Mixtapes…..Starting the 2025 Archaeology Year…..From ‘Right To Roam’…..
by Bernie Bell - 10:35 on 10 January 2025
Mixtapes….
"In our day, we didn't share our emotions
......just mixtapes.
Mixtapes were the main courting device of our day. If you liked someone, you did them a mixtape. If they liked you, they did one in return. And sometimes that was enough. Two of my characters have been married to one another for 50 years, and, thanks to early mixtape exchanges rather than any subsequent evidence, each are convinced that the other one still likes Wishbone Ash.
A few years ago, I wondered aloud on Facebook why none of the streaming services had ‘Foot Stompin’ Music’, by Hamilton Bohannon. In September 2023, I gave a talk in Sevenoaks about One Fine Day, and afterwards a nice geezer gave me a Hamilton Bohannon album on cassette, first track, ‘Foot Stompin’ Music’. I was thrilled, and convinced I’d easily overcome the not having a cassette player for twenty five years thing. I was wrong, but, hey.
18 months later, and a pal has lent me a thing that can turn cassettes into MP3’s. It’s plugged into my laptop as I type, and can I get the fucker going? I think we know the answer.
Anyhoo, this got me musing about the mixtape thing. Lots of people, me included, have billets doux in the form of now unplayable C90’s, buried under heaps of old shite in a dusty box in the attic.
And this, in turn, reminded me of a thing I wrote called ‘Mixtape’, which I wrote in 2016 after an event at Lumb Bank about writing and the internet. It’s a story that grew out of playing music with two Presteigne pals, Dave Luke and John Hymas. We played covers that we really liked; we did a couple of shows, and then recorded five of the songs in a friends front room, a friend who happened to have a Bluthner grand piano we could use. When we did the shows, I started improvising the story of Martin, as someone who would be part of our key demographic, and as someone whose heart is changed by some old songs on a wonky cassette.
So, it’s a story with an accompanying mixtape. It’s written to be read and heard on a phone or laptop. It’s currently only available on my website, so I’d like to put it up here, over the next few days. But it might be beyond my technical reach. So if the next post is called Mixtape, I’ve got it working, but if it’s called something else, then I haven’t.
Today’s Soundtrack - Foot Stompin' Music by Hamilton Bohannon
Today’s writing tip ‘If the prose isn’t there, then you’re reduced to what are merely secondary interests, like story, plot, characterisation, psychological insight and form.’ - Martin Amis
Thanks for reading Writing the Breaking Wave! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Writing the Breaking Wave is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell Writing the Breaking Wave that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless they enable payments.
Jan 8
This brought back a strong memory. I had a friend at Uni who chose to be known as Tom - later chose to be known as Julie. This was decades before the current trend for non-specific gender-naming. She was, most definitely, female - though bi-sexual. After leaving Uni, we kept in touch for many years.
At one time, she took up belly-dancing accompanied by a drumming group, and made me a tape of her favourite pieces of music to dance to, which was most excellent – got me wiggling around the kitchen.
Then, our tape playing machine conked out. By that time, it was impossible to get it fixed or get another one – we gave in to just playing C.D.’s
Then… a bloke we knew had a machine that could transfer from tape to CD – so I gave him a blank CD and my tape of Julie’s favourite dancing music.
He got very ill, was whisked away to hospital – and died. God alone knows what happened to my Julie tape.
This was even more of a bummer as Julie had by then also passed from this life.
We have some C.D.’s of groovy Eastern music – but not, to me, as groovy as Julie’s selection.
I still miss her.
*******************************************************************
Starting the 2025 Archaeology Year…..
https://archaeologyorkney.com/2025/01/07/digging-for-britain-2025/
A bit about Blowmuir, as it’s not so well known…..
https://archaeologyorkney.com/2024/08/29/holm-cairn-2024/
I mentioned this in my review of this year’s Archaeology Society Review….
http://www.spanglefish.com/berniesblog/blog.asp?blogid=16842
…which is still available from the OAS on-line shop…
https://shop.orkneyarchaeologysociety.org.uk/
*************************************************************************
From ‘Right To Roam’…..
Dear Roamers,
The snow here has melted and a new year has sprung. As the vapour steams off the nearby hills, I’m reminded just how mystical our landscapes can be.
