The golden age

I can't tell you how thrilled I was this week to discover that Bob Stanley (St. Etienne) has curated yet another brilliant compilation album; this time it's a homage to car travel and the British motorway - comprising library music culled from 1966-1982; I guess in car years that's roughly the lifespan of the Ford Escort Mark1 to Mark 3. And as if that wasn't Thrills Thrillington enough, imagine my delight when I found out that Frank Ricotti (The Beiderbecke Tapes) appears on Motorway City, a smorgasbord of furry dice and travel sweets.

Frank Ricotti - Clearway (1981)

   

Frank Ricotti · Clearway

A walk in the park

Walking through St. James's Park, one of London's eight Royal Parks, is never not an experience to savour. After the Saturday afternoon jostle thru Covent Garden and Piccadilly Circus, this most tranquil of gardens provided the necessary counterpoint to the hot and humid trek that had begun some 15,000+ steps earlier after a boozy lunch in King's Cross. And to have a local Sherpa on hand as our guide (he knows London boozers even better than me), we then, very conveniently, landed on a very exclusive subterranean cocktail bar on the far side of The Mall. Located beneath Café Francois in SW1 I think I can sum up Franks in eight words - they certainly know how to make a negroni. Thank you to David & Lisa and James & Natalie (and, of course, Jenny) for a beautiful day.

Up the junction (box) #2

After my initial post on this most bodacious genre of street art I'd like to post some of the photos you've been sending me. This is turning into the best game of i-SPY ever!

Harry Harrington Harris (left), who supports Leeds Utd. for his sins, got in touch: ''Here's one for you, John - Elland Road in Leeds where it all started. Here's a link to the artist, Burley Banksy.'' Thanks, Harry. Yep, Leeds is where I first became aware of the phenomenon.

Adam in Manchester: ''Two junction boxes in Chorlton, one in Sale with a cat (tying in nicely with August's PC theme) and a junction box in Brussels.'' Thanks, Adam.

Tim asks: ''Does a substation count? (Asking for a friend 😉) - Gdansk, Covent Garden, Berlin and finally a lovely piece outside the Vat & Fiddle in Nottingham. I had heard Leeds is renowned for these. Think the same artist does a lot of them. There is a strange structure in Stevenson Square Manchester that’s constantly updated but I can’t confirm whether there is any junction box involvement. Love it when mundane things, hoardings round derelict buildings etc. are covered with art.''

Tim goes on: ''A brace from my street art pics. Hiding in plain sight in Sheffield - Now Then. And Tower Hamlets. I'm now on the look out for new ones!'' It wasn't until I put your Sheffield pic side by side with the one I took, Tim, earlier in the year (above) I realised that if I'd just stood a tad to the right the Now Then on the junction box would have lined up with the Now Then on the wall!

Pete Zab also spotted the one in Nottingham: ''Not sure if it's still there, John.'' Judging by Tim's pic I'd say it was, Pete. 

And finally, Ernie's been to Athens mixing business with pleasure. And, fair play to him, he's found that the Greeks also like to tart up their boxes. ''That's yer lot'' said Ernie, ''It's 37 degrees, I'm going for a lie down.'' You do right, Ernie. Thank you.

And so it's my assumption that these painted junction boxes are everywhere; many, as my good friend Tim alludes to, are hidden in plain sight. If you do happen to see any on yer travels please do send them to me. What's the betting we can't get a third instalment out of this...

Bittersweet

When Richard Ashcroft wrote the Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony in 1997 he knew he was skating on thin ice; using an uncleared string loop sampled from Andrew Loog Oldham's orchestral version of the Rolling Stones' The Last Time, Ashcroft ended up ceding all royalties from the song to Mick Jagger & Keith Richards thanks to a writ served on him by the Stones' former manager Allen Klein (Klein's company AABKVO Music owned the publishing rights). Ashcroft effectively waived goodbye to an estimated $5M. Ouch.

