DelegatePack_DroughtConference_20-21March2019

Audio Anecdotes
“A lot of the
heather moorland
was destroyed.
Lots of animals,
sadly, lost their
lives.”
What’s it like to
listen for a living?
Rebecca Pearce
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
University of Exeter
Between October 2014 and October 2017, Dr Rebecca Pearce travelled
across Britain, tracing the impacts of historic droughts as they are recalled
by people living in a diverse range of communities.
Now you can join Rebecca in that experience by listening to a selection of
extended interview highlights from the Historic Droughts project’s oral
history collection, through our special conference sound installation of audio
anecdotes.
Pick up a set of headphones at our listening post in the foyer at any time
over the two-day conference and choose from three different channels.
Close your eyes and immerse yourself in the conversation, from horticulture
to heatwaves and hydrology to heath fires. Sense the sweat, smoke and
sunburn, imagine the colour contrast of carefully tended golf courses set
against parched fields and moorlands.
Learn something about the power of memory work, narratives and
storytelling, through these three unique pieces.
“… the [firefighter] leggings that we used to wear back in the 70s were
made of plastic and the helmets, believe it or not, were made out of
hardboard … you wouldn’t believe that they would make leggings out of
plastic but they were yellow plastic and they used to melt very easily.”
Western Morning News 2 nd October 1976
Western Morning News 9 th September 1976
Western Morning News 9 th September 1976
Listen to the About Drought Audio Anecdotes at the Listening Post in the foyer and
meet Rebecca Pearce who conducted the interviews