River Run

'River Run’ was born of my desire to explore the water courses that I have grown up in and around. I wanted to look deeper than the obvious, to look at how the environment and my engagement with it has changed, though my affinity with the waters has not. ‘River Run’ is a flow of consciousness throughout the whole that does not form a chronological narrative. I draw upon personal memories and family history to inspire my writing and examine the nature of memory placed in landscape. My focus in the piece on sewage and nuclear energy is driven by a curiosity about how things can be hidden in plain sight, things that we choose not to see, as we exercise a kind of blindness. Alongside that I examine themes of loss and change, of the seemingly limitless capacity of water to absorb our waste and I draw parallels with the unconscious and the changes in perception and memory that come with our ageing. I consider childhood and parental influences on shaping ‘River Run’, and detail research methods used. I examine established psychogeographical and wild writing works set in this area and on this coast which are detailed and reflective yet seem not to mention the obvious. I include some unlauded works by local people whose affinity and affection for these waters equals mine. I will discuss the themes of loss and change as a thread through the piece.