An Escape

We escape to Snatchems in the afternoon. At this time of year, one of the joys of sitting in the conservatory there is that you can watch the sun setting over the river Lune. As I’ve said before this area has some fabulous sunsets as there is an unobstructed view to the west.

Last night was one of purples, pinks, oranges & brilliant glowing bright, almost turquoise, blue. The great advantage of this vantage point is that the sunset is reflected in the waters of the Lune. In places the water is as flat as any mirror; in others the strong current produces surface ripples which make the setting sun’s colour dance.

Shape is given if you look across the river to the Pennine fells on the other side of the water. Electricity pylons stride across the horizon taking the power from our local power station to the rest of the country. We are reminded of Stephen Spender’s poem “The Pylons”, a poem we both studied as part of our English Literature ‘O’ level course many years ago. For Spender pylons were a modern phenomenon. For us the wind turbines on the opposite side of the river play the same role as symbols of “the quick perspective of the future”. I wonder what future generations will find as symbols of their changing times.