Folk of the Footbridge

Follow this link below to access the three podcasts of the Folk of the Footbridge Project https://folkofthefootbridge.podbean.com/   These podcasts are one outcome of the Folk of the Footbridge Project. About the project Welcome to the Folk of the Footbridge podcast. Join us as we take you on a journey through time and over the river Usk. We’ll delve into the history books of Newport and share with you memories, music, and poems as you wander along the riverbank today. Inspiration for the Folk of the Footbridge stems from the city footbridge in the heart of Newport. Every day hundreds of people cross the river using the footbridge. Children on their way to school, commuters, families going shopping, sports fans heading to the game, cyclists, runners and people meeting friends at nearby coffee shops and restaurants. The project was made possible through a 15min heritage grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Cadw and Welsh Government. The Contents of each Podcast created using P

Tim Harries' cartoons relate to the City Foot Bridge Matthew Harding writes; The story posted earlier about the bizarre appearance of a giant line of inflatable washing above the footbridge in summer 2010 reminded me of a South Wales Argus cartoon strip by one of FoNMAG's friends, Tim Harries. I'd thought Tim's cartoon showed Neptune rising from The Usk to unpeg his enormous washing but you can see here that I remembered wrongly. Many thanks to Tim for kindly going to the trouble of searching through his archive to find this for us today and for letting us show it to you along with another great strip that he drew in response to Olivier Roustan's daredevil high wire walk, also for 2010's Big Splash festival. Both of Tim's cartoons were drawn for his regular 'Never Say Dai' strip that made over 4,500 appearances in The South Wales Argus between 1998 and 2016. More from Tim on his website here: www.harriescartoons.co.uk 1. The cartoon was based on the

David 'Bomber' Pearce This is the statue of Newport boxer, David Pearce which is situated very near the footbridge. As the statue's plaque states, David trained in the area by running up and down the steps of the Transporter Bridge. He was Heavyweight Champion of Great Britain between 1983 and 1985. Sculpture by Laury Dizengremel, photographs by Rachael and Matthew Harding.

  The Bridges over the Usk on a Fonmag Walk, 29th June 2021 Edith McCarron If it wasn’t for the tidal properties of the Usk we would not need so many bridges so Newport is in a very unique situation and also so many of them have won awards. We need the bridges because the Usk has the largest recorded tidal range for a city anywhere in the world and is tidal as far as Newbridge on Usk.  The name  probably came from the Welsh 'Wysg' meaning water. The Romans called it Isca. The Usk Railway Bridge Copyright: Ace McCarron It was opened to traffic in 1850. It crosses the River Usk in an east - west direction, carrying the Great Western Main Line.  However,  the original bridge was constructed for the South Wales Railway and was designed by the railway engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel . Brunel's viaduct, was primarily constructed of creosote-treated timber and suffered a catastrophic fire near completion, on 31 st May 1848,  resulting in a substantial delay due to rebuilding. B

'From Clarence Bridge Newport' by Gillian Clarke Copyright: Newport Past, 0273 The New Bridge, Newport opened 1927. In 1911 the Town Council sought designs for a new replacement bridge. In December 1923 a decision was made to proceed immediately with the construction of the new bridge, partly as a scheme to find work for the unemployed.   To best achieve this a temporary wooden bridge was erected alongside it [   and all power and gas lines were re-routed onto it. Even the town's tram lines and their accompanying overhead power system were moved over.  The old bridge was then demolished and the new one erected. On 22 June 1927 the new bridge was complete and opened to traffic by the  Transport Minister   Wilfrid Ashley . A POEM BY WELSH POET GILLIAN CLARKE FROM THE NEWPORT SURVEY 1983 p. 35. Now known as Newport Bridge this was also known as Clarence Place Bridge as Clarence Place is on the east of Newport. FROM CLARENCE BRIDGE NEWPORT Esk. Isca. Usk. Every day mud sculpte

 Time and Tide "The rise and fall of the mercurial Usk is a perfect metaphor for the collective unconscious of the  people who straddle it. At its best, the vigour of surging tidewaters covers the basin, filling muddy  banks, obscuring organic and inorganic detritus. A vast mirrored surface appears, with light  reflected from sun, moon, electricity. Lake Usk. Contented water fowl glide. Small boats chug along  a course now swollen with potential, re-imagined with hope. As if summoned by aquatic sprites,  the human population also rises to the occasion. At times fuelled with curiosity and energy, the  intrepid among them lust to conquer worlds beyond their reach. And yet, all too soon, new  confidences come unstuck. Insecure in its self-proclaimed bravura, the river sucks in its cheeks,  turns fickle, and abandons the reedy banks it merely flirted with. Retracted, it fees back to the  briny sea, where bigger pickings lie. Equally defeated, the populace cede their own defeat to time