The Patrick Hamilton Appreciation Society discussion

OK, I'll fess up, Ian Marchant is not really Hamiltonian but I enjoyed this write up so much that I wanted to post it here....

Ian Marchant wasn't born in Newhaven in East Sussex in 1958, but he often claims that he was because of his deep embarrasment about his real place of birth.

But he really did grow up in Newhaven, and went to school there, and he still sees it as home, even though it quite clearly isn't, given that he lives 250 miles away in Mid-Wales. He didn't graduate in Philosophy from St David's University College, Lampeter in 1979. Or ever. He is currently a Masters student studying church history at Lampeter, though, honest.

He didn't make a living singing in bands in the late 1970's and early 1980's; nor did he become a civil engineer in the late 1980's, as he didn't have any facility for the maths. He was surprised to learn recently that he didn't graduate in the History and Philosophy of Science with a Creative Writing Minor from Lancaster University in 1992. He really did live in a caravan for many years, but he didn't share it with a chicken called Ginger, who was rather an occasional visitor.

He put his 'career' as a 'novelist' on 'hold' when his second novel 'The Battle For Dole Acre', (whose title he can't pronounce),didn't really sell. He decided to write non-fiction instead, because reality is so much less plausible than made up things. Like, there was the time with a pair of twins on duty at a Travelodge in Ely, which no one believes, but which really happened.

He didn't know much about railways or pubs when he started writing his acclaimed travel memoirs 'Parallel Lines: Or, Journeys on the Railway of Dreams' and 'The Longest Crawl: Being an Account of a Journey Through an Intoxicated Landscape or a Child's Treasury of Booze', (though he does now). He did stay awake for months to write his last book 'Something of the Night.

His latest book, 'A Hero for High Times: A Younger Reader’s Guide to the Beats, Hippies, Freaks, Punks, Ravers, New-Age Travellers and Dog-on-a-Rope Brew Crew Crusties of the British Isles, 1956–1994', has not yet been optioned for a fillum, so get in quick, I would.

He no longer sings in a cheesy cabaret duo called 'Your Dad', because the other half of 'Your Dad' died.

He does still support Brighton and Hove Albion, make radio shows when he's invited, and enjoy a cooked breakfast in Elda's Colombian Coffee House, High Street, Presteigne, Radnorshire.

You can read his blog, which he doesn't update enough, via his website, www.ianmarchant.com

No idea if he's any good but that makes me want to like him.

The reviews on Amazon suggest he's good. Very good. I really hope he is.

I heard about him through reading Iain Sinclair's review of his latest book A Hero for High Times: A Younger Reader’s Guide to the Beats, Hippies, Freaks, Punks, Ravers, New-Age Travellers and Dog-on-a-Rope Brew Crew Crusties of the British Isles, 1956–1994...

http://www.ourdailyread.com/2018/02/a...

Here's the book's blurb...

Deep in a wood in the Marches of Wales, in an ancient school bus there lives an old man called Bob Rowberry.

A Hero for High Times is the story of how he ended up in this broken-down bus. It's also the story of his times, and the ideas that shaped him. It's a story of why you know your birth sign, why you have friends called Willow, why sex and drugs and rock’n’roll once mattered more than money, why dance music stopped the New-Age Travellers from travelling, and why you need to think twice before taking the brown acid.

It's the story of the hippies for those who weren't there – for Younger Readers who've never heard of the Aldermaston marches, Oz, the Angry Brigade, the Divine Light Mission, Sniffin' Glue, Operation Julie, John Seymour, John Michell, Greenham Common, the Battle of the Beanfield, but who want to understand their grandparents’ stories of turning on, tuning in and not quite dropping out before they are gone for ever. It's for Younger Readers who want to know how to build a bender, make poppy tea, and throw the I-Ching.

And it's a story of friendship between two men, one who did things, and one who thought about things, between theory and practice, between a hippie and a punk, between two gentlemen, no longer in the first flush of youth, who still believe in love.

This review on Amazon UK also entices....


Dense but utterly compelling trawl through British post-war counter-culture, taking as the centre and inspiration of its broad sweep the figure of Bob Rowberry, Marchant’s near neighbour and van-dweller in the remote, ley-lined and somewhat magical county of Radnorshire, in the Welsh Marches. Since the turn of the sixties, as Marchant was to discover, Rowberry had - in cultural terms - been there, done it, but neglected to get the teeshirt, because these were the days when counter-culture was about more than slogans and symbols on teeshirts, their meaning long forgotten.

Bob makes for an articulate witness to the key movements and players of the 60s and 70s, having attended the events and enthusiastically participated in the activities most important to the subset of the population that wasn't concerned with a respectable job, a nice house and a new car every three years, who were more interested in turning on, tuning in and dropping out, who delighted in experimentation with rare herbs, pharmaceuticals and free love, who thought nothing of heading out to the Indian sub-continent in barely serviceable vehicles, who enjoyed lives without maps (far less sat-nav). To be alive and young then was, if not quite very heaven, at least rich with the potential to make something unique of your life, and many took full advantage.

