It seems that some of our Can Do Places people get inspiration and Town Centre Ideas, not just from the events we run, but on the journey to and from those events.
Jill Davies, for instance, project manager with Coupar Angus Development Trust, said she often gets ideas in the Megabus travelling down from Perth.
She said: “On the way down to a recent Can Do Places get-together in Glasgow, Maggie Langelaan, one of our Trustees, was travelling with me and we were discussing a project to raise funds for a community arts hub“.
“One idea was that we’d place sculptures of decorated unicorns around the town as public art and then sell them. But talking about it on the bus, we realised the sculptures should, of course, be Aberdeen Angus cattle because our town is the birth place of the breed - and people come from all over the world to Coupar Angus to visit the grave of the farmer who first bred them.”
Jill added: “On a couple of occasions, when I’ve been travelling alone, I’ve sat beside people who have also been involved in community development and have ended up having some really stimulating conversations.”
Train travel is often sited as a stimulus to inspiration. In fact, the American rail company, Amtrak, operates a residency scheme designed to “allow creative professionals who are passionate about train travel and writing to work on their craft in an inspiring environment.” Whether it would work on a Megabus is another matter!