Rick Goldsmith

The Thames estuary was always an important place to me when I was growing up. I lived close by when my family moved to a council house in Conrad Road in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex. The road was named after Joseph Conrad who lived there for a short time. The River Thames and shore were used as ‘Nellie’ in his famous novel, “Heart of Darkness”. He also wrote “Lagoon” and “Outpost of Progress” while living there.

The marshes near my house and that section of the Thames Estuary have stayed with me. I used to go there on my own and then later in my teens I’d hang out with my friends, played on motorbikes and had long philosophical discussions trying to work out who we were. The refineries lights twinkling in the late afternoon, the slow grey lapping water, the maze-like marshes. Some landscapes become a part of you.