Great British Life > People > Columnists

Editor’s letter

Candia McKormack

Published: 6:00 PM June 23, 2022

black symbol of anarchy. A letter in a circle painted with spray paint on a grungy old fence on the

Anarchy in the Cotswolds, 12th century-style, was a lot wilder than its 20th-century counterpart - Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

July 2022

I’ve been enjoying Danny Boyle’s excellent Sex Pistols biopic, Pistol, on Disney+ – hell, I even took out a three-month subscription specially – and am considering sitting down to watch it all over again. Yes, it’s really that good.

I was 12 years old in 1978, and the only female ‘punk’ in the village of Saul. I use the term loosely, however, as I didn’t understand the politics – what with Saul lacking in inner-city angst, an’ all – but Vaseline-spiked hair, lurid nails and a snarl seemed to me all the credentials needed. I even painted over my dinner plate-sized Silver Jubilee badge from the previous year with the word ‘PUNK’ and a badly rendered safety pin (sorry, Your Majesty).

The Pistols undoubtedly did change the political and musical landscape, but their brand of anarchy lasted a mere two-and-a-half years before imploding under the cynically ruthless rule of Malcolm McLaren and his hideously overpriced tartan bondage trousers. So, let’s go back to 12th-century England, where ‘The Anarchy’ – in the form of a brutal civil war – lasted a full 18 years. Take that, Malcolm.

Stephen Roberts’ excellent article on page 200 of this issue details the incredible events following the death of Henry I and accession of his daughter Matilda – and her cousin Stephen who was having none of it. It’s a gripping read of rampaging armed gangs, captured castles and a daring escape across a frozen River Thames. The Cotswolds was at the heart of much of the action – that even God famously turned His back on – and it puts Johnny Rotten’s posturing in perspective.

In this issue, we also look at the work and lives of the subversive ‘concrete’ – or visual – poets, including Nailsworth’s John Furnival, who graduated from the Royal College of Art in the 1960s and rubbed shoulders with the likes of David Hockney and John Cage. His work – and that of other Cotswold concrete poets – is being celebrated in an exhibition at Nailsworth’s Festival of Words this month and is sure to be a fascinating insight into their work.

Add to that the world premiere in Cheltenham of Conor Mitchell’s composition based on the love letters between composer Benjamin Britten and tenor Peter Pears; Freya Waley-Cohen’s operatic piece celebrating the Witch figure; Dom Joly looking for alien life in New Mexico; and a celebration of Tewkesbury’s Bloody Meadow, and you’ve a mix eclectic enough to entertain the most demanding of modern-day upstarts.