Sunday, 27 October 2024

Towering

My love of power stations and cooling towers has never been limited to those 'still with us'. Many of this country's most iconic industrial structures have been victims of the wrecking ball over the years, thus wiping once familiar landmarks from our local skylines. Gone. But not forgotten. A brace of cooling towers that fall into this category were visible to anyone whose commute took them on the M1 around Sheffield. The Tinsley Towers were part of Blackburn Meadows Power Station which closed in 1980.


However, as the towers were (at their closest) only 12 metres from the twin deck viaduct that carried the busy motorway, it was thought they would remain. Forever. But we all know what thought did. Power giant EON bought the site (moving away from coal fired to biomass) and (after conferrable strengthening of the adjacent viaduct) on 24 August 2008 at thee o'clock in the morning they blew the 275 feet high icons to smithereens. Though for a short while part of the base of the north tower remained visible - a bitter sweet reminder to Sheffielders of the senseless destruction* of a city institution.

* Discussions had been taking place prior to their downfall to turn the site into a giant art installation and or theme park; EON's men in suits, however, put paid to any such altruistic notions.

Tuesday, 22 October 2024

Nothing

Paul Weller had been sitting on our ticket money for about nine months, we reckoned. That's a long enough gestation period. And so last night Tony and I finally swapped the QR codes on our phones for a pair of seats up in the gods. (I loathe all seater venues. Give me a sweaty rock club where I can stand down the front every day of the week.)

Was he worth the wait? I think so. A great setlist, don't get me wrong. But the man himself has zero charisma. What passes for inter-song banter is banality personified, but, hey, you're not gonna change this prickly 66 year old modernist. He was monosyllabic when he walked off the tour bus and not much chirpier on stage. But that's Weller. Deal with it, as they say.

And anyway, who else can write songs as good as this? (Well, Suggs, actually: one of many co-writes on his new album.)

Paul Weller - Nothing (2024)

Monday, 14 October 2024

Duck, Duck, Goose

I've never needed an excuse to post pictures of my friends on here. And today is no exception. Yvonne and her daughter Leoni, two of my dearest friends, came down for the weekend and I honestly don't think I've laughed so much in a 24 hour timeframe. (Just what I need right now - if you know, you know.) The diner where we went out for breakfast is directly opposite the Sherwood mural, so what better photo opportunity than directly in front of same. I also snapped Leoni in front of a random bush; she humoured me. She always does.


Saturday, 12 October 2024

South of the river


Those of you who've listened to yesterday's London playlist will have clocked Jan Wobble's presence on there with A13 - his love song to the arterial road that takes you from central London to the marshlands of Essex. With its motor factors, motor parts and launderettes it's the sort of stuff John Betjeman would be writing today if he was still with us. I'm kidding, I'm kidding.
Wobble's love of London transport and indeed London Transport extends way beyond his tube driver days. In 2022/23 when sitting on the top deck of several buses (to, thru and from south London) he was recording both the sights and sounds of his journey; amazing what you can do with yer phone these days. He'd fill in the gaps later with some monster bass lines and synth parts that, if you closed your eyes, you could picture yourself on that self same journey. The finished product is called, imaginatively, The Bus Routes of South London. And it really is one of his strongest albums in a long while.

Jah Wobble - 345 Towards South Kensington (2023)

   

 

Wednesday, 9 October 2024

London calling


I'm just putting the finishing touches to a London themed playlist. And no, the Clash aren't on it*. The capital is neither Burning nor Calling; not in this set, anyway. The Kinks are represented but there's no mention of sunsets. Werewolves don't get much of a look in either. And if you thought Ralph McTell would be a shoo-in, think again. The stuff that is on there probably wouldn't find its way into most people's gazeteers. And that's fine by me. If you're a Spotify user (Spotifician?) and would like a copy then let me know and I'll ping it to your phone/email. However, what I'd really like to have have done was spend a couple of days with my old tape deck and knocking out an old skool C90. Now that would be something. I could have used my Dymo machine and everything!

I'll leave you with this. It opens proceedings. An establishing shot, if you will. 

K. Leimer - London Interiors (2021)

 

* Tho' Strummer is. 

