It seems a long while ago now when I was in the Cotswolds with the mate on a tour of west Wessex… It was about the time of the first of the long line of lows that have struck Britain this winter. I seem to remember it came ashore in Devon and Dorset… It was a few days before I had a symbolic paddle in the River Windrush, knowing that perhaps by the time I got out sailing next I’d be in those same waters…
Paddling in the Windrush, photographed by my horrified and bemused mate last October…
Since then we’ve had storm after storm, tidal surges down the east coast and along parts of the south coast, and rain and more rain… I doubt if I’d be paddling in that tranquil spot now.
The Somerset levels have flooded, again this winter too – now here I can’t quite understand why the river at times was down, but the land flooded, and huge pumps were to be seen trying to do the impossible … what of rivulets, drains and sluices. Has the land been allowed to dry out, fen land fashion, leaving the rivers perched above. Something needs to be sorted or the land let go, but protect the inhabited ‘islands’ … many coastal and salt water river areas used to be like that…
In the mean time, amongst many other things, recently we (Me, the mate and two friends) had a wonderful day in London (Greenwich actually) viewing the current Turner Exhibition, Turner & the Sea. It runs until 21st April 2014 at the National Maritime Museum. This was brilliant … absolutely brilliant. The exhibition is split into periods and types of his works with the useful addition of works by other artists, often alongside Turner’s works.
A reproduction of a part page from brochure is below. It relates to a section of the exhibition dealing with storm works. In many ways it is rather apt (even tomorrow there are 60-70 mph winds expected all around). Against this picture I made some notes: with seas as big as Turner depicted and a ship about to be completely destroyed, no one in the curators department seemed to notice that the sprit rigged vessel – going to the rescue? – hadn’t been reefed … and has been shown under full sail. I don’t think so. Turner must have thought about it: there are a row of reef points clearly painted onto the sail, hanging ready…
Anyway, what Turner was doing was depicting, with oodles of licence, a storm and weather…
Turner’s painting – Wreck of a Transport Ship – it normally sits in the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon.
Of course, now, the news is filled with graphic pictures of the results of weather. Housing along the Thames flood plain corridor in the counties to the west of London have been inundated with water. It is a sad and thought provoking sight.
The Prime Minister has promised to throw money at the problem … I hope it doesn’t come back and bite him: much of it is not preventable unless housing can be lifted a metre or so, the land too. And if flood dams are built, where will the next floods go…? Surely, they will come again…
Boats along the ‘lost’ river banks seemed to be largely riding out the problems though… But, our thoughts have to be with all those people affected, up and down our fair land.