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Didn't we have a lovely time the day we went to Burton Bradstock
Work. A day return to Dorchester South to see Billy Bragg. Virgin are republishing Still Suitable For Miners in the New Year and they want me to update it with a new chapter. I don't get down to see Billy often enough, so it's a good excuse to visit his "clifftop mansion" (sorry, but that's what the tabloids called it when he betrayed his socialist beliefs by moving to the former guest house in Burton Bradstock and I know he loves it when I call it that). There are few nicer places to be than the cliffs overlooking Chesil beach on a balmy day like today, and there are few nicer people to interview than Billy. We chatted for three hours into my tape recorder, moving from his office to the Hive beach cafe (too crowded - it being, oh yes, the height of summer), from whence we took away raspberry smoothies to his front garden. For the first update of the book, in 2001, we did a similar thing, albeit a couple of days after the World Trade Center attacks, which, I must shamefully admit, seemed an awful long way away on that day, which was also balmy.
There's less of immediate note to put into this new chapter, as Billy's been writing his own book, The Progressive Patriot (an autobiographical journey to the heart of English identity - I can't wait to read it), which is out in October. But we covered the England, Half English tour, the push to get Take Down The Union Jack into the charts for the Golden Jubilee, the General Election, the BNP taking 12 council seats in Billy's own Barking heartland, the single he co-wrote with cancer patient Maxine Eddington, We Laughed (credited to Rosetta Life) for National Hospice Day last year (it charted at number 11 - I had no idea it had anything to do with him), the release of the first box set, and of course his battle with MySpace over ownership rights. I'm really pleased Virgin want to update the book and I shall enjoy writing the new chapter and tinkering with some of the existing ones (for instance, it says he's been in the business for 15 years in the 1998 version - that's now 23 years - and I think there's a present-tense reference to Top Of The Pops). He's excellent company and it's a pity it was something of a flying visit, and work-related, but I'll be back.
The train journey there and back was spiritually cleansing, as solo train journeys usually are. It took me three and a half hours to get there, changing twice, which concentrates the mind nicely, and prevents you from allowing yourself to nod off, in case you miss your change. Reigate to Guildford, Guildford to Woking, Woking to Dorchester South. When I was waiting for my decaff coffee in the cafe at Woking, an agitated young man in a suit was behind me, waiting to pay for a chocolate bar. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that he had his money ready. He may have been agitated because his train was due, so I won't judge him for that. But he eventually lost his patience (there was only one man serving and he was making my coffee) and he put his money down on the counter before I had made my transaction, cursorily showing the man behind the counter his purchase. I noticed the customer had both earpieces in, which I consider rude when you are making transactions with other human beings. Anyway, he rushed off. The man behind the counter told him it wasn't enough money for the chocolate bar, but the customer couldn't hear him as he had his music on and he had turned away. The man shouted after him, but he was oblivious and left the shop. We're talking about 20p's difference, but I felt really sorry for the man behind the counter as he couldn't go after the customer without leaving the shop unattended. He sighed and put the money in the till. I really hope he doesn't get in trouble when they cash up at the end of the day. It wasn't his fault. This was my last ever coffee with soya milk in, as I have decided not to drink soya milk anymore after reading about how it is manufactured.
Soya was one of the things I spoke to Tom Robinson about tonight, filling in for Mark Radcliffe on Radio 2 between 10.30 and midnight. I was his studio guest, and we talked about all sorts: honorary degrees, writing sitcoms, guilty pleasures (and the preposterous nature of the concept when you are over the age of 17), and soya milk. I described how it is industrially made from the leftover sludge after processing it for oil and flour after separating it from the flake of crushed bean used for animal feed. Once you know that it is leftover sludge, it's hard to drink it.
It was a long day, as my cab home from the BBC got me in at 1am, and I left the house this morning at 8am, after about five hours' sleep. It was nice to spend the day with two men who had been on the Red Wedge tour though. And I finished reading a book called Unimagined, a childhood memoir by Imran Ahmad, which I will review separately, nearer the time it is published, which is March 2007 (the publishers sent me a proof copy, hoping for a positive quote to put on the cover, which I am certainly inclined to give them).
Incidentally, I passed Leona's house in Brockenhurst on my way to Dorchester, as it overlooks the railway line, and she and Michael waved out of a bedroom window at my train. I waved back. Sort of pointless and silly, but all the better for it. We did the same on my journey back to London. That's a lot of fun for one day.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 10:09 AM
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14 Comments:
Great to see an update to your book is on the horizon, I can replace my well-thumbed copy.
In my opinion Billy is one of the great modern musicians. I first saw Billy at a 'save the GLC' festival on the South Bank. If memory serves he played a set in the Afternoon on one of the smaller stages and then because someone didn't turn up (it may have been Amazulu!) he played another on the main stage before the Smiths and headliner Allison Moyet.
Both brilliant and he has never been less than that in all the times I have seen him.
Ian
And I finished reading a book called Unimagined, a childhood memoir by Imran Ahmad, which I will review separately, nearer the time it is published, which is March 2007 (the publishers sent me a proof copy, hoping for a positive quote to put on the cover, which I am certainly inclined to give them).
Is that the NME hack bloke or someone else?
I've never liked soya milk but that's another reason to not start drinking it!
