The weather is shitty in London. Grey and drizzly - the sort of weather that makes it impossible for me to keep my hair straight, which is a daily source of frustration. But then again, the cherry blossoms have bloomed on my street, and for about 15 seconds when I walk under the trees on my way to or from work, I feel light and blissful.
So here's something else lovely - something that also cheers me up on my way to and from work. A few weeks ago a musician friend in America sent me a song - Met You On A Saturday by Bo Diddley. I've never listened to Bo Diddley before and I had no idea what to expect, but what I got was something beautiful and romantic, which I play every day and which never fails to put a smile on my face (so a big thank you to that friend).
I wanted to direct you to iTunes or Spotify to get hold of this yourself, but it's not available anywhere. I was apprehensive about putting it up on the blog, but my friend tells me that it's such a rare and unknown song that I would be doing Bo Diddley a favour. With that in mind, I present it to you now. I hope you enjoy it as much as I always do.
4 readers just couldn't let me have the last word:
Nice one. I've flagged this up for Rol (Sunset Over Slawit), who's just done 'Saturday songs'.
"light and blissful."
I love that walking-under-cherry-blossoms feeling but have never begun to even try to know what words might do it justice; those three there totally bottle the moment for me.
There’s only one on my walk home, and it’s not even on my street, and it’s six doors up from a crackhouse and so forth, but it does it for me. My favourite time last summer, there was a warm breeze and raindrops twinkling through the leaves and blossoms, all lit with moonlight (okay, it was probably by streetlamp) and that dapply, twinkly, fleeting thing as light and rain and leaf and petals shimmer under it. I almost feel expect to catch the eyes of a fox or hear some morning-is-breaking starlings afterwards. It’s like being blessed, or being struck by nice lightning when you walk under it. It’s totally brilliant, I can’t think of a more uplifting fixture to have on one’s commute, bar an ocean, and they’re harder to plant from cuttings in cities.
I think cherry blossoms are doing it for lots of people lately, thought if this when I read your posts:
http://clareshilland.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-street-rules-ok.htmljh
Perhaps the government should consider instituting a formal national cherry blossom fetish like they have in Japan. It would surely increase the happiness of the average city-dweller by a minimum of 3.7 per cent.
(Sorry to be tangential, but I am unable to have opinions on Mr Diddley at this time because my laptop sound is all broken.)
Thank you, Hattie. That's quite lovely.
PS That song is quite something.
Sincere thanks for sharing.
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