Bristol ~ Clifton ~ Al Stewart ~ Now ~ Then ~ Smiling! 😁

Stumbling across an article, earlier, I was informed by the headline that an English city is defying the house price slump…(that's if you believe that there is one!) Being the inquisitive kind, I looked further to find that the said city was, in fact, Bristol. 

 

                            Clifton Village

The strange thing is that only minutes before this, I was humming a tune, written many years ago by Al Stewart. This song being, ‘Clifton in the Rain’.

Clifton in the Rain

The rain came down like beads

Bouncing on the noses of the

People from the train

A flock of salty ears

Sparkled in the traffic lights

Feet squelched soggy leaves across the grain

I took my love to Clifton in the rain

And all along the way

Wanderers in overcoats with

Collars on parade

And steaming in the night

The listeners in the Troubadour

Guitar player weaves a willow strain

I took my love to Clifton in the rain

Jacqueline Bisset

I saw your movie

Wondered if you really felt that way

Do you ever fear

The images of Hollywood?

Have you felt a shadow of its pain?

I thought of you in Clifton in the rain

Oh those lyrics! The English teacher in me just had one of those ‘moments’! Just look at that first verse! Sights, sounds, taste, simile, alliteration…and so much more! These lyrics shout out ‘Use me’. They shout out so much! They also shout out ‘love’! I think Al was around 22 years old when he wrote this. So simple yet so effective. I digress!

And as I hummed, my mind travelled back to my student days! Not only was I a HUGE Al Stewart admirer/ groupie, travelling all over the place to watch him perform ( but especially at The Marquee Club in Wardour Street, London)  but I was also a frequent visitor to Bristol…that is almost every weekend! 

It was the early 1970s, at a time when I believe that Bristol was at its best! Every Saturday was spent enjoying the sights and sounds of Park Street, enjoying coffee and a sandwich in a little cafe called the Fleur de Lys and then wandering up to Clifton and of course, Clifton Downs. Life was simple and the city didn’t seem as threatening as it is today. I guess I’d sooner remember it as it was as the last time I visited Bristol I was horrified at what seemed to me to be a monster! How it had grown since the 1970s!

I read the article further and it was very complimentary re certain areas of the city and how Bristol is ‘bucking the trend’. It gave the ‘hottest’ 🔥post codes and mentioned the vibrant arts/music/nightlife scene, not forgetting the fact that the city has one of the highest graduate retention rates in the country. Downsizers, upsizers and first time buyers are the key groups that are fuelling demand for property…etc etc etc!

And it all sounded so good…until I turned to the comments! These were very mixed indeed. Many Bristolians said that they had moved out as they couldn’t stand it any more, but, in particular, they hated the traffic and the air quality! Many mentioned the graffiti. On the other hand, some say that there are excellent good road/rail/ air links and that it’s great for their commute.

I suppose it’s the same with any city…good and bad…and then the very last comment that I read was this:

‘Clifton is amazing’ 

I smiled.

And I wanted to ask… ‘ What, even in the rain?’ 

But I doubt that the writer would even know what I was on about! 

And, after all, it was just over 50 years ago when I first listened to that track as well as wandering from Park Street to Clifton, rain or no rain. ☔️