A few things collided in my head a while ago:
* How much I like model railway lay-outs (a lot)
* A wondering about why model railway lay-outs always evoke the past - rarely the future
* A thought about the possible power of modeling and thinking with your hands
* Utter joy in the face of the splendidness of this.
* The discovery of the Lyddle End range of Hornby products.
And I had an idea. But I did nothing.
And then, Matt started his cattle-drive. Which proved the enormous value of the internet folly. And I saw this Pete Waterman quote in the paper at the weekend: "I don't mind people thinking we're daft. HG Wells was wrong. We do have a time machine, with models."
And all this culminated in an idea for another silly project; speculative modeling.
How about I get a load of Lyddle End properties and we try and build a version of what we think Lyddle End might be like in 2050? Everyone who wants one gets a little building and they have to alter it, mod it, change it, play with it, to reflect how they think the world will be in 42 years time. Then, we'll put them all together, either physically or through the magic of photography, and see what it might tell us about our visions of the future. I can't help thinking we might be able to build ourselves a rather intriguing speculative diorama.
Anyone up for that?
If you fancy it send me an email at [email protected] and I'll sort out getting some buildings. I'll pay for them, and the shipping, but you have to promise to have a go at the modeling and not be slack. Otherwise I'll feel a fool. (More of a fool.)