'Mister Volder goes to the City' is a surreal short story by Ben Pacey. A man arrives in a new place and tries to build a life there assisted by a talking dog with a cough which might improve if it smoked fewer cigarettes. The story is also the inspiration behind an
exhibition currently on at the mac in Birmingham. There's a short film which gave me the disoriented feeling of arriving in a new place, copies of the story to read, a model city and, best of all, postcards!
These postcards invite their readers to create their own Mr Volder story. That's my 'The Birds'-inspired one posted above. You can see more at their
postcard blog and there's a running display as part of the exhibition.
The combination of postcards and stories was almost guaranteed to appeal to me. Why not try it? Head down to the mac, buy a coffee and take a seat. It'll be a nice day out in the city. Unless any small dogs speak to you...