Marchant expertly weaves Bob’s story with his own experience of growing up in a rapidly changing 70s and 80s Britain, provides insight on the movements and the remarkable movers and shakers of the day, and reflects, movingly and at length, on how different the world is for today’s young people. He’s captured a vital thread in British culture while the leading players and their memories are still available, and we owe him a debt of thanks.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hero-High-Ti...

This one’s new to me, so thank you for the heads-up. It definitely looks like one for the waiting list.

Thanks Mark. Hopefully it won't be too long before I can report back.


My library has just one copy of A Hero for High Times: A Younger Reader’s Guide to the Beats, Hippies, Freaks, Punks, Ravers, New-Age Travellers and Dog-on-a-Rope Brew Crew Crusties of the British Isles, 1956–1994 and that is already awash with reservations. As it's still a bit pricey, I popped onto eBay and bought a couple of other cheapo second hand Ian Marchant books instead....

The Longest Crawl: Being an Account of a Journey Through an Intoxicated Landscape or a Child's Treasury of Booze

According to G.K. Chesterton, the act of getting to and from a pub is central to an understanding of British life and landscape. So bon viveur, pub singer and writer Ian Marchant set off with photographer Perry Venus on a gruelling month long British pub crawl, to go to and from a lot of pubs in order to test Chesterton's hypothesis.

Parallel Lines: Or, Journeys on the Railway of Dreams

For 175 years the British have lived with the railway, and for a long while it was a love affair - the grandeur of the Victorian heyday, the glorious age of steam, the romance of Brief Encounter. Then the love affair turned sour - strikes, bad food, delays, disasters...Parallel Lines tells the story of these two railways: the real railway and the railway of our dreams. Travelling all over Britain, Ian Marchant examines the history of the British railway and meets those who still hold the railways close to their hearts - the model railway enthusiasts, the train-spotters and bashers (a hybrid of train-spotting where the individual - usually male - has to travel behind a certain locomotive in order to catalogue it), the steam enthusiasts. He swaps stories with commuters at the far reaches of London suburbia, he travels to deserted railway museums, and smokes cigarettes on remote, windswept stations in the furthest corners of Scotland, turning his characteristic eye for character, humour and surprise to one of the great shared experiences of the British nation.

I've just started reading Parallel Lines: Or, Journeys on the Railway of Dreams. It was published in 2003. Curiously it already feels quite dated. I say curiously because, to me, 2003 was yesterday. Who knew that quite a lot has happened, at least in terms of railways and politics, in the intervening 15 years?

I recommend movies that I say came out 2 or 3 years ago, and it turns out that they appeared in 2003 or 2004. This alarms me. Where did the last 15 years go? Did I miss it?

I know exactly how you feel Patrick. I really find it hard to differentiate years now. Indeed little of note seems to have happened since about 1995 so that I can barely tell 2007 from 2017.

We are 100% in synch on this!

Also interesting: I sometimes remember books I have read or movies I have seen much more than I remember things that ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO ME. I remember character names, but I cannot remember the names of some people I used to work with.

It must be a trick of the ageing process, one that happens to all of us.

I think so. Part of the human condition. In simple terms, the more years we are alive, the more familiarity there is, so the more years merge into one, especially as later life is often more settled and predictable for most people

I think you're right. As far as the ageing process goes, I’ve chosen to look on the bright side -- as long as I maintain complete and total control over both bladder and bowels, I can’t whinge.

Reducing the need to get up twice in the night for a wee is now a precise routine that involves eliminating all fluid intake from around 7:30 pm. Sadly, on at least two evenings a week, I visit a hostelry and imbibe pints of fine ale. Much fun and jolly discourse follows. The downside is it plays havoc with my sleep pattern and, more saliently, bladder control. I'm up and down like a jack-in-a-box.

Too much information? I expect so.

I still have that to look forward to!

Nigeyb wrote: "I think so. Part of the human condition. In simple terms, the more years we are alive, the more familiarity there is, so the more years merge into one, especially as later life is often more settle..."

Mine has been a little more unpredictable since I started to teach internationally in 2010. I began in Changwon, South Korea, and am now on my third (and planned permanent) city in Mexico, Querétaro (after Culiacán, dangerous, and Mexico City, sprawling).

Relocating abroad was a very good move for me. The US has become too expensive and depressing.

Interesting then that, despite serious life upheaval, you still find the years less distinguishable than when you were younger.

I think it is a basic human tendency. You have lived MORE years, so each individual year represents a smaller portion of your total life.

Remembering books and movies better than actual life, on the other hand, has always been the case for me.

