In the compilation of the 17th century writings of John Aubrey that I am reading, he describes the town of Slough (near Eton) as being 'very dirty'. He also says that the very name, slough, means 'a dirty place' in Welsh. He proceeded John Betjeman by about 300 years - 'come friendly bombs and fall on Slough...'
Peter Ackroyd is right. Places never lose their original spirit of place or purpose, no matter how visually changed they become.
Since Roman times, Bath was one of the first tourist towns for rest and recuperation, attracting all sorts of people seeking simple diversion from their everyday lives. It is only a few miles from Bristol, but the difference in atmosphere is striking. Bristol was built on commerce, but Bath was built on gambling and sex.
Is that why you live there Tom and have you found the gambling and sex ?!!!! XXXX
ReplyDeleteI lost on both.
DeleteAnd so its great heritage has been continued by your goodself.
ReplyDeleteI've never been into gambling. It's one of the few vices that I see no point in.
DeleteEbay I was thinking as a form of gambling.
DeleteYes, I should have said addiction rather than vice.
DeleteHow often do you buy on eBay?
DeleteNot much these days. I tend to buy for other people who cannot get to grips with JustSnipe. I don't sell much either.
DeleteI've just had a targeted ad with a photograph of a woman who they must think I would just about get away with asking out for a date - a certain age and a certain plainness. It says, 'Meet single women in Plymouth'. Why would I go to Plymouth? Far enough away to not be recognised?
ReplyDeleteAll I can say about this issue and the way it seems to be developing is that at my age I wouldnt even go to the end of our road.
ReplyDeleteYou will go to the end of your road.
DeleteThat sounded a bit dark! I mean we all do!
DeleteIt reminds me of the PhD thesis I thought I would write, when I was a first year college student. How the land shaped literature in in this country. Of course it did.
ReplyDeleteSo, my village, Peninsula, is on a river, a driver of commerce. Investment capitalists added a canal and more commerce moved. The railroad drove the canal out, but not commerce. Then interstate highways, ditto. Eventually commerce could not keep up and moved to bigger buildings and better transportation access, far away. Now we are a backwater, acquired by the Federal Park to display as a "hamlet." Hamlet is not a governmental structure in this country. History perverted. And commerce is gone, too, except penny candy. What justice, I wonder.
There are self-fulfilling prophesies such as when they said that the banks would leave South Africa after black rule. Well, they are more threats than prophesies really - like the banks threatening to move out of London after Brexit. It is the ordinary people who get punished and pay the price, but in the case of Brexit it was ordinary people who voted for it. Suckers.
DeleteOpen your door and look down the street. They all voted to leave. Or, in my case, for Trump. May we learn (in time) from our mistakes.
DeleteHaving once driven through Slough, I think it's better pronunciation is SLUFF.
ReplyDelete