Wednesday 23 December 2020

1972-1976; The Golden Age of Christmas songs?

 

The Golden Age of the Christmas Single

The Christmas single has a long and chequered history; including some of the best, and worst, recordings ever released. Semi-religious offerings rub shoulders with lewd bad taste songs and megastars and one-hit wonders jostle for position. Of the songs that retain their position on the playlists, some go back a long, long way; I Saw Mummy Kissing Santa, It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas and of course White Christmas date from the 1950’s, whilst 1960’s artists such as the Ronettes and the Beach Boys successfully released Christmas offerings. Elvis Presley released entire albums of Christmas songs, which were enhanced by his voice and his ability to project sentimentality with absolute sincerity. Perhaps only Michael Buble has done as well since.

But in recent years, certainly since the millennium, the quality, if not the quantity, has definitely fallen off. The hi-jacking of the Christmas number one slot by the X-Factor winners contributed to this. Why even attempt to compete with that juggernaut? But possibly today’s artists are finding that coming up with a Christmas hit is harder than it looks. In 2017 Sia only managed to reach no 39 on the chart with Santa is coming for us, whilst Arianna Grande only reached 29 with Santa tell me in 2014.

What makes a great Christmas song? The status of the artist is no guarantee; Its Christmas (baby please come home) is on very few Youtube playlists. Do you even recall that the artists are U2? Similarly Santa Claus Is Coming To Town is on few people’s lists of favourite Bruce Springsteen songs. You can identify some musical commonplaces; sleigh bells, an uptempo beat, a catchy chorus. Lyrically, songs that evoke the atmosphere and anticipation of Christmas have a lasting appeal, but there is a strong sub-genre of sad Christmas songs that bemoan the absence of a lost love. Blue Christmas, Last Christmas, Lonely this Christmas all represent this group.

So rather than waste time trying to define the undefinable (no sure-fire song-writing formula would ever come up with a song that starts: “it was Christmas Eve babe, in the drunk tank) I want to celebrate the classics that burst forth, like Athena from the head of Zeus, in the period 1972 to 1976. Why these years? Well, I was eleven in ’72 and fifteen in ’76, so you can argue those are the years of peak susceptibility to these songs. But they are also the years that brought some of the most enduring perennials that still, nigh on fifty years on, are still played, sung and drunkenly danced to. So here goes.

1972
We start with the first Christmas song I ever bought; Happy Christmas (war is over) by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Reaching number 4 in December ’72, this song complements Imagine as an exemplar of John and Yoko’s world view. Superficially listened to it can seem rather trite, Merry, Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year/Let’s hope it’s a good one, without any fear. Simply platitudes, sneered some. But even at the age of eleven, I heard it differently. To me, Lennon was saying look, war won’t be over, but we need to live in hope, because without hope we are lost. Of course, he wrapped this message up with Christmas Bells and a children’s choir to sing the catchy chorus. But is must have something, because today’s teenagers can sing along to this song.

1972 also gave us Gaudete by Steeleye Span. Sung in Latin by a folk group, it may seem an unlikely Christmas hit, but it is typical of the eclectic nature of the charts in the 1970’s that there was a place for it. The olde English male folk harmonies married perfectly with the ethereal purity of lead singer Maddy Prior’s voice to make a wonderful sound that referenced the message of Christmas: Christus es natus, ex maria virginae Gaudete (Christ is born of Mary the virgin, worship him).

1973

Next is Slade; Merry Xmas Everybody (a.k.a Noddy Holder’s pension plan) which dominated the chart of 1973. This is the quintesssential rowdy sing-along which, more than any other, encapsulates our experience of the British family Christmas: Does your granny always tell you that the old songs are the best, then she’s up and rock and rolling with the rest?

There’s no mystery to this song, it is quite simply joyous, from the first line; Are you hanging up your stockings on the wall? The clever hint of naughtiness; what will your daddy do when he sees your mummy kissing santa? to that genius band reference; do you ride on down the hillside in a buggy you have made/when you land upon your head then you’ve been Slade.

And best of all, even those of us, like me, who can’t sing a note, can shout along to this. On this song, the band are in your living room, having Christmas alongside you. It’s quite simply irresistible!

From the same year comes Wizzard’s contribution. Like ELO’s Jeff Lynn, Roy Wood came out of the Move, and always wanted to be a chart act. They had other hits (Ball Park Incident is fabulous) but I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day is the song they are remembered for. Like Lennon, it employs bells and a kids choir, all rolled up with the bands signature saxophone breaks. When the Snowman brings the snow- bang, you’re there; winter, Christmas, fantasy. The chorus is slightly more musical than Slade’s and when the kids come in with it at the end it just finishes you off. A classic indeed.

Also released for the first time in this year was Step into Christmas, by Elton John. It did better chart wise in subsequent years; but is a golden era example of an A list artist getting it right by putting just as much effort into it as any other song. We can watch the snow fall, for ever and ever…. What’s not to love?

1974

Moving on a year we have Mud, with Lonely This Christmas, their homage to Elvis. As already discussed, there is a place for the sad song at Christmas; It’ll be lonely this Christmas, without you to hold, and Les Gray milks it for all it’s worth, even down to the Elvis style spoken words; Merry Christmas darling, wherever you are. Number one for four weeks, it shares with Slade and Wizzard Top of the Pops appearances looking ridiculous, in Mud’s case wearing Christmas tree baubles as earrings. One to fall back on when your love life’s gone south, it remains a favourite. Speaking of 1974, an honourable mention here for Showaddywaddy’s Mr Christmas by the way.

1975

By 1975 we’d moved on from Glam Rock but the Christmas songs just kept on coming. Chris De Burgh, known for off the wall songs like Spanish Train, whose protagonist plays cards with the devil, released A Spaceman came Travelling, which riffed on the was God an alien idea popularised at that time by Erik Von Daniken. A gentle, reflective song, it represents it’s year very well. With a nah, nah, nah, nah chorus, it retained some singability too. The same year also gave us Mike Oldfield’s In Dulce Jubilo, an instrumental that throws the sink at us bells wise and is instantly hummable. It simply yells Christmas and has a jaunty tune that makes you feel good.

