01/10/2011

Waterloo Guildford


In discussions on philosophy and whether the external world is real, someone will sometimes say;”Is this table really here?”, usually thumping it at the same time. The same argument could be put forward for places, for perceptions of them vary so much it can be hard to say what is real and what is imagination. People bring different eyes, different expectations and take away different memories, sometimes seeing only what they wanted to see. A place may look different for other reasons, though. You may have a particular memory of it, perhaps from years ago, that colours forever how you see it, for good or bad. Or a passing mood may cast it in sunlight or gloom. The column on Grief Came Riding saw Nick Cave’s despair and melancholy  by the sullen River Thames and the Battersea Bridge beloved of artists and poets.

The song here is the opposite of the last reference, a place made more golden than it appears to most people by the mood of the artist. Waterloo has cropped up twice before, in Ray Davies’ musings in Waterloo Sunset and in Jane Birkin’s Waterloo Station. In both, Waterloo Station was seen as a gateway into London: for me arriving to see my first glimpse of the city, for Jane Birkin returning from Paris on the Eurostar. But it is, of course, also an exit from London for points south and south west. To the South Coast and  Portsmouth and on to the Isle of Wight, for example, where Birkin holidayed as a child.

It is also the station for commuter belt towns in surburban Surrey: Woking, Epsom, Surbiton- and Guildford. Guildford is an odd town. The name is synonymous now as much as anything with the Guildford Four, falsely imprisoned for 15 years for the  IRA Guildford pub bombings in 1974 and the subject of a song by the Wolftones. But you might also expect it to be like one the cathedral cities of Let’s Get Out of This Country. It has the ruins of a Norman castle, a university and a cathedral on a hill overlooking the town (and where some of The Omen was filmed). Yet you would never mistake being in Germany or France as you walk round the place and it certainly has its critics, who see drunken violence, boy racers in the Guildford Cruise and a centre with the heart torn out.(as in clip below). Robyn Hitchcock did a song tellingly called, No. I don’t remember Guildford.

However, this is where the ‘is this table really here’ question pops up for my image of Guildford is very different, being mainly based on images from my childhood visiting  by train from Waterloo to Guildford an aunt and uncle who lived in a village a mile or two out of the town: a village where the war memorial had names from bygone eras like Balaclava Smallbone on it and there was a story about a nearby hill that pilgrims doing penance used to push peas up its slopes  with their noses. What sticks in my mind most is a day once spent taking a rowing boat with my uncle  from Guildford down the river Wey through a landscape that could have come straight from Wind in the Willows - and which came to mind totally unexpectedly years later on the River Trebizat in Bosnia, a memory mentioned in the Lyla column.

The song here by Guildford singer Frank Hamilton from 2007, Waterloo Guildford, acts as a kind of bridge between these two sets of images of the place, worlds apart. The  route from Waterloo to Guildford is not one of the World’s Great Train Journeys at the best of times and a late night train depositing a carriage  of drunks into a town centre  of drunks doesn’t sound promising material . However, against all expectations  the mood of the artist and song produce something rather touching. It is partly because of the innocence and optimism in the voice and words. It is also, I think, because of the musical accompaniment of a circular refrain on acoustic guitar with harmonica, an effective  combination used in folk music from Woody Guthrie through Dylan and Donovan and beyond. (Oddly, it is heard too on Robyn Hitchcock’s song about Guildford mentioned earlier). It was also part of the hat-trick of hits by busker Don Partridge in the late 60’s, a kind of real-life version of Dick Van Dyke’s one-man band in Mary Poppins, only without the ‘cockney’ accent.. He went from busking in Leicester Square to Top of the Pops and UK tours and back again to busking , leaving a small but joyously sunny musical legacy with tracks like Rosie and Blue Eyes

There is something wistful and nostalgic about the sound of the guitar and harmonica here behind the words, not perhaps for Waterloo or Guildford but for the  moment described that turned Guildford into something else for the author. Just as Guildford is for some a Crap Town; or the name of the pub bombings and the Guildford Four; or a memory of a boat drifting down the river past the willows and kingfishers. Which one is real and really here, like the table?

52 comments:

  1. Geoff! I love that you posted at 12.01am, so that you are the first official blog posting of the weekend:)

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  2. Ha ha Geoff, I didn't ever meet anyone who did anything like this -

    "In discussions on philosophy and whether the external world is real, someone will sometimes say;”Is this table really here?”, usually thumping it at the same time."

    But I love that you have!!

