MEASURING HEIGHTS AND TOUCHING BASE

Calais, 15th July 2026

We arrived in Calais just before the sun broke through the clouds, and it soon became another warm sunny day. @calais.exilessc was full of visitors with many volunteers, but much larger numbers of mostly young men from Sudan who use the day centre as a place to rest, recharge and touch base.

We set up The Community Table in the main space, with watercolours and typewriters alongside our bricks and viewing tools. We counted around 50 young men who visited the table, several of whom we had met before. The afternoon became a hive of activity with detailed houses being built; the 1960’s & 70’s typewriters tried out as objects of novelty; the slides, Viewmasters, and postcards from different eras and places enjoyed in the mix; and much making together between friends and in small groups.

We observed the movement between analogue and digital. One man carefully typed out in English the essay at the front of the Migrations Book, and was shown how to digitally translate it into his first language of French. Another used an App to translate from his own language to English, communicating that he had only seen typewriters in American war movies, and had never used one before.

Measuring physical height, distances across land and comparative ages of people and things were also explored by those pausing at the table for a little while.

One young man’s interest in the folding measuring stick led to him asking us to check his height. Soon a long queue formed, others keen to know how tall they are. It felt very domestic. A postcard of a carrier pigeon led to a lively conversation about how these homing pigeons know which route to take, sometimes covering very long distances.

It always amazes us how well The Community Table is used; our own curiosity in turn matched by those who join us.

Words by Miriam Usiskin & Bobby Lloyd.