Tidal Tales - voices from The Thames at Gravesend
Close your eyes and immerse your ears in this sonic snapshot of life above and below the River Thames at Gravesend.
Recorded along the Gravesham shore as part of the inaugural Franklin Festival in September 2024, your ears will follow the flow of voices young and old, human and ‘more than human’ telling of their connection to the river. Sounds from the Gravesend RNLI station, local morse radio transmissions; tales of custom officers, ships and shrimpers; mud, mermaids, seals and selkies; marine life crackling under the waves and shifting shingle of Bawley Bay moving with the tides; reminiscences of good times spent on the riverfront.
Thank you to all 45 participants for taking part and sharing your stories.
Commissioned by Gravesham Borough Council for the Franklin Festival 2024
Funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund
Produced by LV21 in collaboration with sound artist Jane Pitt
Field recording & sound design: @pitt.jane on Insta @JanePittProjects on FB
Spoken voices recorded at Franklin Festival: Lauren Mills
RNLI field recordings: Ashley Bard
Duration: 29 minutes
The Franklin Festival
A weekend of nautical fun for all ages exploring Gravesham’s strong connection with the River Thames and the rich local maritime heritage.
Saturday 14 - Sunday 15 September
Times 1000 - 2100 | Check the festival website for festival events and tickets
A weekend of nautical fun for all ages exploring Gravesham’s strong connection with the River Thames and the rich local maritime heritage.
Gravesham’s position on the river Thames has dominated its history throughout centuries. This new festival draws links with one of the famous nautical journeys embarking from these waters.
In 1845 Sir John Franklin set out from Greenhithe on a vital expedition to discover the Northwest Passage across the far north of Canada on The Terror and The Erebus with many local sailors on board.
A voyage from which they were never to return.
The Franklin Festival takes reference from this voyage while celebrating Gravesham and its inextricable link to the Thames with live music, hands on workshops, walks and talks, exhibitions, plays and creative activities for all the family.
Join the crew aboard LV21 and ashore at St Andrew’s Gardens during the festival to share your thoughts on the River Thames to create a new sound archive, take part in a variety of creative activities along the quayside or just sit back and enjoy the sea shanty performances before finishing the day with an atmospheric film screening below decks.
Sound Archive - WE NEED YOUR VOICE!
Get involved in helping to create a new audio archive, a lasting community soundscape bringing together a creative mix of river related sounds and soundbites of local people’s thoughts of the River Thames in Gravesham.
Sound artist Jane Pitt is hoping to meet and record responses from a rich diversity of local people of all ages across Gravesham communities answering a simple question of “How do you relate to the River Thames in Gravesham?”
The final audio track will layer the collected voices in a shifting ebb and flow across an evocative and immersive soundscape of the river and underwater sounds, intertidal shoreline, ships horns and bells that speak of the connections and disconnections to the River Thames and the
We would like to find out what the river means to the people of Gravesham, whether you have a strong connection to the river and its heritage or not. We are interested in finding out if you have a favourite place to go or a thing to do on the riverfront? What do you like the most / least about the river? Is it the ships, the marine life, the smells and sounds or perhaps the way you feel when you are beside the flowing water? Maybe you have a fond memory linked to the river or the river is a constant source of inspiration for you?
Join Jane on the quayside at the festival to find out more and add your voice to the recording. You can also send us a digital recording pre / post festival for inclusion in the Sound Archive.
To take part all you need is your voice and a mobile phone voice memo function then follow these simple steps:
- Open the ‘voice memo’ application on your phone.
- Find a quiet place.
- Record your response to the question, “How do you relate to the River Thames in Gravesham?” - answers should be no longer than 30 seconds.
- Email your recording to info@LV21.co.uk
Please note: All recordings are edited as anonymous soundbites.
If you do not have access to a mobile phone or the internet please attend one of our in person recording events or contact us to arrange support to add your voice.
A selection of the pre-recorded voices will be aired for the first time at the festival with the final soundscape released later in the autumn. This will be available to listen online and as a digital archive at selected community events and Gravesham locations.
Visit Jane Pitt's Soundcloud.
18:00 Doors | Film screening from 18:15 | Duration 1h 23m
Wind, Tide & Oar is a compelling exploration of engineless sailing, shot on analogue film over three years.
The film delves into the experiences of those who travel solely by harnessing the natural elements alone, following a diverse array of traditional boats and uncovering the unique rhythms and motivations of engineless navigation.
Access
Please note: Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times. As a historic ship access aboard LV21 is limited with main entry via a gangway and a steep staircase. Please wear flat, non-slip shoes when onboard. Regrettably there is no wheelchair access to the ship.
