‘I thank god upon my every remembrance of you’ (turn your heater on video)

kilvert is in old bettws chapel for the last time. it’s a tearful leave taking. he will live on elsewhere and eventually move back to nearby bredwardine just before he marries, just before he dies. 

meanwhile, in post-war rhodes (in reflections on the marine venus), their orders have come and everbody is being ordered away, durrell back to egypt, the nurses away to abyssinia... ‘all playing an unconscious part in my own inner life, and now, by this writing, made a part of it forever.’ 

well not everybody will be ordered away, we learn in a footnote that one of the band of friends is going to step on a landmine and die. 

horsemouth has upsticksed and returned to the wen (for an open air meeting). he looked forward to seeing friends. he was not looking forward to debating things face to face again, times are difficult but mercy of mercies, the main opponent was away, so that just left randoms (who were annoying enough truth be told). 

horsemouth watched part of michael mann’s (1983) the keep - which despite a tangerine dream soundtrack was pretty poor really. yesterday is the anniversary of top of the pops showing footage of a hawkwind gig from guildford hall in 1972 to go with the single silver machine. it is one of the few clips of an early hawkwind line up in existence (apparently there’s 23 minutes of footage from 1973 due for release soon). 

there’s stacia (who the camera is fascinated by), there’s lemmy singing, there are bubble machines, there’s a lightshow, there’s nik turner, a glimpse of dik mik, dave brock, a fair amount of simon king, but most interestingly of all there’s the audience. 

this clip was later transmitted as part of documentary about science fiction author michael moorcock (m.john harrison also features) in the late 70ies and this is where the child horsemouth sees it first. beneath the boredom of life in south wales in the 70ies lies this possibility, and these people. 

the sex pistols play horsemouth’s local cinema (the castle, caerphilly), his headmaster is in the great rock n’ roll swindle protesting outside the gig and singing hymns. but this is more important to horsemouth.