a unanimous decision, a couple of the kids want to hang in for more. I promise we’ll return the next day. Really, there’s no better way to while away a few wintry hours than with the simple yet electrifying pleasure of some quality downhill sledding.

Get a taste of our winter fun here on Storehouse, the app that makes possible beautiful storytelling using video and photos.

The uphill slog

There’s another storm raging outside just as I’m about to hit publish and just after I’ve seen an update from Suzanna, PlayGroundology’s Pop-Up Adventure friend – she’s on an Australia tour and right now it’s 39ºC outside. I guess she’ll just have to look for ‘the cool within’. With more snow coming down, I hope we’ll be able to get out later today for downhill dashes the sequel.

Ship to Shore on Canada’s Magdalen Islands

Years ago I was one of about 15 people in communities across Nova Scotia documenting the province’s built heritage. We took photos, did title deed searches and wrote up architectural descriptions for all buildings erected before 1914 in our respective towns. This was the first time I heard the word ‘vernacular’ associated with something other than language.

Acadian colours fishing boat – L’Étang-du-Nord

Vernacular architecture is based on local needs, uses local materials and reflects local realities. It is of the place. Vernacular was on the tip of my tongue when the kids and I first went to the playgrounds in the Magdalen Islands (Les Iles de la Madeleine) in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Our first trip we discovered a couple of these gems – the antithesis to off the shelf play solutions. In subsequent trips we found more. Invariably the construction material is wood and not surprisingly on Les Iles, boats are the dominant theme. These are the playgrounds we fell in love with, the ones we rush to each time we visit. I hope you’ll enjoy our photos from the beaches, schools and fishing ports of the Magdalen Islands in this Storehouse collection

Plage de la Grande Échouerie – Click through on pic for Storehouse photo collection.

We had an old boat, The Halcyon, on the Halifax waterfront for close on 20 years before it had to be removed. It was in the same league as these Magdalen Island playgrounds – sturdy, simple, well built and packed with adventure for kids.

The Halcyon, Halifax waterfront, circa 2010

I’m interested in hearing more about vernacular playgrounds. Give me a shout or send me some photos if there’s one in your neighbourhood.