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  3. I used to live in Guildford and that link that Geoff posted, to the youtube video about the town, is very funny and also very accurate (it's pretentious, cramped and expensive). I had a look and the same person has a good one on Aldershot too! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzCdIkQsla0

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  4. I love the Guildford war memorial too, often have my lunch there - it looks like this: http://www.beautifulengland.net/photos/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=13973&g2_serialNumber=1

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  5. Great column! I didn't know anything about Wind in the Willows, but after researching it, it seems to be an English children's story where a toad talks to a mole and a rat and something called a 'badger' which as far as I can tell is like a stripey beaver. And I think your reference was about the English pastoral (beautiful riverbanks with willow trees) rather than the talking animals.

    Anyway, thought I'd post this in case other clueless Americans were wondering!!

    And here is the movie version (part 1): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pKVVmmp4N0

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  6. Oooh, the mere mention of such a thing as the "World’s Great Train Journeys" made me want to start a list!! Anyone? I accept that Waterloo to Guildford isn't on there. Presumably then neither is Guildford to Waterloo. But... what is on this list of great train journeys?

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  7. Thanks for posting the song Rosie, Geoff - brought back a flood of great memories of 68 when that song was playing!!

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  8. Here is Don's Blue Eyes too - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77bsR-q-500

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  9. I really love the whole idea of this blog, that there can be songs about concrete, real places that are also just songs about how we see a particular place (our own version of it, which may be different to how 99 percent of the world sees it).

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  10. The lyrics to the song are pretty cool:

    After getting drunk again I stumbled off a train
    From Waterloo to Guildford direct
    Just standing in the rain
    At two fifteen AM
    They say things happen when you least expect them to

    Walking through town's quite funny
    When everyone's a mess
    People always try and second guess eachother
    And I'm not sure why
    Maybe they're all ignorant or maybe I'm just shy

    But I don't care cos tonight
    I found something I'd been looking for without looking for it
    It just happened

    And phone calls on the morning after
    Make me smile start the day in style
    And it's kind of funny
    That I've not felt this much laughter in a while
    Its been quite a while

    But I'm not fussed
    I found something I'd been looking for without looking for it
    It just happened

    But I don't care cos tonight
    I found something I'd been looking for without looking for it
    It just happened

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  11. Here are the Wolf Tones, with The Guilford 4

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tmEnQ5hXTY

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  12. For those not sure where Guildford appears in The Omen, it's when Damien is beginning to betray his diabolical leanings by throwing a major wobbly arriving at Guildford Cathedral........

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  13. And apparently the vicar at Guildford cathedral isn't happy about the associations with the film:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/jun/04/religion.film

    Although, are vicars really allowed to say things like, "'It was a disaster, it should never have been done. People who were a bit thick were frightened to come into the building." Really? 'people who were a bit thick?' I don't think that's really true vicar language, is it?

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  14. Here is Robyn Hitchcock, No. I don’t remember Guildford, which is very wistful and not to be listened to if you are already feeling a bit lost today! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJScQBp1Yyk

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  15. My wife's ancestor was called Balaclava Smallbone! He was named for a Crimea battle, as were all her ancestors for some reason!

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  16. Geoff, are you making up the story about the hill that pilgrims doing penance used to push peas up with their noses? I tried to find out about this online. All I found was that pilgrims used to climb up the Glastonbury Tor with peas in their shoes. (Although I wondered why they didn't just boil the peas, as that would make it way less uncomfortable).

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  17. The Blue Train, South Africa, has to be a list of great train journeys. Pretoria-Cape Town is just beautiful, you arrive under Table Mountain.

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  18. The Trans-Siberian Railway obviously.

    And the Orient Express.

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  19. I read about the Glacier Express in Switzerland, which sounds like it should be on the list. Bridges, tunnels and lakes.

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  20. The Royal Scotsman. All those gorgeous villages, hills, castles, lochs.

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  21. The Settle-Carlisle route in England from Yorkshire Dales through the Cumbrian Falls and over the Ribblehead Viaduct.

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  22. In Kenya, the Mombasa to Nairobi route on the Jambo Kenya Deluxe.

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  23. The Rocky Mountaineer through Canada.

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  24. The story about the pilgrim and peas is true, though the actual event of course may not be!It sounds like it was based on the Greek legend of Sisyphus condemned to push a boulder up a hill, which always rolled down again when he reached the top.

    Yes, the Settle-Carlisle route is pretty good. It goes near the Hebden Bridge countryside mentioned in Life in a Northern Town.

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  25. I love Don Partridge, was really sad when he died last year.

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  26. Thanks for mentioning the great tradition of busking. You mentioned the acoustic guitar/harmonica sound but don't forget percussion busking too. I created the percussion act Stomp, but I used to be part of the busking group Pookiesnackenburger. Here is one of our pieces: www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5z2rpmg06g. This was definitely the foundation for Stomp (http://www.stomp.co.uk/location/all-locations/).
    Luke Cresswell

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  27. I wish I could have gone to the Busker's Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1969, to see Partridge and others, by all accounts it was a wonderful event.

