Tangerine Dream at Warsaw Progresja 26th October 2019

Of course, Tangerine Dream are in post-Edgar Froese days now, but I still really enjoyed the audio-visual offering they served up on Saturday night.

'White Eagle' was always going to be my favourite tune of the night, but found the whole set, washed down with a few beers, hypnotic/mesmerising.

Knew of Tangerine Dream back in the 1970s/early 1980s as a schoolboy, but back then, they just flew over my head.

Had the good fortune to see Tangerine Dream with the late Edgar Froese a few years ago.

It's good to come to a band late rather than never, of course.

Donegal: Passing Craghy Lake (Loch Chrathai)

A couple of hours after setting off up into the hills from Crolly, Gweedore, I was passing the picturesque Loch Chrathai (Craghy Lake):

Some of the views were absolutely stunning:

Was intrigued by the small building below:

And every now and again, caught a small farm or hamlet in the distance:

Blue Rainy Bury

As usual, in mid-August, it was continually raining in my hometown, Bury. Thankfully, I only pass through for a few days each year.

The blue pool with floating balls above, at the new end of The Rock, caught my eye as it did its best to brighten up a dark, gloomy, rainy day.

Revisiting St. Stephen's Church, Hackington

When I lived in Canterbury between 1999 and 2003, one evening, I went for a leisurely stroll and came across St. Stephen's church in the wonderful, sedate area/village of Hackington in/near Canterbury (some internet sites refer to Hackington as a village one mile outside Canterbury).

Again, this year, I accidentally stumbled upon St. Stephen's when my travelling companion initiated an interesting wild goose chase. Had completely forgotten about the beautiful church tower at St. Stephen's:

Have just read that St. Stephen's dates back to the 12th century, and that at one time, contained a famous image of St. Stephen which pilgrims visited for its miraculous powers.

In the surrounding graveyard, the small wooden cross below stood out for me:

Heading towards Beeny Cliff

After a short walk around the coastline from Boscastle, Pentargon Bay, a large black cliff face, and the Beeny promontory came into view:

Was glad to see that the footpath seemed to be well-protected:

The black cliff face was really menacing, a big vertical drop into the water:

In Discovering Hardy's Wessex, Anne-Marie Edwards (1978/1982: 61) reveals that the black cliff face may be the model for the Henry Knight cliffhanger scene from 'A Pair of Blue Eyes', one of the first Thomas Hardy novels I read as a late teenager, about 35 years ago now.

Importantly, Anne-Marie Edwards (1978/1982: 61-62) also informs that the black cliff face forms "part of the Beeny promontory".

It's a pity that the picture of the waterfall below is a bit blurred:

Anyway, Anne-Marie Edwards (1978/1982: 64) reveals that the waterfall was "one of the first places Hardy revisited" after his first wife Emma's death, and that in the 'After a Journey' poem, Hardy "imagines" Emma "leading him back" to the waterfall at Pentargon Bay.
 

Was an honour to visit yet another piece of wonderful Thomas Hardy memorabilia. How lucky I've been over the past four summers to visit Hardy settings all over Dorset, and for a day, in this remote part of north Cornwall.

Small Lakes (Near Crolly, Gweedore)

After passing St. Patrick's tin church, I started getting higher into the hills near Crolly, Gweedore, encountering small lakes and deserted dwelling-places:

This was a tranquil place, for an afternoon hike, I felt solace in the isolation.

 

As I passed another deserted place, I asked myself if I could live up here:

My answer was "Probably not", but still I was enjoying my afternoon up here:

Visiting West Bay

After a couple of mile walk from Bridport, and being pointed in the right direction by an Australian man, I arrived at West Bay.

In The Hardy Way: A 19th-Century Pilgrimage, Maragaret Marande (2015: 138) reveals that The Harbour Inn mentioned in Thomas Hardy's short story, 'Fellow Townsmen', from the Wessex Tales anthology is based on the Bridport Arms which "dates from the seventeenth century":

Margaret Marande (2015: 136) also informs that the sea at West Bay "can be fierce and unpredictable, as it was" when Mrs Downe and Mrs Barnet "were capsized in their boat" in 'Fellow Townsmen'.

And it was certainly blowing up a gale during my brief saunter across the West Bay beach.

Was glad to have a look around the small town which was no more than a village in Hardy's time.

Think the picture below conveys how rough the sea can be at West Bay:

Bridport: Passing St. Mary's Church

Not long after setting off for West Bay from Bridport town centre, I came across the beautiful St. Mary's church.

Have just read that parts of the church date back to the 13th-15th centuries.

Moreover, in 1860, John Hicks of Dorchester did restoration work on the church, with Thomas Hardy having been on his staff at the time. Thus, there's a strong possibility that Hardy participated in the restoration work at St. Mary's.

Near St. Mary's, I also passed the local Quaker meeting place:

Have just read that like St. Mary's and the Town Hall, the Quaker meeting house is a listed building. All this shows that Bridport is a great photogenic place, of course.

Arriving in Bridport

After a very pleasant bus ride full of countryside (very kindly described in detail by a local musician who I met on the bus) from Dorchester, I arrived in Bridport, famous for rope-making, of course.

First saw the Bull Hotel:

Then, the Unitarian church across the road:

Had a nice chat with an old man about different Christian denominations in front of the church.

Then saw the wonderful Town Hall:

Have just read that the Town Hall is a listed building dating back to 1786.

In The Hardy Way: A 19th Century Pilgrimage, Margaret Marande (2015: 132, 136) reveals that at the start of Thomas Hardy's short story 'Fellow Townsmen' from the Wessex Tales anthology, the "good friends" Downe and Barnet ride into Port Bredy (Bridport) one evening, with the description fitting:

      "East Street, the Bull Hotel and King Street, past the Town Hall on the right going east, which
      was where Downe lived. Barnet lived in East Street, the main street ..."

'Fellow Townsmen' is one of my favourite Hardy short stories, it just has the tragedy/melancholia, why Hardy is so powerfully moving.

Warsaw: Two Recent Concerts

Hardly enough time to jot down a few thoughts these days, just how life is, but enjoyed seeing Belgian electronica/trip-hop band Hooverphonic at Warsaw Progresja on 6th October.

Really wondered what the band would be like with new singer, Luka. Obviously, the fresh tunes ('Concrete Skin'; 'Horrible Person'; 'Romantic' etc.) with Luka were excellent, and thought that she handled the older Hooverphonic material well, not an easy task doing 'Eden'; 'Jackie Cane' etc..

Was nice to see the new incarnation of Hooverphonic work well:

Also enjoyed Polish opening act, Youth Novels:

A subtle kind of band that I'll keep my eyes on.

Then, on 12th October, Saturday night, I saw Mirabai Ceiba at Warsaw Stodoła:

Just fancied watching something a bit different, and this kind of New Age/Eastern Religious Chant music suited me fine, thought that it went down really well with a few beers, to be honest.

'Agua de Luna' and 'La Luna' were beautiful to hear live, and the Eastern religious chant songs were positively hypnotic.