Check out here the video "The Wild Horses of Newbury".

1.The video 'Wild Horses of Newbury' deals about something expressing something really valuable. Can you tell us about it?

The poem I wrote to go with the footage longs for a world we have left behind and begs us to restore the relationship we have lost with nature. I grew up in a world that had lost all respect for the environment and the natural world.

With everything in the natural environment seen as nothing more than a resource for us to plunder. However as I grew up I started to become aware of a feeling of being lost. Like somehow we had fallen out of a garden, and lost our relationship with the world that gave birth to us.

I chased this relationship, I spent weeks immersed in the natural world and gradually became more aware of the subtle patterns and beauty of nature. It was almost a religious experience when I first 'saw' the garden that lies beneath our roads and cities...

I've been lucky enough to visit real untouched wilderness... There isnt much left.. None at all in the UK... And when you have the eyes to see, you can sense an overwhelming beauty and belonging and perfection.. Enough to make you weep.

...and then theres us... The human beings... With our myopic views and retarded understanding, pouring tarmac over perfection.

Was it Joni Mitchell who sang 'they paved paradise, put up a parking lot' Its not a new message... People have been saying it for years, but still hardly anyone listens.

I'm not a luddite, I think technology can help us, it's the human beings that need to change. We need to reconnect to the natural world, and re-establish our relationship with Gaia.

That's what the films about; seeing those mighty Oaks as the giants they are, understanding their importance in the eco system and giving them the respect they once had.

Its all about our relationship with nature, we like to think we're above it. We are not. We are a tiny part of a vast and timeless partnership, and we forget that at our peril.

Our ancestors worshipped trees... And what better symbol of the web that connects us all than a tree.. When those horses approached those doomed trees, they were bravely showing us their objection and their disbelief that we could destroy such majestic and vital organisms, and what affects us about the film is that we know that too, it resonates within us deep down that it is fundamentally wrong and an insult to nature. It was a crime and I hope one day such actions will be deemed so.

2.What did you feel when this happened? What did you think afterwards?

It was surreal. When I first saw the horses approaching I couldn't really believe it.. There was so much noise from the chainsaws and the hoards of security in day-glo jackets that I thought the horses would run away.. But they came straight towards us.

Lots of hedges and fences had been destroyed, so these horses were virtually running wild.

I quickly got the camera running and pointed it at the horses.. They seemed surreal, as if they'd come out of a dream. It was really strange. It was very early in the morning, cold and misty, this all added to the 'otherworldly' atmosphere.

I actually got tingles running up my back and the hair on the back of neck stood on end. It was an intense feeling, something magical was happenening. It was obvious to everyone there that this was not the normal reaction of these horses, they really seemed to be making a statement.

People were dumbfounded, even the police.. No one really knew what to do.. It all seemed so unnatural, such strange behaviour, the horses should have been running away,

but they steadfastly made their way right up to the stumps of the Oaks, right past the security and pass the chainsaws... It was unbelievable to see. I knew as I was filming that this was a rare moment.. I kept worrying that the camera was working ok... But just kept the camera running.

The horses ran off and dissappeared as quickly as they arrived, leaving everyone wondering if it had actually happened.. We don't know where they came from or where they went to.

I quickly rewound the video to check it had recorded ok.. It had. A group of us sat round and watched the video on the camera..

We knew we had some dynamite. It was as if the horses had given us the footage on purpose. I knew then and there that the video would have a big impact...

Though I admit I didn't know how big it was going to be!

3. The video became a big success, in an alternative way. Can you tell us how this happened, and how do you understand it?

I got home and immediately started editing the footage, writing the poem to go with it and finding music to suit the atmosphere.

I knew Paul from Undercurrents, so I sent him my rough edit, which I'd made using two VHS video machines.

He asked me to go to the Undercurrents studio, which was in Oxford. I went up and we edited a better quality version together.

He loved the film, and put it on the next Undercurrents video. The rest is history. It was picked up by Channel 4 in the UK and put on national TV together with some other alternative news films. Things went quiet for a few years and then when video became easy to upload to the internet, someone added it a website...

It then got copied and added to lots of sites and film festivals. It took on a life of its own. I think it just really speaks to people in a way that other enviromental films don't.

I receive lots of emails from people about this film, and have received thousands of positive comments.

See here: http://www.mokshaproductions.com/whn_comments.htm

Its been translated into lots of diverse languages and been entered into film festivals all over the world... Not by me !! People claim it for themselves, which I'm very happy about.

The reason it became 'viral' is that people really want to share it. They want their friends to see it, so it keeps going.

I cant claim any responsibility for that... It was not my idea.. I was just in the right place at the right time with a camcorder.

4.Can you tell us about yourself?

My name is Mark Carroll. I'm now 42 and live in Brighton with my partner and our 7 year old girl.

At the time of the Newbury bypass I was living in a truck and involved in all sorts of environmental actions and protests.

I also make music and was in bands for years, but have now somewhat settled in Brighton and currently work as a graphic and web designer.

I think technology may still save us, and have high hopes for the international community we are building on the internet, but I strongly believe we must abandon our consumer society.

I have 4 allotments, which we run organically, and we grow a lot of our own food.

My little girl practically grew up on our allotments.. and now knows all our vegatables by sight..

This was important to me as I grew up rather detached from nature, and didn't know what a potato plant looked like till I was an adult !! I love the natural world and my idea of heaven is hiking in the mountains.