Sunrise this morning
I wonder if my landlocked lifeboat feels any envy as other old wooden boats float past in the North Sea. This is one of the Thames Barges that still ply the East Anglian coast. My great-great grandfather Newsom Garrett used to run a grain cargo business from the Maltings at Snape (yes, that’s where J.K. Rowling borrowed the name for her villain/hero, now the home to the Aldeburgh Festival) and these barges would transport his grain to London, a distance of about 200 miles by water.
December 15th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Really nice sunset shot, Thomas.
Yes, I imagine your ship does envy those other vessels passing by. It’s purpose is to sail the waters, so I’m sure it’s spirit is longing to be back on the sea. But at least it is close by. A bit of the salt air is likely helpful.
.
December 15th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Really nice sunrise shot, Thomas.
Yes, I imagine your ship does envy those other vessels passing by. It’s purpose is to sail the waters, so I’m sure it’s spirit is longing to be back on the sea. But at least it is close by. A bit of the salt air is likely helpful.
.
December 15th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
What lovely evocative images!
How many times have I taken tea at Snape Maltings and browsed those little shops? I feel quite homesick! There is a great greetings card shop there where we buy up large stocks for future use. Trying to get a good greeting card in Finland is not so easy.
There’s a place close by that is my absolute favorite but I can’t remember the name of the place. They grow grass there! Turf, for gardens, football pitches and so on. The fields are just miles and miles of perfect green grass. It’s weird to see a lawn that stretches almost to the horizon. Whenever I drive through I can’t help myself but mutter ‘here in England it’s so green…’
My 7 year old son asked me recently when we can go back to that beach with all the stones. He loved throwing the pebbles into the water and I’m quite amazed that he remembers as it was 3 years ago that I last took them there. He also mentioned the ‘castles’ by which he meant the Martelo towers. Last time we were there we also had an excellent time in Orford castle which is the best castle in the world!
Now I am feeling homesick.
Thanks to posting those pictures. They are lovely.
Cheers,
Jon
December 15th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
I spent some early years in Lowestoft, and we had family holidays around there for quite some time after that. It’s amazing how clear memories can be from when you’re four or five – I remember the vivid blue cornflowers in the grass coming up to the beach, the interesting little pools where streams came down to the sea, and of course all the pebbles.
There’s something very special about the sense of place in that area, both on the coast and inland, in the Fens. Something isolated and ancient, connected to the past more than to the rest of the country. Fascinating recent archaeology shows it to have been a highly organised and successful area right back in the Neolithic, with villages supporting a transitional sort of life between hunter-gathering and farming and populations following the changing waterline over the seasons as it created new grazing lands or supported fishing.
As for the boat feeling homesick for the sea – I bet it’s just happy that someone’s looking after at at last. Although they do have the power to implant their strong homing instinct in their keepers – that may be hard to resist over time.
December 15th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Great Pictures, Thank you!
I bet your lifeboat does get jealous, But Imaging how Jealous the others will be when ours begings to make inspiring wonderful Music!!!!
Cheers, and Happy Holidays!
Stevie D.
December 15th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
damn, no spell check, Imagine (not imaging) and Yours (not ours)
smd
December 15th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
What a view!
As this dawn alights her glass,
let her muse be a sea of music;
and from within her striped hull
a toast:
to a rising tide –
that her seagoing cousin
safely pass in stride.
slippers a tappin’,
…a sea shanty perhaps?
December 16th, 2007 at 1:39 am
Does your vessel have envy? I hope not, it’s owner is Thomas Dolby!
December 16th, 2007 at 9:12 am
In the mornings I often go to work the wrong way to the east, 500 yards or so down the road.
Before coming to the end of the Felixstowe prom and look out accros the cold North Sea, watch the sun comming up. near to where roughs towers (Sealand) is.
At the weekend I also see the old barges go by, I sould imagine they are the same vessels heading for the Orwell.
Nice pictures bet it was a bit chilly when you took them.
December 16th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
What lovely photos, Thomas. Thank you for sharing. I like to take
photos of sun*sets*, myself . No two the same, and very transient…
different every few seconds. Lovely composition, too.
Peace and poetic prose,
Kara
December 16th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
I don’t think the boat is jealous at all. I think it’s happy to live another day in a retirement style very few boats get.
December 17th, 2007 at 3:45 am
Thomas,
Slightly off topic, but as you’re in the UK at Christmas, BBC4 is running their season of Christmas Ghost Stories.
There’s quite a few M R James delights in there, and quite a few of them were set (and filmed) in East Anglia.
They started on Saturday and are on about 10pm-ish.
Some very evocative landscapes in there. Highlights include ‘Oh Whistle and I’ll Come to You’, and ‘A Warning to the Curious’.
Go on, frighten yourself witless!
December 17th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Off the grid, but longing back to the open sea.
Seems that once righted by the shipwright she will once again be capable of sailing, yet destined for a greater calling.
December 18th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Red sky in the morning…
How was it then?
Jon