The Art of Engagement

18 Sunday Nov 2012

Tags

arts, Metro, New York Subway, Solna Centrum, Sweden, T-Bana, talking, Tokyo, transportation, tube, underground, Vastra Skogen

I’ve travelled on quite a few underground trains over the years. Firstly, and most frequently in London, with its 1930’s Art Deco feel in the suburbs, gradually being replaced by the jam-packed chaos of anything within the Circle Line. Then there was Tokyo at rush hour, where it was packed. I felt like a red (sunburnt) ant, in a colony of black ants, but the system runs with split-second efficiency. The New York subway, a dangerous place in the movies, has now been cleaned up, but I’m sorry to hear that the one day “Fun Pass” has now been discontinued by MTA.

So many designs for so many cultures, and so many different lines, colours, and even ticketing arrangements. However they all have one thing in common, no-one speaks on them! Maybe its the claustophobic element, you are shut in and underground. My ex-wife hated the London Underground so much I learned London from above ground as well as I learned it from below, years earlier at university. Above ground, the world has more space, and so people have their personal space, and so can engage with each other on their own terms.

There is one exception to this unspoken rule, and that is the Stockholm underground. Here, real effort has been made to give people something to look at, and by osmosis something to talk about. These photos were taken at two adjacent stations, Solna Centrum, and Västra Skogen, and they’re not untypical of any other station on the SL network that’s underground. By the way, if you’re wondering whether the engagement is due to the tunnels being shallow, think again, the escalator at Västra Skogen is the longest in Western Europe!

So what would it take to get people to talk? I’m not convinced sculpture on the tube would make much difference, after all the excellent Poetry on the Tube has being going for years, with the vast majority ignoring its couplets and meter. Perhaps its just the rules of engagement that need altering, starting from tomorrow. The trouble is I drive to work!

Vectis

18 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by laurencereade in N

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Alek Przepolewski, Cadbury Heath, FA Vase, Gary Streeter, Isle of Wight, Mark Reynolds, Matt Huxley, Newport IW, Red Jet, St Georges Park, Vectis, wessex league, Western League

Saturday 17th November 2012 ko 15.00

FA Vase 2nd Round

NEWPORT (IW) 1 (Przepolewski 10)

CADBURY HEATH 0

Att 201

Entry £6

Programme £1.30

Badge £3.50

Tea £1

In my last article I commented that I liked Sweden, at least in part for its wide open spaces. As I sat on the bus leaving the Red Jet ferry terminal at Cowes, I realised one of the reasons why I like the Isle of Wight, is the compact nature of the place. The streets are narrow and winding and there’s no great distance between anywhere. Other than my somewhat contrary nature, that feeling was rather shattered when the bus passed HMP Albany on the outskirts of Newport. The maximum security walls circling the huge facility looked particularly austere on a grey, cold day.

The bus amused me, as the company is called “Southern Vectis.” Vectis is the Roman name for the Isle of Wight, so why do you need to add “Southern?” From the bus station, its a short walk to St George’s Park, and you pass the Morrison’s and Marks & Spencer shops that sit where the football club used to live, until land prices saw a move further away from the town centre, to a purpose-built facility 25 years ago. Now Asda are sniffing around St George’s Park, but the club reckon they’ll move in next door, rather than displace them.

The ground reflects the club’s former Southern League status, with a large main stand and cover on all 4 sides. It’s an impressive home, albeit lacking the quirks and character traits of an older ground. The land was extensively levelled to build the the ground which has created a problem, with the pitch flooding. When there’s rain its a good idea to call ahead, we did, and the club were very good, calling me back with the message that the game was “Definately ON.”

The match was a match-up of the form teams of the Wessex and Western Leagues. I’d watched the Bristolian side at home in the 2010/11 FA Vase. They lost badly to an almost ridiculously strong Spennymoor side, but I remember the day most for a classy article in their programme by former resident Ian Holloway, now manager of Crystal Palace. This was a far more competitive match, although Cadbury Heath will wonder how on earth they managed to fail to at least force a replay.

Alek Przepolewski’s early header was his 18th goal of the season, but was also the end of Newport’s domination of play. Cadbury soon gained the ascendancy with some fine passing and movement, but at the end of it all, the forwards either blazed wide, or forced another good save from Gary Streeter in the home goal. Matt Huxley ballooned a shot over when it looked a good deal easier to score, and Streeter’s acrobatic tip over the bar from Mark Reynolds will live long in the memory.

Even a change of forward line couldn’t change the visitors’ fortunes and its was well before 5 minutes of stoppage time that their heads dropped. There was one last penalty shout, the aftermath of which saw Reynolds booked, but Newport had already one eye on Monday’s draw, as of course will I!