I was going to put this on the 365daysofbiking journal, but I was too pleased with it and wanted to share the film with a wider audience.
Leaving Tyseley at 4:25pm last Thursday, the day of the flash floods (28th June 2012), I found the trains messed up – the 4:32 I’d normally hop on for a couple of stops wouldn’t be in until 4:53. I could either wait, or cycle the four miles into Brum. I chose to cycle – it was a nice afternoon, and I could probably still make it in time for the 4:55pm from New Street. This required some mastery of the traffic, but I got there at around 4:50, and hopped straight on my train.
The music is ‘Get Kalsi’ by The Imagined Village, featuring Johnny Kalsi, the Bhangra drummer. If it sounds vaguely familiar, it’s a tribute to Roy Budd’s wonderful theme from the seminal 1971 film noir ‘Get Carter’. The Imagined Village and Johnny Kalsi are brilliant, as is Roy Budd. Please check them out.
I have a kind of soft spot for ‘Get Carter’ – there’s a lot of hidden stuff in it, apart from Alf Roberts being thrown from a multi-storey car park in Gateshead. One of my favourite things is the guy who kills Carter at the end is wearing a distinctive ring. The same ring as worn by the man sitting opposite him in the train carriage in the opening sequence. Jack unknowingly travels with his assassin. Notice also the headline on the copy of The Sun that the assassin is reading. Circular references are us.
I also know one or two train buffs will be looking fondly at the Deltic coming the other way…
