08 March 2023
My alarm rouses me from the safety of my dreams, bringing me back to the reality of the concrete jungle , its valleys between the ivory towers looming overhead, it’s occupants peer down with discontent towards the struggles of the common man below . I take comfort in knowing today I escape, if only for a moment, the grey bricks of industry to feel the fresh breeze of nature on my cheeks, the sweet pollen from the wild will fill my nostrils and rid my soul of the foul stench of industry that permeates my soul as I’m trapped in the thunder dome of life in the city. My boots laced tight I set out. first is the wait, always a wait or a form or a queue, everything worthwhile involves a wait or procedure. The sun peels it’s head from behind the clouds, a ray of sunshine hits the road as the taxi appears from within like a ferry to the promised land or maybe the river Styx, I enter the pure white chariot clumsily, the taste of metal in my mouth overcomes me , as it does when excited . As I peer out the window the store fronts and traffic signs give way to quaint cottages with their manicured gardens, the occasional person proudly trimming a hedge or washing their doorstep. The road becomes lined with wild brush and open field, the livestock happily grazing, unaware of the world I just left behind . The asphalt ends and the crunching of gravel beneath the tires signal our arrival at this paradise only minutes away from the pressures of the city. The sweet smell of fresh air hits my nostrils, it’s earthy fragrance backed by wild flowers awakens my senses as the birdsong tickles my ears. I lose my self in the moment, time stops and I breathe deep, my lungs filled with the energy of nature …invigorating yet strangely calming. I raise my phone to take a picture, but it doesn’t do the view justice, it seems unfair to this place to try to capture its beauty within the borders of a photograph, I put my phone on silent, place it in my pocket and proceed to follow the trail, enjoy my surroundings and live in this moment for a while, for I soon will be surrounded by the bricks , mortar and deafening silence of the city that humanity has carved into this paradise under our noses.
Russell Hughes
As you can see from Russel’s memoir, we visited Carlton Marshes in May 2022. The trip was part of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Authority’s Marsh, Arts and Us, a community arts engagement project and part of Water, Mills and Marshes Broads Landscape Partnership Scheme funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Artist Ian Brownlie and writer Belona Greenwood facilitated the day and then delivered a number of workshops, the residents inspired by their trip created the banner which is shown here.
As you see below it is being displayed at Primeyarc in Great Yarmouth. It will be displayed later in the year at St Nicholas Church in a Herring House Trust art exhibition and also travel back to Carlton marshes visitors centre were the story began to be viewed by the public.