1976

And so to 1976. At the end of our period we have Johnny Mathis, the heir to the likes of Bing Crosby and Perry Como, with When a Child is Born, reminding us that Christmas is at heart a religious festival. Mathis pulls off the spoken section at least as well as Les Gray and you’d have to have a heart of stone not to feel a warm glow after listening to him deliver this.

So for me, these years are the golden age of Christmas songs, when you could be sure each Christmas would throw up a new classic. These songs have stood the test of time because we entwine with the memories of Christmas past, but also because, for whatever reason, the muse of Christmas music was hanging around street corners, in the Black Country and other places, just waiting to inspire any artist she could.

There have been great ones since; Wham, Mariah Carey, the Pogues. But somehow, if you asked people to name a top ten, Slade Wizzard and John Lennon, it’s a fairly safe bet, would be in there. 

Links:

Happy Christmas (War is over)

Gaudete: Steeleye Span

A Spaceman came travelling

In Dulce Jubilo

(You don't need a link to Slade and Wizzard!)

Sunday 20 December 2020

His Dark Materials, season two finale, review Part A

 



In a previous post I previewed series two of His Dark Materials. Amongst other things, I commented that ‘I think that Dafne Keen is going to grow into the Lyra role in series two. Initially in series one she was restrained and less charismatic than you might have expected, but she gradually came into her own and I think she is going to be spectacular in this series,as is Amir Wilson as Will’.

I think that was a fairly accurate prediction; both actors have really come alive in this series, both as individuals and in partnership. Dafne conveys Lyra’s ability to be deceitful to get her way without in any way lessening our empathy with her whilst Will gradually shows he is getting her measure. Their increasing closeness is deftly portrayed and they each take the lead when they need to.

The series also makes clearer than the book the extent to which the world containing Cittagazze is a hinge world, a stepping stone between Lyra’s Oxford and Will’s, which is nonetheless extremely dangerous. Talking of extremely dangerous, the undoubtedly star of this series is Ruth Wilson as Mrs Coulter, as complex a character as any we have ever seen in a drama. Marisa is capable of extreme cruelty, subtle manipulation of the men around her and utter ruthlessness, which is redeemed by her bravery, her charisma and her occasional vulnerability where Lyra is concerned.

Although much of the series has dwelt on the partnership she strikes up with Lord Boreal the penultimate episode came back to her and Lyra in stunning fashion. The scene in which Lyra paralyzes Marisa as Pantalaimon savages the monkey demon was electrifying- Lyra and Pan clearly showing their symbiotic connection at this climactic moment when she finally shows herself the equal of her mother.

It is a tribute to Ruth Wilson that when she dispatches Boreal you can only applaud her, she is utterly hypnotic in this role. I have been following the twitter conversations each week and have been struck by how much of a following she has amongst young gay women .Equally, those same fans are equally taken with Mary Malone, an interesting insight into how the opposite extremes of the female spectrum can be equally beguiling. Mary and Marisa are diametric opposites who nonetheless manage to have so much in common, and of course they are linked by love for Lyra.

The finale promises to be spectacular- I will comment on it later…………


Friday 27 November 2020

Rough sea- Aldeburgh beach


 

This photograph of of waves breaking on the beach at Aldeburgh was taken on a winters day. A faster shutter speed would have frozen the breaking waves more but the hint of blur in the spray helps foster the impression of movement. Like the poem 'Liminal', also posted on the blog, it celebrates the ever-changing borderline between sea and land. It captures something ephemeral; the scene changed even in the seconds after the shutter clicked. 

What it can't capture is the sound of the sea on the shingle. A video would do that but not capture the moment in time- you can't have everything. 

Wednesday 25 November 2020

Liminal

 


On the map so defined; a solid line of ink that says;

this side land, that side sea.

But I know better. I know the nuance and subtlety

Of this no-man’s land, where each side advances and retreats.

Not just each day, as the moon drags the immense weight of ocean

first one way then the other. But in longer measures of time, where

land becomes submerged here, but builds a further promontory there.

Measurable in a single lifetime, or incremental over aeons.

I may leave an ephemeral mark by drawing in the sand,

sometimes staying long enough to see it washed away.

 It’s temporary nature whispers;’ all things must end’.

But because it doesn’t really exist, can’t really be defined, only

glimpsed and held in memory, this foreshore wields a powerful magic.

 It’s my special place, where nothing else matters, only the present

matters; the sound of the sea, the salt tang in the air, the cry of gulls,

The crunch of shingle under my feet. Only here,

 in this transcendent space, I truly feel alive.




Monday 23 November 2020

1975; a year in Rock Albums

 


In my previous post I looked at the chart singles of 1975. I acknowledged that there was a lightweight component to the hits of that year. This was in part a product of the fact that the dominant form at this point was not the single but the album. When you look at 1975 from an album perspective there is no room for doubt; it was a vintage musical year. Just take a look at these artists and albums; Bruce Springsteen- Born to Run, Bob Dylan- Blood on the Tracks, 10cc- Original Soundtrack, Elton John- Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboys, Queen- Night at the Opera, Joan Baez, Diamonds and Dust, Rush- Fly by Night, The Eagles- One of These Nights, Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here, Led Zeppelin- Physical Graffitti, Patti Smith- Horses, David Bowie- Young Americans, Parliament- Mothership Connection and Paul Simon- Still crazy after all these years.

What that list has in common with the singles successes is diversity and eclecticism. Folk, Heavy Metal, Funk, Country Rock, Progressive music, Philly style soul and, in Springsteen and 10cc, music that defied obvious pigeon-holing.

With these, as well as other albums and artists, there are a number of themes emerging, including a willingness to experiment and artistic self-confidence.

Experimentation

We are all familiar with the chameleon like nature of David Bowie’s image and music. Even so, Young Americans was an abrupt hand-brake turn from the hard rock of Diamond Dogs and before that Ziggy Stardust. It sprang from Bowie’s discovery of the Disco scene, which he described as the folk music of the great cities, welling up from the streets rather than imposed from above. It bears a relationship to Parliaments Mothership Connection, a weighty slab of industrial funk powered by George Clinton, with bass, horns and syncopated drums up in the mix.

