Chapter 55
Phoebe can’t quite believe how many people came. The meadow is buzzing – quite literally, in the case of the beehives on the top of Hamish’s riverboat. She spots Maude and Hamish as soon as she steps through the gate. They are clearly making the most of the gathering and have lined up pots of their honey on a pop-up table outside the Kingfisher.
‘This thing is heavy!’ says Sandra from behind her and Phoebe turns, readjusting the weight of the roll of fabric in her own hands. She is carrying the front, with Hester in the middle and Sandra at the back. Jazz is in front of them, holding open the gate.
‘Not long now, we’re nearly there!’
They shuffle their way through, various groups looking up and waving as they approach.
‘Hey, Phoebe!’ calls Ben from down by the pontoon, where he is gathered with his girlfriend, Rachel, met through his job at the local sports shop, and a group of his football mates. They’re smiling and laughing and Phoebe experiences a rush of happiness and pride. Ben’s journey hasn’t been without its potholes, but to see him here, surrounded by people, is a stark reminder of how far he has come since Phoebe first met him. His beloved football club never reopened, but after months of mourning its loss, he decided to set one up himself.
Over by the Kingfisher, she spots Camilla browsing for books with the women Phoebe recognises as her running group friends. They’ve come along to the wild swimming group a few times, often having jogged there through the fields.
Phoebe searches around for Arabella and eventually sees her on the river, floating in a large inflatable ring shaped like a flamingo, sunglasses on and head leant back, her fingers trailing in the water. She looks like a completely different person to the woman Phoebe first met over a year ago. She was never Phoebe’s patient and yet her transformation has been just as dramatic as her mother’s.
The one person she can’t see here is Tara. She messaged this morning to say she wouldn’t be able to make it. She’s having one of her bad days and the thought of leaving the house just felt like too much. Phoebe replied straight away to say they’d miss her but not to worry. She’ll be round to visit tomorrow and they can have a good chat. Phoebe isn’t giving up on her, just like she won’t give up on all her other patients who are having more bad days than good right now. Her job will always have its dark and heavy parts. But, over the years, she’s discovered what a privilege it is to be there with people in their very worst moments. And to try, little by little, to help them find their own version of happiness. Whether that means swimming in a river or making honey or kicking about a ball with a bunch of friends.
‘Hey, let me help,’ says Luca, spotting them and stepping away from the groaning table of food and running a hand through his messy hair, making Phoebe’s heart squeeze a little.
Kate spots them approaching too and strides over, a towel slung over her shoulders and her hair damp.
‘Hi, guys!’
‘Sorry we’re late, we had to wait a while to collect the banner. But I think it looks bloody great!’
They line up on the edge of the river with the fabric rolled up in their hands.
‘On the count of three,’ calls Phoebe, her friends nodding in agreement. ‘One, two, three!’
They let the fabric go and the banner releases, revealing images of kingfishers and otters, kayaks and a riverboat. Dotted about are pictures of swimmers, floating and drifting down the river. In the middle are the words, ‘Welcome to Farleigh-on-Avon, an official bathing water.’
From the Avon Times:
Local river swimming spot becomes designated ‘bathing water’
Yesterday, locals came together to celebrate the designation of Farleigh-on-Avon as an official bathing water, the first riverside location in the country to gain this status. Bathing status marks the river out as an official swimming spot and will ensure that the water quality is monitored and protected in the future.
Just over a year ago, this stretch of river was condemned due to high levels of pollution, but thanks to tireless local campaigning, the health of the river has been rejuvenated.
Last year, the Avon Times reported on high levels of sewage in the local river. A subsequent investigation, conducted jointly between the Avon Times and the national newspaper the Herald, found that the local water treatment facility in nearby Waterford had been illegally dumping sewage into the river for years. But on the back of the investigation, and a media campaign led by journalist Kate Mathews-Chapman, stricter sanctions have now been put into place, with the water company also facing a hefty fine and the CEO, Douglas Rainford, stepping down from his position.
The campaign to secure bathing status was led by the Farleigh-on-Avon River Swimming, Bathing and Recreational Water-Based Activities Club (FoARSbrWAC) and the Farleigh-on-Avon Mental Health Swimming Group. As well as putting pressure on the local water company to change their practices, they managed to persuade local farms to move to pesticide-free farming methods, thereby reducing run-off of chemicals into the river. And a group of young people created the River Clean-Up initiative, where, on the first Saturday of every month, locals pick litter from the river, either on the riverbanks or via kayak or paddleboard.
Hester Samuels, 18, who started the project and is a Farleigh-on-Avon native, soon to be heading to the University of Bristol to study nursing, said, ‘It’s easy to feel like you don’t have any control over things like this, but you do. Last weekend when we did the River Clean-Up, I collected three bin bags of litter. That stuff would still be floating about there now, endangering wildlife, if we hadn’t got out there.’
In a recent water test conducted by the River Trust, the water quality in the stretch of the Avon between Farleigh-on-Avon and Waterford was found to be ‘excellent’.
Wildlife at the river is thriving, according to the River Trust survey. Several locals have cited spottings of a new family of otters that have chosen to make this stretch of the river their home.
To mark the appointment of bathing status, yesterday local swimmers came together at Farleigh-on-Avon for a picnic and group swim.
In a speech to those gathered by the river, campaigner Kate Mathews-Chapman said, ‘It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate the hard work of so many people and the success in turning the state of this river around. This river has been a lifeline to so many, offering a place to escape and a community to turn to. But it was our turn to protect the wildlife and ecosystem that we share this place with. I’m so pleased that we have managed to save the river that saved us.’