Tuesday 8 April 2008

Doom

When I was on my way to work yesterday morning, the train stopped in South Bermondsey as usual, and while we were waiting for the customary comings and goings to happen, I could see that a funeral cortege had stopped outside Millwall's football ground, which is next to the station. I wondered if it was the final farewell of a former player, so I did some rather maudlin news-googling, but could find nothing. However, it's good to know that, at any time, I can get the latest news on 'millwall funeral' with Google Alerts.

So I made the assumption that it was a fan just wanting one last simulated match-day shiver of excitement before his soul vaporates elsewhere. Or hers, obviously. It must be nice to feel so strongly and emotionally about a place. I think it's hard to achieve that when you live in London. People move around too much to find that sense of belonging. I wish I knew where I'd want to be taken on the way to my date with the hereafter. I don't think you could very well ask a hearse to pull up outside Topshop at Oxford Circus. Or the food hall at Fortnum & Masons. I'd want to go all over the country, I think, to scenes of childhood holidays and favourite concerts and anywhere I feel I might have missed while I was still breathing, which would demand a heroic feat of stoicism and indulgence on the part of my loved ones. This seems like it would make a good subject for a novel, but I'm not sure that the world either wants or needs a hybrid of As I Lay Dying and Weekend At Bernie's.

Anyway, since the last couple of posts are looking a bit image-lite (and this is a technical blogging term), it's time for a gratuitous YouTube clip. Let's talk about funeral songs as that's the sort of thing people do on blogs. Imagine if Nick Hornby had a blog. That's probably all he'd talk about. Actually Nick Hornby probably does have a blog. ANYWAY. This is on my short list. 


And while I'm in a Nilsson mood, and for some light relief, YouTube brings us this: 

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