Surprisingly, Bowie was not the only established act to be influenced by funk. Led Zeppelin’s offering for this year was Physical Grafitti. It includes Kashmir, cited by band members as the archetypical Zeppelin song, which bears the influence of Arab music. But also on Grafitti is Trampled Underfoot, which is powered by a driving funk rhythm, all springy bass and supple guitar licks. It is all a long way from the pure Blues wail of You Shook me or Dazed and Confused.



Experimentation of a different kind can be heard on Original Soundtrack. 10cc had built themselves a solid following through a series of hit singles, ranging from sixties pastiche (Oh Donna) semi-humorous storytelling (Rubber Bullets, the Dean and I) to conventional rock (Wall street shuffle). With Original Soundtrack they were playing with a number of ideas, one of which was the concept album. As the title suggests, film history was on their minds, especially Film Noir. ‘one night in Paris, is like a year in any other place’ these lyrics were allied to subtle musical tones that harked back to the past.

Also on the album was a song that transcended anything the band had done before; I’m not in Love. This song, with its lush production, including a string section, marked their emergence as mature talents. The lyricism on this song is remarkable. The narrator makes a series of statements claiming that he doesn’t have any feelings for the object of his attention, which cumulatively build up to leave the listener in doubt that, actually, he is head over heels in love with her. Like the best songs, it doesn’t belong to the era it was made in, but is timeless, never going out of fashion. (By contrast, Life is a Minestrone, which harks back to songs such as the Dean and I, feels out of place on this album, being the last glimpse of their previous horizons).


Artistic Self-confidence

A number of established artists released albums that demonstrated their musicality, their lyricism and their willingness to plough their own furrow. Paul Simon, for instance, with Still Crazy after all these years, moved even further from his folk roots and towards a world music sound. Joan Baez, another folkie, came up with Diamonds and Rust. The title track of that album shows a mature woman expressing herself emotionally and musically with total confidence.

Perhaps the most confident disc of all was Night at the Opera, Queen’s move into the big league. Their hard rock sound had already been infiltrated on Sheer Heart Attack by songs like Killer Queen, lyrically clever and musically subtle. On Night at the Opera this process went so much further. You’re my Best Friend, for instance was entirely keyboard led, whilst 39 could have been a Lindisfarne song. The culmination of this of course is Bohemian Rhapsody, a swaggering tour de force that broke the rules and defied pigeon-holing. The band famously stuck to their guns when the record label baulked at releasing it as a single and were triumphantly proved right.

Close behind Night at the Opera was Wish You were Here, Pink Floyd’s follow up to Dark side of the Moon. This was a record that made no concessions to any-one, the record company, the radio stations or even the audience. It was the band doing what they wanted and demanding acceptance. The result was music that, like most of Floyd’s output since Dark Side, really doesn’t belong to a year or an era. Shine On You Crazy Diamond was the concept album track on steroids, whilst the title track was played at the Olympic Opening Ceremony in 2012 by an up and coming musician called Ed Sheeran (It did his career no harm at all).

So this year, that was merely a dip, a pause between greatness, a time of decline, has given us some enduring music by a wide range of artists. As I said at the outset, eclecticism is the hallmark of 1975. And no artist or album personifies the true worth of this year more than Bruce Springsteen and Born to Run. His third album saw Bruce refine the sound of the East Street Band, making it at once sparser and more epic, with nods to the past (the Duane Eddy guitar on Born to Run), great storytelling (Meeting Across The River, Jungleland) and a masterclass in lyricism (Thunder Road), that managed to be a concept album, (as Springsteen expresses it, imagine the action in the songs playing out over the course of a single day) a glimpse of the future and an appeal to romance and freedom.



Of course, I’m biased. I was fourteen in ’75; at that age music tends to burn its way into your mind and make you feel things you’ve never felt before; rebellion, desire, anticipation, a sense of possibility and growing awareness of your independence from your parents. Still, objectively, I feel I have made my case. Feel free to comment and disagree……..

 Joan Baez: Diamonds and Rust Diamonds and Rust

David Bowie: Young Americans Young Americans

10CC: Original Soundtrack- I'm not in love: I'm not in love

Led Zeppelin: Trampled Underfoot: Trampled Underfoot

Bruce Springsteen: Thunder Road: Thunder Road

Pink Floyd: Have a cigar


 



Sunday 22 November 2020

There’s a hint of Escher about Citagazze…..

 

 

The opening episodes of series two of His Dark Materials have taken us to Citagazze, a place that exists in a reality separate to that of both Lyra and Will. People have commented on how it looks like Mont St Michel off the coast of Normandy and having viewed that isle from the beach I can only agree. But once we get into the streets of Citagazze the feel is definitely Mediterranean. I would go further and say Italianate. The winding streets, the coloured houses, the  architecture, all speak of Italy. 


So what’s this about Escher? Most people are familiar with M.C. Escher’s lino and woodcuts prints depicting impossible scenes. The worlds in these books are written examples of these, things impossible in our world that nonetheless are totally believable in context. The credits of His Dark Materials explicitly seem to reference the link, with Will and Lyra walking on opposed staircases that are somehow linked. This image mirrors those of Escher, where faceless men 
move up and down the same stairwell in opposite planes and directions, as shown above.

His visual representations of unreality are entirely congruent with the multiple realities of His Dark materials. But there is another link too. Escher spent time in Italy as a young man and made pictures of the landscape. A particular favourite of mine, Castrovalva, is relatively naturalistic, although it already shows signs of  the move away from straight depiction of reality. Other pictures show a town overlooking the sea, and another on a hill, that call Citagazze to mind. This, remember, is the city in the sky that Lord Asriel glimpses through a rent in the Aurora Borealis. 



Later in his career, Escher began depicting metamorphic images. One of these shows a man running down steps who gradually morphs into an abstract shape.  There are definite echoes here of the stairs of Citagazze, or perhaps I should say, the stairs echo Escher, to be chronologically accurate.  In any case, the bringing to mind of M.C. Escher does no harm to the viewers perception of this town being a place where the doors of normality have, to say the least, been knocked  
ajar.  