 

Postscript 11.10.24

And here it is. Give it a listen, why don't you. And tell me what you think. J x


Tuesday, 8 October 2024

The Whole Point

Weller & Wyatt

I talk a lot about the art of songwriting on this blog (and, of course, songwriters). I've also discussed at length how cover versions, if done 'correctly' (i.e. nothing at all like the source material), they can totally eclipse the original. And, if you trawl thru my back issues you'll also find many column inches given over to Paul Weller (who, I'm still hoping, I will be seeing live in a couple of weeks.) 

So today's offering, I think, knits quite neatly all of the above into one mini featurette. When Paul Weller finally freed himself from the shackles of the Jam he let the world know that beneath that pent up angry persona (administering corporal punishment to his guitar night after night and railing into a microphone) was not just a brilliant songwriter, but an accomplished musician with a surprisingly plaintive voice. And so the Style Council (and a future solo career) was born.

A standout track from Cafe Bleu, their debut album, was this astute slice of social commentary wrapped around some beautiful jazzy chords. Here's Weller playing it on his tod. But not until he tells the audience to shut up.

Paul Weller - The Whole Point of No Return (1984)

In the late 90s Robert Wyatt released a splendid long player (his seventh solo album) called Shleep. Interestingly, Weller plays on a couple of tracks. But not this one. I could listen to Wyatt's version of Weller's song all day long; he brought something new to it. And that's kind of the whole point.

Robert Wyatt - The Whole Point of No Return (1997)

 

 

Monday, 7 October 2024

All set fair


Since returning to Nottingham in 2017 an annual ritual of mine has been to pay a visit to Goose Fair. Just as the early Autumn light is fading I'll walk up to the bus stop at the top of the road and catch a No. 17 and, five minutes later, alight at the Forest Rec. This travelling fair, the largest in Europe, has been a regular fixture in Nottingham's calendar since 1284. Yep, those travelling showmen have been coming back for 740 years. Imagine all the loose change that's fallen down the back of the waltzers in that time.

Not that I go on the waltzers these days, or indeed any ride come to that. In the sixty minutes I give myself (thee's always a pint waiting at the Lincolnshire Poacher with my name on it), I've just got time to wade thru the hordes, reconnoiter the rim (Deadwood reference), dive into the middle at some point for mushy peas & mint sauce, whilst all the time pointing my camera at anything and anybody that interests me. And this year was no different...




Saturday, 5 October 2024

This means nothing to me

Maybe it's because I feel myself getting older faster than at any other time in my life, but I find that I'm being reeled in by so many poignant song lyrics. None more so, currently, than Billy Joel's Vienna. A song he released in 1977 (when I was just sixteen) that encapsulates life: a life to savour, a life to enjoy - if the sixty-three year old me could have torn the sixteen year old me away from the Sex Pistols long enough to listen to this then maybe he'd have learned a valuable lesson: "Slow down you're doing fine, you can't be everything you want to be before your time." Then again, since when did sixteen year olds listen to anything anybody over the age of thirty tell them?

Joel himself explains what he thinks it's all about but, once again, the version I want to play for you today is by Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren...

Elle & Toni - Vienna (2024)


 

Tuesday, 1 October 2024

A forest

Welcome to October's Photo Challenge. Can you believe it's nearly two years since we embarked on this photographic journey together? This month I was looking for Trees. In terms of picking a theme that is restricted neither by an exclusively urban or exclusively rural geographical setting, it's meant that everyone can fill their boots. Step outside yer front door wherever you live and it won't be long until you encounter something barky & twiggy. Likewise (and I've had this confirmed by so many of you) everyone's photo roll/archive is full of trees: even if you weren't taking a photo of a tree, a tree often sits proudly in the background. And that's often where the magic is to be found in Photo Challenge. It's not just 'the thing' I'm looking for but the other elements of the photo next to, behind or in front of 'the thing'. Anyway, that's enough of me. Suffice it to say the response this month was treemendous. Or do I mean unbeleafable? 

Rol, steer us away from this childish tree pun nonsense. "Hi John, here are some trees! Not sure where this one is."


"However, I know this one is is near Bestow Castle in Cheshire. You can see the castle in the background."


"And this one is the biggest tree I've ever photographed. It's in the Lake District - my son is standing next to it, for scale." Wow, that is a big tree! Thank you so much, Rol.

