Yesterday, Wulf and I headed from Tregarth to The Bunker on the outskirts of Wrexham to meet Marcus Fair, Founder of Eternal Media, and Lucke Gabriel, Head of Post Production at this inspiring recovery community. The Bunker is a Cold War nuclear bunker built in 1962 which now houses Eternal Media and ROC2 recording studio, the latter being under the management of Founder Steve Hywyn Jones.
I had not previously met Marcus or Lucke before, although I have interviewed the former from my home in Perth, Western Australia. It was so good to finally meet him… big hugs were in order. Wulf and I were shown around the various rooms in The Bunker, which included editing suites, photography studios, recording studios and an Infinity cove, which was a fascinating experience. Mind you, it was freezing cold! I was glad to be wearing two hoodies!
Eternal had also taken over the old stores, which is now a cinema but can also be used for any number of activities. Gardens have been built around The Bunker which are a breakout space for people. We settled down in the old stores and were soon joined by Alexandra Magson, a member of the North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) team who I had previously met in Perth.
Marcus and Lucke had set up cameras and microphones ready for a conversation between Marcus, Wulf, Alex and I which will become an Eternal Media Hub podcast sometime in the future. I smiled when Marcus initiated the discussion by saying, ‘Now I get to ask the questions!’
We covered a good deal of ground including: how the four of us have come to be in the room together; our individual connections with recovery; a far-reaching discussion on the nature of recovery and how it works, in particular with reference to Eternal Media and NWRC; and how recovery communities survive in the wider system of treatment and support. We all really enjoyed how the discussion went.
Tony Ormond, Regional Manager at Kaleidoscope/Dechra Newydd and a close friend of the others, joined us soon after. It was the first time I had met Tony. After our Usual Suspects photograph was taken, we headed for a pub lunch. I was really delighted by the way the day had gone.
Wulf and arrived back in Tregarth in time to have a scenic walk at Llyn Padarn, ‘a magnificent glacially formed lake nestled amidst some of Snowdonia’s most spectacular scenery’, in beautiful sunshine. You can see some photos on my Facebook page.
Altogether, a wonderful day here in Wales.
