Well Dressing
Stephen Connolly begins his third and final month’s residency on the lake in Cotswold Water Park.
A dressed well.
I began work on my final script early to make sure it would be ready in plenty of time, another piece for radio entitled ‘Lucy is Leaving’.
Jane arrives at Lake 32 with her partner Andrew. They offload the Well Dressing created by Jane’s daughter Lucy to commemorate a former teacher. Lucy (whom we never meet) wants her mother’s new partner Andrew and her father Peter to transport the dressing out to its new home on tiny Oz island.
IT consultant Andrew is not keen on spending time with Jane’s ex, hearty outdoorsman Peter, with whom he has little in common. Peter is similarly reluctant to spend time with ‘new boy’ Andrew. But Jane insists: she is struggling to come to terms with an empty nest as Lucy leaves for university. If Lucy wants Andrew and Peter there, then that’s good enough for her.
It is the first time that Andrew and Peter have spent any time together and they make the best of things, moving the dressing. They begin to get to know each other and talk about Jane and the highly intelligent but slightly odd Lucy. Each has a secret they have never shared before.
When they finally position and unwrap the dressing, Andrew and Peter are deeply moved by its beauty and workmanship. And while we never meet Lucy, it becomes clear that there is a lot more to her than meets the eye.
Well dressings are a long-established tradition, originally a means of giving thanks for clean water supplies. They are typically constructed from wooden boards covered with clay, the designs pressed in, built up from natural items such as leaves, petals and twigs. The tradition is thought to date to Roman times, but took on special significance in the 17th century, following the Plague.
I wanted to incorporate a well dressing before, it was one of the things I mentioned in my original application for the Dialect/Lake 32 Residency project, but circumstances (i.e. Covid) led me in different directions during my first 2 months. I was reminded of them by recently re-reading Jon McGregor’s ‘Reservoir 13’ which is full of references to well dressings, not as a major part of the plot, but as something that happens as part of village life, the usual cycle of events. I found the dressing above here.
Now felt like the perfect opportunity to use them.
Stephen Connolly is Dialect writer in residence in January, May and September 2021. You can read more on his blog here.
