The question: what do you know about Lincoln grandstand?  The catch: no research.  The answer: honestly, very little.

I’ve driven past the grandstand a few times and I’ve recently walked up to have a closer look at it; so I know how it looks from the road but that really is about it.  Where other people may have knowledge of the history of the grandstand, I have images and scenes that my imagination has conjured up.  I think of the punters who would have been sat, twitching nervously as they hoped that the race would end well for them.  The excitement and equal dread that would have been thick in the air.  The optimistic sentimentalist in me imagines the children who have gone with their fathers and feel so lucky to have been made a part of the day and choose a horse; they have no idea what their decision could do.

I think of the conspiracy: was the bet fixed? How could that horse have fallen?  Then of course there would have been the jockeys who loved their horses and cared for them so dearly and yet put them through hell in those minutes of the race.

I can look at the grandstand and try to imagine the colour that it surely once contained.  I see the people that would have flocked there on race days to fill the seats and witness the spectacle.  A roar that would have erupted as the winners counted their profits and the losers counted their loss.  Now I look at the grandstand and I see a sign for a community centre, this means nothing to me as I have no knowledge of what it does.  For all I know it’s a sign to justify keeping a bunch of empty rooms.  I see cars, presumably visiting the community centre or the golf course just behind the grandstand.

The thing is, I really don’t know anything about the place, and even my imagined past seems to me slightly ridiculous, but perhaps that is because when I look at the grandstand now I see nothing more than an ornament – something to make the car park look nice.  I know there must be more to the place, particularly with the grandstand but for now all I have is my first impression and a starting point.  I feel sorry for the grandstand.

Without researching, the only information I know about the grandstand is its location along with its original purpose. The grandstand can been seen on my journey from Leicester to Lincoln and to me it is a signal that I am entering Lincoln and I shall soon be back at university. Its original purpose is that it was once part of a race course but I am unsure of its use now.

What stands out most to me about the grandstand is the levels and possibly how this could influence a power structure. The other thing that stands out for me is that the space is already representative of a performance space although it is very different to the spaces I am used to performing in. It is a very open space as it is outdoors and is surrounded by fields. This space could be used as part of the performance. Although it is in an open space it could be suggested that the actual stand is enclosed as there are gate stopping access to and from the stand. This could also be an element within performance.

There are many areas of the stand which could create an interesting performance. I am excited to actually be in the space and get a feel for the environment and see if this enforces any ideas.

Alice Dale.