We interrupt our London 2014 Christmas cards series to do a little time travelling.
David writes…
Only the London
Walks blog is going to take you from points world-wide Christmastime 2014 to
1920s Christmastime in London (Caledonian Road Market to be precise) to
Springtime in Cheshire in the dawn of the Roman era in this green and
“pleasant” land (or perhaps, depending on which dating you plump for, the Iron
Age).
Think of the Dawn
of Man sequence at the start of Kubrick’s 2001
A Space Odyssey. The ape men discovering the monolith and its doing its
Stonehenge-like number with the sun and voilà
our ape man ancestor gets the idea of “tool” (which of course is a weapon, an
animal’s femur which he can use as a club) and which, transported with
exhilaration at the possibilities it affords him, he flings it into the
pre-historic east African sky; flings it four million years forward and, thanks
to the magic of Kubrick’s (and Arthur C. Clarke’s) imagination – let alone a
match cut – it becomes an orbiting spacecraft.
(I’m sorry to have
to say this, but re-watching that famous opening, the Australopithecus man-apes
coming out of the cave to be confronted with – and responding to – the
monolith…well, from the perspective of 2014 it looks like they’re going apeshit
over a huge iphone.)
But back to our
arc, the arc of the London Walks Blog. Christmastime 2014 and points world-wide
– well, that’s now and it’s where you, Daily Constitutional readers, are.
Christmastime in
London in the 1920s is the subject matter of the photograph. It’s the
Caledonian Road Market. The ladies are buying – or at least having some fun
with, having some fantasies with, thinking about buying – mistletoe. (Fair to
say the blokes, fantasy-wise, have probably taken things further than the
gals.)
This is another
one of those frozen-in-time old London photos that you can read. Or “guide”, if
you prefer.
Lot going on in
the photo. Especially the facial expressions. The knowing smirk on the face of
the market trader with the fag hanging from his lips. But also the body
language “expression” – as well as the playful, slightly coquettish look – of
the young woman on the left. There’s some pretty bold hip action there. Not
quite a pelvic thrust but getting there.
And I think you
can say that’s a leer on face of the taller bloke. And of course the clothes
place them. Especially the male head-gear – the flat caps. But also the women’s
fur-lined collars. Though those coats are hardly haute couture. The lines aren’t great, are they? The woman on the
right hand side has her bag and her purse – the latter firmly, securely
clutched under her arm and in the crook of her elbow. What about the other gal?
Where are her “accessories?” And what’s going to happen in one more second? Is
the woman on the right going to raise that bunch of mistletoe another few
inches, lean forward, and “hang it” over the head of her companion?
And Springtime in Cheshire
in the dawn of the Roman era in Britain? Springtime – March or April – because
that’s when the mistletoe flowers. Been on our British Museum walk? Seen the
Lindow Man – Pete Marsh as he’s affectionately known? Remember that
Australopithecus club? Pete Marsh caught up with an iron age version of the
Australopithecus “bright idea.” A “blunt object” with an “edge” collided
forcefully with the back of his head. They think it was a small axe. Fractured
his skull. Drove skull fragments into his brain. And he was strangled. Garotted.
With animal sinew. It broke his neck. His throat was cut. A rib was broken. And
he was probably stabbed in the upper right chest. He was in his mid-20s. It may
have been a ritual killing.
And what in the
world does this have to do with the 1920s “Mistletoe Moment” in Caledonian Road
Market?
Just this. Pete
Marsh’s stomach contained four pollen grains of mistletoe. His last drink? A
ritual drink? Who knows?
He also had a bad
case of worms. But that’s another story.
A London Walk costs £9 – £7 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment