Canoeing on the River Bure

Upper reaches of the River Bure

Yesterday I had a pleasurable afternoon canoeing with my mate Nigel upon the upper reaches of the River Bure, approximately ten miles north of Norwich. A real stress-busting day, thanks Nigel.

I thought I had finished with posts on birds until we disturbed a heron lurking by the river-bank. It flew past us flapping its giant wings like some antediluvian terradactyl!

Norwich-over-the-water

Anchor Quay and Saint Miles Bridge

The re-development of Norwich-over-the-water during the past 10 to 15 years has resulted in the transformation of a run-down and near derelict area of the City into a highly desirable residential location.

Standing on Saint Miles bridge looking north-west towards New Mills.

Octopus

A new resident to the Aquarium!

In the news today is Paul the 'psychic' Octopus. The English-born Octopus who now lives at Oberhausen Sea Life Zoo in Germany, successfully predicted all seven of Germany's wins in the Football World Cup and also Spain's win, by correctly choosing between two sealed boxes. Statistically this is equivalent to predicting heads or tails eight times, odds of 1 in 128. The World Cup winning nation is now bidding for Paul to re-locate to a zoo in Spain. Humankind tends to get excited by the idea of a creature which exhibits psychic powers, forgetting that they too possess psychic abilities, which usually remain dormant and unused.

Octopuses are zoologically known as Cephalopods, (from the Greek kephale, head and pod, foot). They are classified as predatory molluscs like squids and cuttlefish. One of the most intelligent of all invertebrates, they are capable of using tools and solving problems, have three hearts, and can camouflage themselves instantly, changing their colour and texture to match their surroundings. As they are boneless they are even able to escape from aquariums, squeezing themselves into small spaces. Octopuses have short life-spans of only three or four years.

The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols states, 'the Octopus stands significantly for the monsters who regularly symbolize the spirits of the Underworld and even Hell itself. The Octopus also corresponds to the zodiacal sign of Cancer, (see Crab) and is opposed to the dolphin. This identification is not unrelated to the creatures 'infernal' aspect, the Summer solstice being the gate of the Underworld.

The Octopus is often viewed as a sinister and scary creature. However, like the snake and spider, also invertebrates which needlessly frighten, the Octopus is an exemplary symbol of the unconscious psyche, which, as the psychologist Carl Jung constantly reminded his reader, humanity ignores at its peril.

A Day at the Races

Champion jockey Hayley Turner aboard Collect Art

Yesterday I had a rare excursion out of the city to the sea-side race-track of Great Yarmouth. Pictured is the champion female flat jockey Hayley Turner aboard Collect Art in the Parade ring, just minutes before winning the race in a finish in which Collect Art rallied gamely to regain the lead near the line by a head. An exciting finish on a day which was a speculative financial disaster for myself. However as I've been attending the race-track on and off for 20 years now there are plenty of glory days to recollect and sustain oneself through such a bleak day.

The general mood of the day was coloured by the fact that after several hot sunny days of temperatures reaching 27 Celsius last week, this week the mercury plunged to 16 Celsius for the day. As sometimes happens due to the close proximity of the sea, a sea-fret rolled in restricting visibility to just the last 2 furlongs for several races. One of the largest off-shore wind-farms consisting of over 30 wind-turbines can be seen from the Grandstand (photo bottom page) but not on the day I attended due to the weather.

Situated on Norfolk's east coast, Great Yarmouth was once a major sea-port. It has a literary association with Charles Dickens (1812-1870) who wrote of his childhood memories when resident there in 'David Copperfield', and with the Norfolk-born naval hero, Lord Horatio Nelson (1758-1805). In fact many pubs, clubs, conference centres and hotels throughout Norfolk including the new Grandstand at Yarmouth race-track are named after the distinguished imperial pirate. There's been horse-racing at Yarmouth since 1770, primarily due to its relatively close distance to the home of thoroughbred-racing, Newmarket, Suffolk, also known simply as H.Q. (Headquarters) around the world by racing aficionado's.

Due to the current economic climate the old lamentation about the perilous state and condition of British Flat racing is wailed once more. The fact is that there is simply too much low-grade racing like today's card at Yarmouth. The big betting firms, Ladbrokes, Corals, William Hills etc. are simply milking the industry for all it's worth, not caring whether the sport survives or not, true to the colours of international capitalism which also is indifferent about the human cost of unemployment. As long as these institutions get their pound of flesh, they will remain complacent, until the corpse is placed on their door-mat. Besides, horse-racing now accounts for a lesser percentage of profit for the gambling industry, online activities such as poker and betting on football is where the big money is; its a sad state of affairs, for in many ways horse-racing was for centuries the National sport of Britain until eclipsed by the more mass-minded participation sports of cricket and football.

Ever since the 1760's when three Arabian thoroughbreds arrived in Britain, the British have engaged in genetically modifying the thoroughbred horse for the sport of racing. Historically speaking thoroughbred horse racing, for good or ill, like many other pastimes was introduced to the rest of the world by Britain.

