Sea Change

This illustration was made for a University of Worcester research project, called ‘Sea Change’. I designed it in response to an article in The Guardian highlighting how water companies regularly discharge huge quantities of raw sewage into England’s rivers.



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Lydney Harbour

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When driving back to Malvern from Chepstow in September, I made a quick detour to Lydney Harbour. The ugly industrial area that I passed through didn’t fill me with much hope, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a small harbour filled with an eclectic collection of vessels, some of which seemed to have been stationary for some time. Two huge gates held in the water and gave protection from the Severn’s tides. An Ice Cream van was doing good business and families were strolling around, enjoying the wide views across the Severn. A friendly old chap was engaging as many people as possible, drawing attention to a stone monument that was placed there to commemorate the Severn Railway Bridge disaster. On a foggy night in 1960 two barges collided, creating what must have been an apocalyptic fireball, they then smashed into and destroyed the railway bridge that spanned the river. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severn_Railway_Bridge I was aware of this terrible event, but having a clear view ...
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Who was Mathias Sydanmatsa?

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“The river’s coming down rushed and troubled as if it’s hiding something. Enter Florence Saunders paddling. Harry Kingscott and William George Montague, both with no shoes. Sarah Matthews, epileptic, shouting curses at her mother. And the entire Bedford family arguing. Enter unnamed sailor weeping with Matthias Sydamnasta of Finland, holding a rung of rigging.”   (Oswald, 2009: 20)  ‘A Sleepwalk on the Severn’ by Alice Oswald, has introduced me to a long list of enigmatic and tragic characters. The Finnish sailor, ‘Matthias Sydamnasta’ being the most intriguing. This sailor, more at home on the Baltic Sea but now appearing as an apparition on the River Severn, captured my interest. Oswald’s ‘Sleepwalk’ shows us real people, who lost their lives in the river. I searched for information about Sydamnasta and accessed the ‘Severn Project’, part of the Gloucestershire Archives , gaining an insight to Oswald’s creative methodology. Here under the title ‘Drownings and other deat...
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Worcester Bridge to Bevere Island

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Walking north from Worcester I followed the Severn Way passing by numerous houses, sunken boats, through meadows and a pub garden (which was unfortunately closed due to the Covid-19 lockdown). A fair variety of trees, other plants and birds on this stretch...and the bright autumnal light helped give the river a more inviting colour than its usual muddy brown. As soon as the paved section of the path ended, I was pretty much alone for the majority of the journey, but there was the occasional walker sliding their way through the mud. The path gets alarmingly close to the water’s edge on several occasions and this along with the mud resulted in a slow, careful pace. Bevere Island  has a picturesque weir and a bridge that is on the verge of being considered a ruin. Being on the other side of the river would have helped as it may have given me a better view of the island. The history of this location isn’t necessarily obvious from its appearance but it has reputably been a place of sanc...
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