Saturday, July 31, 2010

home, circles, man


Posted by Picasa Yes, I have photographed this window, and possibly even one of these pigeons twice before. For some reason I am often persuaded to stop beside the traffic lights at the top of Mount Pleasant and look up at the hulk of the abandoned cinema opposite the town hall in the heart of Tunbridge Wells (the site is still for sale by the way - anyone interested?) The attraction: broken windows, gaping shutters, fragments of former  human occupation, unofficial vegetation, signs of an extinguished fire, and of course pigeons, scruffy, bohemian pigeons camping out, you feel, in the wreck of a former pleasure palace.

At this time of year when schools have broken up for the summer holiday, teenagers gather in small circles in The Grove and Calverely Ground like petals in a corolla. I think of the Spanish word tertulia to describe an informal gathering of friends, when I see them, and it occurs to me that there can be few better things to do when young or old than sit in a circle and talk. I like the Irish expression, "the crack" which refers to conversation, fun and gossip. Hence "cracksome", jolly, amusing.

In The Pantiles I count  a party of nine woman sitting with drinks outside The Ragged Trousers, and one man. Dr Livingstone, I presume ...

7 comments:

CC said...

Wonderful photo.

The Crow said...

"...scruffy, bohemian pigeons camping out, you feel, in the wreck of a former pleasure palace."

What a delightful word picture you've made here, Plutarch. Makes me smile for the first time this morning - especially the bohemian part!

Unknown said...

Caaa ... dear Crow. it makes me smile to think that my post made you smile.

marja-leena said...

Oh, this image just jumped out at me, just wow! Isn't it amazing how these rundown places provide great photo opportunities yet we are disturbed by their presence in our communities? And of course your words provide further delightful images.

Roderick Robinson said...

The more the cinema decays, the more the tendency to reflect. Was the decay foreseen or implicit in the title of the last film shown there? And then there's the link between film's evanescence and the somewhat slower process now being endured by the bricks and mortar. These are what are called literary devices (conceits?) and because they sprang easily to mind should be distrusted. In any case someone got there before me. The Last Picture Show (directed by Peter Bogdanovich) dating back to the seventies offers up a fine slice of forgivable nostalgia, certainly proving that TW and rural Texas have little in common.

Nimble said...

What a frame for a pigeon. I'd like to do a drawing from this photo...

Unknown said...

Nimble: Why not?