150th Anniversary of Edward Elgar today. I’m very fond of his music – they’ve played a lot of it today and it seems to me to convey the essence of Englishness. I’ve been wondering how it is that music can so effectively summon up the essence of a culture or identity. Gershwin and America for example. Not so sure about Riverdance and Ireland.
I’m still fitting music to landscape around here – Elgar rather superficially gives me a blast of Land of Hope and Glory as I pass Glamis Castle. But it’s difficult because so much of it sometimes looks like France. The Tay is often like the Dordogne. The East Neuk of Fife can look like parts of Brittany and the prairies under big skies to the east of us are like much of central France. We were in Lochearnhead today – well to the west of Crieff and Comrie – no doubt that you are in Scotland there.
Sorry about that. The one to watch – from bitter experience – is on the way into Perth from the M90. They lurk up the road which leads to the Branklyn Gardens.
Lochearnhead – hmm. Music for The Bill, perhaps? A young(ish) policeman with a hand-held radar and severe demeanour pointing out that a friend and I had transgressed in a 30mph zone as we sped to St Mary’s, Kinnoull!