High Tide In Short Wellies, Filey.

What better than a trip to the seaside and bumping into a Ray Lonsdale work of art? This one depicts a fisherman with a 'thousand mile stare'. When you see High Tide in Short Wellies you really will go:

'He was that big!'

The coast has a rich heritage of fishing and many places have harrowing stories of maritime life to tell. High Tide in Short Wellies was a non-commissioned piece, and Mr Lonsdale explains that it is a statement about the plight of fishing in the area. The decline of commercial fishing ended in Filey in the summer of 2013.

Ray generally adds a line or two to his work. Here's the poem accompanying this piece.

If you live in the North East you should be familiar with Ray's work, best known for Tommy in Seaham. There is more about Ray Lonsdale on the website - Fabulous North collection page, where you can find many of his other remarkable creations.

There is always something about Ray's creativity that captures an essence of what was going on. The statues are as important as their surroundings, and Ray puts a lot of thought into this.

High Tide in Short Wellies came to this suitable spot in 2012 with the generous nature of Maureen Robinson buying it as a gift to the people of Filey for her husband's 76th birthday. You can read about her philanthropy at Urban Scarborough Sculptures, which features 3 more of Lonsdale's works.

Maureen ran a competition to name this giant and 'Finlay' was chosen. It was suggested by William Broadbent, aged 11.

Lonsdale's work features the use of Corten Steel which oxidises to give a nice rustic patina. One of his distinctive styles is that the facial features are created by layers of Corten Steel being welded together, each one being just a bit different to give that contoured finish.

Here's a photo from Ray's Tworedrubberthings Facebook page.

Ray tells us that the fishing rod is a short boat rod which is modelled on one his dad had. There were constraints to the length of the rod when making the sculpture.

He is wearing a long jacket which goes back to the days. Have a close look at the wellies and you will see that they are turned down, which is something fishermen did so it was easier to move around their vessel. At Finlay's feet there is a rat and there used to be fish wrapped in newspaper but it appears a dirty rat has run off with it!

Here are photos before and after.

High Tide in Short Wellies also features on Yorkshire Crisps pack 2021.

High Tide in Short Wellies went on tour to Saltburn and Whitby, before settling in Filey. Here are photos of Ray and Finlay, back in 2012, courtesy of the artist.

While in Filey, take a walk to Queen Street, which retains several fishermen's cottages. Numbers 8 to 10 are now the Filey Museum with a plaque dated 1696.

My thanks to fellow Fabulous Norther Lorraine for supplying many of the photos.