This is a painting I've been working on depicting a storm over the Arun valley. It's mixed media, full size 45cm x 33cm, though I may format it to a smaller size, perhaps a square. It's taken a while as I've been struggling with it somewhat and putting it to one side for weeks at a time, with my attention on outdoor and other artwork. There are meteorological elements in there, including weather maps with deep low pressure systems like those that rammed much of England and Wales the winter before last. However, it's really about dark clouds of a political kind: more about the Arundel Bypass later in this entry.
Further to my last posting here, I have finished reading about Charles Rangeley-Wilson's lost river in High Wycombe. A thought provoking and sad story coming based on thorough research. Dedication and perseverance in his sifting through the local archives, dealings with the local council and his wanders around the area in all weathers from snow to heatwave. Near the end, he said hopes for undoing at least some of the culverting imposed in the mid-1960s were dashed with the building of a new shopping centre right over it. Apparently, when the opportunity came to regenerate the area during the 2000s, uncovering the river was mooted but it came down to first costs and profit motive - the developers deemed it too expensive. As that was where the money was, the local authority had no choice but to go along with them. As we've seen elsewhere, this involved discussions / meetings closed off to the public. All things we're seeing time and again, with the same mistakes repeated time and again.
Earlier this week, I had a sketching session along the River Arun between the Black Rabbit and South Stoke. It was a lovely day with warm spring sunshine. See
Sketches along West Sussex Rivers in my Water and Art blog. The valley here is a haven from the busy roads surrounding it. Thankfully there is a pelican crossing near Arundel railway station, but this part of the A27 was oppressive, both when I arrived around 11:00am and when I headed home around 6pm, during the evening peak hour. Amid the unrelenting streams of heavy traffic, were numerous large heavy lorries which made it feel all the more oppressive. Accessing the Burpham road from here on foot is now nigh impossible to do safely as there is no footway across the railway bridge on the north side of the road. Now, people (lots of them) will argue all this as a case for a new bypass to the south. Understandable, but only when considering getting from A-B as quickly as possible, ignoring the wider consequences. Ignoring, too past experience showing bigger roads drawing in more traffic from a larger area, attendant development, with traffic congestion returning before too long. At Newbury, apparently, this took just six years.
There is now a website dedicated to the Arundel Bypass:
A27 Arundel Bypass Neighbourhood Committee - http://www.arundelbypass.co.uk/
I hope they don't mind me sharing their photo they recently put up on Facebook, promoting the public meeting in Arundel on 27th April. Regrettably, I can't attend, ironically because of transport issues - evening meetings are harder to get to / from, even closer to home. I could identify very well with the saga recently shared on Facebook last weekend. Amongst other things, this included another footpath dumping people alongside the busy dual carriageway, with a dangerous crossing. Away from the main urban areas - London and the coastal strip - getting around by public transport is at best tricky, at worst nigh impossible, and has been for decades, buses having been insidiously cut back.
Finally, I know there are lots of other issues for people to think about - among them healthcare, national security, worries about further cuts to public services after the forthcoming general election. Even so, I'm disappointed that transport and the environment are not bigger issues, even though they affect us all. Questioning the basic premise of cars / trucks being king and thinking beyond first costs and profit motive is long overdue.
