Have you ever thought about the ghostliness of buildings? Once a building (of any kind) is thirty or forty years old, several generations have most likely passed through it. Not necessarily generations in the strict sense, but generations of occupants.
Who were they? Where did they sit? What were their routines? What did they think of this space you are currently occupying? How has its mood flickered over the decades?
It's the complete lack of a record (in most places) that is most ghostly of all. It's not like every house and train station and shop has its historian. The vast, vast majority of the events that take place are utterly forgotten in the place where they happened.
Another strange thought is this one: "Some day I will never see the inside of this building again." Whether that's because you die, or because you move, or because you change jobs, or because you change towns...One way or another, the thought often strikes me on the mental funny-bone.
." Whether that's because you die, or because you move, or because you change jobs, or because you change towns..."
ReplyDeleteOr because it is destroyed, demolished!
Two student accommodations (a hall of residence and a self-catering flat) where I spent three out of my five years as a medical student have been demolished in the past few years.
That certainly caused a pang of sadness and a sense of loss. I don't suppose I would ever have entered these buildings or rooms, but I did see them every few months from the outside - and now I know that I cannot ever again...
Anonymous 6:44 AM was Bruce G Charlton
ReplyDeleteI can totally understand that. I'm sorry to hear it! A world has disappeared, in a way...
DeleteThere was a restaurant in Dublin called Captain America which I'm sure was trashy and awful. But as a kid I always wanted to go there because it had a glowing hanging sign with Captain America. And then as an adult I always wanted to go because I had gone as a child. I kept meaning to. It closed permanently recently and I did feel a pang myself!
Because I had NOT gone as a child, I obviously meant.
DeleteDidn't know it closed. Chris deBurgh got his first gig there
ReplyDeleteYes, there used to be a plague up! I know Chris de Burgh gets a lot of stick but I like the few songs of his that I know.
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