Everyday Miracles – Matt’s Care Box

Everyday Miracles is our new programme, which focuses on theatre-making and wellbeing in lockdown.

Over the next few weeks, the GSC team will be sharing the contents of their own Care Boxes, containing 5 items lined to the five senses, which could bring a feeling of comfort, calm and happiness.

This week’s Care Box is from Matt Pinches, one of GSC’s two Co-Founders, who featured in week 3 of the live Friday chats.

If you’d like to create your own Care Box, or want to catch-up on any of the Everyday Miracles content, you can find it all on our website.

Matt Pinches: My Care Box

The Box

A little bit tricky to use practically, but I’d like to use the ring box my fiancé’s engagement ring was in. This was a huge moment in our lives. We were engaged on holiday in Cornwall the week before lockdown happened and I remember carrying it around with me for days before – paranoid that I would lose it! In the chaos that has happened since, this is a cherished moment of ‘recent normality’.

Sight

As an only adopted child, my mum and dad and I are incredibly close and I chose this picture because they look so excited about the rest of their lives together. They’ve been married 56 years now and this is their wedding day. They continue to be an inspiration to me.

Sound

Mr Blue Skies by ELO. The whole track is uplifting, and the lyrics are particularly apt. Even if it’s pelting with rains and the skies are black, this brings a smile to my face.

Smell

Fresh rosemary from our garden. This is such a rich and aromatic scent, reminding me of fabulous roast dinners and sunny holidays in Greece. Whenever I walk into the garden, I often run my hands through it and inhale with cupped hands. We have some lavender nearby and the two go beautifully together to create a calming fragrance.

Taste

Fruit scone, clotted cream and strawberry jam. We love a Cream Tea! It takes me back to holidays with Mum and Dad, but recently we’ve doing more holidays in the UK, too. This treat, something quintessentially British to indulge in on a sunny day, takes me to Ilfracombe in Devon, where we went a couple years ago.

Touch

This would be the sensation of my bare-feet on grass. I love kicking my shoes/sandals off and being connected with the ground. There is something wonderfully grounding and reassuring. Perhaps it is because we don’t ‘feel’ very much through our feet, so this really heightens the sensation.