Wednesday 11 November 2020

The Popular music of 1975

 


Popular music, like many other aspects of the arts, is subject to myths and misconceptions. Perhaps its greatest myth is the myth of punk. This goes like this. After the explosion of creativity in the sixties and early seventies, the decade slid into a slow decline into mediocrity from which it was rescued by the volcanic eruption of punk. Like all myths, there is a kernel of fact which cannot be dismissed out of hand. I begin therefore by admitting that there were some grounds for criticism in 1975.

Firstly, I concede, the novelty single. There are no less than eleven of these in the top 100 best-selling singles of 1975; the highest, at number 3, being Whispering Grass by Windsor Davis and Don Estelle, stars of the hit show It aint half hot mum. Other (dis)honourable mentions go to Jasper Carrott (Funky Moped), Billy Connolly (DIVORCE) and the Goodies (Funky Gibbon). Whilst it is easy to decry these and other songs, they added to the gaiety of the nation and were part of the mix of some of the most diverse lists of songs ever in the chart.

Secondly, with some reservations, I concede the dance craze songs. From Van McCoys The Hustle, Kenny’s The Bump, and Hamilton Bohannon’s Disco Stomp to the re-released Let’s Twist Again by Chubby Checker, these may have lacked musical depth but they were dance floor fillers and shifted a lot of units. I would class them as twinkling stars in 1975’s constellation of music.  

Thirdly, the lightweights- songs of no great musical quality that haven’t stood the test of time. I would include the output of bands like Mud, Showaddywaddy and the Rubettes, all bands I enjoyed as a teenager before moving on more challenging fare. All good clean fun but with a tendency to undercut their own credibility with their outfits and their larking around.

From here on in, though, it gets more difficult to be critical. My teenage self may have sympathy with the view that many of the acts of these years were getting too old, a deficiency that punk very effectively rectified. Many of these were also from genres other than pop; and yet, and yet, just listing their songs, so many of them have stood the test of time. There’s Glen Campbell with Rhinestone Cowboy, Art Garfunkel with I only have eyes for you, Frankie Valli with my eyes adored you and even Billy Jo Spears with Blanket on the ground, all songs you’ll still hear on many a radio station.

The year had its share of big hitters too, none bigger than Bohemian Rhapsody, Sailing and Space Oddity (do I need to list the artists? Really?) But there was a lot else going on that merits a mention. In this top 100 you can see early signs of the rise of Reggae as a force. Susan Cadogan’s intense Hurts So Good, Johnny Nash’s Tears On My Pillow and John Holt with his version of Help Me Make It Through The Night were harbingers of things to come. Alongside them was a late flowering of pure soul that has left us with songs to make your heart ache with joy. The Chi-lites Have you seen her with its spoken intro, Gladys Knight and the Pips You’re The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me and The Way We Were, The Stylistics I Can’t Give You Anything But My Love and Sing Baby Sing, each one smoother than melted chocolate.

Still not convinced? Then let me offer three songs from 1975 that have echoed down the years and are still wildly popular. For this was the year of Gloria Gaynor’s I will survive, and furthermore of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel’s Come up and see me make me smile, together with Roxy Music’s Love is the Drug. Surely these three would be worth the price of admission? So that’s 1975 in terms of the best sellers. But of course there is more to music than hit singles………..but that’s for another post.

Cockney Rebel: come up and see me

Susan Cadogan: Hurts so good

Stylistics: Sing Baby Sing

Chi-Lites: Have you seen her?

1975- time for a re-appraisal?

 

In a previous post I took an in-depth look at Al Stewart’s 1976 hit, Year of the Cat. Researching this had me thinking about the music and culture of the mid-seventies, including the year 1975. This in turn has led me to writing this article, an evaluation of 1975, a year I remember, but through the prism of being a teenager.

Over the years I have come to feel that 1975 is often damned with faint praise, or no praise at all. Somehow, despite its initial advantage of being the mid-year of the decade, it suffers by comparison with the years immediately preceding and following it. Take the weather. The spring of 1975 was slow to warm up and although the summer had its moments, it was soon eclipsed by 1976. The long hot summer of ’76 has passed into legend- soaring temperatures allied to a failure to rain at all from June to the August Bank holiday, capped with plagues of insects.

Then there is Sport. 1974 was a World Cup year and ‘76 an Olympic year whilst ‘77 produced a British winner at Wimbledon. By contrast, ’75 seems low key, despite Arthur Ashe winning Wimbledon.

Musically, the emerging iconoclasts of the Punk scene did what all revolutionaries do; trashed what had preceded them to justify why their emergence was essential. They had the music of 1975 firmly in their sights.

But-has the time come to look again at ’75? Might there a chance to rehabilitate its reputation and celebrate its achievements? I mentioned seeing it first time around through a teenage prism. Might my adult self bring to light new insights and a deeper appreciation of a year that helped to shape me? Over the course of several posts, I plan to find out, sharing my insights with you. So strap yourself in and set the De Lorean to reach 88 mph as we travel back in time……………..firstly to consider music, then in subsequent posts to look at Football, films and finally politics. Follow the links below to read more...............

The Popular music of 1975

1975: A year in Rock Albums





Monday 9 November 2020

Trees in Autumn; Somerset






This image of trees in Autumn was taken in the grounds of a Hotel in Somerset some years ago. It represents the end of the display of Autumn colour; two or three weeks later these trees would have been bare. Even so, many of the leaves are already on the ground. It is a nice example of Perspective, but also manages to offer both vertical and horizontal eye-lines; the vertical tree trunks contrasting with horizontal shadows on the ground. 

Like many people, I love Autumn, not least for the way it demands you seize the day. A fine day in Autumn has to be enjoyed. The experience has a degree of poignancy in it because you know it may the last one before winter sets in. Also like many people I too have my favourite Autumn quotes: 

' When the white Eagle of the North is flying overhead, and the reds, browns and golds of Autumn lie in the gutter, dead' that's from the Moody Blues. 

