. 

Name:
Rosy Martin
Occupation:
Artist
Tale Title:
The Phototherapist's Tale
Destination:
Felixstowe, England
 Rosy Martin

The Phototherapist's Tale

Rosy Martin travelled to Felixstowe in Sussex for the first time, to search out sites familiar to her only from photographs of a trip her parents made there in 1927 prior to their marriage.
The pilgrimage took place on the day of her mother's 89th birthday.

In Rosy's Prologue she speaks about her desire to carry out this timely pilgrimage for her mother as well as for herself, and her need to connect with this part of her parents' past.

Rosy delivered her Tale beautifully, from the shade of a beach hut - reminiscing about the images she has carried with her from her parents' photo album, her observations of Felixstowe now, and how the journey has influenced her feelings about both her own past and that of her parents'.
The Tale is illustrated by images of the Felixstowe holiday from her parent's photo album.

The Phototherapist's Prologue (Real Media, 2 mins)
The Phototherapist's Tale (Real Media, 7 mins)

Images from Rosy's pilgrimage
A dialogue between Rosy & her mother
Memento Mori Manifest


Rosy contributed the following text about the motivations behind her journey:

A Warp and Weft view of Felixstowe
Mine is a pilgrimage to a place I have never been to before. Yet it exists in my imagination, mediated through an old family album, containing the photographs, faded almost to dust now, of my parents as bright young things. My interest is in how memories, or even fantasies of place, and representations of place are mediated, and contrasting that with the fresh and unrehearsed experience of being there.

Olive Brown, aged 16 and James Martin, aged 20 were courting. Its 1927. Cue their song:- 'Tea for two and two for tea. Me for you and you for me. Can't you see how happy we will be.'

'Discover the best kept secret in Britain' (text on the envelope which contains the tourism brochures from Felixstowe.)

To go to Felixstowe is to explore a place that has informed who I am, but indirectly, through the experience of my parents.

Cordy's Alexandra Restaurant - since 1927 Open all day for meals - Licensed Restaurant and Bakery 123 Undercliffe Road, Seafront, Felixstowe. (Advert in Felixstowe Official Guide 1997)

I will be entering a family story/mythology, that is not touched by my memory. My curiosity is prompted by my wish to understand who my parents might have been, starting out in life, before they married, when their dreams and aspirations had not been challenged.



'There is a constant presence of water from the coast and the five rivers, which gives a romantic and mysterious atmosphere to the district.' (Suffolk Coast 1999 Holiday Guide. Suffolk Coastal District Council.)

Yet this is no nostalgic journey - since this English sea-side resort has undergone major changes - so any discovery will be edged and fringed by other, harsher realities.

'The Port of Felixstowe is linked by cargo services with more than 370 ports in 100 countries. It is Britain's number one container port, it is Europe's fourth busiest and 14th in the world.' (Felixstowe Official Guide 1997).

'Felix Hotel (Harvest House).
This splendid neo-Jacobean building was designed by Cotman for Douglas Tollemarche in 1903. It was a railway hotel until 1952 when it was converted to office use, first for Fisons, then for Norsk Hydro. In 1986 it became luxury retirement flats. Built in the whimsical spirit permitted at the seaside, it also offered visitors a most luxurious setting: a palm court, private putting green, elegant dining room seating 450, 169 rooms and 52 bathrooms. There were also smoking rooms, reading rooms, bars including an American style cocktail bar and squash courts.' ('The Cotman Walk', the Felixstowe Society 1982)

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