Here is a picture to remind us that summer will come sometime.

My Love Of Essex Rivers

My Love of Essex Rivers


Since an early age these South East Essex rivers and the surrounding countryside have been deeply in my heart, some of the places I love most of all the many parts of England that I know. The glory of the skies, the salt marshes, the small towns and pretty villages, the salty breezy air of the riverside quays and the peace to be found all have their place in my memories. I think I would be a very different person without those memories. All the years I have lived in London have not taken them away.
I have an extremely early recollection of a visit to Maldon. This was a Sunday School treat as far as I remember. I recall a steep hill and a shop full of little souvenirs where I bought a small china kid with a sixpence that I had to spend. I still have the kid in my china cabinet and here it is. I must have been about seven or eight years old when I went on that trip.

Halcyon Days

This is Mr Swanborough rowing Joe and me across the River Crouch
in Essex many years ago. As far as I remember the dog belonged to
Mr Swanborough.

A Nostalgic Dream of Essex Rivers

Wide open breezy distance,
Tremendous skies, rippling water,
Sailing barges, hard working carriers,
Now rich men’s pleasure or a holiday-maker’s dream,
Muddy creeks, large and small,
Sea walls to stem a flooding river’s ravenous desire for space,
Heat of the sun’s unshaded strength
Or twenty miles on a bicycle in teeming cold rain.
Wild wind, gentle zephyrs,
Skylarks winging their way heavenward
Then flashing down to the nest beneath.
Busy little towns with riverside quays
And mile after mile of banks to walk.
Mud, mud and yet more mud as the tide recedes.
Be careful not to slip!
There’s Othona’s fortress, not visible,
But stones translated into St. Cedd’s dream,
St Peter’s on the Wall.
At Stone empty cargo ships loom through a haze of heat
Awaiting the return of prosperity
While children play on the beach.
Time passes but nostalgia endures.

This poem is a memory of childhood in the 1930s during the Depression. I remember ships empty and laid up during that time. They were high up in the water due to being empty of cargo.

Salt marsh

I am so glad to know that some of the land by the River Crouch in Essex is going to be allowed to revert to salt marsh. It will take a very long time, and maybe I shall not see it, But I am glad to think of it happening. I love that part of the world.

A Collage of everything

I am fascinated with making collages at the moment. How about this one. There are too many little pictures, I know, but, for better or worse, here is another one.

Rosetta and Samuel

My Grandma Rosetta and Grandad Samuel
I remember Grandad but not Rosetta.

A Summer's Day Beside the River Crouch

A Summer’s Day Beside the River Crouch

That day in 1939, such a short time before the second world war started, has lingered in my mind as one of sunshine, the rippling river, and the wide open space of the great salt marsh which stretched, seemingly endlessly, interspersed with little creeks and larger ones too wide to be leapt over.
To start with my friend and I had made up our minds that a day by the river would be something to enjoy. Our mothers gave us sandwiches and we set off. What our mothers did not know was the plan we had in our minds that we did not communicate to them. Looking back I know that we should have told them that we were going to the river, and also the means by which were planning to get there. However, we did not.
We made our way down Plumberow Avenue, not calling on my Grandma and Auntie Maud on the way. Plumberow in those days passed a number of houses and bungalows and then went on through fields to the Lower Road. We took a short cut through the fields, crossing the Lower Road beside a caravan site and carrying on till we reached the beginning of the marshes. This was our great plan; to carry on over the marshes to the seawall that protected the land from the incursion of the river which was tidal. It would have spread far over the land in the past. This was quite a good and exciting plan but could have been a dangerous one as will be seen. We knew our mothers would not have approved of it at all! Our only excuse for this for being so foolish must be our youth.
Anyway, we carried on across the wide and fascinating marsh, peering into creeks to find crabs and jumping across the narrow ones until we at last reached the river. The journey was muddy and quite hazardous at times.
There were the seawall banks, and as we climbed them the beautiful River Crouch came into view. The water rippled and gleamed, the splendour of the huge and cloudless sky above us went on for ever, and there was not a soul in sight. I think we were quite overcome. Our naughty plan had come to pass!
By that time we were both ready for lunch and we produced our picnic. We sat there utterly at peace with the world. Everything was perfect.
After getting rid of the hunger pangs we had to decide what to do next. Paddling seemed a good idea. We walked along to a wide inlet from the river, and we decided this would be a suitable place for paddling (remember we were very young and foolish). There was a wide bank of mud to be traversed before we could reach the water. The mud was sticky and slippery, but we managed slip and slither a little way before my friend slipped right over and was smothered in mud.! Her dress was filthy.
This made us struggle back to the seawall where my friend took off her dress. I have always been somewhat pessimistic about the weather, and I had brought a raincoat with me. This I was able to lend to her. I think she must have bundled up her muddy dress and carried with her. My raincoat pockets were always filled with odds and ends, and were usually unpleasantly sticky, but even they would not have taken a dress however tightly rolled up!
We were very lucky not to be drowned. The water went down and down and we should never have survived paddling in such dangerous conditions. All I can say is that our guardian angels must have been kept very busy that day.
We pottered about for a few more hours and then decided we had better make our way home. As we once more crossed the marshes dusk was falling, and a mist was following us. I remember it as being like the Great Grimpen Mire in The Hound of the Baskervilles. We were luckier than the villainous Baskerville who sank in the bog. We reached home safely.
At both our homes all was fear and turmoil. Both our Dads were out looking for us and my Grandma and also Auntie Maud were there. I think we both realised that we had been very,very bad indeed. In spite of all this I cannot help remembering this as a day of delight.

