In spite of me being one of four siblings, my mother always seemed to achieve the impossible of always being prepared in the event of visitors suddenly descending upon us. I have also been in several houses where chaos reigned supreme. Up until the moment a respectable visitor arrived, nobody in that house could care less how the house looked. It always seems funny to me that some people seem more concerned about what other people might think rather than just being comfortable with their own choice of existence.
As I write, the National Eisteddfod is due to come to my home town of Denbigh next week. As I know these posts are often read more in Russia and the US than over here, I must try and convey the cultural importance attached to this. Dating back to the time of Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth, the first documented Eisteddfod was said to have taken place in 1176. The Eisteddfod is a Welsh festival of literature, music and performance to which huge cultural prestige is attached. The closest English translation for the word Eisteddfod is "session" with the word being an amalgamation of the words eistedd (to sit) and bod (be).
The modern National Eisteddfod as we know it was reborn in a year of great political relevance. While the French Revolution was storming the Bastille in 1789, Corwen admitted the general public for the first time and the thus the current format was born. Prior to that, the events were largely private affairs for the chosen few. The true format of the existing National Eisteddfod is actually an amalgamation of the Gorsedd of Bards and the National Eisteddfod Council. The first such instance of the latter took place, appropriately, in my home town of Denbigh in1860. Next week it returns and locals have been surpassing themselves in being ready for the many guests expected to descend on the town next week.
For fear of what the visitors might think, the local council has been frantically trying to cover up all the local eye-sores. While their intentions might be well meaning, the end result is bordering on comical. There is a disused cinema which has slowly been crumbling away for a number of years now. Although it has been an accident waiting to happen with masonry falling down from a great height within, the council has taken a rather more cosmetic approach. They have painted it black. On Vale Street which is the main arterial route through the town, a rundown cottage has been - guess what? Boarded up and painted black! I find it comical because while the rest of the town is festooned in a mass of colour and bunting, these black fronted buildings have now become that bit more prominent than they already were. The comedy aside though, it is almost as though the council feels they have something to hide. Well, in a way they have. The town hall will be a focal point during the Eisteddfod week. Unfortunately, the Crown Hotel next door is empty and has been for a number of years now. It would less than the truth to claim it as being pretty to look at. En route to the town hall, the Crown Hotel is bordered by a former Indian takeaway which lies empty - and has been for several months now. I could go on but my point is made. The town is as it is so why seek to present it otherwise. It is difficult to imagine that the Eisteddfod will attract a mass of people gullible enough to be taken in by the black paint. They will just see it as it is. It is a market town in decline. As a suggestion, the council might seek to take the rather more radical step of exploring why the town is in decline rather than trying to paper over the cracks?
Paint It Black is of course also the name of the famous chart topper from the Rolling Stones which, in 1966, became the first no.1 single to feature the sitar. Predictably played by the irreplacabe multi-talented Brian Jones, the sitar would, for a short while, become a much sought after sound among the musical elite of the late sixties. George Harrison played it on "Within you, Without you" on "Sergeant Pepper" a year later to prove its burgeoning worth at that time. The Yardbirds were the first big act to use the effect of a sitar on their single "Heart full of soul" in 1965. This was achieved by Jeff Beck playing a fuzz box on his guitar. Traffic famously achieved success twice with it. "Hole in my shoe" and the majestic "paper sun" both benefit from its Eastern scales. For the definitive song featuring sitar though, it has to be song which came to define the Summer of Love in 1967 by Scott Mckenzie.
Back to Traffic though. Their song "Hole in my shoe" featured lyrics in the middle of the song by the then 6 year old Francine Heimann. She was subsequently married for a time to Dr Charles Levinson who in 1989 set up the UK's largest private doctor visiting service in London. He is also an expert on flu pandemics and has been an early exponent of communication methods now incorporated in healthcare delivery. It would be difficult to analyse the lyrics of "Hole in my shoe" and conclude them to be inspired by anything other than drugs. But don't just take my word for it!
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