Coniston Water

My father was a participant in a fairly dangerous sport, in steeple-chasing, accidents are regular, paralysis and death are not uncommon. It’s an unpleasant feeling when they leave the house to participate, there is always the potential for them not to return. So, one starts to feel an affinity with people who particpate in dangerous pursuits, and although I was very young and I don’t remember it, I was always fascinated by the exploits of Sir Donald Campbell, attempting to break the World Water Speed Record in his famous “Bluebird”.

There are certain moments in life which one doesn’t forget, and subsequent watches of the famous, fated accident still affect me to this day. As a child I sometimes had nightmares about it. There is something rather eerie about the black and white footage, these apparitions of unusual things in natural surroundings. “Pogles Wood” the children’s stories, had a similar, unnerving effect.

Even a trip to the Lakes with my wife, I found myself standing one the bank at Coniston, looking at the very same spot over the other side where gallant Sir Donald met his fate. I stared at it for a very long time, and everything changed, It was beautiful, peaceful, almost like turning a page. Revisiting the footage many times has allowed me to create “Coniston Water” purely from my own memory, how I remember it, what it means to me. Producing this is a risk because I know it is not a faithful or accurate recreation, but it truly is a faithful work of the Heart,