Rave on for the Avon: Bristol’s Swimming Revolution - Charlotte Sawyer & Aggie Nyagari

What happens when you mix sewage pollution in our rivers with the creative, rebellious soul of Bristolians?The answer is Rave On For The Avon - a documentary about Bristol’s wild swimming community and their complicated, joyous relationship with the very waters others treat as a dumping ground.In this episode I sit down filmmakers Charlotte Sawyer and Aggie Nyagari, to explore how their cameras captured one community’s joyful yet defiant battle to reclaim the River Avon.We dive deep into the questions of access, ecology, and the very human need to connect with water. Charlotte and Aggie reveal how the Avon swimmers turned playfulness into protest, from data collection to mermaid costumes - and why sewage, though shocking, is just 4% of the problem.Our conversation ranges from the poetic - attempts to give the river legal personhood - to the profoundly personal, including Meg’s extraordinary story of marrying the River Avon. We discuss how the film’s reception is already reshaping perceptions of rivers, and why falling in love with nature might be the most radical thing we can do in the face of environmental crisis.This is an episode about activism, creativity, and community - but above all, it’s about remembering that rivers are not just scenery. They are living, breathing systems that we depend on, and perhaps even kin.Find a screening of Rave on for The Avon here: https://www.eightysita.com/raveonfortheavondocumentarySupport the podcast: Get a whopping 65% off your first Gousto box at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.gousto.co.uk/raf/?promo_code=TOM42277653⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get in contact:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/tombryanyeah/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/greatbritishadventurespodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@tombryanyeah