Here is a poem I wrote in which I have tried to convey something of the feelings of that day.
Salt Marshes.

I remember the marshes,
So wide and sky-roofed,
With creeks where crabs might lie.
Adventure was in those marshes,
Glorious childhood adventure.
On the way to the glittering river
Who knew what wonder might be found
On that wide wind-blown loneliness.

Sitting on the sea wall, eating sandwiches,
The river in front and the marshes behind,
We belonged to the place,
We belonged to the time,
As never before and never since.
Our mud-stained feet and luckily undrowned bodies
Were one with the river.
One with the salt-born loveliness,
And one with Creation’s eternal soul.

MSK

Spring

Now I am looking forward to the Spring, the leaves and blossoms on the trees and the flowers budding,
especially the wind flowers and the bluebells in the woods.

Christmas 2007

This is the last mention of the Christmas of 2007 that I shall make.

I wish a Peaceful and Happy New Year to all the world.

The Christmas tree

I always enjoy Christmas. The child in me comes to the surface and enjoys the decorations, the tree and family visits, Christmas presents and also the hope that the peace it represents will one day come to pass all over the world.

Our Garden Holly

Here is holly from a bush at the end of our garden.

My Thoughts On Christmas

Now where shall I begin? Christmas seems so many things to so many different people that I find it very difficult to get my thoughts on to paper. To me Christmas is a time full of joy, a time when we enjoy the company of our dear ones and remember those who are part of our past. Christmas is so much part of childhood, my own and my children’s that there must surely be the beginning of my thoughts. Some of the Christmas memories are so far back that they can hardly be called memories at all. They are feelings so deep within my being that they probably come from the time when my mother first picked me up to show me the glittering Christmas tree in the corner of the room. Certain things can touch that time such as the piny scent as we walk into the room with the tree. Scent is the most likely to bring back memories from the past. The gleam of the baubles, the twinkling lights, the shining tinsel and the glittering star at the very top of the tree also act on our subconscious. There is something extra special about the act of bringing a tree into the house. It surely must have had great significance to our most ancient of pagan ancestors living in these chilly northern climes. An artificial tree can never be quite the same. This applies to the holly and, of course, we must not forget the mistletoe.
I love the Christian aspect of Christmas with the birth of Jesus in the stable, the Shepherds, and the Star leading the Three Kings, one of whom is always portrayed as being black. This interests me as I do not know where the legend of one black and two white kings came from. I am also fascinated by the great pagan midwinter festival that Christmas replaced, a festival that helped northern people get through the darkest part of winter. To some extent Christmas still serves this purpose.
Music is an integral part of Christmas, both carols old and new, and modern Christmas songs, and, of course, Christmas stories abound. I feel the need to read The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens every year, and to have a dip into any of the Christmas anthologies I can find. And what about Father Christmas? He must not be forgotten. The children with their sparkling Christmas eyes would not allow that.
None of this delves into the much deeper mysteries of Christmas and these, I think, should be kept for another time. So we shall keep away from such solemn and insoluble questions. Fetch the decorations, the holly, and most of all, remember to bring in the tree. Don’t forget the turkey or the especially festive nut roast, the pudding, the mince pies and the cake, the wine and the brandy. Give and receive presents without feeling guilty, and most of all remember, as John Masefield said, laugh and be merry with the loved ones who are with us.
So, to everyone,

Have A Merry Christmas !!!

Christmas

This is just to show that I am beginning to notice that Christmas is on the way.

Roses in November

Here is a November rose. The roses have been so good this year.

Town Trees

I feel the Lawson's pines should be growing on a wild mountain side.

My Love Of Woodland

This is where my conscious memories of woodland begin.
I was taken to Epping Forest on a Sunday School treat when I was around five or six years old. Unfortunately my main memory is falling off a donkey. My foot being caught in a stirrup I was dragged along the ground, finishing up with a nasty graze on one of my arms. The trees took a second place that day!
As a young child Hockley woods played a great part in pleasurable outings of exploration. With young friends I wandered through the woods delighting in the great oak trees and the thickly growing remains of past coppicing. My Dad took me for walks and explained about the coppice cutting that had taken place in the past, talks which stayed in my mind and was the beginning of my love of trees. Windflowers starred the ground early in the Spring, delicately stirring to the slightest breeze.
There were also huge ants, not so lovable. Their nests were mountains of tiny twigs and whatever else was suitable for them. They got in the way of picnics. I have an idea they were originally put there as food for pheasants. The pheasants were gone and so were the humans who preyed on them, but the ants were flourishing.
While going to Hockley Council School my friend, Jean, and I were allowed to have a picnic meal in the woods once a week, in the summer of course. We sat in what I think were old sand pits surrounded by trees, not far from the school. On other days we went home for our dinner.
There was also the pleasure of eating the sweetest of chestnuts from the massive trees that grew near to the school playground. There was holly to collect at Christmas time, holly that seemed all the more festive due the search in the depths of the woods for bushes with berries.

My second name is Sylvia which seems to have been prophetic on the part of my parents.

Autumn

The leaves on the huge London plane tree opposite to our house are now golden. Soon they will fall and we shall really believe that winter is here. Today the sun is shining and there is still warmth in it. We sat in the conservatory and were comfortable. Before that we had a walk by the Welsh Harp and this was lovely. There were a few people walking their dogs. The water really looked blue. We could see the top of the new Wembley Stadium with its arch. I never understand why the arch has to be leaning. I think it would be better standing straight upwards.

From where I am sitting, looking between the houses opposite, I can see the top of Brockley Hill so we are really on the edge of London.