Group Analytic Contexts, Issue 77, September 2017

30 Group-Analytic Society International - Contexts
representative present! When the Bikers were late the first evening I
noticed my own reluctance to leave the venue. I felt concern – was
everyone alright? And I was reluctant to give up the concept of the
‘one group’ by leaving even when it became clear that we had to go.
Theo von der Marwitz, Bremen, Germany: Biker
My contribution started with an answer to Julie about her
presumptions about the different priorities in our groups concerning
our meetings.
Only after arriving I fully realised the existence of the two
groups and that there was a remarkable difference between them: we,
the Bikers, had an external leader – you, the Hikers, had to find your
way alone, we were privileged, well fed with information all over the
day - you moved like scouts in an unknown territory, we had two
leaders – Björn for the biking and Dale for the group – you, Julie, had
to bring together both functions in your person.
In the course of the first day, especially during the long
lasting and tiring second half of the trip, I noticed a sort of regressive
process within myself, probably in the group too. Questions of my
childhood, during lengthy mountain-walks with my parents, came
back to my mind: ‘Is it still far away?’ ‘I need a rest, a place for ... !’
The first day, Björn would not give us exact answers, an ominous half
an hour was promised several times, and the group helped herself
shouting, encouraging shouts for the groups of runners who came the
opposite way – encouraging for ourselves too, signals to the others,
warnings for holes or slippery parts in our way, “Traffic!”, the sound
of the group developed. Here you are right, Julie, during these hours
of our tour the aim of the meeting was lost, all our energy had to be
concentrated to make the trip, to stay together as a group.
The question of leading became crucial: Björn’s
preoccupation was to bring us safe to the hotel, the aim of the groupmeeting
with the hikers at this point did not belong to his priorities.
Fiona Parker, Northern Ireland, UK: Hiker
We met on the first day at Potsdammer Platz train station, it was wet
and cold so we took shelter in the Spy museum, we got our bearings
and then set off. We were able to quickly connect with the wall, the
memorial stones that still trace the line of the wall and in visiting the
outside memorial at the Topography of Terror. It was a good place to
start – a very visceral memorial. The guard house at Checkpoint
Charlie remains but the surrounding terrain now has a carnival feeling
with the Trabant fairground close by. I found it difficult to assimilate