But unlike the George Harrison My Sweet Lord/He's So Fine saga, this chapter of Rock & Roll Plagiarism has a happy ending. In 2019 Ashcroft's management reached out to Jody Klein at ABKCO (his father had died in 2009) and appealed to his better nature to right this injustice. Klein in turn contacted Mick 'n' Keef who magnanimously relinquished their song writing credits with immediate effect. Relations had warmed somewhat the previous year when the Stones had asked Ashcroft to open for them on their latest world jaunt.  Ashcroft then finally started to see the royalties for what is considered by many to be one of the defining songs of the late 20th. century.

The Andrew Oldham Orchestra - The Last Time (From The Rolling Stones Songbook) (1966)  

Interestingly, almost 50 years later, Andrew Oldham revisited the scene of the crime releasing The Rolling Stones Songbook and Friends Volume 2 and only bloody covered Ashcroft's tour de force. Bittersweet, indeed.

The Andrew Oldham Orchestra - Bitter Sweet Symphony (2014)

The Players:

Allen Klein (1931-2009)

Mick Jagger (b.1943)

Keith Richards (b.1943)

Andrew Loog Oldham (b.1944)

Jody Klein (b.1963)

Richard Ashcroft (b.1971)

Holding out for a hero

With the country, nay the world, facing something of an an existential crisis, never before have we needed a saviour quite like we need one now. But whether you believe in the big man upstairs or super heroes who get changed in phone boxes you'll be waiting a long time for that kind of deliverance. However, if you fancy a spot of divine intervention on the cheap look no further than the independent space warrior permaclad in black & grey with a dustbin on his head. Say what you like, you'd be hard pushed to disagree with any of Count Binface's manifesto pledges; a few of which include:

* Bring back Ceefax

* Nationalise model railways

* Pensions to be double locked (with a little chain on the side)

* Spend £1Tn a week on the NHS (that's one trillion)

* Allow Czechs to remain on the Irish border

* '99' flake ice creams to be capped at 99p

* HS2 to be renamed FFS1

* Tries in Rugby League to be increased from 4 to 5 points - in line with inflation

And if he gives that skid mark Farage a bloody nose into the bargain then it's got to be a win win. So come on Clacton, we can do this.

Clinging on

Taken yesterday morning from a nearby boatyard

It's hard to believe that the iconic cooling towers at Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station are still scheduled to be demolished in the next couple of years; although the Twentieth Century Society is fighting the good fight to keep some if not all of them, it's not looking good. The TCS was set up to preserve post-1914 architecture; the country's cooling towers, often referred to as the Stonehenge of the 20th century, are fast disappearing. Within ten years the fear is they'll all have been blown to smithereens and will exist only in history books. How tragic would that be?

Up the junction (box)

I first started noticing them in Leeds a few weeks ago. Then last week I saw a handful in Belfast and Dublin. But so far in Nottingham I've only spotted the one. Maybe you've seen some on your manor? If so, then please get in touch. I don't think it's got the makings of a Photo Challenge. At least not yet...

Leeds - June 2026.

Belfast - June 2026

Dublin - July 2026

Nottingham - July 2026

Shanked it!

The lineage between, say, Gene Clark and the Byrds, the Flamin' Groovies, Tom Petty, the Long Ryders and the Hanging Stars (to name but a few) is not hard to detect - you can see it from space. The dots that join all these jangly 12 strings is essentially what keeps guitar shops the world over in business.

Sid Griffin - front man of the aforementioned Long Ryders and subsequently the Coal Porters - is an eighth generation Kentuckian who has lived in London for the last 10 years. His knowledge of Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons, Alt. Country (which he invented btw) and just music in general is pretty much unparalleled and he's a fantastic raconteur to boot; I'd like to meet Mr. Griffin. I think I'd also like to meet Barry Shank. Barry Shank was the original bass player with the Long Ryders who jumped ship before they got a record deal (to do a doctoral degree). But not before he'd written this gem. And it is a gem too.

The Long Ryders - Ivory Tower (1984)

And still they lead me back

Hello and welcome to July's Photo Challenge - well over half way thru our fourth year. I'm a couple of days late this month as I've just returned from a few days away in Ireland. So, without further ado, I was asking for photographs of highways and byways. Or the road less travelled. And I got both. Thank you again for your continued support - these photos are becoming the very life blood of this humble blog. Cue the Vision On gallery music...

