Plungen: this morning I have come to the place that I used to head for every morning, closer to home. From here to Clyce Hole [a mile downriver, between Glastonbury and Street] the river has not just been embanked but straightened and re-routed. The water level in the river is actually higher than the surrounding fields. This was done in order to create a mill race, which originally fed the mill stream which in turn powered the mills at Northover and Beckery. It was a major work of medieval engineering.
Here too the former shape of the landscape is to some extent still visible. From here the river used to flow closer to the town and then Wearyall Hill, and when there has been a lot of rain the standing water lies in the lowest places and approximately marks what must have been the original course of the river. Sometimes the field here still floods completely, which must once have been a regular occurrence.
Following Llewellyn's Four Point Plan [I talk about this in 'The River'] I am trying to find the Cry from the Heart, a deep emotional response to what has happened to the environment. As I sit here in the peaceful early morning countryside, beside the river, it's not so easy to touch such feelings; but I still remember clearly the outburst that came to me one day: 'What the Earth needs for her healing is our tears'.
A small thing that helps is picking up rubbish, and every week or two I do that and fill a carrier bag from along the road and beside the river. Yesterday I was walking home with my bagful and a woman stopped and said 'I think I'm going to start doing that'. She had noticed the litter and her response had been 'Why, why do they do it?' But something about seeing me picking it up must have changed her perspective – after all, what is more important than blaming people is doing something simple that makes a difference. It was nice to stop and talk to her.
Here too the former shape of the landscape is to some extent still visible. From here the river used to flow closer to the town and then Wearyall Hill, and when there has been a lot of rain the standing water lies in the lowest places and approximately marks what must have been the original course of the river. Sometimes the field here still floods completely, which must once have been a regular occurrence.
Following Llewellyn's Four Point Plan [I talk about this in 'The River'] I am trying to find the Cry from the Heart, a deep emotional response to what has happened to the environment. As I sit here in the peaceful early morning countryside, beside the river, it's not so easy to touch such feelings; but I still remember clearly the outburst that came to me one day: 'What the Earth needs for her healing is our tears'.
A small thing that helps is picking up rubbish, and every week or two I do that and fill a carrier bag from along the road and beside the river. Yesterday I was walking home with my bagful and a woman stopped and said 'I think I'm going to start doing that'. She had noticed the litter and her response had been 'Why, why do they do it?' But something about seeing me picking it up must have changed her perspective – after all, what is more important than blaming people is doing something simple that makes a difference. It was nice to stop and talk to her.
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