Or in my case, 1960s and 1970s football results. The Important Stuff.

The Ferguson years eh?

That was 78-79 until 86-87. Whilst the period was one of almost-constant hoopla, my formative years 66-72 seem idyllic looking back. Maybe not that 1-6 spanking in the 1969 Cup semi-final though!

Nigeyb wrote: "I'm currently reading Parallel Lines: Or, Journeys on the Railway of Dreams. It was published in 2003. Curiously it already feels quite dated. I say curiously because, to me, 2003 was yesterday. Who knew that quite a lot has happened, at least in terms of railways and politics, in the intervening 15 years?"


For 175 years the British have lived with the railway, and for a long while it was a love affair - the grandeur of the Victorian heyday, the glorious age of steam, the romance of Brief Encounter. Then the love affair turned sour - strikes, bad food, delays, disasters...Parallel Lines tells the story of these two railways: the real railway and the railway of our dreams. Travelling all over Britain, Ian Marchant examines the history of the British railway and meets those who still hold the railways close to their hearts - the model railway enthusiasts, the train-spotters and bashers (a hybrid of train-spotting where the individual - usually male - has to travel behind a certain locomotive in order to catalogue it), the steam enthusiasts. He swaps stories with commuters at the far reaches of London suburbia, he travels to deserted railway museums, and smokes cigarettes on remote, windswept stations in the furthest corners of Scotland, turning his characteristic eye for character, humour and surprise to one of the great shared experiences of the British nation.

I had to put this aside to catch up on other stuff, but now I am back into it, and loving it.

Ian Marchant is most definitely a new favourite author.

I've also just discovered an interview he did recently for The Lumieres Podcast to promote A Hero for High Times: A Younger Reader’s Guide to the Beats, Hippies, Freaks, Punks, Ravers, New-Age Travellers and Dog-on-a-Rope Brew Crew Crusties of the British Isles, 1956–1994. Most entertaining....

http://www.lumierespodcast.com/17-ian...

"

I'd love to read that, but I'm on a spouse-driven book cull at the moment from which charity shops are benefitting, and an old man's (mine) cataract is affecting my ability to read too much. It's a bummer, but I think some natural light and better weather might help.

Still, I'm off to find a copy, and it can go on the intended reading pile, or as it's known, NE Scotland's highest point.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Please do report back David.


I hope you get your cataract sorted soon too. My mum couldn't believe the difference post-op.

A copy on eBay for £2.25 postage-free? I'm having some of that!

There's a 45-week NHS waiting list for the treatment, apparently, and the sooner I get on the list the better. Nobody told me that getting old would include all these annoyances.

It does sound like the sort of book that I'll race through as if aboard Flying Scotsman or Mallard. Have you been watching the C5 series about the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on council telly on Friday evenings? It's fantastic.

http://www.channel5.com/show/the-york...

Oooh - not heard about that TV series - will have a look


I'm pretty confident you will find lots to love in Parallel Lines: Or, Journeys on the Railway of Dreams David - I'm still loving it as I close in on the last 50 pages

I'll read it with my good eye and let you have my thoughts.

I will of course have Blondie as the soundtrack as I read it.

I have just finished reading Parallel Lines: Or, Journeys on the Railway of Dreams



Discover the railway of your dreams

One sign of a good book is that you really enjoy it, despite it being about a subject you have little or no interest in. 'Parallel Lines: Or, Journeys on the Railway of Dreams' is just such a book. I loved it even though I no particular interest in trains or railways. Indeed, it made me want to jump on the nearest train, and roam the network.

Click here to read my review

5/5

I'm underway with A Hero for High Times: A Younger Reader’s Guide to the Beats, Hippies, Freaks, Punks, Ravers, New-Age Travellers and Dog-on-a-Rope Brew Crew Crusties of the British Isles, 1956–1994...

Absolutely brilliant - 80 pages in and every page is a complete delight.

Everything I hoped.

Hard to see this not being a 5 star read

Thanks for the tip, but it's almost as if you feel like I haven't spent enough money in the past few weeks!

True. This really is money well spent though. Perhaps give it a few months and there might be cheaper copies floating about.

I’m intrigued, so it’s definitely on my list.

I can console myself for the moment by remembering that I had to bin things that I brought with me to England in order to make room in my luggage for the clothes and books that I bought in England.

Nothing but peanut butter sandwiches and water on the immediate horizon!

Nigeyb wrote: "I'm underway with A Hero for High Times: A Younger Reader’s Guide to the Beats, Hippies, Freaks, Punks, Ravers, New-Age Travellers and Dog-on-a-Rope Brew Crew Crusties of the British Isles, 1956–1994...

Absolutely brilliant - 80 pages in and every page is a complete delight."

I've finally finished it.

Review here
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I loved it.