REM in beautiful Nantwich
“This place is the beat of my heart”.
Nantwich. Oh beautiful Nantwich.
You can almost stumble your way onto the Shropshire Union Canal at beautiful Nantwich and soon enough you’ll find yourself 15 or 20 feet above the Cheshire market town below. It’s a winding stretch of canal from the striking black and white ornate gates that welcome visitors via the Thomas Telford designed aqueduct through to the wonderful crossover bridge and, if like me, you continue walking through the Cheshire countryside and follow the “Shroppie” (Shropshire Union Canal) for another 3 or so miles you reach Hurleston Locks where the “Shroppie” meets the Llangollen Canal and you’ll be in yet another tiny piece of historical heaven here on planet earth.
I feel in love with Nantwich two years ago as my frankly absurd idea of walking the entirety of the Shropshire Union Canal began to take a real and tangible shape. I’ve now walked over 2/3rds of the 67 mile stretch of canal, twice, as well as hitchhiking aboard a narrow boat when I was a lost and frustrated man in the middle of a heatwave, found a not so secret nuclear bunker, and stumbled my way to and through Nantwich, multiple times, and oh my heart what a beautiful piece of bliss she is. Although “Out of Season”, I hope you enjoy the “pictorial stroll” that follows.
But not before REM. Oh my heart. I fell in love with the anarchic rockers from Athens, Georgia in the late 1980’s when I couldn’t help but admire their single “Stand”, immediately bought their album “Green”, and a lifetime of admiration followed until their final album in 2011, and boy did they save some of their best for last, “Collapse into Now”. The lyrics that accompany my photographs from 27th February 2024 are taken from track 4 “Oh My Heart” and alongside “Discoverer”, “All The Best”, “Uberlin”, “It Happened Today” and “Everyday Is Yours To Win” make up the opening six tracks of the album and six of their very best.
Over to you. Hope you enjoy the pictorial stroll.
“The kids have a new take, a new take on faith
Pick up the pieces, get carried away
I came home to a city half-erased
I came home to face what we faced
This place needs me here to start
This place is the beat of my heart
Oh, my heart
Oh, my heart
(Oh, my heart)
Oh, my heart
Oh, my heart
(Oh, my heart)”
“The storm didn’t kill me, the government changed
Hear the answer and call, hear this song, rearranged
Hear the trees, the ghosts and the buildings, sing
With the wisdom to reconcile this thing
It’s sweet, and it’s sad, and it’s true
How it doesn’t look bitter on you
Oh, my heart
Oh, my heart
(Oh, my heart)
Oh, my heart
Oh, my heart
(Oh, my heart)”
“Mother and father, I stand beside you
The good of this world might help see me through
This place needs me here to start
This place is the beat of my heart
Oh, my heart
Oh, my heart
(Oh, my heart)
Oh, my heart
Oh, my heart
(Oh, my heart)
Oh, my heart
Oh, my heart
(Oh, my heart)
Oh, my heart
Oh, my heart
(Oh, my heart)”
