A Work in Progress

The Circle Line: Heads and Straights

If you look at a map of the London Underground, the Circle Line is yellow and it runs in a loop with a later addition--an extension--that looks like a digression from its normal route.  Heads and Straights is Lucy Wadham's nod towards the Tube line that runs through Chelsea and Kensington.  It is one of a dozen books published in 2013 for the 150th anniversary of the London Underground (all of which I hope to read and write about this year). 

The books are a bit of an adventure as each author was given free rein to write about whatever inspired them using each Underground Line as their springboard.  As an Anglophile who has traveled some of those Underground Lines (sadly far too long ago), though not intimate with the City and its particulars, the books are entertaining but a little like picking a chocolate from a box of bonbons.  Until you take a bite, you aren't sure what will be in the middle (or if you'll like it).

Lucy Wadham is a novelist and Heads and Straights is a most intriguing memoir of growing up in Chelsea in the 1970s.  Have you heard the term 'heads and straights'?  You can likely tell from context what the words refer to.

"The first time I admitted publicly to having been brought up in Chelsea I was thirty-five and at the launch party for my first novel, which was being held in a tapas bar in Clapham."

Thinking back on my reading in the last year or so, I've come across another Chelsea girl who drifted away into more colorful parts of London as well.  Chelsea must equate posh, and not always a welcome label to the wearer.

"Inverted snobbery was embedded in my sisters and me from an early age, so being from Chelsea was never a source of pride for any of us.  I don't know where this class shame came from, certainly not from our parents."

So, what do you think--heads and straights?  Heads are good, of course, and straights, not so much.  "Heads were people who smoked pot and Straights were people who didn't."  When you are a teenager in the 70s and are trying to be cool, it's probably pretty easy to figure out which camp you want to be a part of.  Lucy, and the Big Three as her elder sisters were known, were firmly (though some more than others) in the Heads camp.

It doesn't matter that I don't know Chelsea, this is a memoir of the personal--of growing up and wanting to be a part of as well as wanting to be apart from.  It's about family relations, parents, and even grandparents and siblings and bad choices and bad experiences and growing up and out of.  I always find it fascinating how a memoirist can segue from one subject to another, sometimes seemingly unrelated topics yet without even realizing that the distances between the two are farther than you think.  From Chelsea to siblings and parents to a grandmother who loved Virginia Woolf and passed on to her granddaughter Woolf's love of nature, teaching her names of trees and flowers that "would make us ridiculous to future boyfriends."  And then more.

"Gran's Welsh cottage was freezing and you had to put fifty p in the meter for hot water, so she often read to us in bed beneath an eiderdown so thick and heavy it was like lying under another body.  Her bed was large and we would often all squeeze in with her--'Plenty of room, come along, shove up'-and fall asleep to her radio, which she would tune to a shipping forecast, one of the few voices that still mirrored her own (very Edwardian)."

It sounds to me as though she would have come off as posh indeed, yet Gran was "busy shaking up the tree" since she took great pleasure in the girls' rebellion against their parent's very middle class lifestyle.   Heads and Straights--I guess these things tend to skip a generation.  Gran would have been a Head as well as the granddaughters and the parents most definitely Straights.

I understand being the youngest sister and I think I was in the same predicament.  Older sisters are almost always pretty cool and you are the straggler, the hanger-on.  And Lucy had sisters, those Big Three, who in some cases lived life a little too close to the edge.  When she as the youngest sister, was a "fully blown, self-loathing Straight", she must have felt a square peg.  Her first day in a new school, clothes preempted from one of her sister's closets, she realizes she looks like a "roaring Sloane" (Bad thing, I think) as if she had "Made in Chelsea" stamped onto her forehead. 

It all comes out in the end, much happier and easier than her sisters anyway.  A life story, or impressions of a life story, wonderfully told and with surely one of the best last lines, a memory, that I've come across in a long time.  And all in less than 100 pages.  A wonderful nod towards the Circle Line as it whooshes through Chelsea.

I've picked up a nature book, maybe a memoir, I'm not entirely sure as I am just now preparing to get into Richard Mabey's A Good Parcel of English Soil.  Another reading adventure.  

