abtw777

In Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino says: ‘…it is pointless trying to define whether Zenobia is to be classified among happy cities or among the unhappy. It makes no sense to divide cities into these two species, but rather into another two: those that through the years and the changes continue to give their form to desires, and, those in which desires either erase the city or are erased by it.’ … I find it stifling living in this place, I really do. Take the other day, for instance. A neighbour stops me in the street. ‘We have a nice little COMMUNITY around here’, she says. Which was a lie for a start. ‘…and we don’t want people like you spoiling it!’ What had I done to encourage this verbal assault? Well, nothing much, as far as I’m concerned. Okay, it was a bit naughty, but not actually illegal! Anyway, my point is, why can’t people just leave other people alone, to have fun any way they want to? Or perhaps that word ‘fun’ makes you a bit nervous? So let’s say, find their own...

Julie walks across the grass and finds a nice spot in the sunshine. She spreads a towel and lies down. She’s not here just to sunbathe however. She rummages in her bag and pulls out a folder of notes, spreading the folder out in front of her. Then she props herself up on her elbows, flicking her pen and thinking about her work. This is history. And she needs to write a bit more history before she’s got enough for the current assignment. Here’s how it reads so far: By 2070 the world was really on the brink of collapse. International trade had all but ceased, with nation states highly protective and closing their borders to foreign investment, foreign goods and most of all, immigration. A siege mentality reigned, and meanwhile national governments were struggling to keep control of their own populations. Food shortages, water shortages and collapsed economies were leading to civil unrest on a massive scale – and in some cases, to revolution. But then, as we all know, came the ch...

The beer garden is quiet, despite the good weather. Kevin was sat in the sun with his top off. He’d had one pint himself already, and is waiting for the arrival of his friends, Gary and Derek, before having any more. They arrive at that moment, strolling leisurely into the beer garden with cheerful smiles. Both are large men, like Kevin himself, and with ample beer-bellies, but handsome men for all that. ‘Wocha, Kev!’ says Gary. ‘Wocha, Gary, Derek’, Kevin replies. ‘Wocha ‘avin?’ says Derek – this, sort of a word-play on the ‘wocha’ greeting…. A bit difficult to explain really, but suffice to say, the banter had already started. ‘Make mine a beer!’ Gary and Kevin chant in unison. Derek smiles and turns back to the bar to order them their drinks. When he gets to the bar there’s a group of five young guys there, buying shots and downing them in one. They’re already very drunk. ‘Alright, big man’, the leader (there’s always a leader) says to Derek. ‘Alright.’ The young men all laugh ...

In Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino says: ‘…one morning your desires waken all at once and surround you. The city appears to you as a whole where no desire is lost and of which you are a part, and since it enjoys everything you do not enjoy, you can do nothing but inhabit this desire and be content.’ … Towers say something about what society aspires to. Way back, it was churches that were the only buildings with towers. Then came clock towers, university buildings and libraries. Then it was the turn of merchants and finally our own modern-day ‘merchant-class’ – towers for banks and corporate headquarters. A few places though have put up towers of a different sort. Towers that are really just for looking out from. One thinks of Montreal, Seattle, Canberra, Dubai. It’s a pity there are not more of these – not necessarily on such an immense scale, but even something like five or six storeys – as long as it gives a view. Because a tower, whilst it is often a valuable landmark from th...