David Cooper has been on his travels again: "Hi John, from my trip to Poland earlier this month. The first two were taken at the SochaczewNarrow Gauge Railway Museum, about 45 miles west of Warsaw."



"This one is from Warsaw itself, by the river." Nice one, Coops. As usual, you've taken us slightly off piste and for that I thank you.

Tim Widdowson next: "Hi John, these first two were from Estopona a couple of weeks ago. The tree on the beach was dead and spray painted in in a glittery purple hue. I think the random chair in the shade made it. And yes, I did have a little sit down to gaze at the kite surfing."



"A brace of winter trees - I love the skeletal form they take when free of their summer canopy."



"Reach for the sky - the summer variant."


"Lightning tree at Dunwich Marshes. This one too is dead & weather beaten but still providing a wonderfully sculptural feature in the reed beeds."


"Combining my love of street art with trees it's a strong gable end game from Glastonbury and Manchester - the tree being the star in both." The tree is indeed the star, Tim. And that really does come thru loud and clear in all this month's shots. Thank you for a great selection. STG!



Jo-Shreeve from Cornwall never lets me down. Here's her October collection. "Hi John, beautiful trees from one one of my walks - no witches allowed!"


"Love this lonely tree in Malaga."


"Santa's grotto at Bethruthan Hotel, the best Santa we've seen - he's the real one!


"This is St. Just in Roselind Church - when they light up the grounds it's stunning!" The more Cornish photos you send me the more I want to go down there and explore! Thank you, Jo. You're a superstar.

The first of a couple of newbies this month. I asked Nick Coupland if I could use this image he posted on twitter a little while ago. He acquiesced. Thank you so much, Nick.

'The Tokyo House. Autumn'.

Another artist Mik Godley: "Hello John, as promised, here is my tree and relevant text. Cheers, Mik... 

...2 SÅ‚owicza West side #1, Walbrzych, Poland, via Google Street View, 21 May 2018, vector drawing using the app Concepts on iPad Pro, one of two series of drawings. This view of the woodland screen looks directly towards the mausoleum through the trees as the roads snake around the perimeter of the Walbrzych Mausoleum site. Having previously looked at ideas of Ãœrwald (primeval forest, a kind of German cultural icon) I became increasingly interested in how the mausoleum is effectively ‘screened’ from view if seen via Google Street View, hidden by surrounding woodland that has grown substantially since the mausoleum was built by the Nazi run German War Graves Commission in 1938, old photographs showing that it used to be very visible from the town below..." 

"...The now Polish town in the previously German region of Lower Silesia doesn’t seem to know what to do with this unwanted alien heritage and would probably rather forget it, the growing trees and thick underbrush helping the activity of post-war “forgetting”, an attempt at erasure of memory. Indeed for some reason Google has deleted Street View imagery on several of the streets on the perimeter of the mausoleum site, a further act of hiding. This hiding, this censoring of the past in the context of today’s politics became what I sought to investigate, to record in its present state, and the associated moral quandary, the place in our history found in such "aestheticisations of evil", the propaganda of the Nazi mausoleum’s architecture and relationships to current propaganda practices. Is that the echo of the SS death cult that you hear through those trees?" Thank you, Mik. I know people are going to find this as powerful as I did.

Ex football pro and 70s hitmaker Ernie Goggins: "I have many photos of trees but have exercised self-restraint and am only submitting two that are both fairly local to me. The first is Grimston's Oak in Epping Forest. There is a fair chance that The Swede may have frolicked around it in his youth." 


"The second is the traffic light tree outside Billingsgate Market. Hopefully The (young) Swede didn't frolic around that one or he might have been hit by a big lorry full of fish. All the best, Ernie." A great pairing, Ernie. I'm  particularly taken with the traffic light tree. And as to where TS did or didn't spend his youth is a question we'll have to ask the great man when we see him at #BlogCon 25. 


Graham Lester George is a writer, film maker & artist. And a bloody good photographer. When I asked him and Mik, over a couple of beers, if they'd like to contribute to Photo Challenge they both fist pumped the air and said "YES!" (That's how I remember it, anyway.)

Graham's pix are punctuated, for the most part, with snappy two word descriptors:

'Gnarly cherry'


'Light and bark texture"


'Tangled tree"


'False acacia bark'


'Knobbly bark with squirrel'


 'Tree silhouette'


'Twisted cherry'


'Misty arb'. Many thanks, Graham. I really felt these pulling me in.


