Shot through with wonder (First glimpse of the sea)

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Traditionally, August has been the time for Britons to head off to the seaside for their annual holiday. This week’s episode celebrates this custom and causes me to reconsider the momentous moment when I saw the sea for the first time.   

Journal entry:

23rd August, Friday

“All night the winds blew;
 Battering and hooliganing
 Around the boat.
 Perhaps that’s why I woke
 In a disquieted mood.

I stand on the bank
 And feel my feet set squarely
 On the towpath.
 Each morning, a raven rows his way
 Across the sky, from east to west.”

Episode Information:

In this episode I read Mind Shamble’s poem ‘Over Steam (Spring 2021)’ and read excerpts from John Betjeman’s poems, ‘Seaside Golf’, ‘Trebetherick’, and ‘Greenaway.’ I also refer to the song ‘Morningtown Ride’ by M. Reynolds and sung by The Seekers. 

With special thanks to our lock-wheelersfor supporting this podcast.

Andrea Hansen
 Chris Hinds
 David Dirom
 Chris and Alan on NB Land of Green Ginger
Captain Arlo
Rebecca Russell
Allison on the narrowboat Mukka
Derek and Pauline Watts
Anna V.
Orange Cookie
Donna Kelly
Mary Keane.
Tony Rutherford.
Arabella Holzapfel.
Rory with MJ and Kayla.
Narrowboat Precious Jet.
Linda Reynolds Burkins.
Richard Noble.
Carol Ferguson.
Tracie Thomas
Mark and Tricia Stowe
Madeleine Smith

General Details

In the intro and the outro, Saint-Saen's The Swan is performed by Karr and Bernstein (1961) and available on CC at archive.org.

Two-stroke narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River Weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence. 

Piano and keyboard interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.

All other audio recorded on site. 

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