Greetings!
Today is a special occasion because I’m publishing this on Monday. In other words, it’s not late!
I hope you enjoy it, especially the videos.
But enough of this persiflage! On with the newsletter.
Terry
What we leave behind
The newsletter bulletin we received last Thursday was as brief as it was bland:
We are sad to announce that ——- has passed away. Her funeral will take place ….
When people leave us for “The undiscovered country from whose bourn No traveler returns”1, it is, superficially at least, as though they’d never been here. There are people like me, and the other writers here on Substack and elsewhere, who will leave behind a body of work. But even that will, in time, most likely disappear or at least be forgotten. So what proof is there that we have ever trod this earth? What, in other words, do we leave behind?
I claim no originally for this thought because it seems so obvious that it’s hardly worth saying, but it seems to me that our presence is embodied in others. For parents it will be the values they inculcate in their children; for many it will be in the people who continue the work they were engaged in, whatever that may be.
In my own case, my parents bestowed on my both a love of books and a profound sense of right and wrong. My father always used to say to me that your most precious possession is your good name. My mother was especially good in business matters, and I learnt much from her.
has written a moving account of what his adult children say they learnt from him. Do read it.Some videos
Phew! That was heavy. To lighten the mood, spend a few minutes looking at these videos:
St Pancras
I included the fourth video above because it takes place in St Pancras Station, which housed a wonderful Christmas Tree made out of books, as well as a statue of Sir John Betjeman. It’s not that far from me, and for your enjoyment I’ve drawn a map indicating where it is in relation to other Terry landmarks. Please do not use this map to guide you should you go into London. It contains neither road names nor distances. All it attempts to do is give you a rough idea of where things are.
Inside Freedman Towers
We had just finished watching the film A Late Quartet, a wonderful film. It’s on the ITV player in the UK at the moment, and available for rental on Amazon.
Me: I really enjoyed that. The only issue for me is that I didn’t think it likely that a beautiful young girl would fall in love and end up in bed with an ugly bloke who is old enough to be her father.
E: Oh you’d be surprised. It happens more than you might imagine between music tutors and their students.
Me: Really? Hmm, maybe I’ll set myself up as a music tutor.
E: 🙄
The Johnny Sax column
Yo, all you dudes and chicks. Johnny Sax here, looking for a band that’s looking for a sax player who coughes and wheezes between each note. That’s the lowdown, peeps: I have a chest infection, making blowing my horn tough toenails and unwise. Can you dig it? Man, without being able to wail, this place is Dullsville and I’ve turned into a square. I’ll be straight with you, I’m pretty wigged out.
The shape in a drape who lives with me suggested I practise the fingering without actually playing. She’s a musician so she knows where it’s at. It works brilliantly, and has the additional benefit of not bugging the neighbours, who would probably call the fuzz.
As for all you folk who keep laying a heavy vibe on me for a demo, every time I attempt to do it I mess it up and sound like a juicehead. I ain’t gonna cop a bit in case y’all have a big tickle. Please don’t blow your jets or bash my ears.
Anyway, once I can swing it2 with the best of them I’ll share some grooves with you and it will be a gas. One of these days I’m gonna bake a biscuit. And now, I’m a-gonna hand y’all back to Terry.
Terry’s voice: Please consult the Notes towards the end of this newsletter to find out what the hell Johnny Sax has been talking about.
Articles you may have missed
Experiments in style: reversed words, part of my Experiments in Style series, which I highly recommend for writers who want to improve their craft. It’s free. To get deeper insights into how I did them, plus other stuff, please upgrade. A lot of the paid posts include a 7 day free trial.
Alternative measures of newsletter success This was a paid post, in which I looked at other indicators of success than just the usual metrics.
Review: The Oulipo and Modern Thought A review I wrote some time ago, but which I published after I read Consult the index, by
.Notes
To understand Johnny Sax, check out these websites:
Coming up
On Wednesdsay I’ll be publishing my reply to the recent letter from
, in which she alleges that we met up, and even has some faked photos to prove it. She writes beautifully, and does much better art than I do, so subscribe now!
Thanks for reading. Do leave a comment or two.
Hamlet Act 3 Scene 1
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing: remember that.
Those videos were great! And thanks for the share Terry.
The Herb Alpert video was da bomb. The dancing was beyond fantastic. Loved this post.