Alistair Elliot

The Old Man Comes Out With an Opinion

issue 22 February 2014

This long orchestral piece records a day
the composer spent one summer meditating
in Dibnah’s yard on the sounds of dereliction,
or possibly the dereliction of sound:


the settlement of rust, the flake and drift
toward the earth of forged and hammered things,
the creak of shiny flanges in the wind,
and the occasional crash of martial metal
as boys dribbled a biscuit box along
between the ornamental tetanus hedges
of Fred’s Versailles, parterres of ferrous oxide.





GIF Image

Disagree with half of it, enjoy reading all of it

TRY A MONTH FREE
Our magazine articles are for subscribers only. Try a month of Britain’s best writing, absolutely free.

Comments

Join the debate, free for a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first month free.

Already a subscriber? Log in