Walking through history
In which I think about some historical encounters, make progress on a new podcast series, and chat about The Beatles and Bond on others.
A couple of weeks ago Gill and I headed down to San Antonio for what will probably be our last Alamo visit before we head out of state. The prime reason was to check out the impressive collection of Alamo-related objects and ephemera that singer and drummer Phil Collins donated back to the Alamo several years ago. On reading my Facebook post about our visit, a friend sent me a note saying that when he’d visited The Alamo several years before, he could “feel the history” there. I knew exactly what he meant.
Early this week Facebook’s Memories function reminded me that two years ago this week we had been in Tombstone, and I’d written at the time that “there is something special about getting to walk the actual streets where legends were born and a modern mythology created. “
This got me thinking, I’ve been lucky enough to travel around the world and visit any number of historical sites, but there has only been a handful where I have actually felt the presence of the past (and in one case mythology) in a palpable sense. Where are they?
Probably at the top of the list and one of my favorite places to visit is the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey in England. It was here that in 1215 the monks supposedly discovered the grave of King Arthur and Guinevere. Nearby overlooking the remains of the Abbey is the mound known as Glastonbury Tor which is supposedly the location of the mystical Isle of Avalon from Arthurian mythology. I’m not a religious or spiritual person, but there is something about the Abbey and the Tor that resonates with me, and I always get an overwhelming feeling of peace when I’m there.
I was amazed at how much impact a visit to the graves of the 47 Ronin at the Sengakuji Temple in Tokyo had on me. The story of the Ronin’s sacrifice is a classic Japanese text and one I’d read about many times over the years prior to my visit. Again I was struck by the tranquility of the place in the midst of one of the busiest cities on the planet. A few months later I read an account of a 19th Century traveller’s visit to the site and it felt as if I was right back revisiting what was a timeless memorial.
And then there’s Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-on-Avon. I’m a nut for anything to do with the life of Shakespeare so a pilgrimage to his birthplace was a must. But what struck me the most while there wasn’t just the connection to the Bard himself, but the list of other visitors to those same rooms over the centuries, all made the same journey we had. We were literally following in the footsteps of Charles Dickens, Sir Walter Scott, Isaac Watts, Thomas Hardy, John Keats and William Thackeray, Winston Churchill, and many more. It felt like being part of an unbroken chain stretching back through history.
What places have you visited that give you that connection to history?
Other Stuff
Thanks to the new subscribers who have joined since last week. There’s also been a notable increase in readership for the newsletter over the last few weeks. I really appreciate your interest and support. If you’re one of those folks who have recently joined us but haven’t subscribed yet, you can do so by clicking the button below to get each upcoming newsletter delivered straight to your email.
Feed My Need For Coffee
Our intention is that this weekly newsletter will always be a FREE subscription, but if you enjoy what you read here, or any of the other places I hang out online, and feel you would like to contribute, you can now leave a tip by clicking on the Ko-Fi banner below.
Brabazon Bits
I’m still working on the chapter about the Brabazon’s early test flights. The focus this week has been on the flight crew and their preparations for actually flying the giant aircraft.
Pages and Screens
Books Read in 2023 - “Dinosaur Beach” by Keith Laumer.
Probably the most complex, intricately crafted, and well-thought-out time travel story I’ve read. The central premise that the controllers of each generation of time travel technology will infiltrate the previous eras to fix their perceived mistakes, and in doing so create chronal anomalies is a smart and logical one.
For a comparatively short read, there are a lot of concepts to get your head around here. But like a lot of good SF ideas it’s let down by a weak plot and poorly realized central characters.
Before They Were Beatles Updates
Want to know what I think about the new Beatles song, and the remixed Red & Blue greatest hits album releases in more detail? Well wonder no more for I reveal all in a new bonus episode of the Before They Were Beatles podcast out now
It’s been a productive week of prep work for the upcoming The Forgotten Beatles podcast series with the scripts for the first two episodes completed. We are now firmly on track to launch early in the New Year.
The next issue of the Before They Were Beatles newsletter will be published today. In this month’s edition, we discuss how Elvis inspired John’s first attempts to learn the guitar. If you don’t want to miss out on the expanded story of the early Beatles history, you can sign up for a subscription below.
Podcast Procratinations
Had a great time the other week guesting on the Modern Musicology podcast discussing the remixed and extended Beatles Red & Blue albums. The show is now available online if you want to give it a listen.
Over at the Rogue Agents show on the On Her Majesty’s Secret Podcast network, the crew shared our thoughts and observations about the James Bond: Kill Chain graphic novel
Weekly Web Round-Up
Batman On The Cover - The journey through Batman’s comics publishing history continues this week as we move into August 1968 with new issues of Detective Comics, Batman, Brave & The Bold, and World’s Finest published by DC Comics.
My favorite from this selection of titles was the cover of Detective #378 by artist Irv Novick. I like the meta-aspect, that instead of seeing the actual characters we are instead looking at an abandoned newspaper on a rain-soaked Gotham street from which we, along with whichever citizen of Batman’s hometown discarded it, get the news of the Dynamic Duo’s apparent disagreement.
Where on the Web is Alan?
You can now find links to all the places you can find me online, websites, newsletters, social media, and more in a single LINKS page on my personal website.
As always, thanks for joining me this week. If you know someone else who might enjoy the contents of this week’s newsletter, or just my weekly ramblings in general - please feel free to share by clicking the button below.
See you next time
Alan J. Porter