The Wet Web

Helen Gazeley looks at some ways to keep calm and carry on through the current crisis.

THESE don’t feel like positive times, do they? So, it’s good to find positive aspects to our new working practices.

At the Thames Estuary Partnership, they are learning a lot about how to run engaging, productive meetings online for their various action group and project meetings. “I personally think it’s almost more intimate,” says technical director Amy Prior, “because you’re seeing into people’s lives, their kitchen, seeing the human side of colleagues.” The crisis is making things more personal too. “There have been quite a few calls where people offered support to each other, and a friendly ear, if they need one. It’s really nice that people are starting to build a sense of community.”

The TEP has plans to venture into online participative workshops and ambitions to do webinars, if they find people have an appetite for them. If allowed by the limitations of time for the team of six, they also intend to start blogposts this month, sharing what they’ve learned about online communication. Keep an eye on their website for updates (https:// www.thamesestuary partnership.org).

In the meantime, not only would they love to share ideas with other organisations on staying creative and connected, but are also compiling a list of online resources, such as webinars and podcasts, and would like to hear from you if you have any topics you’d like considered or if you’d like to be added to their list of speakers.

When times are particularly stressful, those of us living on the water surely have an advantage. Research in recent years has looked at the health benefits of landscapes with water, trying to fathom why they appeal to us even more than green landscapes without water. While research tends to concentrate on the healthful effects of coastal areas (people living closer to the coast seem to enjoy better health and generally feel better than those living further away), the calming effect of any type of water is surely understood by everyone who lives near rivers and canals.

In fact, research published in 2015 (https://bit.ly/2wigFcp) showed that even gazing at an unstocked aquarium containing nothing but water and artificial decoration had psychologically restorative effects. Our need for nature in difficult times makes it all the more understandable that city-dwellers were instinctively heading for parks, gardens and, yes, Brighton before the lockdown.

However, while the canal outside your window is conferring health benefits that house-dwellers are not so lucky to enjoy, you may feel in need of an extra boost. Marine CoLAboration, a group of NGOs which aims to promote understanding of the value of our oceans and, therefore, the way we look after them, offers help.

“Studies have shown that listening to natural sounds, such as ocean waves, allows us to recover from stressful situations up to 37% more quickly,” the group reports and, in recognition of this, last year it released Sound

Waves, a 20-minute playlist of ocean sounds. Even short exposure to the sound of waves reportedly reduces muscular tension, bringing a sense of calm. (https://marinecolab.org/ soundwaves)

Finally, for a little escape, don’t forget that Mortons, the esteemed publisher of this newspaper, also publishes books. Fans of aircraft, railway lines and locomotives are probably already familiar with the Mortons Books output. The list includes books of more general interest, however, and coming up later this year is the fascinatingsounding The Opium Eaters, which examines the impact of the widespread use of opium in the 19th century—all the

English Romantics, as well as many Victorian artists and writers used the drug (with the exception of Wordsworth, which might explain a lot).

If you have more sensationalist tastes, you could immerse yourself in Murders That Shocked the World: Cases from the 1980s and, for music fans, Mods & Rockers, published this month, provides an insight into the rising hostility that, for many, underpinned their music choices. For a full list of titles, visit www.mortonsbooks.co.uk.

In the meantime, take care and stay sane!