Trip down canal’s lane

I grew up always finding the power of the sea a mystery and enchanting.  I remembered a trip to the seaside when I was nine years old, imagining myself standing on the wide shore of a beach (Southport) near Yorkshire, while feeling in awe of the vastness of the sea and the sand. Everyone may have different memories of water, and for me it represents a vitality, a source of tranquillity and a necessity for the mind and spirit to feel rooted; forever a reminder that we are all connected.

As we walked down the street to the bus stop, the ladies welcomed me into their group and I exchanged conversation with one lady as she explained that she lives near the canal and is very familiar with it, frequenting it often, with it offering a place for a trip with her grandchildren. The canal is a quiet witness to the joys and burdens of everyone.

Our guide and boat captain, Nigel, led us as we headed west, tracing the curves of the canal from Islington to St Pancras, Camden town and Kentish town. All from the enclosure of our windowed boat. 

For the first time in years I was going down the Regent’s canal, this time it was with a group of women from the Hopscotch women’s charity. As we passed the bustling streets beside Camden lock and saw pedestrians glancing down from the bridge. Doing so, I found myself imagining what the herons and the fish might see. I thought about how often I am rushing to a destination, passing by the Camden lock, without noticing or being aware of the life on the other side of the wall, or beneath my feet. 

As we settled into our 3 hour boat trip, the boat filled with the melody of a popular song, surrounded by the music sung by the ladies, it flowed like a muse to the canal and the water that kept us afloat. I spoke with a group of the ladies, Bela, Syeda and Nurun, talking of their memories of water , everyone’s experience distinct and unique but all sharing the fond memory of swimming in a local pond with friends and family, while growing up in Bangladesh. One woman reminisced learning how to swim as child when she fell into the pond and had to learn to stay afloat, “it was just how everyone learnt together”. Together but independently, it is also something that I have learnt to embrace during my years at Global Generation, we are experiencing the world around us for ourselves while guiding each other through it and learning from one another.

After much curious inquiry as to the nature of the canal, our guide and boat captain Nigel told me that the busiest period is in the Summer when families and tourists spend the most time around the canal, to take a walk, walk their dogs, or do some fishing. 

The words of Farkhanda, one of the women, stayed with me. I couldn’t find a better way to describe the power of the canal; “When we have water, we have life.”

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Notes from the Garden