Sway (2006)/ゆれる

I watched this film because I really enjoyed "Dreams for Sale" [link] and this is an earlier film by the same director, Miwa Nishikawa [link]. The title is from the pivotal point in the film and describes the moment on a rope bridge. The events leading up to the sway are essentially a little more death and a nostalgic look back to childhood - the classic tropes of Japanese film.



Set in a small town, a younger brother returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral to stay with his father and brother. The older brother works in the family business (a petrol station) and is the archetypal "stay at home" elder brother while the younger brother left to chase his dreams (photographer in Tokyo - it is always Tokyo). The signposting is pretty clear but it is enjoyable nonetheless. At the garage, there is a female worker (Yoko Maki)that the older one likes and the younger one liked and they, in the kind of thing that seems normal in films, decide to go on a day trip to some natural beauty that they remember from their childhoods. Across the valley, there is a bridge suspended across - an old fashioned rope bridge with wooden planks slung underneath looking suitably risky (though, it must be said it does not seem to go anywhere).

On the bridge, there is a slip and accident and from that, the story develops around the varying levels of guilt and recriminations.

In all honesty, I didn't think much of the film after watching it but it left me feeling a little uneasy. It is a fairly straight story (within the world of Japanese films, anyway) and quite simply told but I think the main characters are well acted (by Jo Odagiri and Teruyuki Kagawa) which keeps it compelling although there are some standard bits of melodrama thrown in too. It was only later, a few hours after watching it, that it grabbed me a bit more - and I don't think I was actively pondering at the time.

The themes of the film are about the feeling of being trapped, the protagonist is older than the average single man in the town and feels a little left behind, both geographically and emotionally, with the small town mentality clearly having an effect on him but also being inescapable. There are allusions, before the accident, of the three main characters all wanting to get out of the town and likening the life in a town like that being similar to prison. In that respect, there is an element of pathos in the lives of the two left behind and the younger brother has apparently changed significantly as a result of the move. This is something we can all relate to, about moving out of the comfort zone into untested waters and growing as a result (and not all growth is positive, of course).

As I said, it is a simple, intimate film so you do probably have to be in the right mood and the feel is definitely that of a "film festival" type (as evidenced by success in 2007 Yokohama Film Festival) but I found it much more compelling than it would normally be so it must have done something right. It is not spectacular and there is little, or no, grandstanding so it brings you into the film world very directly. Unlike Dreams for Sale, had I seen this first, I don't think this film would necessarily make me look out for the director's other work but in conjunction with Dreams For Sale, I probably will look for some other films.

Is that actually a recommendation? I think it is, just. If you are in the right mood.

Alpha Papa (2013)

A few years back, I remember seeing reviews of a film described as like a 90 minute episode of a TV series. The film was "The Parole Officer" and the TV series was "I'm Alan Partridge". I think the comment was meant to be derogatory but it felt like it was high praise.

I think Coogan has tried to escape Partridge for a very long time but he is undoubtedly his greatest character although I'm not entirely sure why he is so great:

Starting in the early to mid-90s, Alan Partridge is essentially a TV/radio presenter with an inflated ego. He thinks he is fantastic and that will always be the case, even as the facts overtake the opinion. That self-confidence with the trajectory of the career do not always match but the high opinion in which he holds his ideas and opinions are always a joy to watch. excruciating at times, but joyful nonetheless. The popping of an arrogant bubble is a classic British comedy trope but it works so well that the formulaic nature is forgotten about as you can always relate it to someone you know. The British class system always makes us think those getting ideas above their station are ridiculous. And the setting of this in Norwich (the World Premiere was also in Norfolk) is a little nod to that as are, I think, the "blood and ice cream" trilogy films by Edgar Wright. Partridge has been through shows on the radio (starting as a sports reporter) graduated to TV and become a personality in his own right.

And so, finally, there is a film for Alan Partridge. Films for sitcoms can go in many directions but rarely in a positive one. There is always the fundamental question of how to pitch characters that ostensibly will need introductions but will usually be introduced to people that already know them. Should they be aimed at fans or non-fans? It feels like more and more films are based on existing characters (comics, TV spin-offs, remakes, reboots, etc) these days and so it is a problem dealt with in many films.

In this instance, the film assumes you know the characters but, they are such simple, and well signposted, characters that you can get a handle on who the characters are pretty easily.

The situation for the comedy is that there is a corporate takeover of the local radio station and they want to replace some of the older DJs with more modern ones to match the modern style. One of the DJs is rather unhappy at the turn of events (Alan is, of course, oblivious to the nature of the changes at first - his confidence in himself shining through) and takes everyone hostage at the station to create a kidnapping situation that Alan is only too happy to try to help resolve.