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  28. It was February (cold and wet) in 1968.I rounded the corner from Broadwick Street to Berwick St...and there he was, singing the song I had remembered from around three weeks before, when I saw him on (I think) a TV programme, hosted by Eamonn Andrews...the new singing sensation Don Partridge...'One Man Band'. ...I next saw him busking outside the Palace Theatre on Cambridge Circus at the top of Shaftesbury Avenue, around 1994 - still in the rain.

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  29. I used to busk in the centre of town. I played a Brazilian samba bass drum (they are called called "surdo" which means deaf man in Brazilian Portuguese) with a small ensemble of Latin percussionists and we were occasionally joined by some Japanese dancers and jugglers. We'd play at night and the dancers would juggle fire as they danced. To be honest the best bit was watching them improvise to our music, it was breathtaking. Then we'd share out the money and I'd cycle home with a 27" marching drum strapped to the back of my bike, to the huge delight of the crowd. It was great fun to run away with the circus for a while, I'll always treasure the experience and who knows, may go back to it one day.

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  30. I supported Don a couple of times during his brief flirtation with the folk clubs here in the Midlands, post-Rosie. He was clearly a man who ploughed his own furrow, and his down-to-earth honesty raised a few eyebrows amongst the die-hard folkies. But his musicianship and warmth shone through.

    Last saw him busking in Brixham, around '96. We had a lovely chat and then it was back to the job in hand.

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  31. I still have – and rather like – “Rosie” (the “b” side’s not bad either – both sides were written by Don). And I’m actually old enough to remember its original appearance on that UK TV talent show.

    I recall Don saying, in a later interview, that he hoped the single would make him a lot of money – as, now being famous, he couldn’t very well go back to busking!

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  32. It’s been four years since I moved to Guildford, England. This was the first place I lived outside the United States and the first time I had left North America. I kinda loved it, although moved on to a new job soon after. Here's a photo! - http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1017/1403341799_018a0e6a85_b.jpg

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  33. You might also like my music, which is original jazz and folk music, performed by myself on harmonica and acoustic guitar.

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  34. You might like Paul Rishell and Annie Raines too : http://www.paulandannie.com/mojorodeo/node/49

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  35. Cheers for this blog! Glad you liked the song. I used to study in Guildford and though some love remains I’m glad I’ve moved up to London town. Thanks for the fab shout out, bloody lovely of you.
    xx

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  36. What about the world’s worst trains??? that’s a list I would like to see…

    I was on a train from Hanoi to Sapa on a bunk I could not sit up on, because I had about 20 inches clearance to the ceiling… and there was a man who was sitting on my wife’s bunk chain smoking all night, and the windows were sealed!

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  37. I would recommend the CHEPE train (chihuahua-pacific express) in Mexico. It is not a luxurious ride but it has amazing views all the way from the copper canyon to Los Mochis, Sinaloa.

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  38. And there is the Qingzang Railway
    http://www.dayrecipe.com/2008/04/13/tibet-part-iii-qingzang-railway/

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  39. Don't forget the Douro Valley train ride, from Oporto to Régua, in Portugal. The sights are unforgettable, with the vineyards in steps from the top to the bottom of the mountain and the Douro river at the bottom. The train stations are decorated with beautiful white and blue tiles. Check it out!

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  40. South Africa’s Blue Train. Check it out at http://www.bluetrain.co.za/

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  41. We are definitely forgetting the Tranz-Alpine Railway from Greymouth to Christchurch in New Zealand.

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  42. There is the Alaska Railroad, from which you can get to Anchorage, Whittier, Seward, Fairbanks, and the stunning Denali National Park, home of Mount McKinley.

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  43. I always wanted to go on the Flam Railway, a train ride through the world’s longest fjord Sognefjord, in Norway, where on a 20 kilometer trip you get to see an amazing descent from an altitude of almost 3,000 feet into the fjords of Flam.

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  44. nothing about the train ride to macchu picchu in peru ?

    the ride is absolutely spectacular and the train stops in the middle of the trip for local indigenous people to come on and sell white corn. the best corn you have ever had!!!

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  45. Don't forget the great Australian journeys: the Indian-Pacific and The Ghan.......

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  46. what about the hogwarts express?

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  47. The narrow gauge line to Schynige Platte in the Bernese Oberland, and the West Highland Line from Fort William to Mallaig in Scotland (including the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which is featured in the Harry Potter movies:)

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  48. And the Polar Express bound for the North Pole at Christmas:)

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  49. The famous ‘Toy Train’ from Siliguri to Darjeeling in India.

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  50. They all sound infinitely more exciting than the Waterloo to Guildford route, even the Hanoi to Sapa one!

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