End of the Road
Working at Heron Corn Mill requires a journey along a short stretch of the M6 between Preston and the Carnforth/Morecambe turn off. This usually straightforward section follows a long and sometimes frustrating stretch along the A59 between Southport and Preston. I have been thinking about roads, rivers, pathways and junctures and the swell of cross-river – where the water current criss crosses and salmon and trout fish defy the flow in their journey to spawn.
The time of journeying obviously affects what happens. Sometimes it slows, sometimes it flows. I think I am in the realm of myth for this piece of work and there are recurring themes that are familiar pathways for me to tread and new turns to take.
Disparate Connections
I have been thinking about bridges, Princess Alexandra, the paper mill, Dallam Tower, Beetham village, Saint Lioba, pathways, tributaries, swell, the colour yellow, the lady slipper orchid, the yellow brick road, the Dog Hole near Storth, the mill, the mill, the mill, 1975, Elton John, archaeology and a healing story from the Ojibwe tribe in North America that is in fact the legend of the Lady Slipper/Moccasin. I have been thinking about transformation, recycling, revisiting: “The Story of Red Hair and Daffodil” and the terrain of “The Dig” come to mind here and a former unexplored piece about slippers.
Working at Heron Corn Mill requires a third part of the journey after the motorway towards the A6 – usually free and open road that takes you to Mill Lane, in Beetham, along the lane that is one route I hope to use as part of this new piece.
The road to Beetham