'It was my thirtieth year to heaven, stood there then in the summer noon
Though the town below stood leaved with October blood', that's Dylan Thomas

Through Autumn's golden gown we used to kick our way, 
You always loved this time of year, that's from Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds

Ah! the gold and the red and the sighing of leaves in the Autumn in Taur-na-neldor, That's Treebeard in the Lord of the Rings.

So anyway, this image is for you. Remember, Spring will come again! 




 

Tuesday 3 November 2020

Series Two of 'His Dark Materials' is coming!

 

 


With the second series of ‘His Dark Materials’ about to air, now seems a good time for a little refresher on series one, and to remind ourselves where we are up to and what is coming next. In a previous post (A suitable Boy) I discussed the demands on a TV adaptation that brings a national treasure book to the screen. These included making the story comprehensible to viewers who had not read the book, balanced with the need to avoid outrage from those who had.

When it comes to ‘His Dark Materials’ there is a further complication; the still fresh in the memory film version starring Daniel Craig and Nichole Kidman. Like the film of the first Eragon book, The Golden Compass has failed to be followed up by subsequent parts. The Golden Compass is not without its merits; it is visually stunning in places and is reasonably faithful to the book. But the consensus was that it didn’t quite do its material justice, whilst the A list status of its stars somehow prevented them being wholly convincing. This applies to Jim Carter as John Faa as well as Craig and Kidman.

An eight part series seemed to offer scope to tell the story in more depth, whilst the ever evolving capacity of CGI to bring the fantastic to life would enable Lyra’s world to be convincingly portrayed. So how did it measure up? To begin with, let’s make a point about structure. Series one, though covering the action of Northern Lights, also included some events described in The Subtle Knife, thus introducing us to Will Parry as well as Lyra Silvertongue, as well as antagonists such as Lord Boreal. This sets up the second series and allows for a swift meeting of Will and Lyra on the third world of Citagazze. It did mean however, that viewers needed to pay attention and retain information in order to follow the plot.

Secondly, a word on character portrayal. As compared to the film, there is a grittiness to characterisation that is all to the good. As Mrs Coulter, Ruth Wilson exudes quite as much menace as glamour, whilst James McEvoy as Asriel does a good job of portraying the moral ambiguity that is central to the character. James Cosmo brings a vulnerability to the role of Farder Coram that helps you forget that he is also the Lord Commander of the Nights Watch in Game of Thrones. Another character who is as much Anti as Hero is Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby, the Texan Aeronaut. The Gyptians too have suitably rough edges to them.

The story arc of the trilogy is from the relatively straightforward good v evil premise of Northern Lights to the increasingly convoluted and moral maze-like existentialism of first the Subtle Knife and then The Amber Spyglass. The reader is invited to question the motivations of not just the obvious bad guys (The Magisterium) but also of Lyra’s parents and even Lyra herself. It will be interesting to see how the viewer is engaged with the same ambiguities in series two.

At its simplest, you could describe the books as coming of age novels. In this context, both Lyra and Will have a lot of growing up ahead of them. Lyra gradually realises that her supporters from earlier adventures are ageing and that she has to rely on herself in the last analysis, whilst Will has to deal with cruel disappointment which I won’t go into here. I think that Dafne Keen is going to grow into the Lyra role in series two. Initially in series one she was restrained and less charismatic than you might have expected, but she gradually came into her own and I think she is going to be spectacular in this series, as is Amir Wilson as Will. We glimpsed his calm but tenacious personality in series one but he is going to go through the fires in this next stage of the story, to the extent that he even upstages Lyra. At the same time, the metaphysical elements of the story are gradually going to eclipse the quest style narrative of series one.

For me, the unexpected star of the first series was Ariyon Bakare as the dangerous Lord Boreal. He is the flip side of the coin that is Lord Ariel; clever, competent, and clearly operating to an agenda of his own that he keeps from his nominal allies. Bakare has a presence that attracts as much as it repels and allows the viewer to see that the ‘other side’ who are opposed to Lyra have their own, to them, perfectly justifiable motivations.

In summary, I approve of the first series and am very much looking forward to the second. If you enjoyed this brief review then take a look at the other Pullman reviews on the blog. In any event, feel free to leave a comment. 



Sunday 11 October 2020

Thoughts on the future of England's forests

 


One of my private dreams is to own a small wood. I tell myself there are practical reasons for this; providing an income by selling timber, having a source of fuel for when the oil runs out. But essentially it stems from a desire to be connected to the natural world and to be the guardian of a piece of England. I suspect I am not the only one to have such a dream, so perhaps you will forgive me my folly. But where does this desire for connection come from and why does it still have such resonance in this country?  Doing justice to the idea of the forest means understanding its mythological significance, its contribution to civilisation and its potential to help achieve our ecological imperatives.

The cultural appeal of Forests

What does the forest represent in mythical terms? To begin with, it represents nature, nature alive and vital, nature as organic force, with resonances of fertility and sexuality. Woodlands clearly signpost the changing seasons; the bare branches of winter, the tightly furled buds of early spring, the riot of leaf cover in summertime, with the climax of the wonderful colours of autumn whilst acorns, chestnuts  and conkers litter the ground. Besides the spring growth, woods give us the stag and hind as exemplars of male and female sexuality. These exemplars are surprisingly malleable. To compare a man to a rutting stag can be a celebration of his attractiveness or a critique of his behaviour.

The wood is also a sylvan alternative to the city; an avatar of the Garden of Eden providing a simpler environment where man co-exists with nature rather than being in conflict with it. In the forest as pastoral idyll, as portrayed by Shakespeare in plays like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or given form by painters over the years,  we can be better people, freed from the constraints of civilisation.

Such a wood can also be a location where the usual rules of society are suspended- this is the home of Robin Hood or the outlaws of Sir Walter Scott’s Black Arrow. In the wood, what and who you are in normal life ceases to have meaning and a person can gain the status and dignity denied them elsewhere. The forest provided a refuge for outlaws, literally, those outside the law, to escape from justice.

