Glasgow's Pollok Country Park with an oak tree support installed close to what will be one of the key focal points, the Riverside Grove.

On Wednesday 23 March, the second anniversary of the first national lockdown, a minute’s silence was held at Pollok Country Park, followed by readings from ‘I remember’, with the first oak support installed nearby.

The Herald is leading the campaign to create I remember: which is designed and created by artist Alec Finlay. The artist commission is being managed by greenspace scotland. I remember is a concept that will consist of a series of tree supports and poignantly the first of these supports was installed at one of the memorial’s key locations. The nine foot high support is the first of many which will be installed and have the words I remember carved on them.

The supports are based on physical poses and reflect how a person felt at a particular moment in time. The series of supports will form a memorial walk and allow those looking for reflection and contemplation the chance to discover the memorial for themselves.

Last week four boxes containing I remembers were buried in a kist at the Riverside Grove during a moving ceremony. The I remembers are single sentences about the pandemic and were gathered by Alec Finlay. They are a communal memory of the pandemic but for some can also be a precise moment in time of how they felt at the loss of a loved one. While the memories contained in the boxes have been buried, they will all still be accessible on a dedicated website and will also be archived by the National Library of Scotland. I remember was written in four languages, English, Gaelic, Urdu and Polish and other world languages will feature as part of the memorial.

The powerful and moving audio of I remember was also released on 23 March. Beautifully read by actor Robert Carlyle and brought together by Alec Finlay and sound engineer Chris Watson, the emotion of the sentences is felt and there is the calming sound of birdsong in the background.

The 'I remember' audiobook is now available on bandcamp where you can download the audio for free or make a donation towards the Covid memorial.

Selections from the audiobook and interviews with those who attended the burial of the ‘I remember’ artworks in the kist are featured on the Radio Scotland 'Scotland Outdoors’ podcast. This is available on BBC Sounds and a shorter segment will feature in Saturday's edition of Out of Doors.

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