First impressions

My first glimpse of the North Tyne river was at Corbridge. I was not only impressed by the view of bridge and the sunlight shimmering on the water but also by the strong aroma of Himalayan balsam, (Impatiens glandulifera), which instantly brought back happy childhood memories of our garden and conservatory where my father grew an array of 'exotic' plants. I later found out that the majority of these plants were either invasive such as the Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), highly poisonous like the Castor oil plant (Ricinus communis) and Angel trumpet (Brugmansai suaveolens), or had abrasive leaves, for example the Giant Rhubarb (Gunnera manicata), even the common Holly (Ilex aquifolium) was spinescent. Although the Himalayan balsam is an impressive plant with pink blossom and exploding seed pods which seems like an attractive addition to the native vegetation it's considered an invasive species weed. The plants leads to the erosion of riverbanks due to the fact that they die back in winter leaving the banks unprotected from flooding. As I walked over the bridge and along the riverside path to the remnants of the Roman bridge I saw numerous clumps of Himalayan balsam which people had pulled up by the roots in a thwarted attempt to control its spread.

My walk made me thoughtful; ideas about the power of aroma and memory, the effects of light and movement on water and The Wizard of Oz, 1939 film. Before my arrival in Northumberland I read 'Salmon' by Peter Coates, published by Reaktion Books in 2006. This book contains a brief description of Arthur Hasler's findings from his 1950's research which indicated that each stream/river has its own unique chemical fingerprint or aroma derived from a mixture of flora, fauna and soil. Coates states "Like the eel's the salmon's sense of smell is so keen that it can detect the most dilute concentration of home stream odour amongst a myriad of other smells." (p. 47). As Judy Garland and Billie Burke said "There's no place like home."