Rooting around on other peoples blogs can cause problematic behavior.
http://vinylconnection.com.au/2014/02/21/went-to-see-a-standing-stone/
Is just such a post, first of all it got me thinking about my visit to the Rollright Stones. Which involved satellite navigation, not working, getting lost and then asking a wizened old local the way. Travelling in ever decreasing circles prior to this, through a housing development past school kids and mothers pushing their children in strollers. Until we ended up in a layby parking behind a salesman sleeping in his Taurus.
At the time there were four of us jammed into my Dads Nissan Micra and none of us were small men. It was my sons return to the homeland with his brother, we picked up my friend Paul and thought a tour of stone circles and other fun sites would be a good thing to do. Avebury, Silbury Hill, Stonehenge, one of the many white horses and Glastonbury ensued. The Rollright stones were really an after thought and to this day I have no idea what dragged it into my or Paul’s mind other than the Half Man Half Biscuit lyric from Twenty Four Hour Garage People:
‘I fancy I’ll open a stationer’s,
Stock quaint notepads for weekend pagans
While you were out at the Rollright Stones
I came and set fire to your shed.’
Paul is a big fan and this could be the source of the journey. The highlight of the journey was the strange pagan creation that waited for us across the street with the Kings Stone. In my confusion I may have forgotten to take a picture of the stone. But here is the strange collection of sticks and wood creating the sculpture.
This all ends up with me buying another record as always, I am not the biggest traffic fan although late at night they really do hit the mark. I have never heard Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory but suddenly browsing the racks at a record store there it was in all it’s die cut glory and that blog post was in my mind so why not I thought.
Why did they die cut these albums? It makes little sense to me and creates a problem if you have to replace the inner sleeve.
Anyway it is a fine album to my mind Roll Right Stones and (Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired are the highlights for me, the former because of that journey with my boys that Bruce’s blog post had reawakened. The latter because after 10 days working straight it fully encapsulated how I felt today, although it was a beautiful sunny day with a blood moon that I could not capture with a camera.
I am going to end this with my favorite sight from that journey with the boys. That is the view of Silbury Hill from the burial mound across the road. There is something to my mind magical of the view across wheat fields to a large man made hill. Even though you can see the road it feels like you are in another time.
Those, er, sticks are rather cool. Not neolithic though, I suspect.
On my first trip to the sites you mentioned, as alluded to in the post you linked to above (thanks for that), I was entranced by Silbury hill too. In fact I climbed the fence and scaled the thing. A much more energetic climb than anticipated. Fortunately I met only some disinterested sheep and not an irate farmer. I remember the view being spectacular.
No those sticks were some sort of neo-pagan thing I am sure.
Jealous you climbed the hill, there were a lot of people around the day we were there.
Well, it was in 1990. There were less people everywhere then!
Too true
I do love a standing stone and went down to Avebury again in the summer. Here are a few pics from it:
http://verianthomas.com/?p=1660
I’ve never really listened to much by Traffic, although I did give John Barleycorn Must Die a go once, wasn’t really my thing, might try again though.
Rollright Stones? Not a lover of tribute bands myself!
awesome they are petrified
I’m a big standing stone fan myself and really enjoyed this post. I’m gradually working my way through Cope’s Megalithic books, ticking them off (like the sad obsessive that I am).
Despite my earlier attempt at humour, I am also captivated by standing stones. An ultra marathon took me close to Silbury Hill and through Avebury last year, I’d never realised how many circles there were to be found in the village centre and several more hiding higher up on the downs.