Professor Hilary Marland collaborated with Talking Birds as part of the ‘Polevault’ endeavour linked to their Olympic project: ‘Decathlon 2012’, providing commentary on mental illness and infanticide linked to canals for inclusion in an ‘audio walk’.

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The roots of the Olympic sport of the Pole Vault reach back many centuries when obstacles, or more commonly canals or other stretches of water, were traversed using a pole.

Canals have a complex and sometimes dark history as places where desperate people attempted to take their own lives. One such case was that of Elizabeth Barnwell, who was suffering from ‘puerperal mania’, a severe form of postnatal mental illness. This audio walk tells her story.

Polevault : an 11 minute downloadable audio walk, to listen to whilst walking along a canal towpath:

Download

With: Professor Hilary Marland from the Centre for the History of Medicine, University of Warwick (interviewed by Nick Walker)
Roland Mackie – Canal Ranger for Coventry Council (interviewed by Anne Forgan)

Jake Oldershaw - singing the Boatman
Derek Nisbet – Violin
Song Lyrics: Nick Walker
Music, Sound Design and Editing by Derek Nisbet

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[Pole Vault is one of Talking Birds' Decathlon artworks, marking the company's 20th year.]

Talking Birds - Something for the Summer 'Polevault' link