On Snowmoor ❄️
How very January! The weather has been quite appalling here from before Christmas and into the New Year ranging from just plain grey and dull to extremely windy, rainy and more recently a whole snow dump hit us with temperatures fluctuating from some days hitting minus figures to others in the whole double digit range. I guess it is to be expected as we are still in Winter, but still difficult to know whether to flick the heating on or put a hat, scarf and gloves on when going out.
More Cemeteries
We popped up to East London again recently just to have a look around, get some air (although very cold air!) and a bit of peace and quiet. The day we chose was indeed as described earlier cold and grey, we headed towards Mile End, doing the one stop from Stratford on the Central Line and hopped off at Mile End Station and turned right passing a couple of roads before getting to Southern Grove, we walked past lots of pretty non descript flats and on our left hand side eventually a high bricked wall appeared with the opening and gates to Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. Wow! again what a stunning array of really beautiful and old gravestones and architecture, the whole thing is in a wooded area and for being so near to the hustle and bustle of Mile End it is quite surprising as to how peaceful it is, we passed along the walkways soaking in the quiet and also the nature, squirrels unbothered by our presence darted to a fro, a fox brazenly walked out in front of us again quite oblivious to our presence and to top it off loads of crows squawking in the trees above us just to give it that full on graveyard feel!
Plenty of dog walkers about, their canine friends both big and small lapping up the open space with trees, smells and freedom from being off the leash, one of them we met was fully 'locked into hunting mode' for squirrels and the owner was having a hard time trying to persuade her that it was time to go home. We had a good nose around finding a gravestone for Dr. Bernado, I have to say it seemed well looked after with 'friends of the park' volunteering doing litter picking etc to keep it neat and tidy, you can catch their work and some history at the link.
St. Clements, East End Boozers & Art
We wandered out of the park and into an old gate with a plaque next to it which was so weathered we really couldn't make much out of it, as we walked though and saw the clocktower we realized we were in St. Clements which was formerly a workhouse and later a psychiatric unit/mental health facility. Today it is home to flats and housing all kept well in keeping with the original building's style, it looked like a nice place to have a flat to be honest. You can catch some history and some photos of it at the link 'Lost Hospitals Of London'.
We passed through and out the other side to a small side road called Eric street where there stands on the corner a lovely quaint old east end pub called the Wentworth Arms, which evidently has some relevance for my wife's side of the family from bygone days. We hit the inside and stopped for a quick drink and it seemed like a nice friendly old east end pub. You can catch the pub's website at the link also featuring it's history which includes the notorious Kray Twins!
From there we walked on to Stepney Green and on to Whitechapel Art Gallery to catch some works by Peter Kennard an artist committed to peace and anti nuclear weapons and also highlighting injustices throughout the world, some really good old school posters from when we were teens about nuclear war as well as concert posters for gigs organized against the 'bomb'.
We finally turned off down into Brick Lane for a nose about before it just got too cold and we headed off back home again to warm up. All the same we got some good headspace, art and of course a beer plus obviously some cold weather, and so onto the music bit....
On Snowmoor
Taken from the album 'The Wind Is Strong' released on the Indie 'Midnight Music Record Label' in 1990. A really quite captivating and beautiful track, with the metronome sound ticking in the background, ethereal type singing kind of akin to The Cocteau Twins or Dead Can Dance and their track 'Windfall'.
The song building up into the sound of the wind howling across empty moorland and evolving into a lulling piano. Very atmospheric.
Beginnings & The Freeze
They were formed in Edinburgh in 1982 by Cindy Sharp and David Clancy from the remnants of a band formed in 1976 called The Freeze. This is a track by them called 'Paranoia' and is from their 7" single called 'In Colour' released in 1979 on the self financed A.1 Record Label. Cindy Sharp being credited as 'Gordon Sharp'.
The Skids & Peel Sessions
The band's highlight was supporting The Skids in 1977. They also performed two 'Peel Sessions' in late November 1980 and August '81 and Sharp also contributed vocals to The Cocteau Twins second 'Peel Session'.
In Colour
The track listing for the 7" 'In Colour' is:
- Paranoia
- For J.P.S. (with love and loathing)
- Psychodalek Nightmares
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Video & Picture Sources Thanks To
𝓐 𝓚ⅰ𝓬𝒌 Ìռძⅰ𝓮 𝓝𝒖ꚍⱿ
Martin [email protected]
devilinthenewman#youtube.com
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