B2B Day 12: One Step Beyond
Believe you can, and you’re halfway there — Theodore Roosevelt
Distance Covered: 4.9 miles
Time Taken: 1hr 27mins
Current Virtual Location: Stapleford
As this mission rumbles on, it’s getting harder to find new routes to take and destinations to get to. Today I decided to pick a village outside Bedford, and get as close to it as I could before the pavement ran out. My target for this walk was Ravensden (caw!)
The route is a fairly familiar one again for me, having spent a decent amount of time at the Mowsbury driving range. (Don’t worry Tiger, I’m not coming for that green jacket any time soon!) Once past the myriad traffic cones on Kimbolton Road (pretty sure there’s some kind of dodgy deal going on there, they’ve got more cones than Brighton Pier), I hit the Pheasant roundabout, and continued North.
Plodding my way out of Bedford and crossing into the outskirts of Ravensden, the cool, dusk air was filled with rustling leaves and the wonderful smells of the countryside. The houses I passed grew larger and larger, culminating in a few properties that looked to have more rooms than your average tower block!
Just before the trail at the side of the road disappeared completely, I was treated to what felt like an almost vertical hill climb. Having unfortunately left my mountaineering gear at home, I was quite relieved that I didn’t have to go much further after that.
Pausing to take one last huff of the fresh, manure-scented air at the peak, I swung back round, rolled down the hill, and made my way back to civilisation. I hadn’t quite made it to the centre of the village as I’d hoped, but got a decent workout nonetheless.
Today’s Playlist: Ska Anthems
It’s just gone noon, half past monsoon on the banks of the River Nile — Night Boat to Cairo
Something a little bit different for today’s playlist, as I’m covering a whole genre rather than just one band or artist. Coming from a family with ties to East London, I heard a lot of ska growing up (Madness in particular), so it was nice to be able to delve a bit deeper into it with this compilation.
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Originating in the celebratory atmosphere of a newly-independent Jamaica in the early 60’s, Ska made it’s way to the UK in the 70’s, becoming the genre of choice for the nation’s more folically-challenged gentlemen. The Ska Anthems compilation fuses the best of both worlds, with the original laid-back Caribbean tunes rubbing shoulders with the UK’s more frantic, almost punk-like ones.
The 2 Tone genre (so-called as it blended ska with punk), helped to promote racial unity in the UK at a time where tensions were growing. The ska rhythms and melodies were already familiar to immigrants from the West Indies, while the punk chords and lyrics appealed to the white working class of the late 70's. A lot of the most famous 2 Tone bands (The Beat, The Specials, The Selecter), had multi-racial lineups, further healing the divisions in society at the time.
All in all, this collection of tracks is a fascinating window into an era where music could be both fun and politically-charged at the same time. Here are three of my favourites from the album to give you a flavour:
This Week’s Charity: Save Our Venues
Over 400 grassroots music venues in the UK are at risk of being closed permanently — Save Our Venues
If your eyes go blurry, you see an optician. Trouble with your back? A physiotherapist can sort you out. But where do you go when your soul needs healing?
Save Our Venues is a relatively new UK charity, dedicated to connecting people with their local small venues that need a bit of help to replace lost revenue during the pandemic. While the government have put aside some money to help out, they (as usual) haven’t done nearly enough.
Along with a national fund, Save Our Venues have produced an interactive map (above) to show which venues are in danger in your local area. It’s vitally important to the country that we keep these spaces for budding musicians to perform in and keep the spirit alive.
Their website can be found here.
Thanks everyone for your kind words and support, I’m now officially over halfway! 60 miles to go.
