Thanks, Ronald, I'll check out your post! I saw the painting a few years ago in an exhibition about painting and light (by the Tate, I think) and it astounded me. I jumped at the flimsy excuse to use it for my post. 🙂
Fascinating read Jeffrey. I love the painting you chose to tie in to the Napoleonic Wars. My mom was a David. Family lore passed on throughout the David for at least 4 or 5 generations is that we were related to Jacques Louis. I and quite a few 1st, 2nd and 3rd cousins have all tried to find that connection and have not been able to. My mom and I went to the Louvre to see his work in 72. I am not one to give up hope, so I am still looking for the link.
Wow, that's quite a (potenial) family connection! I hope you can find the key clue one day. He's such a gorgeous painter. For me the painting just screams pomp and circumstance, the need to create legitimacy on Napolean's part and it's magnificently done. It really communicates the power and the insecurity of an empire in tension with one another. At least, for me it does.
Jeffrey, I agree his work is gorgeous and his connection with Napoleon legacy is quite interesting. Also the history of his allegiance to Mary Magdalene is also fascinating. My mom also had a bust of David on the mantel. I do think there is a connection somewhere. Every now and then I look on Ancestry for the missing link.
Loved reading and hearing this. I grew up in a house with a grandfather clock that chimed that song. Every 15 minutes the chimes would play a little more until on the hour it chimed the whole song.
Thank you, Deirdre. That sounds like a special memory. I'm struck (no pun intended) by how something so ubiquitous can turn out to be something so personal.
A really fascinating story of the experience of finding the familiar in an unfamiliar place, Jeffrey. There is always so much to enjoy and learn about in your pieces.
Fantastic piece of history. I wonder how many other club tunes have such a distinguished history. I know about Everton's Johnny Todd (aka Z Cars) but there must be many others.
Besides reading your writings is always nice and soothing, I am almost guaranteed to learn something new :).
This time, your description of the chimes and Big Ben made my mind wander back to the BUND of Shanghai. But what I hear, instead of the Westminster Quarters, is the tune of "The East is Red" lol.
I listened to the chimes recording as the piano tuner was in the other room tuning our piano. Together it made a harmony and was awesome! You never know what'll happen when you read a substack, I guess. Thanks Jeffrey.
I remember one of the Royal Marines being interviewed in Basra after Gulf War 2. He told the reporter, 'It's like Pompey....but without the prostitutes.'.
By an odd chance I used that same Joseph Wright picture of Vesuvius on Substack two days ago! Discussing some volcanic rocks in the Lake District https://aboutmountains.substack.com/p/tuff-love
Fascinating, Jeffrey. I lived in Gosport and then Portchester throughout my school years and went to Portsmouth Grammar School - Pompey Grammar. I spent many Saturday afternoons at the Fratton End. Being a Pompey fan certainly helps in learning to take disappointment in stride.
I was born in 51, so our history classes covered 1066 to WWI. Despite having a ration card for the first five years of my life and seeing bomb sites from the bus to school, we were told we had won the war and still had an empire, it had just been rebranded Commonwealth as we "let" our colonies become independent. The world map on the wall was still mostly pink.
Thank you for sharing those memories, John. My dad also went to Pompey Grammar before going to agricultural college. I remember taking the Gosport ferry on childhood trips to Portsmouth from Devon, where my father had moved before I was born. I'm not sure where the ferry went!
I think your fine phrase “I'm still learning the truth” could apply to many of us most of the time.
The ferry goes to Gosport Hard, as it’s called. I took it every day for a year. Most of the traffic then was Portsmouth Navy dockyard workers who lived in Gosport and commuting by bicycle and ferry.
Thank you for letting me know. I stll have family in the area and so many of the names are so familiar to me, but I feel I hardly know the city. My parents lived on Hayling Island when my dad was a farmworker there, but I don't think I've ever been.
Beautiful use of art, Jeffrey. The Turner is new to me, the David an unexpected but appropriate choice, and the Huntington Library a landmark we have missed in our visits to Pasadena, where we made a beeline for the Norton Simon Museum.
Thank you, Rona. The Turner is unusual, being a commission from the pantomime monarch of the day looking to steal some stardust from Admiral Nelson, whose ship is depicted and whose victory in that battle supposedly ended Napolean's plans to invade England.
14 hrs ago·edited 14 hrs agoLiked by Jeffrey Streeter
Our grandfather clock used to play the Westminster Quarters. Now, you've brought me back to my childhood, too.
What a fascinating connection with the Japanese school bells, Pompey football chant, and the Westminster Quarters! And I had never seen that Turner painting--so beautiful. Thanks, Jeffrey, for another knockout essay. xo
Thank you, Lani! I'm so glad that the essay brought back some childhood memories! The Turner is great, isn't it? I think it was a little controversial. He dared to show some of the suffering of war...
Remarkable. Of course everyone knows the tune, but not its origins or current usage. I love these kinds of connections - things I know without knowing I know them. ;)
Thanks, Ronald, I'll check out your post! I saw the painting a few years ago in an exhibition about painting and light (by the Tate, I think) and it astounded me. I jumped at the flimsy excuse to use it for my post. 🙂
Fascinating read Jeffrey. I love the painting you chose to tie in to the Napoleonic Wars. My mom was a David. Family lore passed on throughout the David for at least 4 or 5 generations is that we were related to Jacques Louis. I and quite a few 1st, 2nd and 3rd cousins have all tried to find that connection and have not been able to. My mom and I went to the Louvre to see his work in 72. I am not one to give up hope, so I am still looking for the link.
