You can't really do road trips in the UK. Well, not as I imagine them to be possible in the USA. Even so, my letter P selection links in to the nearest I ever got to doing a regular road trip.
I used to live in Devon, my parents in Kent. Consequently I got to know the drive between the South-West of England and its South-Easternmost point pretty well. Sometimes I had my children with me so music to keep us entertained was important. I'm pleased to say that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were a cross-generational favourite.
The route I took went past Stonehenge so Tom Petty often provided the accompaniment to a quick stop at the 'henge for a pee before heading on to the horrors of the M3 followed by that monument to traffic congestion, the M25. Somewhere in the preceding sentence there ought to be a joke about rock music and a load of old rocks, but I'm not sure I can be bothered. You have a go if you want to.
Here's the man himself, not looking like an ancient monument.
And here's Stonehenge. When I was a child we would stop there on our way to holidays in the South-West and I would clamber all over the stones. If you try that now, guards dressed as druids will appear and shoot you with Tazers.
Also-rans: Gene Pitney. I once went to a Gene Pitney concert, I think mainly because I was the only person who would take the review tickets. He struck me as being not very tall, but had a mighty voice. He reminded me of a person I used to know called Walter, who had mental health problems. This was not because, like Walter, Gene Pitney went around going "Hello, Curly" at people, but because they both had a slightly vulnerable look to them.
Interesting - I was first introduced to Tom Petty while in North Devon. Seemed incongruous at the time because he wasn't particularly Devonian. I think you are correct in saying Gene Pitney did not routinely say "hello curly" at people.
ReplyDeleteI doubt that Tom Petty even knows where North Devon is, but I could be wrong.
DeleteOne thing I did right as a parent was play my son loads and loads of music I loved when he was young. He now has his own musical tastes, but he still enjoys listening to my "old stuff". Yes!
ReplyDeleteI saw Tom Petty once in concert, years and years ago. He was pretty good.
Guards dressed as druids tazing people at Stonehenge. Weird. We have a replica of Stonehenge here in the US along the Columbia River Gorge. I've stopped there with my lunch when I'm traveling through. You can climb on the concrete stones and people even feel free enough to leave their rubbish (which makes me crazy).
http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/stonehenge.html
Liz at Bead Contagion
Mmm, the guards might be a figment of my imagination. I'm sure the rubbish left at the concrete replica of Stonehenge isn't a figment of yours, which is rather sad. Why do people drop litter everywhere?
DeletePoor Gene Pitney. Died in Cardiff (although at least with his 'boots' on; after a concert where he received a standing ovation at the end).
ReplyDeleteWhat had he done to Cardiff to deserve that?
The audience at the concert I went to were very enthusiastic.
DeleteNo, surely Mr Tom Petty doesnt look ancient at all. Funny remark, that.
ReplyDeletewww.volatilespirits.com
Interesting...here in Chile you could do road trips just because it's such a thin country and in some hours of driving you can see so many contrasting landscapes...
ReplyDeleteGoing to Stonehenge is definetly in my bucket list...
Visiting from the #AtoZChallenge http://www.bayessence.com/2014/04/paris-baguettes-macarones-y-formulas.html
Hmmm...going on a 5-hour road trip from San Antonio to Dallas next week so might need to get some Tom Petty songs ready.
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