Victoria Line: Mind the Child

Did I already tell you that I have chosen a new "series" of books to tackle this year?  Last year I finished up the Little House books, which I started to read the year before, which was satisfying in a variety of ways.  Good books and compelling, comforting reading and the satisfaction of finishing nine books (even if it took me longer to read them all than anticipated).  But I was ready for something a little different.  I bought the Penguin series of books--Penguin Lines that were published in 2013 in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the London Underground, or the Tube.  The books are small and compact and novella-length and quite fun.  The series is made up a dozen books--one each for the twelve Underground Lines.  So:

Victoria Line: Mind the Child
Central Line: The 32 Stops
East London Line: Buttoned-Up
District Line: What We Talk About When We Talk About the Tube
Northern Line: A Northern Line Minute
Metropolitan Line: A Good Parcel of English Soil
Bakerloo Line: Earthbound
Jubilee Line: A History of Capitalism
Hammersmith & City Line: Drift
Waterloo & City Line: Water-City, City-Waterloo
Circle Line: Heads and Straights
Piccadilly Line: The Blue Riband

The series is interesting in that the books are not exactly about each Underground line.  Each author writes about something particular to that area of London.  It's sort of hard to tell even what each book is about as there is no real description on the back cover, more a Q&A with the author with interesting/quirky vital statistics.  So it is an adventure starting each book, as you are  not sure what you are in for.  Once again I had started reading these books ages ago (two years ago to be specific).  I had a different idea on how I was going to approach these books and was going to read them in tandem with something else.  But I read one book and a chapter of the other and then they just sort of sat there and languished.  But now I am eager to get back to them and plan on just reading them in no particular order and on their own and not as any sort of larger project.

I read Mind the Child: The Victoria Line back in 2014 and have just this past weekend finished a second book Heads and Straights: The Circle Line.  I will write about the latter book in the next few days, but to keep it all neat and tidy and together as a complete set, I thought I would share the original post that started it all.  So, what follows appeared here a couple of years ago.

* * * * *

It's the social aspect of London, social as in societal ills, that the author takes as her topic for Mind the Child: The Victoria Line by Camila Batmanghelidjh and Kids Company.  It's tourist London that I remember so clearly, but what about the real London?  Mind the Child was an eye-opening and sometimes harrowing read about a portion of society that should be cherished and cared for, but is all too often abused and neglected--children.

Batmanghelidjh begins her narrative with the story of her own sister who jumped in front of a train but fell between the rails and only injured her leg (she later subsequently had better luck in committing suicide).

"Since then, each time someone jumps on the tracks, bringing the station to a halt, I find myseld preoccupied with the discprepant journeys we all take in life: the parallel existences of the destination-driven crowd, who move rapidly to complete a task, and the destination-despondent, who decide life is no longer worth pursuing."

It wasn't the loss of her sister that prompted Batmanghelidjh to work with children.  It was a love of helping others.  And it was a family trait handed down from earlier generations--this desire to serve others.  ". . . some of the richest cultures put care-giving at the forefront of their agenda, and see it as an expression of refinement rather than failure or weakness."

"We tend to look at the Tube map only when we have a destination in mind.  Take the Victoria Line: its sky-blue snakes clearly through the tangle of other lines, from Brixton in south London all the way to Walthamstow in the northeast.  In this book, I want us to take a less direct route.  I want to introduce you to some of the extraordinary kids struggling daily with the dichotomy of living and dying, who I have met through my work at Kids Company and, prior to that, through a range of other settings."

Mind the children--much like mind the gap--these are the children we don't see or demonize if we do, the ones who fall between the cracks.  Mind the Child is a combination of personal narrative by the children themselves, Batmanghelidjh's experiences working with them, and many statistics about crime and violence.  The numbers however aren't empty and meaningless as numbers usually are.  Hearing the voices of these children, who don't seem to ever be quite visible to politicians puts faces on the numbers.  Each child speaks in their own voice, some pulling themselves out of poverty and bad situations and others mired in it no matter how hard they try and lift themselves out.  The author also explains the neuroscience of battered children--how living in abusive households affects them and stunts them.  I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book.  Victoria Line?  It was her inspiration and it is certainly a journey.  It's reading books like this that put life and the world into sharp perspective.  It was not an easy read at times, but it was such a good read and I am happy that I was finally prompted to pick it up.

