I was born and grew up quite close to
Battersea Power Station and used to go for walks with my Dad by the river on
Sundays when I was a small child. Usually I would put a message in a
bottle and throw it into the Thames. I never received a reply. Last
year I threw another bottle in on New Year's Eve standing on Chelsea Bridge
with all the fairy lights on - another one of my favourite places in London.
Nobody contacted me from that message either; it doesn't matter, it's just
satisfying to think that something of me is bobbing away into the unknown.
I don't know why I love the river and the Power Station so much; maybe the
childhood memories have now become a feeling that is hard to describe but
contains a sense of innocence, peace and nourishment.
Maura Bright September 2004
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