British horse-racing has for over thirty years been greatly supported by big horse owners such as Sheik Mohammed and his brother Hamdan al Maktoum along with Prince Khalid Abdullah, (the owner of this year's Derby winner Workforce). These owners, recognizing the skill of the British trainer and the Brits love of horse-racing, have generously provided many horses for trainers for decades. Without their continued support British racing would have been considerably poorer long ago in both quality and quantity.

Kingfisher

At last some decent weather for boating. Went out to Thorpe, Norwich, and when  turning off the river Yare, rowing down the Tas river  I saw the zippy flight of a kingfisher, twice!

I just love getting onto the water by whatever craft available, to slow down to the river's pace, hear that plopping of oar in water; there's nothing, just nothing, like messing about in boats, Ratty! We even had a "Wind in the Willows" "Pan" moment", hearing the sound of a flute from a shady bank!

The photo of a Kingfisher (not taken by me) reminds one how much the combination of patience, luck, skill and good equipment are needed to take the truly jaw-dropping photo. Below is a snap taken today. Note how straight the bank is, that's because its an artificial Cutting, dug to enable large vessels to negotiate a sharpish bend in the river Yare at Thorpe, thus allowing easier access to the port of Norwich.

River Yare at 'New Cut' April 2010

Crome

Late Afternoon on Norwich River by John Crome


A late master-work from the great master of the Norwich School of artists John Crome. (1768-1821).

I believe that the Castle Museum, Norwich  acquired this art-work in the 1980's. The vibrancy of colour here is truly amazing; Crome found inspiration from simple urban water scenes. There's a couple of other great works which are located at New Mills, Norwich by Crome just as stunning as this, if less detailed.

By all accounts the rivalry between the Crome family of artists and the Stannard family, notably the brothers Alfred and Joseph Stannard was intense. This was due to John Crome snubbing the youthful prodigy Joseph Stannard's requests for painting lessons from the self-taught master.

Crome himself is reputedly to have uttered on his death-bed something like, 'Hobbema, Hobbema, how I have loved you,' which true or not, reveals the influence which the Dutch 17th century masters had upon the leading players in the Norwich School.

Now here's the puzzle. If this work is dated 1818-20 and Stannard saw it, there may be an artistic pun going on here. For if you take a really close look at the foreground in Stannard's Thorpe Water Frolic (elsewhere on this blog) it too depicts a small child trailing a toy boat from the stern of a boat. Is this quite specific allusion by Stannard to this painting  sour grapes or homage or tribute to a late master or self-election to the Mantle of leader of the Norwich School of Painters?

The Lady of Shallot

Slowly filling the Aquarium with water!

This time pure gothic fantasy inspired by Tennyson's poem, John Waterhouse's 'The Lady of Shallot'. It's the kind of romantic image which as a teenager one enthusiastically frames in dark mahogany, wanting to be devoutly married to and live with every day, after seeing it in all its glory at the Tate.

All reproductions of paintings invariably are pale imitations of experiencing oil on canvas in the flesh; however, one chemical rite-de-passage, long ago, entangled in fascination at its rich detail, I distinctly heard the heavy flap of the gorgeous tapestry, the splutter of a candle guttering in the breeze and caught the zip of a swallow flitting past eye!

From its imposing size and presence in the Tate Gallery, Waterhouse's famous painting is the canvas which launched a thousand adolescent minds to delve further into the Pre-Raphaelite world of an idealized Arthurian world of myth and legend, languid heroines and Victorian social comment. One can almost hear the Gothic lamentations of a chanteuse such as Nico in the air as the heroine glides to a watery death!

Thorpe Water Frolic

The masterwork of Joseph Stannard (1797-1830). The Norwich School of painters lost one its greatest artists with his early death.

The Thorpe Water Frolic was an idea of the wealthy merchant Thomas Harvey from his witnessing water-festivities at Venice while on the Grand tour of Europe. Begun in 1824 the Thorpe Water-Frolic attracted crowds of over 30,000 when the population of Norwich was at that time little more than 10,000. A welcome day of rest for the many weavers of Norwich who often worked in cramped conditions, the Water-frolic was enjoyed as a rare day of recreation in the fresh air.

The division of the social classes was maintained throughout the event with gentry and aristocracy upon the left-bank, and workers to the right-bank of the canvas. Harvey who commissioned the painter Joseph Stannard to record the events of the Water-Frolic can be seen standing centre-left as if wading. Stannard has placed himself in the painting wearing red, shading his eyes and looking towards Harvey.

There appears to be several weather conditions depicted in the bright and busy sky-scape. A storm may be just clearing and better weather arriving. In any event its been suggested that Stannard was influenced by the writings of Berchem and his observations upon light and clouds. Stannard had also traveled to Holland in 1821 and and may well have seen the master-works by Dutch painters such as Ruisdael and Hobbema.