Next up is A Good Parcel of English Soil: The Metropolitan Line by Richard Mabey.

Walking (& Reading) the Victoria Line

The Victoria Line of the London Underground.  Let's see, that's 13 miles long, 16 tube stations--all but one of which connect with other Underground lines.  It's walkable in one day, and author Mark Mason managed it in roughly seven and a half hours.  It took me far less time to read about it but I spread my 'armchair' journey out over several sittings.  I almost feel a little guilty that I sat relaxing and reading about it while he did all the work!  So, one line down and nine more to go!

Reading Mark Mason's Walk the Lines: The London Underground, Overground is morphing into something of an enjoyable, and adventurous reading project for me.  First it was a matter of just reading about his experiences, then I added to it the series of books Penguin issued last year celebrating the Underground's 150 year anniversary (you can see my pile of books here).  What better reading pairing?  Each author 'interprets' the Underground line in their own way, telling a story of the city of London with the Underground as their inspiration.  It's a marvelous idea.  And even if my own travels to London took place so very many years ago, the Tube is famous.  I have vague recollections of traveling on it, and recall vividly some of my own adventures in the city. 

I wasn't sure whether the stories he was going to tell, the places he would talk about and the situations that he found himself in would be so far outside my own world knowledge that it might be a little meaningless to me.  I needn't have worried.  Isn't this why we read anyway?  You don't need to have traveled to Mars to appreciate a story set there.  Reading is a way to broaden horizons and bring the faraway world closer to home.  At least that is in part why I love reading so much.  I let my imagination fill in as many blanks as possible and let the writer do his job.  So even if I don't know all the references Mason makes, and if he is a good writer it won't matter, there is enough to appreciate in the telling to make the journey worthwhile.  And I am always happy to learn new things.  I think I am going to learn a lot with this read.

I really do have a good imagination, but a few extra visuals never go amiss.  As I was reading and Mason was walking and talking about the route he was taking--the streets, the people, the places began filling in, but maybe there was a way to bring it even closer?  He had mentioned using the London A-Z Atlas.  Genius.  Why not order a copy myself?  It came a few days ago, so I was only able to use it for the tail end of the chapter, but what a difference it makes to read and follow along the map.  (And I love maps in any case).  And then I can always google the other references--the Wikipedia has photos of all the Tube stations and I can always search out other references as they pique my curiosity.  Now I feel like I am almost there with him.  I can see as many of the references as I like (handy now to have that iPad along with me as I make my way through the book).

And the Victoria Line (I fear I am going to scrimp on the actual chapter but will be better about them in the future)?  All but one of the lines that make it up is literally underground.  It starts at Brixton station and ends at Walthamstow Central.  There are all sorts of interesting bits, but a few to share?  His walk took him past "every architectural style of the last 150 years (Victorian, Edwardian, 1960s brutalist concrete).  He calls London not just a city, but a "collection of villages" and notes that with the coming of the railway "nothing could put the brakes on suburban sprawl".  I already mentioned Victoria station's most famous visitor.  But Victoria station is nearby another famous Londoner.  Any guesses who?  I probably would have made a short detour to the Royal Mews Shop for a peek around.  He walked by the outer wall of the Queen's bedroom and related the story of her unwanted visitor a few years back.

It's amazing to think of all the history that Mason just walked right by.  He shares lots of bits of knowledge--things that make sense but I would not have thought of.

". . . we should remember that Mayfair got its name from an annual fair (guess which month it was held in) that had to be banned in 1764 for being too rowdy."

And imagine walking down the road (in this case Broad Lane) and seeing a small green where Henry VIII came to hunt deer.  There is lots of history, but Mason reflects too on the social and economic aspects of the city--at least how it makes itself felt in this part of it. 

* * * * *

It's the social aspect of London, social as in societal ills, that the author takes as her topic for Mind the Child: The Victoria Line by Camila Batmanghelidjh and Kids Company.  It's tourist London that I remember so clearly, but what about the real London?  Mind the Child was an eye-opening and sometimes harrowing read about a portion of society that should be cherished and cared for, but is all too often abused and neglected--children.