The Swede (TS to his muckers) next: "The counties of North Folk and South Folk, in their more recognisable guises of Norfolk and Suffolk, have co-existed as East Anglia for centuries. East Folk however, is a small town that pops, Brigadoon like, into existence for just a few days each summer at the FolkEast Festival, before disappearing into the ether once again. This year East Folk appeared for the tenth and last time in the grounds of Glemham Hall, before it moves to a new, as yet undisclosed, location for FolkEast 2025. Next August, in addition to finding my way around an unfamiliar layout of stages, stalls and food vendors, I'll also have to settle on a new place to pitch my tent. In my many years of camping at Glemham, I've always hunkered down in the furthest corner of the site between a pair of snags - huge, sculptural, ghostly, dead trees. When I arrived back at the tent for the final time this year, the midnight gloom punctured by a full moon, I held my phone aloft and fired off an optimistic shot into the dark from beneath the ancient branches." A classic case of hit and hope/spray and pray, TS. And it paid off! A podium finish this month, for sure.


Alyson's turn: "Hi John, here are a couple of trees from me. The first is in the grounds of my mum's retirement complex. I loved the colour and played about with special effects on it." 


"The second is a bit left field - it used to be a tree but now the trunk and branches have been carved into a woodland scene. Hope it's acceptable. Bye for now, A." They're both more than acceptable, Alyson. Love what you've done with your 'mum's tree'.


Pete Zab, another fellow Nottinghamian, next: "Hi John, four from Woodthorpe Park, Nottingham." Thanks, Pete. I walk thru Woodthorpe Park often and never cease to be amazed how different it looks every time.


                 


C, a.k.a Sun Dried Sparrows, switches hemispheres for her portfolio this month: "Hi John, really look forward to seeing everyone's tree snaps this month. C x. As much as I adore my local trees, I'm going all international jetsetter on you for this one! These were all snapped during my solo travels to Australia and New Zealand long ago. Lots will have changed but I do hope these trees are still there. This is in Queenstown, New Zealand, overlooking Lake Wakatipu." 


"Next, it was the unusual vines hanging from this tree in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney which caught my eye." 


"Here's a gorgeously exotic fan palm in the Anzac Gardens, Port Douglas, Queensland."


"Finally, I hope you'll allow this one - spotted on the roof of a shopping arcade in St Kilda, Melbourne." Of course, C! It's perfect. They all are.


And, btw, in answer to the question you raised above, I took the liberty of seeing if Hairroom is still there. And, guess what? It is!


The current Mrs. Medd has gone all Parklife: "Woodthorpe Park during Lockdown 2020."


"And this from another LD walk in Vernon Park. Where we saw the rat." Ah, yes, the rat. That's why it's known affectionately by the locals as Vermin Park. A nice park, all the same; rats notwithstanding. Thank you, Jenny.


Walter, another newbie, and fellow blogger: "Hi John, like many others, my mobile phone is full of pictures of trees and buildings. One of my favourite trees is a weeping willow that I often pass when I go for a walk. For me, there is something majestic about this tree and it just looks good."


"The other trees I like to see are palm trees. Here, for example, is Coconut Hill in the south of Sri Lanka, a place where I have been spending the turn of the year for years."


Miss Turner next. Or should I say, Miss Turner & Alfie. Alfie, like his mother, has found his way into the Medds' Inner Circle. These are a few shots taken when they go walking together, including on an old railway line in Arnold, Nottingham.





Alfie caught a bus for the first time recently. They even gave him his own ticket. He's still Alfie, tho'. Definitely not Rover. A huge thank you to the pair of them x.


Khayem can mainly be found keeping it real in the mean streets of Chipping Norton. Tho' I see he's slipped anchor for this first one: "Hi John, proof that I do occasionally leave the Cotswolds! At the beach during a fab stay in Valencia last year."


"A lone tree in a sea of yellow, just outside Hillesley in Gloucestershire."


"A lone owl carved from a dead tree in Stratford Park, Stroud,"


"Ignoring the fact that there are six branches, not five, this tree in Tiddingron Oxfordshire reminds me of a hand reaching up."