Wow, that's quite a (potenial) family connection! I hope you can find the key clue one day. He's such a gorgeous painter. For me the painting just screams pomp and circumstance, the need to create legitimacy on Napolean's part and it's magnificently done. It really communicates the power and the insecurity of an empire in tension with one another. At least, for me it does.
Jeffrey, I agree his work is gorgeous and his connection with Napoleon legacy is quite interesting. Also the history of his allegiance to Mary Magdalene is also fascinating. My mom also had a bust of David on the mantel. I do think there is a connection somewhere. Every now and then I look on Ancestry for the missing link.
Echoes of empire! Brilliant piece, Jeffrey
Thank you Marco and Sabrina!
Loved reading and hearing this. I grew up in a house with a grandfather clock that chimed that song. Every 15 minutes the chimes would play a little more until on the hour it chimed the whole song.
Thank you, Deirdre. That sounds like a special memory. I'm struck (no pun intended) by how something so ubiquitous can turn out to be something so personal.
As always, I love how you move the reader from place to place— or sight to sound here. And this one was all new to me too. 🙏
Thank you, Victoria!
A really fascinating story of the experience of finding the familiar in an unfamiliar place, Jeffrey. There is always so much to enjoy and learn about in your pieces.
Fantastic piece of history. I wonder how many other club tunes have such a distinguished history. I know about Everton's Johnny Todd (aka Z Cars) but there must be many others.
Thank, Douglas. I'm sure you're right; other clubs must have rich stories about their supporters' tunes, too.
Dear Jeffrey,
Besides reading your writings is always nice and soothing, I am almost guaranteed to learn something new :).
This time, your description of the chimes and Big Ben made my mind wander back to the BUND of Shanghai. But what I hear, instead of the Westminster Quarters, is the tune of "The East is Red" lol.
Thank you, Yi. Lovely to hear of your own memories of a tune. And such a stirring one!
I listened to the chimes recording as the piano tuner was in the other room tuning our piano. Together it made a harmony and was awesome! You never know what'll happen when you read a substack, I guess. Thanks Jeffrey.
That's just so lovely, Anna! I'm happy to help bring even a tiny amount of harmony into the world. 🙂
I remember one of the Royal Marines being interviewed in Basra after Gulf War 2. He told the reporter, 'It's like Pompey....but without the prostitutes.'.
The city hasn't always enjoyed a great reputation, it's fair to say. But I understand it's been going through better times in recent years.
By an odd chance I used that same Joseph Wright picture of Vesuvius on Substack two days ago! Discussing some volcanic rocks in the Lake District https://aboutmountains.substack.com/p/tuff-love
Very interesting. It must have been quite unnerving hearing Big Ben in a suburb of Tokyo! I had no idea of the tune's rich history.
Thanks, Terry. I had no idea either and it was a fascinating rabbit hole of history to fall down.
Fascinating, Jeffrey. I lived in Gosport and then Portchester throughout my school years and went to Portsmouth Grammar School - Pompey Grammar. I spent many Saturday afternoons at the Fratton End. Being a Pompey fan certainly helps in learning to take disappointment in stride.
I was born in 51, so our history classes covered 1066 to WWI. Despite having a ration card for the first five years of my life and seeing bomb sites from the bus to school, we were told we had won the war and still had an empire, it had just been rebranded Commonwealth as we "let" our colonies become independent. The world map on the wall was still mostly pink.
I'm still learning the truth.
Thank you for sharing those memories, John. My dad also went to Pompey Grammar before going to agricultural college. I remember taking the Gosport ferry on childhood trips to Portsmouth from Devon, where my father had moved before I was born. I'm not sure where the ferry went!
I think your fine phrase “I'm still learning the truth” could apply to many of us most of the time.
The ferry goes to Gosport Hard, as it’s called. I took it every day for a year. Most of the traffic then was Portsmouth Navy dockyard workers who lived in Gosport and commuting by bicycle and ferry.
Thank you for letting me know. I stll have family in the area and so many of the names are so familiar to me, but I feel I hardly know the city. My parents lived on Hayling Island when my dad was a farmworker there, but I don't think I've ever been.
Beautiful use of art, Jeffrey. The Turner is new to me, the David an unexpected but appropriate choice, and the Huntington Library a landmark we have missed in our visits to Pasadena, where we made a beeline for the Norton Simon Museum.
Thank you, Rona. The Turner is unusual, being a commission from the pantomime monarch of the day looking to steal some stardust from Admiral Nelson, whose ship is depicted and whose victory in that battle supposedly ended Napolean's plans to invade England.
Our grandfather clock used to play the Westminster Quarters. Now, you've brought me back to my childhood, too.
What a fascinating connection with the Japanese school bells, Pompey football chant, and the Westminster Quarters! And I had never seen that Turner painting--so beautiful. Thanks, Jeffrey, for another knockout essay. xo
Thank you, Lani! I'm so glad that the essay brought back some childhood memories! The Turner is great, isn't it? I think it was a little controversial. He dared to show some of the suffering of war...
Remarkable. Of course everyone knows the tune, but not its origins or current usage. I love these kinds of connections - things I know without knowing I know them. ;)
Thank you, Troy!