Another early start to avoid the legendary Cosmo Breakfast, which I have previously and accurately described in politically incorrect terms which are not really suitable for publication. Very good coffee elsewhere however, then back to Senate House for today's papers.
Started with some papers on unfamiliar authors for me - E.M. Forster and J.B. Priestly. The Priestly paper in particular, given by Ken Smith was inspiring - another addition to the reading list in 'Angel Pavement'. Then, two panels of papers on 'Sinclair, Ackroyd and Moorcock'. This was a gamble for me, and it seemed odd to be watching people squabbling academically about living, breathing authors! This particularly came to head when questions were invited on a paper regarding 'The Blakean Legacy in Sinclair'. A smartly dressed and hitherto quiet member of the audience turned out to be slightly more intimately connected with the text than expected, which of course meant trouble, and an invitation to continue the discussion privately!
The papers broadly confirmed my expectations - lauding Sinclair, vilifying Ackroyd and (almost) ignoring Moorcock. That said, the papers on Sinclair were pretty incisive, gripping stuff. He seems to infuse his critics with the essence of his writing! One paper defended Ackroyd's historical writing somewhat, and after early accusations of Conservatism he was later described as a "romantic anti-capitalist" - an epithet I rather liked. It was however, very encouraging to see these writers being discussed in serious terms, and it filled me with enthusiasm for my own, far less significant projects which is always a good thing! A final Plenary session ended the conference, with Professor Sukhdev Sandhu speaking on 'Chinese Writing in London' with particular emphasis on the original Chinatown in Limehouse.
My only regrets are the papers I couldn't get to - particularly the one on Christ Church, Spitalfields - a favourite spot of mine. I can't quite describe how incredible and life-affirming the last couple of days have been. Its rare you get the chance to talk obsessively about one of your passions among people who firstly understand you, and secondly have a whole pile of things to tell you which you'd never have discovered on your own. Having strayed from the academic path somewhat, I rely on these events to keep me on the straight and narrow to some degree.
Feeling much better and well rested, set out early to avoid the breakfast at my hotel and to get some decent coffee. Off to Senate House to register. Despite over a year of membership of the IES and previous conferences, I still find approaching this building (which was used for 'The Minstry of Truth' in the film version of 1984) slightly forbidding.
Registered, and headed for the first Plenary session. I always like to arrive early, select a seat in an unobtrusive part of the room, and watch people arrive. This was an interesting bunch - very cosmopolitan, including delegates and speakers from Russia, South Africa, Australia, Poland, the US and Canada among others. In fact, I met a number of very nice people in the first session alone.
The keynote, delivered by Professor Chris Jenks on 'The Flâneur as Urban Ethnograper' absolutely hooked me in. I'm always convinced before these events that things will be completely beyond my comprehension, but this seemed to pull together all sorts of questions and readings from the past few years.
I hope to put my many pages of notes into some form of order, so not too much more detail - no doubt to the reader's relief - but for the rest of the morning I delighted in hearding about the sublimity of sewers, London as the new Jerusalem, why the Martians attacked suburbia in The War of the Worlds, discovered new names for my ever-growing reading list and explored topographies of both shame and poverty.
A brief lunch and much needed pint, then back for more. The 'Spectropolis' panel had sounded fun, and I wasn't disappointed - firstly a paper on Will Self, a favourite for me among modern authors, then a paper on 'The Necropolis Trope in London Writing' which provided some fascinating stuff about cemetaries, and included reference to James Thompson BV. A couple more papers with dystopian and suburban themes, and the first day was over. Out and about briefly, but I was too exhausted to get up to much of the customary conference overindulgence. In fact a few of us decided on a quiet evening, and I eventually retired relatively early, but very happy.
First day of my holiday, and predictably I wake feeling like crap! Medicate myself for hayfever and headaches and complete packing. Off on the 0908, changing at Bristol for the 1010. Absolutely faultless running, with a slightly early arrival. Straight to my usual hotel - its a back-to-basics experience, but its cheap and perfectly located.
Having ditched the bags, out into the humid afternoon for some wandering about and to seek food. Almost unconciously find myself heading to Clerkenwell Green. Pleasant time sitting watching lunchtime workers and investigating a "London's Lost Rivers" exhibition which was pretty well done - down to a 'simulated' river of pungent green litter-filled water in the middle of Vine Street Bridge.
Time for a quick beer in the City Pride, listening to Guardian hacks comparing notes, then back to the hotel since I was still feeling pretty grim. Ventured out again later - striking east for a long walk to more old haunts, including Whitecross Street and a couple of pubs - probably not the best idea in the circumstances. Pretty exhausted, so returned on the train for an early night. Hoping to feel better tomorrow.
Whilst I have many obsessions, niggling irritations and obsessive compulsions, I don't really have many ambitions. Getting to Fishguard Harbour on a real train has become all of the above. People who know me in real life will know the frustration this has caused me, and regular readers will have seen my previous attempts fail.
So today, having little else planned and wishing to make a quick escape. I decided to try again. After hearing last week of 37417 failing and the train being cancelled completely, I figured that the law of averages pointed to things working out today. To be safe, bought a day return to Cardiff Central for starters. Changed swiftly at Bristol onto a Wales-bound 158. Just prior to departure a veritable armada of Spanish students swamped the train, providing an uncomfortable, cramped and noisy ride to Cardiff.
Arrived at Central to find the station in some disarray due to flooding overnight. The ticket office was closed completely, having suffered a torrent of water which worked its way through the trackbed above and into the building due to the persistent heavy rain. Purchased provisions and then got a day return to Fishguard from the solitary man with a ticket machine who was deputising for the entire booking office today!
Approaching 1016 and still the display showed Platform 7, there were no obvious replacement units on the station, and the growing crowd of notable faces indicated it might just happen. At just a minute or so past the alloted time, trusty 37419 rumbled in.
There isn't much more I can write about the journey to and from Fishguard which I haven't covered before, except perhaps to clarify the route of the return leg. It isn't booked via The Vale of Glamorgan at all - in fact the service runs via the South Wales Mainline to Leckwith Junction, then sits around outside Canton Depot for almost 45 minutes before heading into Central and thence to Rhymney. As we pressed on westward, the rain ceased and the sun came out. A pleasant run all-in-all. Its a pretty poor photograph, but for the sake of completeness here is a shot of 37419 having arrived, taken from as close as possible to the same spot as the previous picture of 158826.
37419 at Fishguard Harbour
Lost::MikeGTN
I've had a home on the web for more years than I care to remember, and a few kind souls persuade me it's worth persisting with keeping it updated. This current incarnation of the site is centred around the blog posts which began back in 1999 as 'the daylog' and continued through my travels and tribulations during the following years.
I don't get out and about nearly as much these days, but I do try to record significant events and trips for posterity. You may also have arrived here by following the trail to my former music blog Songs Heard On Fast Trains. That content is preserved here too.