"At the base of a v tall tree in Cheddar Gorge."


James was in Marakech last week: "Hi Dad, checked in with a proper Moroccan welcome of tea. A gorgeous hotel that's like an oasis from the city!


He then sent a further flurry of North African images: "You can dig thru these for trees if you like." I choose this one. Thank you, James."


Richard Gosling is a Nottingham psychogographer and local historian, not to mention good friend. This is his first Photo Challenge: "Hi John, this fine example of a conker tree (ok, horse chestnut if you insist) stands sentinel outside Clawson Lodge - a fine example of the work of Nottingham architect Watson Fothergill (though actually designed when he was known as Fothergill Watson; pay attention at the back!) These days Clawson Lodge is the Nottingham Ukrainian Cultural Centre." (I used to sing in this building, Richard.)


"Life and Death Situation - a striking tree surrounded by graves in St Mary's churchyard in the Lace Market area of Nottingham city centre."


"I hadn't expected to encounter a tree in Nottingham's Victoria Shopping Centre, but I reckoned without Rituals, a 'Home & Body Cosmetics' store. The fake cherry blossom tree seen here helps to promote Rituals' Sakura collection, which 'draws inspiration from the ancient Japanese tradition of Hanami' (enjoying the transient beauty of flowers - usually cherry blossom - according to Wikipedia.) The lengths stores will go to to sell us more crap we don't need." I hear you, Brother Richard. It's that time of year when sleigh bells in shopping malls the world over drown out all other known sounds. Thanks for your great pics.


George from Portugal next: "Boa tarde Joâo, attached are two tree photos, the first shows male farm cat Billy guarding his tree (the bark is his main scratching post)."


"The second shows Anita (our female goat) next to one of our cork trees that has just been harvested: the cork bark has been removed, and what you see now is the trunk that has this almost orange colour (you have a glimpse of the old uncut cork just above the orange trunk, top right). The '4' you can see is the year of harvest. The orange slowly fades to a dull brown as the cork matures and thickens.  George - in the Alentejo Litoral." Thank you so much, George. You and the cats and the goats all seem to be living your best lives! Please come back next month - I love your 'From Our Foreign Correspondent' feature.


Charity Chic bings us back to earth with a bump: 'Seasonal Christmas Trees in our back garden (CC lives in Glasgow). And no, it's not in black and white!" Cheers, CC. Taken last week, I'm guessing?!


Kate, just back from the Orient: "Hi John, a tree in the gardens ofIndependence Palace, Ho Chi Minh City, August 2024." 


Matthew has an interesting specimen from his neck of the woods on the edge of Loch Ryan: "This tree is on our local walk and all the trees are affected by the strong winds; however, this one seems to have rooted itself again." Fascinating stuff, Matthew. I remember walking under this last time we were up there. Thank you.



Just time to quickly rattle thru a few of mine. Nottingham's Theatre Royal is a stunning building. Last summer there were some beautiful shadows dancing on its walls.


You may know the building. Well here's the tree over the road.


Bakersfield California, 2022. I can remember eating in the diner overlooking this Travelodge motel.


Santa Barbara, CA. I was going thru another yellow period.


We know it as the pigeon cooker - this concave mirror sits proudly outside Nottingham Playhouse.


Lanzarote from five or six years ago.


The Peacock, Mansfield Road, Nottingham. One time haunt of Charlie Resnick.


And there you have it. What a bumper crop. And I never once mentioned the one hundred and forty year old old beech tree that sits outside my front door. Nor did I bore you rigid about taking a photograph of it every day for a year in Lockdown and then turning it into a film. Maybe another time. Thank you so much to everyone who took part. I can't thank you enough. Until next time... 

 ★ 

 Postscript 3.10.24

And then I received this beautiful message from Swiss Adam...

"Hi John, so many beautiful tree shots in your post I wasn't going to complicate things by adding to them - and I have quite a lot of tree photos that I could have sent you. But if you want to add one, please add this one - the oak sapling we planted for Isaac in Remembrance Wood at Sherwood Forest. This was how it looked in August this year, the leaves finally peaking above the protective cone. We planted it two years ago last weekend and, hopefully, it will be there for decades and more to come." I'm sure it will, Adam. It's going to be a beautiful tree, I just know it.