011115 – Percussion – Hyde Park, London

It’s pitch dark and we are up at 4.30am to get to Hyde Park for 6.15am to witness the start of the London to Brighton run with cars from 1888 through to 1905 running. It’s a fantastic misty morning with an autumn leave backdrop and the Serpentine lays mirror still. The air is full of smoke and oil accompanied by the clatter of vibrating mechanicals. Huge four litre single cylinder engines popping up and down shaking everything attached to them into a forced motion choreography, occupants included. Depending on the displacement, upon the number of cylinders (usually one or two) and the rotation of the cylinder block this describes the dance. With the cylinders placed vertically the car vibrates up and down, the whole vehicle bouncing on its leaf springs. Headlights nod, hats flap, bodies jog. The cylinder block placed horizontally shakes the car from side to side, everything wags, left right, left right, occupants move in a rhythmic counter sway all to the percussion of a-chuga-chug, a-chuga-chug. There are over 400 hundred cars all swinging and jittering whilst playing percussion in one huge mist enclosed orchestra. Today we were slow and missed our chance we were overwhelmed by the shear excess of the day but now we have a clear agenda for the next meeting. After the cars have all left on their run to Brighton we move on to Berners Tavern (with the amazing ceiling) for breakfast.