I think a lot of people, myself included, will want a TV episode stretched out but there is a little more to the character and he has developed since the late 90s heyday. He is not quite as mean as in the past but there are some lovely touches to the whole thing with some nice references to the series. I found myself laughing when nobody else was in the cinema though... I especially liked Lynne's car. The standout moment for me was with Michael which is delightfully pointless but perfectly timed.

Ultimately, the setpieces and showcasing of Norwich are what will make the film and I thought it managed to do that well. The scenes of Alan's excitement at being the centre of attention are really well captured and show his self-centred nature quite well but also endearingly.

I think that if you enjoyed the series, you will enjoy this and if you have not seen the series, you will probably like it. Frankly, if you have seen the series and you did not like it, then I am not sure you actually exist. Do you exist? Pinch yourself now.

That is what they call an unreserved recommendation.

Walking in Sussex.

One of the side effects of whenever I go abroad is that I always wonder why I don't do similar things while at home. In the case of Switzerland, it'd be the obvious lack of mountains in the UK but I thought that there must be something similar at least.
 While searching for places close by, I ran into the "Time Out Country Walks near London" which then, in a round about fashion, pointed me to this website.

Saturday Walkers' Club - http://www.walkingclub.org.uk/index.shtml

It is a great site actually, with a lot of interesting places and mapped routes which you can download or print.

I picked one and ended up on a train to Brighton (this was, in all honesty, due to the engineering works on the Northern line which made me feel a little trapped) from Kentish Town. It was pretty cheap for me to get there as I have an annual z1-2 travelcard so am eligible for 1/3 off off-peak rail travel and I can go from the z2 boundary. That mean my ticket was £6.60 return (I am aware that this is an incremental cost rather than the actual cost) though, due to the vagaries of privatised travel, I needed to get to St Pancras and buy the ticket from there as it would be £20ish from the Kentish Town ticket office.

I went to do this walk [link] which was from a town called Lewes to Brighton and was supposed to have amazing views. Annoyingly, I could not find a battery for my camera and so the photos were from an inferior source.

Starting in Lewes is a fairly standard English town and from there, you must cross a very busy road but elevated above it which is quite windy and quite a rush. There are paths but eventually it leads to open space which is very attractive in the right weather. The thing I forgot about "country walks" however, was the intermittent smell of manure...

There are quite a few animals on the walk from sheep to cows and horses. Some of the views are indeed spectactular with height and gradient. I am particularly fond of skies (this may be an urban thing) and so it was nice to have a wide expanse on a cloudy day.

A lot of the walk is isolated and so, in one of the most densely parts of the UK, you may not see other people for long stretches of time - which is appealing sometimes. As it is relatively exposed, it can also get pretty windy but I was glad of that as it was a fairly warm day.

The path takes you to the sea and then winds through to Brighton itself along a marine footpath.

The path goes to Brighton via a fairly ropey shopping centre/Asda which made me feel a little of the city was not thinking of how to incorporate with others.

Anyway, a pleasant trip and I would recommend getting away for a walk to most people. Choose one from the massive list.

Tokyo Jungle

Tokyo Jungle is one of the gamiest games I have played in a long time and has a particularly "arcade" (though not modern of course) style mechanic.

One of the reasons it feels a little arcade is that there is no real introduction to the setup and you just pick an animal and are dropped in without an explanation, a little like this.

For an unknown reason, Tokyo has no humans left and there are a selection of animals roaming the streets of Tokyo* (Shibuya [link] to be more specific). Once you have selected a character/species to play as, you must try to survive to the point where you can pass your genes on. And then you start again. And again, and again. In a nutsehell, that is it - a very simple game.

At first, you must select an animal from a restricted selection (further animals are unlocked by completing their predecessor's challenges) broadly split into carnivores and herbivores. Then, you are dropped into Shibuya and the game starts.

You have three gauges at the top left and these are what you must manage to progress:

LIFE - once this is gone, you die.

HUNGER - shows whether you need food or not.

STAMINA - shows how much you can dash.

If you do nothing at all, your HUNGER meter drops at a rate depending on what animal you are and once your HUNGER is at zero, you will start losing LIFE slowly but surely. You can also lose LIFE by taking damage in attacks from other animals (or once you are poisoned). There is also a TOXICITY meter that appears after some time which will increase the longer you spend in polluted areas or eat contaminated food.
You gain LIFE when you have anything in your HUNGER meter and are not mid-battle. You gain HUNGER by eating food (meat or vegetation depending on which animal you are - no omnivores here).
Essentially keep eating to stay alive.
The other main factor to consider is age and as you get beyond a certain age, your life will drain away and you will die.

