Continuing on from yesterday, we caught up with Jean, another of our Festival volunteers to find out how she has been spending her time and what it was like volunteering at Light Night…

“I chose to volunteer because it gives me an opportunity for new experiences, meet different people, have fun & help make Worcester a fun place to visit.

During the day I helped put up signs, hand out flyers, help at the afternoon discussion meeting and during the evening stewarded on the Wave Machines … which were awesome.

I loved meeting everyone involved in the event, organisers, fellow volunteers, performers, artists, guests & of course interacting with many of the thousands of visitors. … most of all I loved playing on the Wave Machines & the other interactive installations.

It was also incredible seeing so many people simply enjoying themselves, laughing, smiling & being friendly with each other. Every restaurant & coffee shop was full, there was a special vitality to the streets; people appreciated the absence of commercialism & the opportunity to be young & playful.

In ‘normal times’ I volunteer with the National Trust, one of my roles I survey historic features across the 400 acres of Hanbury Hall near Droitwich, so I jumped at an opportunity to do a 6 week archaeology course. It was great fun, so interesting & opened up a treasure trove of online resources, including fantastic LIDAR maps. LIDAR uses light to penetrate beneath the ground & I discovered some amazing features not in our official records, including the ghost of a Roman farmstead & burial area. Lots to investigate in the future.

Another interesting experience was participating in a special DAWNS event, from 03:45 till 05:30, experiencing how Dawn evolves, starting from Scotland tracking the dawn across the UK to Cornwall, accompanied by specially commissioned music played by musicians located across UK, taking photos & videos as the morning light & dawn chorus developed. …. it was beautiful.

With the lovely weather, spent many hours sitting on my balcony, enjoying a cuppa & my homemade apple cakes, whilst listening to an amazingly eclectic range of e-audiobooks from Worcestershire library. In the evening, as my solar lights come on, my balcony transforms into a grotto, perfect for enjoying a few glasses of fizz.

I’ve used online facilities to visit museums, cities & special places & the many virtual theatre & music events. I remain optimistic the world will emerge friendlier, more open, less bigoted; recognising we are one humanity & borders are artificial devices.”