It’s a feeling I also associate with the thousands of ancient sites which scatter these islands. Settlements, standing stones, wells and barrows all trace the ways in which our ancestors sought to make sense of their place here; how they related to one another, to the land, and to nature. Places where the veil between past and present is thinnest, and history is close at hand.
Yet we recently discovered that 28% of England's historic monuments have no legal right of public access.
Together with our friends at Stone Club, we (okay, Lewis) have mapped over 5,000 such sites. You can read the BBC story covering our investigation here and listen to our podcast with Stone Club here.
So in 2025 we are inviting you to reconnect with the present past in your own area. You can find your nearest inaccessible monuments in England & Wales using this map (shout-out to Data Scientist Fiona Spooner for the user-friendly version!). Or access the Google map with specific site outlines here.
Before you set off, do take a look at the field notes on the Megalithic Portal / The Modern Antiquarian and follow our Principles of Trespass as you go. We’d love to hear what you find.
Do note that some monuments may already have permissive agreements in place (it’s impossible to know without ground truthing every site). Though, like all permissive schemes, these are vulnerable to change and are unrecorded on most maps. Similarly, while we have mapped the scheduled monuments, there are many thousands more unscheduled examples scattered across the countryside. Indeed, much of our archaeological heritage is only known because of ordinary people documenting what they uncover…
Which brings us to the bizarre comments made by Lady Victoria Vyvyan, President of the Country Land and Business Association (which represents major landowners in England and Wales). She told the BBC that opening up such sites to the public would risk “losing them forever”, as though our existing accessible heritage has somehow vanished into thin air. Adding that they would come under threat from… “motorbikes and metal detectors”. Back off, Mackenzie Crook!
The reality, as Lady Vyvyan well knows, is that thousands of archaeological sites have been lost to the actions of the landowners. With many ploughed over, or subject to straightforward acts of landowner vandalism instead. By contrast, as Matthew Shaw from the Stone Club reminds us, a wide subculture of groups and individuals has arisen to tend the stones, relics and sites in our landscape; in many cases forging relationships with owners of the sites to ensure their ongoing care. As so often with the access debate, those with power point the finger at ordinary people when they should concern themselves with the mirror instead.
NEW WEBSITE
We’re excited to announce that we now have a brand new website! A huge shout out to Dominic Brown from GRAVY in Brighton for his efforts designing the site. If you like what you see he’s open to commissions and offers generous discounts for worthy causes.
The new site is packed with all kinds of useful information, from policy briefings to trespass guides and all the different ways to get involved.
Check it out at www.righttoroam.org.uk
LOCAL GROUPS
-Right to Roam Kernow recently ran their very own festival!
-A big welcome to our newest group, Right to Roam Leeds and Bradford, who are getting together for their inaugural walk on the 18th January. They'll be meeting at 10.30am at Darwin Gardens Cark Park (Ilkley, LS29 9RF). If you’re nearby, why not join them?
-Right to Roam Bristol are having their regular meeting at Cafe Kino, on 15th January at 6pm
-Right to Roam Wiltshire & Somerset have rescheduled their planned trespass walk to next Sunday, January 12th, due to the recent weather.
To get involved with our growing network of local groups, drop Nadia a line at: nadia@righttoroam.org.uk
RIGHTS OF WAY DEADLINE WITHDRAWN
While progress on wider access reform has so far been lacking from the new government, we did hear some positive news over Christmas: the 2031 deadline to register missing Rights of Way has been withdrawn. The Ramblers estimate as much as 41,000 miles of unrecorded paths were at threat. More from them here.
Meanwhile, Slow Ways have been highlighting the advantages that access to field edges might bring both for public safety and local rural connectivity. They’ve revealed Department for Transport statistics showing that two pedestrians are killed every week on country lanes, with 34 seriously injured. All due to a lack of safe, off-road access. More here.
We'll be back in touch soon with a recap of 2024 and our thoughts on the coming year.
Cheers,
Jon & Lewis,
On behalf of the Right to Roam team
----------
For the latest campaign updates, follow us on Instagram & Bluesky
To get involved, check out our website here.
Can you help keep us running? Head to ‘Donate’ here.
Add your comment