Batmanghelidjh begins her narrative with the story of her own sister who jumped in front of a train but fell between the rails and only injured her leg (she later subsequently had better luck in committing suicide).

"Since then, each time someone jumps on the tracks, bringing the station to a halt, I find myseld preoccupied with the discprepant journeys we all take in life: the parallel existences of the destination-driven crowd, who move rapidly to complete a task, and the destination-despondent, who decide life is no longer worth pursuing."

It wasn't the loss of her sister that prompted Batmanghelidjh to work with children.  It was a love of helping others.  And it was a family trait handed down from earlier generations--this desire to serve others.  ". . . some of the richest cultures put care-giving at the forefront of their agenda, and see it as an expression of refinement rather than failure or weakness."

"We tend to look at the Tube map only when we have a destination in mind.  Take the Victoria Line: its sky-blue snakes clearly through the tangle of other lines, from Brixton in south London all the way to Walthamstow in the northeast.  In this book, I want us to take a less direct route.  I want to introduce you to some of the extraordinary kids struggling daily with the dichotomy of living and dying, who I have met through my work at Kids Company and, prior to that, through a range of other settings."

Mind the children--much like mind the gap--these are the children we don't see or demonize if we do, the ones who fall between the cracks.  Mind the Child is a combination of personal narrative by the children themselves, Batmanghelidjh's experiences working with them, and many statistics about crime and violence.  The numbers however aren't empty and meaningless as numbers usually are.  Hearing the voices of these children, who don't seem to ever be quite visible to politicians puts faces on the numbers.  Each child speaks in their own voice, some pulling themselves out of poverty and bad situations and others mired in it no matter how hard they try and lift themselves out.  The author also explains the neuroscience of battered children--how living in abusive households affects them and stunts them.  I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book.  Victoria Line?  It was her inspiration and it is certainly a journey.  It's reading books like this that put life and the world into sharp perspective.  It was not an easy read at times, but it was such a good read and I am happy that I was finally prompted to pick it up.

Next up I will be joining Mason on his walk of the Bakerloo Line and reading Paul Morely's Earthbound as an accompaniment.  And, of course, mapping my progress in the London A-Z.  I'll tell you all about my adventures when I finish.

London Calling, or Creating a Reading List

I recently came across a couple of really interesting-sounding books, which I of course had to snap up, and which now grace my TBR pile.  Both look to be social histories and both are about London--at least peripherally.  I am very fortunate to have traveled to London on a couple of occasions, but it has been many many years ago now.  I would happily go back tomorrow if I could.  Reading, you know, is almost as good as being there, though.  And that will have to do for the time being. 

There is no lack of reading material set in or about London.  The two books in question that I found are both by Gillian Tindall: The House by the Thames (And the People Who Lived There) and Three Houses, Many Lives: The Story of a Cotswold Vicarage, a Surrey Boarding School and a London Home.  The first book is about a home that sits just across from St. Paul's Cathedral. 

"Over the course of almost 450 years the dwelling on this site has witnessed many changes.  From its windows, people have watched the ferrymen carry Londoners to and from Shakespeare's Globe; they have gazed on the Great Fire; they have seen the countrified lanes of London's marshy south bank give way to a network of wharves, workshops and tenements--and then seen these, too, become dust and empty air."

The latter is a personal history of sorts of three very different homes and the people who lived in them.  Both look like real treats to read!

Perusing the two books started me thinking about the many books I have about different aspects of London, the city itself and the people who inhabit it.  And you know what follows...I have to make a reading list.  I thought it would be fun to come up with a list of books about London--fiction or nonfiction, which give a really strong sense of place. 

I have a feeling you might just be able to help me.  I'll start with a few of my own.  These are books I've read or have on my shelves to read later.  And the city of London plays a large role in the stories.

Hearts and Minds by Amanda Craig

The Old Man and Me by Elaine Dundy

Elizabeth's London, Restoration London, Dr. Johnson's London by Liza Picard

A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

Brick Lane by Monica Ali

Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald

The Great Stink by Clare Clark

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Imagined London by Anna Quindlen

Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton

More ideas?  I know I have barely touched the tip of the iceberg.  Suggestions welcome.