You can't defeat time - but you can pass your genes on.

As in real life, this involves finding a mate. In order to find a mate, you have to make it safe for them by claiming a territory (I'll let you work out how territory is marked as yours) and then impressing them - though this is achieved by simply walking near them. If only. If only.
There are three classes of mate (male and female) from "desperate" to "prime" and you must be of a higher class yourself (ie levelled up with calorific intake) in order to get each one. The desperate ones will chase you, and give you fleas though, so be careful!
And then you must take them (unconditional love = they will follow you) to a nest to perform. The first few times, this is really comic as the screen fades to black and you hear a wolf howl. And then you have a new generation of whatever animal you are. Simple. They are slightly improved depending on the stats you had and what type of mate you got. Those are the building blocks of life and the building blocks of the game.

There are plenty of other elements to consider but the basics are that. Stay alive long enough through harsh environments to pass on your genes and keep going until it all gets too much. I can liken it to the gradual ratcheting up in Tetris as you pass a level as each time decade or so, the world becomes a little harsher with more rain (lowering visibility), less easy meat, more battles with larger animals or groups and more toxicity in the air. The questions arise:
   Is it worth eating that toxic meat? (HUNGER down... TOXICITY up)
   Should I risk a clean kill on the crocodile?

The fun, or my fun, is from how deconstructed a game it is - and so you can break down each "run" into clear tactics. As there are a number of optional tasks to be completed in discrete timeframes (eg between year 20 and 30 kill 20 animals) which are given to you from the start of each run, you can plan it out. So, if you have to be at the train station at year 30, you should plan a path for that. It is that laying bare of the game system that makes it feel so fair - your enemies may be random but there is usually nobody to blame if it goes wrong. Each element of the game from the impending doom to the frequency of battle seems carefully controlled and you will spend a lot of time scavenging and balancing up risks versus rewards.

There is an element of padding the game out as there is a survival mode and a story mode whereby you complete a number of challenges to progress the (clearly insane) story but the mechanics do not change significantly. The structure is such that you play "survival" to find the flags to trigger the story mode (memory cards left behind). As a result, in order to progress in the story, you must switch between the two as you cannot collect story cards until you finish a certain number of chapters and you cannot find story cards outside survival mode.

There are many animals but they are not hugely dissimilar and could be seen as derivative of other species rather than having different skillsets and so, with enough levelling, some animals can be identical. Some, however, cannot.

I'm not sure what the purest game I've ever played is and I'm no longer sure what that even means. The game I had always considered "purest" was a section within the game Rez called trancemission. Rez is an musical on-rails shooter that came out in 2001. It was pretty short, partly as it was a pretty fresh concept (before the western fascination with music games really took off), but it had quite a few unlockables when you completed it. One of those unlockables was a mode called "trancemission" that had looping music which had to be heard to understood, no score, no difficulty and a repetitive, simplistic game mechanic. It did not even yield a reward as you could not finish it - it was the reward. So the only reason to play was whether you enjoyed it or not - I think that is pretty pure. Some might say that is true of any other game but I think this is more of a stark, binary choice. I played it quite a lot - it was strangely compelling:

This game always feels very pure because of the presentation and simplicity of concept. I think most people will be able to understand it and it does not really hide anything from you so in that respect, it is very accessible and playable. The insanity of the idea will bring people in (I'd hope) and hopefully they'll stay after playing the game. The "mating" scenes are a great indication of the game actually - initially seems silly/stupid but it makes sense within the game and it has a gameplay reason too. This means that you will probably know within one playthrough (or "credit") whether you would like the game or not.
I loved it.

Tokyo Jungle has been released on PS3 and funded by Sony (Japan) in their Indie scheme called PlayStation C.A.M.P! (Creator Audition Mash up Project!).

You can buy it here [link] and it is playable on PS3 and PS Vita with remote play.

There is also a mobile version but I have not played it.

*The use of real places in Japan for games is increasingly common and this is especially the case for Shibuya - i got lost here many years ago [link].

The Unfinished Swan

The Unfinished Swan is a game about exploring the unknown.

The player is a young boy chasing after a swan who has wandered off into a surreal, unfinished kingdom. The game begins in a completely white space where players can throw paint to splatter their surroundings and reveal the world around them.

[home page here]

Before I bought this, I had found the visual style for this quite intriguing and I'd heard that the game essentially had no combat so it definitely piqued my interest.

