By Elizabeth Roberts Honey
Something new is happening in Luz – and it’s already proving to be very popular! If you’re taking a walk around the village and you happen to glance at something bright and colourful which, on closer inspection, appears to be a painted pebble – then you’ve most likely been lucky enough to find a Luz Rock!
Luz Rocks are a winningly simple way to bring a little bit of joy to everyone’s day. If you find a Luz Rock (turn it over and it will say #Luz Rocks on the back), you’re invited to take a photo of the rock (or even better, of yourself holding the rock), post your find on the group Facebook page Luzrocks, and then hide your rock again in a different location for someone else to enjoy finding.
The group was started this year by friends Wendy Bunney and Ann Marie Parker after Wendy painted a rock and posted it on her Facebook page, and Ann Marie was reminded of the rock group in her hometown of Calderdale, West Yorkshire. Ann Marie had found a painted rock before she travelled over to Luz and discovered that it had come from the Calderdale Rock group, which an old school friend had started, and that it has over 10,000 members!
Painted rock groups have been growing in popularity in the UK for a few years now, but they really came into their own during the past year when everyone’s appreciation of a walk around their local area grew exponentially, thanks to lockdown. Children, in particular, have really embraced the pastime. I first heard about community rocks from my young niece and nephew, Bethany and Alex, who enjoy searching their village of Lymm in Cheshire with their parents on their hunt for rocks, and from my Dad, who enjoys painting new rocks for his grandchildren to hide. I’ve been a remote member of the Lymm Rocks group for a couple of years, and it’s so much fun – even from overseas – to see my family enjoying finding rocks and members of the Lymm community posting photos of themselves finding my Dad’s little pieces of artwork, amongst all the others that are hidden around their village.
If you’re artistic or feeling in a creative mood, you can design and paint your own rocks to hide – and you can even log them on the Facebook group first so that people know they’re about to be ‘released into the wild’! All you need to make your own little creations is a small smooth rock or pebble (white ones seem to be best), and then you can decorate them with Sharpie pens or oil-based or acrylic paints.
Rock groups really are a fun, safe and creative way for a community to enjoy spreading some extra happiness around and Luz Rocks has already got off to a great start with – in their own words – creating smiles one rock at a time!
