ghost town (the motorways of hackney)

eight years ago and horsemouth was preparing for a gig at cafe bohemia (thanks albino). he remembers it as being very cold. there are photos (is this the gig with the multiple santas? like the dream sequence that opens city of lost chidren).

if it was then sean was there (and minty and howard). he demoed a version of noah.  he will be showing you the photos as soon as facebook shows him.  

today a day without rain (allegedly). horsemouth will use it to wander around (his clothes having dried out from the last time). he will put some  clothes in to be washed (thanks mum). 

he dreamed it was his birthday and he was meeting loads of friends down by a river or down by the docks in some kind of post industrial set up. then he dreamed he was living in an old dark house but the doorbell was always going and there were guests. 

the motorways of hackney

there was a guardian article (and then a letter) about the 60ies plan to drive a huge ringroad (a motorway box) through the inner london boroughs. little of it was in the end built. the hackney wick to kidbrooke section actually got built) but because of a spirited campaign of resistance little of the rest did. 

a friend admitted that having grown up on kenton road he would have welcomed the motorway if it got rid of the rat running traffic for dover. 

the argument is the one between robert moses (prosperity, cars, cross bronx expressway) and jane jacobs (vibrant communities, pedestrians, no new roads). the result of this argument is the cities we have, cars jammed through medieval street plans, streets choked with parked cars, dangerous air quality. 

horsemouth briefly worked on a government make work scheme in the path of the M11 link doing up people's gardens before the wrecking ball came. 

ghost town

terry hall (of the specials, colourbox, the fun boy three) has died. ghost town  by the specials (video allegedly directed by barney bubbles) is the key record that you could use to define the times - exhaustion, decay, menace, do nothing the primary sentiment of the age (boredom). hall's voice was the voice of it all. they are inside the car but are they safe, the car swerves all over the road while driving through a dark wasteland.