Water frolics held a special interest for Stannard beyond the aesthetics and social. He was a skilled oarsman and owned a prize-winning boat, the Cytherea, a four-oared skiff...It was certainly on view at the frolic of 1824, steered by an urchin and rowed by four youths in a uniform of blue-netted waistcoats, scarlet belts, white trousers and yellow straw hats with a laurel leaf and Cytherea in gold...If the Thorpe water frolics were really great pageants , as the Norwich Mercury suggested, and if the multitudes who attended were all actors, then Stannard played his part thoroughly. The Cytherea in 1825 appeared richly transformed:

'its colour is purple; the inside is adorned with an elegant gilt scroll, which completely encircles it; on the back-board where the coxswain sits, is a beautiful and spirited sea piece, representing a stiff breeze at sea, with vessels sailing in various directions, painted in oils are nearly covered with gilt dolphins.....

(from article by Trevor Fawcett-Roper in Norfolk Archaeology 1976)

Swan Lake

Probably the greatest ballerina I've ever had the pleasure of seeing dance is Irina Kolesnikova who danced Odette/Odile in Tchaikovsky's perennial classic, Swan Lake at the Theatre Royale, Norwich in January 2003. I also saw her twice in January 2007 and luckily, have a  DVD of her performance to remember her.

Postscript December 8th 2010 : - There is doubt as to whether Irena will be the principal dancer when Saint Petersburg ballet company visits Norwich in January 2011

Frog

With the Vernal Equinox just past love is in the air and spawn is in the water. Ever curious of the natural world Sir Thomas Browne took a zoological interest in the amphibious creature. Of as great an interest is the idiosyncrasy of his spelling!

Froggs taken in the first season of coition containe in their bellies spawne of the same figure and connexure as it appeareth in the water, as may bee discovered in the bellies of the female, which are the greater sex; observable it is how large a proportion the seminary vessels & parts of generation doe make unto other parts, and seemes to occupie the cavity of the lower belly, wherein the testicles are also very conspicuous & turgid in the male.

2 froggs coupled wee put in a cistern of water at the first promising dayes of the spring: wherein they continued just about twentie days, nor did they seperate although in divers dayes the water froze them over, at length the female dyed, the male notwithstanding an hard complexure at least 3 dayes after. In the cisterne more spawne was found then both their bodies wayghed, beside some part remaining in the body of the female, whereof some hanging out discovered manifestly that passage which at other times is very obscure, some remaining in the body more black stiff & clamie.

2 lived coupled the yeare succeeding, 3 weekes, & though frozen mayntained copulation. Remarkable it is with strong complication the male fastneth unto the female belowe the forleggs, & unto what largeness & under a downy black colour like catstayles of the water the thumbs of male froggs doe swell, which wee have not observed in the complexure of the male toade out of the water.

Of this spawne singular uses may bee made in physick, & though for the preservation thereof it may bee only distilled, yet may it bee kept fresh all the yeare under oyle, making choyce of fresh spawne, which will either hold its proper figure or else the black specks subsiding and separating will leave the white & aqueous part entire; the whole masse of spawne may also bee imbibed by bole or frankincense or minium or cerusse incorporated by agitation or subaction.

from British Museum Sloane 1875

Underwater

A long-time  resident Shubunkin  of the Aquarium; sadly recently gone.

The city of Norwich has historically the distinction of association with two Christian mystics. Both Dame Julian and Sir Thomas Browne's writings includes imagery of the submarine, that is, life at the bottom of the sea, perhaps because of the close proximity of the North Sea.

Julian’s spiritual meditations in her Revelations of Divine Love lead her to the seabed-

On another occasion I was led in imagination down on to the sea-bed, and there I saw green hills and valleys looking as though they were moss-covered, with sea-weed and sand.

Browne’s underwater image occurs in his inventory of lost and imaginary books, pictures and objects Museum Clausum (c.1675) which includes-

9. A Sub Marine Herbal, describing the several Vegetables found on the Rocks, Hills, Valleys, Meadows at the bottom of the Sea, with many sorts of Algae, Fucus, Quercus, Polyonum, Gramens and others not yet described.

Such matching pieces of imagery could excite a student of comparative religious literature. However, this coincidence of imagery may simply be the result of both Julian and Sir Thomas having a complete knowledge of the Bible.

Julian’s seabed image, which is only in the Long Text, is probably inspired from Scripture; submarine imagery occurs in the Book of Jonah when Jonah is on the seabed, wrapped in seaweed, and in the Psalm which he cites while there; even at the bottom of the seabed God is with Jonah.

Crab

The first resident of the Aquarium!

Carl Jung writes-

In astrology, Cancer is a feminine and watery sign, and the summer solstice takes place in it. In Propertius it makes a sinister appearance.

'Fear thou the ill-omened back of the eight-footed crab'. De Gubernatis says: " the crab... causes now the death of the solar hero and now that of the monster". As De Gubernatis thinks, the crab stands now for the sun and now for the moon, according to whether it goes backwards or forwards.

- CW. Vol. 9 : 1 : 605