down by the river

As a little girl growing up in rural south west wales I was blessed with my home being surrounded with agricultural land, also two thousand meters from my house, one of six in the village, you would find the meandering river Teify.

We as children on our school holidays, and weekends, weather permitting, would spend our time not on the crowded beaches, but on the banks of the river teify. We would have in our possession an inner tube of a tractor tyre, those that were not yet quite strong enough swimmers would make use of the inner tube as a means to keep themselves afloat. Whilst the rest of us, in our merriment would, splash, dive and teach the younger ones how to swim. This was an integral part of our growing up since there were no shopping centres or cinemas nearby.

Occasionally as I grew older I would spend time alone on the river bank, especially if i needed to get away from the house, my home for a while. I would sit on the river bank, feet dangling in the crystal clear water watching the little minnows dart backward and forward under my feet. another favourite activity that I liked to observe from this vantage point was the salmon leaping out of the water attempting to catch the flies for their dinner, and there would be a big splash as they re-entered the water.

I was envious of these fish, the way they were able to swim, and leap out of the water without effort.I wanted so much to be like them, swimming free, no one telling them what to do. The fish did not have a spiteful younger sister, that would get them into trouble for no apparent reason, but, because I was the eldest my mother would always believe my sister and take her side. Life is so unfair.

So when things get heated at home, I would run and visit my best friend the river, I would converse with it and would divulge my worries and woes. the river was never judgemental, but , would share with me not only the fish within, but also the colourful kingfisher, the dancing dragonflies, fluttering their busy wings through the air, also if the river felt really friendly, it would let me glimpse the shy otters, being playful along the river bank and in the water.

I often wondered when i was down by the river looking for peace, what did other children do when they needed a friend, and did not have a friendly river near them.