As the introduction says, the game does throw you into an entirely white space - and when you move the left stick it is still white. Not a textured white, but a pure white (maybe not by RGB levels so don't quote me on that) and one without any shadow to give it depth. A genuinely flat, featureless environment until you find the "shoot" button and then a black spot arcs away from the centre of the screen until... splat. Splat, splat, splat. There is no way you only pressed the button once.

The paint balls that you fire will cover the surface in black - and again a pure black so it is like a high resolution ZX Spectrum game. What this allows you to do is to work out from the perspective of the splats, what the features of the landscape are and how you can get around. As you start to play, there is an inevitability to the screen becoming black as it is addictive to paint the screen but you soon realise, as in life, there is a balance to the dark side and overdoing it is counter-productive. The initial "rush" of power is replaced.

As you progress, the story is told in the style of a fairy tale and as you pass checkpoints, you can activate picture frames in order to trigger the next part of the narrative which is told as a voice-over as you retain full control (as seems to be the modern way). The voice-over is very much in the style of a children's fable with appropriate vocabulary and intonation which I found quite sweet. The story (not sure that "plot" is the right word here) itself is also quite big, bold and simple and matches perfectly with the feel of the aesthetic. To match the visuals and the story, the soundtrack [link] is also excellently put together and totally coherent with the rest of the game capturing the children's storybook feel and giving it the lightness and darkness required at just the right times.

The game itself has you chasing after the swan of the title and is based around the story of a number of paintings left behind after the death of a painter - the favourite being an unfinished swan that you are chasing. Or maybe "following" through the landscape.

As you follow it down the garden path, there is a wonderful moment where you eventually come to a point where you have risen from your starting point and can look back upon your path as it doubles back on itself. And in that moment, you realise that you have created, with your filth and darkness, a beautiful image of a path picked out in the whiteness. I think this is the strength of the "curated" image as I feel this is - although you have free movement throughout and you can create any path you want, the director has funnelled you into the space so that you will look upon your own wonders. It is a lovely moment and is the single vision that drew me into the game. 

The fundamental mechanic of the black on white does change for the subsequent chapters so does the concept of the game yet, in fact, the visual flair is retained even without this. In some respects, it harks back to old videogames, especially platformers, which would have worlds with changing visuals and subtly altered mechanics - all games had to have an ice world! The other mechanics are as arresting but not as clearly trailed but they captured my imagination in different ways. One world, for example, has you entering a prototyped version of a level that you have already seen with a few changes affecting both the prototype and final version.

The game itself is fairly short at about 3 to 4 hours to play through once although there are other things to find (balloons are scattered around and can be freed) and bonuses for doing so, they are genuinely bonuses in that they just feel like toys to play around with.

The length of the game allows the different ideas enough time to play with but not too long so that they get too boring (although one is particularly repetitive) and the game is not challenging once you understand the given gaming mechanic in a chapter. As a result, it is a great game to play for the inexperienced as there is no combat and very little, if any, twitch reflex sections. I found that this makes it a relaxing experience with the ability to wander around at your leisure in a beguiling and beautiful world not one to be sniffed at.

I really enjoy these shorter, "indie" style games that set out with a particular goal in mind and have the right mix of ideas and execution. As a result of the length, I think, they are coherent and feel as if they have been put together in one continuous project rather than bringing disparate teams and ideas together to form a whole.

I played on the PS3 and you can buy the game here[link].

The trailer is below:

Thomas Was Alone

The building blocks of any character in a game, at least in traditional 2D space, are blocks, or pixels. Artwork and characterisation give them life but how much of that is by the character designer, and how much of that is the player? Object vs Image. Thomas Was Alone, apart from having an exceptional name, is also one of the most thoughtful games I have recently played.

The protagonist, initially, is a curious a.i. that would like to understand the world, and this is narrated as he "thinks" whilst you control him. Those thoughts are voiced by Danny Wallace (link), and very charmingly voiced too. And what you must do is very simple, go to the right and up where possible. Up, and to the right.

Thomas is not the only string of code you meet, or indeed control, as there is a varied cast of characters that you must help along - each with their own personality, skills and motivations. They include, amongst others, a grumpy Chris, an insecure Laura and, my own favourite, a delusional superhero called Claire.

The game itself is short and simple being a mix of platforms and puzzles and that simplicity makes it really accessible - I think even those that do not habitually game can enjoy this. In order to progress, all of the characters need to get to their gates at the same time so you must switch between them as and when required. After a while, you will need to use teamwork to overcome and each character is used a lot to trigger switches, as stepping stones or as carriers.