Rol's the first to step out in front of the traffic: ''Here you go, John: Huddersfield on an untypically hot day.''

''The last part of my journey home.''

''And somewhere in Wales.'' Cheers, Rol. The amount of photos I get sent that start with the sentence 'Somewhere in Wales'.

You'll be pleased to know David Cooper has found his passport: ''Back to photos from my travels this month, John. (1) Part of the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn (Suspension Railway) travels over the roads of Wuppertal. (2) Last year a stage of the Vuelta a España went through Casarabonela where one of my brothers live. This hairpin in the road was the place to be. And there just happens to be a bar there! (3) Last month one of my sons got married in Las Vegas. We drove from there to Los Angeles, David.'' Nice one, Coops. In my head the bar is called 'The Hairpin'.

Tim from north of the county: ''Hi John, got a handful of pics for this month's PC.  Firstly, one from the Santa Cruz district of Seville. A little known fact (probably) being that the streets here have been cleverly designed to perfectly match the wheelbase of a 2017 Dacia Sandero. Anything wider & you are stuffed. Secondly, the M1 at the back of us in Hucknall. This was mid-afternoon in the strange times of Covid; very eerie when there’s usually eight lanes of traffic here. Thirdly, The Embankment as No.1 daughter passes by in the London Marathon. I’ve got a raft more but will limit it to a final brace from tahn (Nottingham for the non-local contributors): Looking down Victoria Street towards Slab Square the filters maxed out a little to give an enchanting post-apocalyptic vibe. Cheers, Tim.'' Thank you, Tim. A most bodacious collection.

Claire's got four for us: ''A junction in Fairbanks Alaska'; a 20th century road under a Roman arch in Lincoln; the Angel of the North viewed from the A1 and a snowy road in Woodthorpe, Nottingham as seen from our house.'' Thank you, Claire. I have a feeling most pics of The Angel have a steering wheel in them.

Celia: ''Hi John, a couple from different locations. The first one is very local, a quiet lane running next to the river, all very flat and mellow - so the hills, rocks and quarry in the second photo from my trip to Wales last Summer (that is indeed a July sky...) were really exciting by contrast! C x.'' 

C then came back with a third: ''A beautiful day here and cooler than Friday's record breaking (and exhausting) 37 degrees! Enjoyed my view walking back home from the Co-op this morning.'' Thank you, C. Everything looks better when the sun's shining, does it not?.

Alfa Dave wants to make you a star: “It was only a winter's tale, just another winter's tale - so sang David Essex while he drove down the Gedling Access Road. When it snows I grab my camera and my son Jack takes photos out of the window.'' Nice one, Dave (& Jack) - teamwork makes the dream work.

Johnny Legs next, but no David Essex, alas: ''Colliery Way, Gedling. (''The eagle-eyed amongst you will realise this is the road formerly known as the Gedling Access Road - I love it when we go full on Partridge on North Norfolk Digital - JM).

Legs' second: ''Spurn Point.''

And finally from Legs: ''Earl Sterndale in the Peak District.''

Alyson from the Highlands: ''Not very dramatic, John (I'll be the judge of that - JM) but this is the road that leads to the steep slope that takes you into the village of Pennan where they filmed Local Hero. I still get really excited when I see the sea on the horizon - a lovely blue sky day.'' 

''And here's me and that red phone box...'' Thank you so much, Alyson. Good disguise with the glasses btw!

Ernie next: ''Two roads for you. One busy (Queensboro Bridge, Manhattan); one not so busy (the main track east on Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland). A stark contrast indeed, young Ern. Thank you.

 

Ernie then did a Celia and came back at me with a live update: ''Wallace Road in Canonbury. Just left the Snooty Fox (out of photo on the left), on our way to the Railway Tavern. Lord Styles sends his regards. You don’t know him but he supports Leeds so there is a connection of sorts.'' As with most of E's texts they make zero sense to me. I think you had to be there.