I sold another two copies of 'Where Did It All Go Right' in my shop today. At the rate I am moving around the (Large Un-named Bookchain) company there will be a surge in sales due to it being in the 'Staff Picks' bay of every shop. Hurrah!
Excellent paragraphing there Andrew.
I'll let you away with Par 3 too(which is a bit long according to The Rules) cos it's a particularly good 'un.
(btw very strong black coffee and very feeble weak milk-free tea is the way forward regarding the I'm-veggie-but-what-the-fuck-do i-drink-now question.)
Bridgey, I didn't know there was an NME write by that name. He was born in 1962, I know that from the book, and when we leave him, he's not a journalist, so whether he became an NME writer, I do not know. He got in touch, through his publishers, and I have no author biog with the book. Hmmmm.
I don't particularly like soya milk either, but I don't see simply being a by-product of another process as necessarily bad... Surely it's a good thing to use every possible part in some way? Less waste, making the most of scarce resources etc. It's a little like the notion of nose-to-tail eating of animals - don't chuck out the offal - make something tasty from the more unpleasant parts - everything goes in the pot!
Also - is Billy's 'Tank Park Salute' the saddest song ever? I think it may be.
Regarding soy milk, what about when it's organic? Is it less repulsive to you when you know that it's the result of responsible agricultural practices? All of the soy milk I see in stores where I live (Washington, DC) is organic, and I love it. Personally, I would rather drink vegetable sludge than a byproduct of hormone/antibiotic-injected and abused cows that was meant for their own offspring. As for the other "milks" does anyone actually enjoy rice or almond milk?
Soya
On soya milk (or soy milk as you Americans say), it boils down to this - nobody in the West ate soya 50 years ago. When it was first tried out as animal feed, the pigs and chickens wouldn't eat it, because it tasted so distusting. It has to go through this elaborate industrial process to disguise the taste of it. This worries me slightly. (And as for the ancient Eastern process of making Tofu - this used to be done in a long-winded, traditional way that's been made more "efficient" industrially.) Clearly, organic anything is better than non-organic. I've only ever drunk organic soya milk. (They even use Alpro organic soya in some coffee shops in London.) But having read all about the process, and some worrying research about the effect of the high levels of phyto-oestrogens in it, and knowing how the success of cheap soya as a product (based mostly on this industrial extraction process) has caused acres of rainforest to be cut down to make way for it, I'm exercising my right to stop drinking it. Look out for European-sourced soya to avoid getting into all that rainforest malarkey.
It's better than dairy milk, as even organic dairy milk (free of all those growth hormones and taken from healthy cows) is produced by keeping cows artificially pregnant, which strikes me as odd. Anyway, I stopped drinking milk for more selfish reasons, when I discovered an intolerance to dairy - it aggravates my asthma, as it's mucus-forming. I put oat milk on my cereals and it tastes lovely. You can get used to anything. (Rice milk is made with sunflower oil, which is why it tastes different to oat, which is just oats and water.)
Sometimes you have to stop reading and start eating. I would never tell anybody else what to eat or not eat. My diet, formulated after years of bad living (ie. it's a reaction), evolves all the time. The best bet is to see what works for you, and give yourself treats. I ate some lemon tart in Cafe Rouge on Tuesday night, as a treat. That will have been made with non-organic milk and cream. Nobody's perfect.
As for it being better to extract more stuff from a natural resource - definitely sound in theory. But when too much soya is grown in the first place, because it's cheap, and that's having a detrimental effect on the environment, that's also a consideration.
It's a minefield. Much easier not to care. I wish I didn't sometimes!
Dear Andrew,
Thank you for reading my book - I really appreciate it.
Just to clarify: I am not "the NME hack bloke". In fact, I am quite perturbed at the possibility that another person with my name exists.
However, I am quite famous in some circles. My team reached the semi-final of the Panda competition in 1974, at New Scotland Yard. We met Sir Robert Mark!
Best regards,
Imran Ahmad
www.unimagined.co.uk
Just wondered what effect growth hormones in our food might have - is that why people are getting taller? From a sporting point of view the implications bother me.
I can believe that that train journey is spiritually cleansing - nice views.
spiritually-cleansing solo train journeys? You want to try the Birmingham - Walsall - Cannock line twice a day... I'm doing Walsall to Tenby on Saturday night with three changes & no hope if I miss any of them, & my heart is filled with dread already.
I love Burton & the cliffs & the Chesil beach... one of my favourite bits of the world.
Andrew, thank you so much for your thorough response. I hope I didn't paint myself as a pompous eco-angel. But I do try to tread lightly, and I'm afraid if I was better informed and cared even more than I already do, I would drink only rainwater and eat only weeds. Let's raise a glass of oat milk and drink to trying to live compassionately and eating well.
I'm not sure of the exact location of this story, but to suffice to say it was around the Burton Bradstock or Bridport area. A friend of ours who lives in Bridport was at a fayre or some such external event. Whilst perusing some CDs on a stall he came a cross a Billy Bragg CD. He said to the guy behind the stall "this guy lives around here you know". To which the stall holder replied "I know, I am that guy!". Imagine my friend's embarrassment when he looked up to see Billy :o)
If you use Soya milk which is a few days old, rather than going off like milk does, it starts to get a strange quality,which you only notice when you reach the bottom of the carton. Sludge. I ignored it before, but I'm afraid now I'm going to find it hard to forget what you said about how it's made... Bleeeee..
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