I get a further email from Claire, the researcher. She writes that she appreciates that I’m willing to take part in the research into creativity. She says that she has conducted interviews like this before. She gives some further guidelines for the place where the research interview should happen. It should be a semi private place, local to me. It can be in a place like a café or a pub or an arts centre. The venue for the interview also needs to be at ground level and ideally have no steps. If I cannot think of anywhere, she will find somewhere like that for us to meet. But now that I know what’s required I find that I can think of some places that might be suitable. I mull over the available options. Ideas that come to mind include:
a) a local gallery hosted by artists-run group, Brent Artists Resource. This has the advantage of being a kind of creative backdrop to the recorded interview. This would be quiet, but would require some telephone calls asking for favours. There’s no guarantee of privacy or of even being able to use the space for this purpose on the day.
b) a café in a local supermarket. Might be private enough but a bit noisy.
c) a local pub. Has the added bonus of the option of sitting inside or out. Never been there before. Not sure about the situation with the steps.
d) a café in a local park. Been there before. Closer to home than the other three options. Nice views – picturesque. Also, if the café itself is not very private or quiet we could find a park bench or a bit of grass on which to sit.
After talking it over with the family, decide on the café in the local park, Queens Park. I email her suggesting this as the venue and a time in the morning for two days this week. I want us to miss the lunch hour rush as I know that it can be busy. I give this info as a starter to negotiating a mutually convenient time and date.
I also suggest a good time for when she can telephone me over the weekend to confirm. But the weekend passes. No phone call. No email. Perhaps she’s busy with her own family matters and so on. Perhaps she hasn’t seen the email. Somehow I get the impression that the interview won’t take place before Easter now, but that’s ok. She’s already said that it needs to be before the end of April. I like the fact that she doesn’t want to hassle me over the telephone. I feel we’ll meet up soon enough.
