“A sense of the past, at any given point of time, is quite as much a matter of history as what happened in it.” -Raphael Samuel
Sense Retention
As this historic and influential city readies itself to host the Olympic Games, The London Chronicles by Francesca Panetta takes you on an audio journey through the life of the city to find its many voices and sounds. Chapter four, which Winch and myself feature in, reflects the theme of memory.
London Calling was presented and produced by Francesca Panetta. Sound design was by Nick Ryan, script advice from Tom Chivers and field recordings from London Sound Survey. Producers for the BBC were Pandita Lorenz, Paul Coletti and Pearse Lynch. The editor was Fiona Crack. Pour a scotch, take the plunge.
The first big event of 2011 already went down. Literally. This year’s International Drain Meet (IDM) was hosted by London, organized by Otter at Silent UK. It was the largest meeting of the international draining community in London’s history with over 50 people from 6 countries in a large overflow chamber under Knightsbridge. We had drainers from the UK, Sweden, Italy, France, USA and Australia, including the UE Kingz, Brescia Underground and the Cave Clan. We also had a heavy contingent of the massively fun Manchester drainer contingent.
We also seem to have finally melded the two top London crews at this meet through Siologen’s powers of healing oration (see below). By the end of the night, Jon Doe, the King of UK draining, conjured himself out of thin air in the middle of the party to the delight of everyone in attendance. It was, by all accounts, one of the best gatherings in London urban explorer history. A full write up can be found on Winch’s blog.
Otter was kind enough to ask me to film the event since he was busy organizing all night. Here is my contribution – it is best viewed on full screen with the volume turned up loud enough to assault your neighbours.
When Paul told me about his experience in the Effra River, given it runs only a mile from my house, we thought we may as well have a look. So last night, Silent Motion, Statler and I went down with a backpack sound system, a video camera and an abundance of energy to explore my own backyard. What we found amazed and surprised us.
It’s good to know this little wonder is just a short walk from my house. It was a night well spent exploring another of London’s hidden rivers.
RSS
Twitter
Scribd