Charity Chic looks like he's being stalked: ''A blogger heading for the bus to Prestwick for some charity shop exploration.'' Cheers, CC.

The Swede next and something of a confession: ''Photos of public footpaths or country lanes disappearing into the far distance are very much my default setting, as anyone familiar with my Instagram page will know. Sticking with the remit, here are a couple of examples of the latter, taken on my wanderings around these parts.'' Not a bad default setting at all, TS. Thank you.

Walter: ''Hi John, here are some pictures that are more of a calmer nature. One from an endless highway in Florida, one from the highland in Sri Lanka and finally one from a small village in Brittany.'' Danke, Walt! Can't get enough of those dashcam shots.

Pete Zab and his Fab Four: ''Four pictures for you, John. The street with the houses hides a bleak past, it was part of the Vilnius Ghetto. The buses are on Upper Parliament Street in Nottingham. The rain is on Mansfield Road in Sherwood and the snow one is Mapperley Rise/Winchester Street, also in Sherwood.'' Thank you, Pete. You document my backyard magnificently.

Swiss Adam: ''Roads old & new. First a two lane highway somewhere in the USA. East coast, I think, in the mid-60s. The picture taken by my grandfather on a family holiday when my mum was 16.'' (I need to see more of these - JM.)

''Second, Heptonstall, West Yorkshire: a village on top of a hill in Calder Valley where no cars are allowed.''

''Belfast in the rain.''

''A fork in the road in Castleton, Hope Valley.''

''And finally a two thousand year old road in Pompei.'' Cheers, Adam. Up with that sort of thing! (Titter ye not.)

Riggsby from California: ''Hi John, here are a few of “Metropolis II” by Eric Burden (US), on show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.'' Nice one, Richard. Puts my Scalextric to shame!

Kate: ''Harry has a huge fixation with crossroads. So all walks will involve a few minutes of just  standing before we cross them. The other pic is a Welsh road that I took purely to horrify American friends with it having a 60mph speed limit!'' Thank you, Kate. Harry looks like he knows his Green Cross Code.

Vaughan: ''Firstly we have mirror-clipping on the track up to Camaes Head near Cardigan, Wales. Then the top end of Wienerstraße in Melk, Austria and two road scenes of the riverside drag and a street corner with excellent wiring in Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh's favourite holiday staycation.'' Cheers, V. A splendid quartet and no mistake.

Matthew & Sam: ''Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in a Subaru rental, 1989.''

The next two are from Rosie (M&S's daughter currently living down under): ''The road to Milford Sound, NZ.''

''Arthur's Pass, South Island, NZ.''

''And finally from us a Rhodes road.'' Love 'em. I always remember the Golden Gate Bridge one hanging in your downstairs carsey!

K from the Kotswolds: ''Hi John, here’s one not far from Casa K, where the main road curves away to the left but the dirt track continues on to the horizon. I’ve never explored it as I fear the reality of the destination won’t be nearly as exciting as my imagined one!''

''Even closer to home, this is what happens to a public footpath when the corn's a growin'! Might be stretching the definition a little but round these parts the density of ramblers makes this a popular highway. Rather beautiful too!'' Not a bit of it, K! Like you say - it's a regular highway. Thank you, as ever. 

Neil ion his bike: ''Beanford Lane, Oxton. Very quiet.'' Thank you, Neil. How deep was that puddle?

And finally, a few of mine. Dublin - just up the road from my digs last week.

Big Sur, California 2022.

Radford, Nottingham.

Camden Lock, north London.

Newland Ave, west Hull.

When I lived in North Yorkshire (2010-2017), it's not widely known that I sold my soul to the Devil.

A quick reminder about our two little sidebars we run in conjunction with the main challenge - photos of sunrises & sunsets, and pictures of people - preferably people you don't know... 

...

Sunrise/Sunset Reprise

Totnes, June 2026 - taken from Bridgetown.

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People Pics

I met this guy in Chapters Bookstore, Dublin 1 last week. I liked his shirt. For the purposes of Photo Challenge I'll call him Captain Haddock.