Modelo 37

Goodbye Astoria

Shed a little tear, The Astoria, the rock venue at the top of Tottenham Court Road, is finally scheduled for demolition to make way for the expansion of the station for the Cross Rail project. It may not have the significance of the similarly irradicated Hammersmith Palais, subject of a (repeated?) documentary Last Man In Hammersmith Palais which I watched on the BBC 4 iPlayer this week, and The Astoria hasn't got the same level of mythology as the Palais (where seemingly half of London met their spouses and which was famously hymned by The Clash...) but it will always hold memories for me. The first and so far only Radiohead live video was filmed there in 1994, a gig I was at (you'll have to wait for the full story) and they also played a fanclub show there a couple of years later, which was pretty memorable. I always got a little lump in my throat whenever I walked past the place on my way across London and I shall miss it.
Here's the end of that gig May 1994:

All Sideways

Great lost grunge band Scarce perform in London tomorrow. Shame it's not a tour.

Traveller's Century

I just watched the remaining episode of Traveller's Century, having seen the other two earlier in the year. This one about Eric Newby was perhaps the one I least enjoyed, as it seemed to involve more of the intrepid Benedict Allen (and his scarf) recreating the journey detailed in the late Mr Newby's book, A Short Walk Up The Hindu Kush than it concentrated on the book itself. But the other two episodes on Laurie Lee (whose work I was familiar with) and Patrick Leigh Fermor (whose work I wasn't familiar with but should have been, considering he's a bit of a Byron obsessive) were very enjoyable. In the wake of all the blokey celebrity travel shows hitting the screens lately (Stephen Fry, Paul Merton, etc), it was good to be reminded of a time before Michael Palin was the last word in travel journalism.

Leigh Fermor still hasn't published what would arguably be the most interesting part of his travel journals - about the end of his convoluted walk across Europe to Greece - he seems to have been distracted by being an unlikely war hero, as mythologised in the Powell and Pressburger film Ill Met By Moonlight. But he's still alive, having stayed in Greece. That episode is still forthcoming and well worth a look.

[Additional Nov 16th: I've now read a collection of Fermor's stuff - Words Of Mercury - and when he's good he's great ( I think his whole books might require one to have had a classical education to understand all the references). They make Greece seem tremendously attractive and have set me further on a trail of Byzantine art history which started with seeing AGD's series earlier in the year...]

sweet nothings

New collection at Angie Star! sweet little nothings... perfect for a pretty gift or a treat for you! Handmade and one of a kind, without the big price tag! Come in and play!

sweet nothings

New collection at Angie Star! sweet little nothings... perfect for a pretty gift or a treat for you! Handmade and one of a kind, without the big price tag! Come in and play!

"SIN CADENAS"

Al cielo contemplando su belleza

en esferas luminosas, de pálidos rayos de luna

vía celeste… deslumbrante a un bello amanecer.

regresa de las nubes brotando por su abertura

ese canto a la vida… de la embriaguez sagrada.

-*-

Con su mano siempre a Dios tendida

cruzando el centro del profundo averno

donde lo atroz compite con el miedo

donde la nada…jamás se convierte en cuerda.

-*-

Mundo de ciegos…seres necios

usurpadores de la libertad humana

existencia de pecadores.. no arrepentidos

la llama ardiente, juzgará sus pecados.

-*-

Su cabeza coronada de fulgurantes soles

purificada al sacrificio a sus vivas llamas…

la hace meditar ya en calma

de esa paz que llega a sanar… su sufrir

-*-

Respirando ese aire… de su deseada libertad

jubilosa estrecha, a sus seres queridos

el mundo gozoso de libertad… aplaude su regreso

¡estas con nosotros!:

Ingrid Betancourt

-*-

SACARIAS