Finally, the forest is a place of dangers to be overcome, the home of wild animals, monsters or even mythical beings. It is a place where a man can prove himself, or lose himself. The power of mythology lies not in rationality but in its primitive and visceral appeal to us. It is noteworthy that Herne the Hunter, a folklore figure from Berkshire who embodied characteristics of the Wild hunt of Celtic mythology, is a name still familiar to us today, as is the Green Man, whose name survives as a name for many Public Houses in England. The folk tales of Northern Europe frequently have a woodland setting; Snow White, Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel are obvious examples.

Recently, Edward Rutherford wrote an extended Novel, The Forest, which tells the story of the New Forest, its trees, animals and the families who lived there over the course of a millennium.


The Forest and its relationship with the settlement of England.

What of the forest and civilisation? In the history of human settlements, the proximity of a supply of timber is a common theme, to be used as both fuel and building material.  Not just tall trees either, plants such as hazel provided raw material for baskets and other items.  Sometimes, the exhaustion of this resource is the catalyst for the decline of a culture, as historians speculate may have happened in Central America.

 In this country, our relationship with the forests is an integral part of the story of the settlement of England. This can be illustrated most strikingly by considering place-names. The ghosts of forests past can be discerned on the map of England, in the names of countless towns, villages and hamlets.  Whychwood in Oxfordshire (Hwicce Wood- the wood of the Hwicce, the name of a tribal grouping of the Anglian Kingdom of Mercia) is one such.  Many place name pre-fixes and suffixes have woodland origins .The suffix hurst, for instance, means a wooded rise, as in Brockenhurst in the New Forest, whilst ley refers to a meadow but can also mean a glade or forest clearing, as in Barnsley. The prefixes ac or acc denote oak woods (from acorn), as in Accrington or Acton, whilst Ash refers to the ash tree, as in Ashton under Lyme.

The suffixes shaw and firth both mean wood, as in Openshaw and Holmfirth; the northern suffix Thwaite, as in Slaithwaite near Huddersfield  is Old Norse for a forest clearing with a dwelling. English settlements were hacked out of the woodlands, which provided materials for buildings and implements as well as fuel for heating and cooking. English surnames also tell the story.  Coopers,  Fletchers and  Carpenters were all wood dependent tradesmen.

It was small wonder that when the Normans arrived and annexed the woodland for their own profit and pleasure it caused such social unrest. Forests had gained economic value early in Anglo-Saxon England- the shrewd Landowner looked to own not just plough land but a water meadow and a stretch of forest, for hunting in and as a source of timber. Land designated as forest was not simply thick with trees; in between the copses or more extended stretches of woodland proper was more open ground with shrubs and bushes.

From Tudor times onward another imperative added to forest values; the demand for wood for ship-building. By Nelsons day building a large man-of-war required the timber of two thousand trees, whilst some ship components, such as masts and spars, required wood that had to be imported from the Baltic countries. As the nineteenth century progressed another source of demand for timber arose from the mining industry which needed it for pit props, firstly in the tin mines and then in coal mines.

Alongside all this demand for wood was a greater threat to the forest; rising population. Tudor England supported around eight million people. By the Second World War the population of the United Kingdom was over forty million whilst today it exceeds sixty million. As we saw from the place-names, settlements were created through forest clearances. This tendency accelerated with the industrial revolution until by the nineteen-twenties only 6% of UK land area was under forest. Even though a large part of the clearances had occurred in Roman times or even earlier, enough visible forest was lost from 1800 onwards for writers and artists such as Ruskin and William Morris to lament its passing.

The taming of the landscape is the story of the changing way we view the forest, from  scary wild place to source of resources to be managed, then nuisance to be cleared, then idealised landscape to be re-created (think of the parks of Capability Brown), and finally a lost Eden to be mourned.

Current realities


All of which brings us, slightly breathlessly, to the present.  Where do we stand today? Here are some facts. Around 13% of the UK is under forestation, compared with France at 31% and Germany at 32% whilst Sweden and Finland consist of 67% and 71% forest cover respectively. That 12% hides a geographical imbalance; in England it is 10%, whereas in Scotland it is 19%. The UK is one of the least forested countries in Europe; the average for European countries is 31%.

The current ownership of these forests breaks down as follows: 54% in private hands, 40% publically owned, 5% owned by charities and local communities. Just 1% is owned by corporations. The generation of timber for sale by these different ownership groups is perhaps surprising; 62% of timber for sale comes from state-owned woodland, 36% from privately owned woods and just 2% from company plantations. We can deduce from this that a large proportion of privately owned woodland is being maintained as woodland habitat first and foremost rather than as cash-generating timber forest. In this regard it is significant that 90% of conifers are in Forestry Commission plantations.

The timber for sale purpose of much of our forest cover is shown most starkly in the species breakdown. 56% of our trees are Sitka Spruce, Scots Pine or other conifers, whilst broadleaf trees account for 44%. In other words broadleaf trees make up just over 2/5ths of our total cover. By broadleaf we mean, in addition to Oak, such trees as Ash, Elm, Yew, Sycamore, Beech, and Birch. These are the traditional trees of England- when people think of a wood this is what they envisage. It is the future of this kind of forest that people are most passionate about.

So what of the future for this woodland? Let us begin with a note of realism. We live in a heavily populated island.  The highest figure I believe we could aspire to in terms of forest cover is 20%. If that sounds optimistic, there are sound reasons why it might be desirable or even necessary.

The timescale for this will of necessity be long-term. One of the reasons for the spread of the Forestry Commission’s much maligned conifer plantations was that they matured quickly and could be productive after twenty years or so. Broadleaf woods need half a century to come to fruition. This implies stability of tenure. It does not have to mean state ownership, although this form of ownership does have the capacity to take the long view. Privately owned forest in family ownership would also have this. It is also possible, through the use of legal covenants and planning laws, to ensure policy continuity for privately owned woodland.

