After twenty minutes I thought I’d probably end up in Hereford somewhere – Monty Don has a farm there somewhere – I could always ask him for directions, I thought fancifully. Brecon Beacon road trip- driving the highest road in Wales. There were versions in Italian (Samuela’s ‘Aria di Festa’ and Antoine’s ‘Abracadabra’) German (Ilja Richter’s ‘Ich Hol’ Dir Gerne Vom Himmel Die Sterne’), Spanish (Karina’s ‘La Fiesta’), and Swedish (Ewa Roos’ ‘Kebnekajse’). I skipped church in the morning in order to get to Abergavenny by about 14.00. Taking a trip up to Abergavenny is to be recommended. Abergavenny. A really great walk even though the visibility was low because of heat-haze. ‘Abergavenny’ found its biggest success in North America, following in the footsteps of earlier Anglophiliac novelty tunes like the New Vaudeville Band’s ‘Winchester Cathedral’. (This article has been updated and expanded in the book Song Book; it originally appeared in Shindig! I checked on Google to find out what Stephen Anderton looked like…he had been the bloke in the middle of the room laughing, while the lady in front of him was asleep…ho hum….

Leaving at 10.23 precisely, cloudless blue skies, very good conditions underfoot after weeks of dry weather, and a gentle breeze meant that I covered the ground very quickly.

Abergavenny, the gateway to Wales, is known in Welsh as Y Fenni (mouth of the River Gavenny); it began its existence as a Roman fort and was later a medieval walled town. In fact, it was very, very wet. Taking a trip up to Abergavenny Incidentally, Abergavenny is Welsh for "seven hills" (as also explains its Welsh name, Y Fenni). Maybe it’s just that I hang out with people of a Certain Age but I think it’s truly trans-generational.

I’m not good at driving AND navigating. How to get to the Gospel Pass

Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. I am no match for Terry.

I don’t need a sat-nav or tom tom to get lost, I can do that very easily by myself.

I reached the Hen and Chicks in 3 hours 40 minutes (I must be getting my fitness back) in good time to hear the jazz. Considering that much worse material from the same period has been re-released, a reissue of Diversions on CD or vinyl is long overdue, so that a new audience can appreciate its scope and brilliance. ( Log Out /  All material on this site is ©Fiona McQuarrie and Writing on Music 2016-20. So, on a Monday evening a year ago, I was on my way to Abergavenny. . A visit to Big Pit and the World Heritage Site Blaenavon Ironworks (just 20 minutes’ away) is a great day out for the family. We said our thank you’s and goodbyes, and I set off down the long windy lane. Some attempted to update themselves by donning paisley-print tunics, flashing the peace sign, and jumping on the psychedelic bandwagon – but, more often than not, the music that resulted was cringeworthy. Monmouth is just 15 minutes away from Abergavenny. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Change ). ( Log Out /  There’s also Cardiff Castle and for sci-fi fans the Doctor Who Experience  in Cardiff Bay to name a few.

Do you remember that song called ‘Taking a trip up to Abergavenny’? Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. So, on Sunday (25 March) I did indeed take a trip up to Abergavenny knowing that the weather was fine …..  and it was fabulous. I was tense. I couldn’t quite picture his face though.

Gosh, seems like half a lifetime away now. It’s home to smart boutiques, cafes, pubs and the beautiful Monnow Bridge and River Wye. The hills were alive with the sound of peace and quiet and skylarks. Posted on September 15, 2011 by chandlerydiningnewport.

The group’s albums collectively sold more than 13 million copies, and ‘Pa-Ra-Tchi-Bum’ was featured on their final release in ‘86. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Two other songs from Diversions were released as B-sides to unsuccessful ’69 singles by Wilde. ( Log Out /  Do you remember that song called ‘Taking a trip up to Abergavenny’? You could take in a concert at Brecon Cathedral, visit the restored watermill and café in Talgarth and browse the bookshops and boutiques in Hay. The highest driving road in Wales is called the Gospel Pass- snaking over the Black Mountains from Abergavenny to Hay-on-wye on the east of the Beacons. ‘Nope.’ Wilde instead re-invented himself as glam rocker Zappo and released the single ‘Rock’n’Roll Crazy’, telling Record Mirror that he wanted people to buy the record because they liked it “rather than because of having a following”. A visit to Abergavenny can really feel like a break away from it all - you can almost feel time slowing down as you unwind and take … Well, I can’t use Powerpoint and I didn’t have a flip chart – anyway, it reminded me of all that happy clappy motivational twaddle that is churned out to staff in the BBC. Finally I arrived. Oh no…I now knew the calibre of speaker they were used to. Describing where best to grow them, explaining the different soil types and garden aspects. I don’t often miss the morning service when I’m home and this was a bit of  a dilemma for the unusual reason that I knew that if I didn’t show up it would be assumed that I had not moved my clocks forward and so had overslept and would thereby attract mild ridicule or pity, neither of which is welcome. A sunny Sunday outside the Hen and Chicks in … In ‘73 Wilde signed to Magnet Records, co-founded by his songwriting collaborator Peter Shelley.

The weather was not fine. Enjoy! I was still trying out different combinations of Ga’s Gi’s and Ge’s in my head when the chairlady stood up to introduce me. ‘Abergavenny’ was then adapted into a wide range of foreign-language cover versions – many of which didn’t directly translate the original English words, but instead built on the melody’s evocation of fun and festivity.

That success gave Wilde the opportunity to create Diversions, all of which was his own songs – and that led to his unlikely hit single ‘Abergavenny’. Change ). In late ‘68, three of his songs were on the UK charts at the same time: Lulu’s ‘I’m a Tiger’, Status Quo’s ‘Ice in the Sun’, and the Casuals’ ‘Jesamine’. At nine, everything had come to a quiet stop – time to wrap up.

My grandmother spends more time taking trips down memory lane these days than talking about the present. She couldn’t remember my name.

‘I’ve heard of him, yes.’

I set out all the plants on the table. Admittedly, its cover with Wilde in mirrored sunglasses and sideburns, surrounded by swirling colorful figures and patterns, looks like your bog-standard “squares with beads on” record.

. and I was already thinking of the long journey home. And while Diversions is not completely “psychedelic” – the softer songs such as ‘Any Day’ and ‘Lullaby’ are no threat to the likes of Blue Cheer – the more adventurous numbers such as ‘Zobo (1871-1892)’ and ‘Jesamine’ can hold their own against many better-known tracks from the same period. But he also simultaneously developed a solid career as a songwriter.