Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Storm and Silence
Once again I'm in the thick of a NigeCorp workstorm - very tiresome, especially as it gets in the way of blogging, or indeed thinking, in any worthwhile sense. However, the storm did cease, briefly and impressively, at 11 o'clock this morning, as the office fell quiet, and all London outside it, as quiet as London ever gets. There is something uniquely deep and intense about a city silence, though it is nowhere near complete; there are always stray sounds and the inescapable background hum of traffic and aviation - but it has a terrific presence. It's a silence that doesn't just happen - it truly falls. If there can be such a thing, it's a resonant silence. And it's a fine thing that this Remembrance silence is still observed, in the midst of all the busyness of the world.
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Nige, although they're not as profound as today's silence, I'm sure you'd agree that periods of uncanny quiet do sometimes fall on the city.
ReplyDeleteWhere we live in the inner city all the roads have religious associations. The area was the site of a chantry, where medieval monks would say prayers for the dead, helpfully nudging them on from purgatory. All swept away by the Reformation, of course, leaving just the street names.
But when, very occasionally, an air of improbable and profound peace falls it's tempting to put it down to some sort of place memory. The buzz and whining of the city stops and all you can hear are the birds singing.
Oh yes you're right Gaw, there are those moments, and they are uncanny - and the birds singing - what would quietness sound like without them? In the city they are the sound of silence...
ReplyDeleteNige, it won't make the Western Canon, but I thought you might appreciate this video that has been around here for a few years (before Afghanistan) and has hit a chord with quite a few of our youth.
ReplyDeleteI've been at a few minute's silences at large sporting occasions - they are extraordinary: the silence is like a weight.
ReplyDeleteO gosh Peter - that's quite something - is it Canadian? If so, God Bless Canada!
ReplyDeleteYup, written by a little known (I think)country artist who was inspired by a message over the PA system in a store just like in the opening.
ReplyDelete