Lovely Bits of Old England: John Betjeman at The Telegraph

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D. Salinger, through prescient warnings about the threat posed to the English skyline by office blocks,. Taken from all manner of musical circles, this collection of sounds goes a long way to representing every facet of the label's influence and output. The little parcels of pear and taleggio ‘fiochetti’ are a main-stay of their menu for a good reason. F, Ultrademon's OG Seapunk sound, Beatwife's frantic acid sprawl, Scrase's warm melodicism, Valance Drake's glitch mastery, a charged slice from london warehouse hero Ely Muff, FFF's jungle wizardry, digital brutality from Duran Duran Duran collaborating with the elusive Xanopticon, some future wisdom from Goodiepal - the aarhaus warrior and a truly beautiful wandering track from Anklepants, to name but a few.

I was surprised by Betjeman's liking for Art Nouveau and his fairly even-handed description of the new Coventry Cathedral designed by Basil Spence. Electronic sound experiments sit snugly alongside fine-tuned club constructions and good old fashioned pop music, some fresh and some dug out of forgotten hard drives.

Stayed in an apartment near the lovely Mercato Sant’Ambrogio (wonderful neighborhood), ended up doing a cooking class near Piazza della Passera, which we stumbled upon at night–charming and romantic, oh and on top of that ate a few lunches of Gusta Pizza on the steps of the church by Via Santo Spirito, and had a lovely meal at a restaurant there as well…loved being anywhere that tourists were not…thanks for the suggestions! I woulnd’t, but there is so much more to blame them for -as you mention, the general (without generalzing) lack of intuition, of genuine curiosity for the place, of being travelers rather than a flock of sheep.

In 1951 'The Catcher in the Rye' and 'The Day of The Triffids' were afforded a single paragraph in The Telegraph. And then when the crowds roll back in, making their way from the Duomo to the Ponte Vecchio, I would try to retreat to those few remaining lovely bits, that are always lovely no matter what time of year, rain, snow or shine.

I raised the question with Better World Books and although they could not supply a hardcover version they were extremely generous in making up for the descepency.

By turns eccentric, wistful and polemical, Betjeman's writing for the Telegraph gave voice to this unease. Their polpette di lampredotto (above left) are out of this world and will convert even the most stubborn of non-offal eaters. Hate is probably a bit too strong, let’s just say that living in a city like Florence has its moments – intolerable ones and magical ones.All too often variety is hard to find in a singular release, so we have collected together 36 tracks, from 36 artists, into one easily accessible source. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. It will take me a year to repeat enough tracks to make any attempt to select a favorite, and that's not a bad thing. With an emphasis on quality produce, the salumi and cheeses that are paired with mostly local wines by the glass do not disappoint.

Also when living in a city, you not only see its beautiful buildings, squares and art, you also see all the things that are wrong with it, politics, poverty and criminality. and, of course, the gothic majesty of St Pancras station, Lovely Bits of Old England collects the very best of Betjeman. These articles have become something of an historical eulogy; one might say that they have no relevance nowadays.If you are fan of John Betjeman you will love this collection of his articles published in the Daily Telegraph.