I referred initially to ecological potential. Our forests need to be mature, but not too mature.  Forests have been described as CO² sinks and so they are, but their capacity to be so declines as they mature. In 2005 the carbon capacity of our forests was estimated at 16 million tonnes, in 2010, projected to be 10 million tonnes, whilst by 2020, without new planting it would have been only be 5 million tonnes. However there is cause for optimism, the figure for 2018 was 20 million tonnes, reflecting successful new planting. In 2014 the forest cover was 12%, giving a 1% increase over six years.  The recent Forestry Commission report recommends 1 million hectares of new planting (which amounts to 4% of land area) by 2050. This would reduce UK emissions by 15 million tonnes, which is 10% of Parliaments target of 150 Million tonnes by 2050.

Creating new broadleaf woodlands would be expensive, at around £41 per tonne of CO² captured. An alternative would be to mix broadleaf with single species plantations of fast growing conifers for heating and electricity generation, which would be partly self-financing. The main objection to this is the lack of bio-diversity. I believe through study of naturally occurring conifer woodland we could find a way of mitigating this.

A blueprint for the future



An example of how the future might look can already be found. The National Forest in the East Midlands is a recent creation, with some existing woodland but plenty of new planting. About 18% of the area covered by the Forest is woodland; close to my 20% and a model for providing economic opportunity, leisure facilities and the maintenance of bio-diversity. On the National Forest websitenationalforest.org | Welcome to The National Forest the declared aim is to link up two ancient woodlands, Needwood in the west and Charnwood in the East, whilst at the same time re-generating a disused coalmine and boost the rural economy. The Conkers Discovery Centre provides indoor and outdoor leisure facilities with an emphasis on education, whilst the Changing Landscapes (for areas over one hectare) and Freewoods (for pockets of land under one hectare) schemes offer financial incentives to create small-scale woodlands for commercial, amenity or conservation/landscape purposes.

Such umbrella projects, providing direction, advice and some financing to a range of owners of existing or potential woodland, seems to me to be the blueprint for the future. You don’t have to sign up to theories about forest living being in our DNA from millions of years ago or believe in the Green Man or Herne the Hunter to appreciate that access to woodland enriches your life. At my Grandmother’s funeral my uncle spoke about how, in the 1950’s, my grandparents had little money, but took their children out into the countryside and taught them the names of all the trees and plants they came across; a practice that they continued with my generation. Some of my earliest memories of family Sunday afternoons are of trips to a place we called The Grove, which I think was somewhere on the outskirts of Rendlesham Forest in  Suffolk. We climbed trees, kicked up leaves and thrilled at the signs that said “beware of adders”. It was, for us children, a magical place which fulfilled all those things I listed earlier. There, we could be ourselves, overcome dangers, and form a life-long appreciation of the value of nature.

As I write this, perennial uncertainty in the Middle East is combining with continued demand for fuel from rapidly industrialising countries such as India and China to increase our fuel costs and make us worry about future supply, whilst natural disasters are forcing us to confront the possibility that the climate is de-stabilising. The possibilities offered by forests both to trap CO² and to provide carbon-neutral fuel should at least be looked at with as much intensity as solar, wind and water options.

Much has been written about the twentieth century being the American century and the twenty-first belonging to China. Let me offer an alternative set of labels. The Twentieth century, thanks to the abundance of oil, was the Plastic Century. When the oil runs out the viability of plastic as the material of choice for many everyday objects must also be in doubt. In addition to this the suitability of plastic for many items is under intense scrutiny at present.  We have a chance to make the Twenty-First Century the Timber Century. As some-one who prefers traditional wood over modern materials on aesthetic as well as environmental grounds, I for one would not be displeased with that.

 

This is an extended and updated version of an article written and submitted to the Independent Newspaper, who some years ago invited responses to Government plans to sell off woodland. The original version was also published on Linkedin. It is an entirely amateur response to the issue which I nevertheless hope has some value as a discussion point. Some references and links:

Inspirations and ideas around mythology and folklore:

Simon Schama: Landscape and Memory

Sir Walter Scott: The Black Arrow

Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Edward Rutherford: The Forest

Sources for statistics:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/media/1827/state-of-uk-forests.pdf

file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/ch4_climatechange_FS2018.pdf

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/EDN-20180321-1#:~:text=Today%20is%20the%20International%20Day,the%20EU's%20total%20land%20area.


 

Thursday 1 October 2020

Unrequited

 


I’m happiest when I’m in range of your smile,

A sensation I neither expected nor sought,

A state of affairs providing pause for thought,

Merely hearing your name makes a whole day worthwhile.

 

You steal in and out of my thoughts like a thief,

I have no defences to keep you at bay

My mind is disordered, my wits are astray,

I fear this path leads me nowhere but grief.

 

Love unrequited is a bittersweet thing,

The sufferer absolves its object from blame,

Curses instead Cupids arrows of flame,

Then gives in to those feelings that make the heart sing.


Tuesday 25 August 2020

A Suitable Boy- a final review

 


So, A Suitable Boy has concluded on our screens, which means it is time to attempt a retrospective. In a previous post I said that ‘novels are artificial constructs that tell a story in a choreographed way, in the end of the story seems inevitable and satisfactory once you reach it’. Episode one began with a wedding, at which Rupa Mehra declared her attention to get her younger daughter Lata to follow suit. Episode six ended with Lata’s wedding; inevitable, but was it satisfactory?

In bringing the book to the screen the novel’s complex interwoven storylines were always going to be simplified. In essence, three were retained, Lata’s adventures in love, her brother-in Law Maan’s glorious obsession with an older woman and his father’s political activity. The extended cast list was pruned and the four main families introduced with brief pen portraits. The test was, if you haven’t read the book, can you still follow the story?

I’d say the series passed the test. If, like me, you followed the Twitter thread during and after each episode, it was clear to see that viewers were emotionally invested in the story and the characters. Each suitor had cheerleaders online, as did handsome bad boy Maan.

For those like me who have read the book, the test was, can the show avoid outraging us with its changes and omissions? Again, I would say it succeeds. The characters who we don’t see, such as Firoz’s brother Imtiaz, are not really missed, and the plot changes are minor. For instance we see the three suitors meeting outside the house Lata is staying in, whereas in the book they all meet up at the cricket match, but the scene on the screen works really well.

