I was treated to a wonderful sight over the Bank Holiday weekend – a gathering (and I mean over 100+) of a Steampunk community!
For those unsure of this subculture, it’s a highly sociable and creative group of individuals with a distinctive fashion, mixing inspiration from the Victorian era and pre-war history.
So, I was out and about when I came across a number of motorbikes all parked up, beautifully polished and ready to be shown off, with the riders talking to one another about their pride and joy but also happy to share their passion with those of us – like me – who don’t know much about bikes. Then, about 30 miles further up the road, there were individuals dressed in Victorian era clothing and stylish hats – a sight that really took my breath away.
With it being a Bank Holiday, the weather was dull and grey – it was such a shame the sun wasn’t shining to make the best of the beautiful outfits and the amazing shiny metalwork of the bikes. So many people had taken time out to indulge in their passion but also to share this with other people.
I later found out that they held a tea-duelling contest; a traditional event where they dunk cookies in hot tea for five seconds, then try to take a clean bite with the goal of not losing any pieces along the way!
Some of the outfits I saw – dresses with corsets, long coats and top hats among them – were bought, but so many were handmade, highlighting a huge talent for sewing and design. Hours must have been spent on creating their outfits, just as the motorcyclists must have devoted huge amounts of time to maintaining their engines and working on the paint/chrome work. How many of us would be then willing to dedicate even more time to displaying our wonderful creations to others?
We don’t have to do it on as big a scale as the Steampunk community do, but we could just realise that sometimes hidden inside us is a little bit of talent trying to creep out.
Years ago, children learnt creative skills from parents or grandparents and although we all lead such busy lives and it can be difficult to fit in, surely we all have a small bit of time in a week when we could try to develop ourselves and also encourage the younger generation. So why not take up a new creative challenge; get yourself organised with everything you need in one place so you’re ready to go whenever you find time. And I’m sure that once you’ve started it’ll become easier to find that time too!
Try it – you’ll be pleased you did!