Friday 11 October 2019

In the capital

Around this time last week I was sitting on a bench at an unfamiliar railway station in Essex, drinking coffee from a paper cup, reflecting on the day I'd just had.   I wasn't supposed to be at this station, and although I convinced myself that an erroneous info board at Liverpool Street was to blame, maybe I was just guilty of being tipsy in charge of a train ticket…   

I was sure it had said Platform 18, but I’d been running to catch it, and what with the hurried flurry of girly goodbye kisses with only minutes to go and that extra glass of Chardonnay that the first glass lured me into having – on an empty stomach too – well….

Anyway, no harm done.  I knew where I needed to get to and how, and I’d  had a brilliant day with my old schoolfriends.  We’d just absorbed the vibrancy, the lovely blurry buzz that personifies a central London pub at 6pm on a Friday evening.  It’s infectious and it made me want to stay in the city all night, to stay up all night and breathe it in, diesel fumes and all.  Talk about the bright lights - they have me like a moth. 

So, this time last week - a cold station bench, a warm coffee, a mild Autumn night and that wine gradually wearing off as I waited for the (right) train.  I'm always happy in these moments of just observing, just thinking.

I was reminding myself of the small group of heavy metal fans in that pub earlier, how their style had me feeling oddly nostalgic  – all sew-on patches, leather and denim jackets with cut-off sleeves.   Bloody hell, I haven’t seen that look in years, and it suddenly struck me how old-fashioned it is.  I’m quite comforted by that.

My mind travelled through the day again – how my friends and I were dazzled by sapphires bigger than Custard Creams and a frankly excessive amount of gold,  troubled by evidence of archaic torture and equally troubled by prices in the gift shop.  We'd climbed hundreds of stone steps and queued with some bearded American tourists in baseball caps and three-quarter length shorts who looked like they should be in a sort of Blink 182 soundalike band….   And I fell in love with a raven.

You can probably guess where we went...


I‘d read about the Tower of London ravens recently and there was a fantastic snippet of info that I intend to commit to memory: ‘Raven George was dismissed for eating television aerials and Raven Grog was last seen outside an East End pub’…  I love that.

Anyway, yes, a little later than this time last week I got home eventually, but still buzzing.  A trip to the city always leaves its mark on me -  a restlessness which follows me around for a few days after I've been there. All sorts of memories, feelings and previous experiences get woven in.  Just like the wine, it takes a little while to wear off.

And, talking of being in the capital, here's a song I keep hearing on 6 Music from Australian band The Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, and have rather fallen for too.  I like the distorted, watery guitars, the little signature theme, the slightly melancholy edge and the way it all goes a bit psychy at the end...

The Rolling Blackouts CF: In The Capital

9 comments:

  1. I've been to the Tower though a long time ago! For such an iconic UK landmark I was surprised a foreigner (William the Conqueror) had the idea to build it! I like the legend of the ravens but a scary thought right now with Brexit looming.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's an interesting place, isn't it - I hadn't been since I was a child so only had vague memories and it was good to appreciate it as an adult. As for the ravens - apparently they keep an extra one there just to make sure...

      Delete
  2. Drunk in charge of a train ticket? I too have form in that department.

    In the Capital is soooo good. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you like it John, it's really wormed its way in during recent weeks of listening to the radio in the afternoons. Will have to check out the album.

      Delete
  3. Glad you had a lovely day in the city and of course it reminds me of our lovely day back in June. Fortunately for us we hadn't gone overboard on the wine that day (too hot I think) so despite a mad rush for our respective trains, I think we actually managed to get on the right ones! Glad you didn't end up too far from home - Could have been a bit of a disaster if you'd fallen asleep as I have heard many such tales of that happening to weary travellers where they end up far, far away from home.

    As for the Tower of London, we went a good few years ago when we were in London courtesy of a prize I'd won in our local newspaper where we had to come up with a name for a new local bus. Don't ask! DD had her picture taken with a Beefeater and we saw the ravens and of course the jewels (do you still have to go past them on a travellator kind of affair?). We also had a wander round the other rooms in the tower and I seem to remember being fascinated by Henry the VIII's suit of armour. I know he was a big man, but was he really that big - If you saw it, you'll know what I mean!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Alyson and yes I was reminded of our lovely day out too - that was the last time I'd been down to the city. I normally have no problems with travel plans and know exactly what I'm doing so I'm still not convinced there wasn't an error somewhere along the way with the info board...just that a slightly tipsy head prevented me from spotting it! Fortunately I was still going in the right direction but imagine what an adventure (!) it could have been if I hadn't...

      Haha, that sounds so random, your ToL prize for naming a bus! Intrigued of course now as to what the bus was called.... But yes it sounds much the same, the travellator and the suits of armour - and masses of bling ;-)

      Delete
  4. There was some love, almost lyrical, writing in this post, C. Very evocative. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah thanks Rol, I take that as a great compliment, especially as I felt this was a bit of a 'throwaway' post (just to ensure I keep my hand in).

      Delete
    2. Sometimes the best art is found in the things we throw away.

      Or summat.

      Delete

Please come in, the door is open

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...