What both the book and the show have in common is that they manage to make most characters likeable and show us their motivations. In general, the more Indian a character is the more we warm to them. Lata and Maan for instance favour traditional dress, whereas her brother Arun is very Europeanised and somehow less likeable. Firoz too has a great line in stylish Indian jackets. The devious Meenakshi looks great in her saris, which make her very decorative.

The older characters too are interesting. Mahesh Kapoor may be a typical heavy-handed father when we meet him but he is attempting a radical policy change that will adversely affect his friend, the Nawab Khan, by stripping him of land. Mahesh knows everything has a cost. The Nawab too, knows he will lose out but is trying to see the big picture and support the reform anyway.

This is, of course, a historical costume drama and we need to be wary of imposing or values and concerns on its protagonists. This is especially when it comes to Lata and her choices. At the book’s outset we meet a ‘modern’ young woman, at University, unsure whether marriage, her mother’s preferred option for her, is what she wants. Her romance with Kabir has a touch of the Romeo and Juliet’s about it, love across the divide, love over-riding all other concerns. But this doesn’t last and she avoids becoming a tragic heroine. Having experienced passion with Kabir she is self-aware enough to recognise that Amit does not make her feel like that, even though she enjoys his attention.

Which leaves Haresh. It is here that modern sensibilities can get in the way. Conditioned to disapprove the idea of arranged marriage, many of us will dismiss him as the safe choice Rupa wants Lata to marry. In addition, he is not cool, being literally buttoned up in his European clothes, and not eye candy in the way Kabir is (or Maan, for that matter). So Lata’s pivoting towards him in preference to her other suitors left some confused. But on the page and on the screen there were clear motivational reasons for her. Kabir displayed a jealous streak that put her off and Amit always seemed to be going through the motions, while Maan showed her the consequences of letting passion over-rule common sense. Finally, even though her mother wanted him to be the one, her brothers’ disapproval enabled her to position him as the rebellious choice.

What clinched it though was when he showed her that although he adored her, he was not prepared to be toyed with. His abrupt departure forced her to confront the fact that he mattered to her, and showed him in a different light. Lata senses that with Haresh it will be a marriage of equals with some-one who genuinely loves her. Other opinions are available, but as I say, in the context of 1952 her decision is explicable.

The story of Maan and Saeeda is the antithesis of Lata’s relatively demure adventures. It is a wild story of passion and transgression. The actors in these roles managed to convey their connection very well even as the viewer realises it can’t last. Saeeda does toy with Maan, (more so in the book) but she is vulnerable too. This is another relationship across the religious divide, as well as across the age divide and the respectable/disreputable one. Tabu is an established star, whilst Ishaan Kataar shows the potential to become one.

Compared with their tumult the pursuit of Tasneem by Firoz seems positively 18th century. Which is just as well, as they are in fact brother and sister. When this gets tangled up with the Maan/Saeeda story tragedy ensues.

It is all the more tragic because as the book implies, and the show more explicitly shows, the relationship between Maan and Firoz is almost a romantic one, certainly an Achilles/Patroclus or Alexander/Hephaistion one (an intense friendship with a physical undercurrent). Seen in this light, Firoz saving his friend in court is no surprise. This is an example of the book, and the show, being more than just chocolate book pretty. There are also examples of disreputable behaviour, the attempted seduction of Lata by a friend’s father being one, and the implied seduction of her brother by an older female friend of the family being another, along with Meenakshi dallying with her husband’s best friend.

These provide shade and depth to what could otherwise be a bit Mills & Boon. But what also makes this show worth watching are the performances. Tanya Maliktala as Lata has an on-screen presence that compels you to watch her. She is not a ‘hot chick’, but far more interesting as a result, and with an intensity that makes her attraction to her suitors believable.

The show has an almost impossible tightrope to walk in terms of avoiding Indian clichés and not offending modern sensibilities, but generally does so well. As a White British male tuning in through love of the book I was concerned that those with Indian heritage might be upset with it, but the Twitter thread showed a lot of love from the Indian community, which was re-assuring. Because although it tells its story through Indian imagery and sensibility, ultimately, its main themes are common human concerns that transcend settings to appeal to us all.

One criticism remains: IT WAS TOO SHORT! It deserved at least twelve hours of television to do it justice. 




Thursday 20 August 2020

A pre-digital Infographic (Hadrian's Wall)

 

 

 

In 1972, on holiday in the Lake District, my parents took my sister and I on an excursion to see Hadrian’s Wall. We visited Vindolanda, where I bought this Information Booklet. Somehow, I have retained it through every house move, as a memento of that visit. It was shown to my own children after I dragged them to see the wall on the way back from the Scottish Islands in 2015; I thought then how well done it was. It has seen the light of day again during the unpacking of the last few boxes from our last move in 2017, leading me to think about infographics, something we think of as a digital tool. This is definitely pre-digital.


I think it has worn well. It is elegantly designed, using the fold-out format to accommodate the long stretch of the wall. Around the wall itself are a series of pictures and text boxes (a reminder that most Word functions are simply digital versions of long-established practices, including cut and paste!) that convey a lot of information in a succinct form. I was eleven years old when I bought it and it worked for me then. It still works now; as well as providing information it is aesthetically pleasing. The subtle use of red and green and highlighters is effective and the images are well chosen to show objects that have been found by archaeologists. I like the combination of drawings of finds and diagrams.

If some-one wanted to produce a digital version they do worse than start with this, then adding hyperlinks through the pictures and at different points along the wall to take the viewer to more detailed explanations and/or videos of the locations.

This is now something of an artefact; a relic of a pre-digital era, a personal reminder for me of my past, which can nonetheless still do the job it was made for. Whoever created this should be proud of their handiwork, whoever you are, you did a great job.

It is also a reminder that Infographics has a long and distinguished history and is not simply a product of the digital age. If you want to engage people, images are important, and keeping text short can be important too. Blending the two together effectively is not always as easy as it looks. One great example is the Sunday Times Complete History of the World, another great artefact that uses this technique to perfection. This is the two page spread about Byzantium: 


 So, the next time you see something like this, think about the work that goes into it and the history behind the format.