Sensory system

Balance

Context

Castleton Moor, North Yorkshire

Temporality

Milliseconds

Physical

The GZi is mounted on the ground surface 15 feet (**M) above a small concrete chamber – a monitoring post for the Royal Observer Corps.  To access the information in the instrument an ROC officer must climb a metal ladder with a fake brown leather wallet (the ‘handbag’) slung over their shoulder.  At the ladder’s top one hand leaves the last rung and reaches above head height to unclip the heavy metal post hatch.  Body weight and force exerted through the feet push the hatch up and open.  Climbing out of the narrow opening the officer moves along a narrow and uneven grass bank, perhaps damp and slippery from rain, to the GZi. There they must be sure footed and using both hands unscrew the drum casing with even an vertical lift, setting the drum to one side.  Leaning over the instrument they remove four sheets and carefully file in the ‘handbag’, taking four clear sheets and inserting into the slotted frame of the GZi.  With the drum replaced they make their way back into the monitoring post.

Emotional

It is a time of war.  The four minute warning has sounded and three crew members in the Castleton post await what comes next.  Seconds later a tremor overwhelms the underground shelter, visceral and shocking.  Immediately one crew member prepares to ascend the post’s ladder.  Body tensed, hands clammy and head swirling with a terrified understanding the every day climb, performed hundreds of times, becomes a battle of mind and body to co-ordinate movement, to trust your footing, be sure of your hand’s grip.

Relationships

• Interoception
• Proprioception
• Touch

Sensory system

Pain

Context

In the bleak mid-winter

Temporality

A training session with each stage being timed

Physical

In sub-zero temperatures the metal wing nut on the crown of the GZi drum casing can freeze solid.  The metal is so cold it is uncomfortable to touch with bare hands, and there is a risk that the skin will briefly stick to the iced surface.  Water can penetrate into the thread of the bolt that holds the drum in place.  Once frozen the bolt is hard to release.  The wing nut's small size means only a thumb and first finger can find a grip meanwhile the circular drum with its smooth enamelled surface offers little purchase to brace against.  Cramp can set in the hand with the pressure of pinching and twisting to rotate.

Emotional

<div class="evocative-info-item"> Gripping the wing nut brings cramp through the base of the right hand thumb and muscle mass between thumb and index finger.  Trying to force the metal nut to release and rotate causes a sharp pain in the index finger knuckle and a spasm up the forearm.  Hunched over the instrument the operator's torso tenses as the metal drum is coaxed upward, careful to keep the lift even to prevent jamming.  You have a dull ache growing in the lower lumber, a stiffness in the base of the neck and a deep chill running through your bones. </div>