Sometimes placenames are the only trace that old rivers existed. Who, in London, knows that Kilburn, Westbourne and Bayswater are both named after the same river, "bourne/burn", to use the scottish/celtic name?
Here in Bristol, lots of places have "Vale", "Down" and "Wood" in their names, to remind us of the valleys, the grassy downs and the woods that once existed, where now we have roads.
But water, it remembers. And here, November 2009, it reminds us.
This is Springfield Road, Kingsdown. Not a field, not any more
But today, the spring is back.
The water, it remembers.
The water, it remembers.