Friday, 1 November 2024

Down - and up - the tube...

Chatting with ED last evening about this and that, she came up with the sort of fact that you hear, and somehow want to marvel at, but for no other reason, than it's just, 'very/quite/somewhat 'interesting'!

In a previous life, she used to travel extensively in Europe, and usually went by Eurostar from here. It was much easier for her, as they lived in London, so the terminal was not far away.

As the train would slide into the tunnel, she was in the habit of turning on whatever musical extravaganza was available at the time, and playing the classic song - still one of my absolute favourites - 'Supper's ready'...



Apparently, the length of the song, which is one whole side of the album 'Foxtrot', is almost exactly twenty-three minutes, and from going into the tunnel to getting out the other end was the exact duration of the trip, give or take the occasional puncture! So she would emerge near Calais just as the...

'Lord of Lords, King of Kings, has returned to lead his children home, to take them to the new Jerusalem'!

Sometimes these revelations just need recording!

6 comments:

  1. Not sure what train ED was on but the ‘distance’ is about 23 miles, whilst the time is about a third longer than stated. Maybe ED was on their ‘own train’ or in their ‘time machine’ or some other fanciful vehicle through life? Albeit, this is not the reality of extensive travel under (or across) the channel. The music is something else!! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Eurostar *IS* a time machine, one is propelled an hour into the future upon exiting.

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    2. Additionally, one wonders if my fellow Anon is confusing LeShuttle with Eurostar.

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  2. According to Google, "Eurostar trains take 20 minutes to pass through the Channel Tunnel." With my bunches of bananas for fingers, it'd take me the time mentioned to even get the music going!

    Live versions of 'Supper's ready' are invariably much longer. (I had a taped version - remember them), which 'stuck when being recorded, on the last chord before 'Willow Farm'! It went on for ages, and this could well have been the copy ED was listening to!

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  3. Anon #1, Le Shuttle goes at the same speed as Eurostar, but catches fire more often...

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  4. Coincidentally, ‘Fanciful Vehicle to France’ was the original name for the popular Mr Kipling cake, later shortened to ‘French Fancy’.

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