Friday 25 January 2008

Where Alph the sacred river ran...

An intriguing video takes the path of the now culverted Fleet River, from King's Cross to the Thames.

What particularly caught my attention was the way the walker so often catches sight of a slim church spire, or a dome, down a narrow street. London is like a pincushion stuck through with church spires - like a collection of ley lines between the heads of the pins.

On one level it's a boring film. Lots of nondescript city streets. And then again, when you look at the details - like the griffins on Holborn Viaduct - there's something worth taking away. The little things that make the city special.

And of course on another level, it's tracing the course of something that is there and that you can't see. I find that idea quite thrilling. It appeals to that 'da Vinci Code' button in all of us. There's a whole history to be written about our covered rivers, - the Great Cockey in Norwich (I believe the Royal Arcade follows its path) , for instance. And there must be others.

I do like the sense of humour too. (Psychogeography is all about making connections, but here we have some connections that are, quite deliberately, way out and humorous.)

Enjoy the video.





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