Wetland Living

Here's the architect David Pearson giving a speech from his tinsel pulpit at the Observatory of the London wetland centre. The occasion was his golden wedding anniversary party. He and his wife Joss were the founders of Gaia books, a once independent publishing house, and my former employers. Joss has MS now and is a little frail, but beautifully dressed in gold, her sparkling smile still much in evidence.

Canapes were nibbled and conversation flowed; chocolate cake, wine and a guided walk around the Wetlands centre were on offer. David actually designed two of the areas there: the pond zone for school parties to learn about pond life and practise pond dipping, and the wetland living zone which showed human interaction with the wetlands. These salmon traps or 'putts' and the large fishing net were part of the display in this area. I have chosen them because I liked their curving organic forms. This type of fish trap is no longer used on the river Severn.

After the lunch party ended, I took the bus and tube back to Paddington station. My train had been cancelled. There was a certain chaos caused by floods and backed up trains on parts of the line, but I got back to Stroud in time to attend another party! Stayed for a couple of hours, then returned home, almost partied out.