Helen Wood
Meet the wandering comedian who takes her passion for mapping to the raucous audiences of Edinburgh…
Meet the founding member and president-for-life of the OS Map Fan Club, recruiting now via the Edinburgh Fringe & a festival near you.
LAST AUGUST I led several groups of 40 walkers on a circular walk in south east Gloucestershire. I used OS Explorer sheet 168 (a personal favourite): Stroud, Tetbury and Malmesbury. Apart from the length of the walk, which was about 35 miles, this sounds fairly normal. But the walk only lasted an hour and the walkers were sitting in comfy chairs.
The truth is I wasn’t in Gloucestershire. I was in Edinburgh, leading these ‘walkers’ on a virtual ramble as part of my solo comedy show, The OS Map Fan Club, at the Edinburgh Fringe. I am the self-appointed president of the club, on a mission to recruit audiences to the cause.
The subjects of the show – maps and walking – have been passions since childhood. My mum and dad were keen ramblers, youth hostellers and OS map users, and as we explored the Warwickshire countryside, their enthusiasms rubbed off on me. In our suburban semi, besides the orange and brown décor and the stitched leather pouf, there was a whole bookcase stuffed with Ordnance Survey maps. I loved the beauty, clarity and papery-ness of them.
I particularly loved the Shropshire Hills, having discovered the Shropshire-based adventure stories of Malcolm Saville. I loved the sketch maps in his books: I’d match them with the OS map, and trek through areas that my fictional heroes had explored.
When I was 17 I organised my first walking holiday. The group was made up of two naive but willing schoolfriends and me, the leader. I’d chosen the Lake District, I’d got my map, I’d planned the route. What could go wrong?
Well, I could choose Helvellyn by Striding Edge. And take heavy rucksacks. In high winds. Funnily enough, my pals turned down future hiking trips with me.
Life lesson 1: Pay attention to the map and how close together the contour lines are. Life lesson 2: Walking experiences can provide excellent content for dramatic retelling in later life.
For my show, I’d researched the virtual walk by doing the real one in stages with Peter, my husband (sometimes reluctant), and Henry, our black Labrador (always keen). I’d chosen Gloucestershire because it’s where we live. Then I threw in a potted history of the Ordnance Survey, a couple of poems and a spot of origami.
Last October I was invited to perform The OS
Helen Wood is a performer of theatrical comedy shows. She will be performing The OS Map Fan Club at arts festivals throughout the summer, including the Edinburgh Fringe. Visit www.helen-wood.co.uk for venues and dates.
Map Fan Club at the ultimate fan clubhouse: Explorer House, the OS headquarters in Southampton. I was there to help launch National Map Reading Week, which promotes the skills of map-reading and aims to develop confidence, selfsufficiency and safety awareness – as well as inspiring new adventures. For a superfan like me, performing to a room full of surveyors and cartographers was a dream come true. At one point, I ranted about the difficulties I have when trying to turn over a double-sided map. The person responsible for the concept was probably there in the audience. Cringing, perhaps.
The show is returning to Edinburgh in August, at a bigger venue: clearly someone has decided there are others out there who like to find the humour in walking – and that’s brilliant.
When I’m in Edinburgh I love to do a real walk every day. Early in the morning, clutching my map (OS Explorer 350, if you’re interested), with Henry the dog at my side, I’ll be climbing up Arthur’s Seat to enjoy the panoramic views of the beautiful city and beyond. Then I’m off down the hill, in search of new fan club members to take with me on the next adventure…