The concept is all well and good but the coherence of the level design and character design helps it shine. The aesthetic is one that appeals to me as it is both old-fashioned and very smooth - it is basically how I imagine games to have looked (this is my yardstick for HD remakes...) - simple, clear but with a rich texture (essentially noise due to analogue connections or, that lovely CRT scanline). The audio is also lovely - lovely enough for me to purchase separately in fact [from bandcamp]. Musically, the soundscape is quite electronic but also melodic with a weight that matches the faintly epic plot. I'll be honest, the visuals and sound are almost honed to be my kind of thing - simultaneously modern and retro. As a result of the charming story telling and these technical elements, I found it very easy to feel lost in a believable world.

I played this quite close to Shadow of the Colossus [link] and it has a lot of similarities in the theme whilst being almost completely different aesthetically and in gameplay terms. Personally, I think both attract thoughts about what makes a character and whereas Wanda is almost entirely mute and has no friends at all and so is characterised entirely by his visuals, Thomas is a coloured square. A talkative, inquisitive and friendly square.

One thing that I really liked about Thomas Was Alone as I played it was how untaxing I found it. The puzzles are simple but still give you a feeling of achievement and that "eureka" switch. In order to tell the story and achieve its ends, it works but I can see that it could be seen as a little short at just about 3 hours of untaxing gameplay. In some respects, it shows up the tension constant in game design between progression through the game and resistance against that by the game itself - and that can only be resolved by thinking about what you want out of a game. I've played through a few times, and the first time is clearly a great experience but people want different things out of their time. I'd rather have a short thought-provoking experience than a longer, enjoyable retread. In actual fact, I found it so compelling, I missed my stop on the train to work - something I hadn't done since working in Takashimadaira [link] in 2003 playing on the Game Boy Advance. I then also missed my stop home that evening too.

Another thing I really liked was the commentary track (a DVD style extra) that you can choose as you play. It is really interesting and opens your eyes to some of the game design issues and the tensions mentioned above. I wish more games would do this although I have to say I've never listened to a film (obviously I have for "The Thick of It") one in full before - though I find game design much more interesting. In terms of "extras", there is not much to collect other than a few jewels scattered around. It is a very tight game with little to do other than the main tasks, there is barely any extraneous stuff there. Again, something I like but not to everyone's taste.

I would actually recommend this wholeheartedly to almost anyone, whether it is their type of thing or not, as it is short enough to be interesting to anyone even if they don't actually like it.

Buy it [here] on pc or at least try a demo [here]. I played it on ps vita (and headphones) which was cross buy with the ps3 version [here].

Dreams for Sale (2012)/夢売るふたり

I've enjoyed a fair number of Japanese films over the years but have hated my fair share of them too. I shouldn't really associate films directly with their country of origin but I do it fairly often.

The thing that often strikes me about the kinds of Japanese films that make their way to me is that they often have a very strong concept but quite regularly let themselves down in the actual storytelling - I guess they make brilliant short pitches. They also, more commonly than other films, seem to flit between comedy and pathos with no care for smoothing it over (Battle Royale and Battle Royale 2 [old review] are shining beacons of this!). Personally, I really like this and makes me feel unsure about what could happen (usually everyone/someone dies) but I can definitely see why it would turn people off.

This film is essentially about fraud but I'd say the type of fraud seems to say something about the society it is from - marriage fraud.
There seem to be a number of these films where you can see the monetization of social interaction and I always find them quite interesting (if not necessarily good) and this reminded me a little of "Noriko's Dinner Table" which is conceptually one of the most messed up/interesting films (about a girl who runs a rent-a-family business) I have seen.

The strange thing about this particular film, and what keeps it compelling throughout, is the accidental way that they have fallen into this and the reasons for doing so - from the same event.

Whilst celebrating the 5th anniversary of the opening of a restaurant, a fire is started and burns it down (taking with it all the hard work and investment - I imagine it is poetic license but insurance is not mentioned at all) causing the proprietors to reassess. The husband (Kanya) was a chef and the wife (Satoko) the manager and so they try to find similar work - she works in a "mediocre ramen" place and he works in a number of kitchens leading to despair at their working quality and lack of control for him. 

A chance meeting with an ex-employee at, of course, the train station for Kanya leads to a rather strange combination of adultery and pity. The adultery is almost to be expected in films, but the pity, upon hearing of the fire, is a little out of the blue. For reasons that I can only assume make sense culturally, afterwards she offers a loan of some money (and it is cash...) right there and then for him. And then he returns home in the morning to a worried wife.

One of the wonderful quirks of much Japanese cinema is the defiance against pigeon-holing and so there can be pockets, within the same film, of slapstick and violence, matter-of-fact gore and long exposition. As a result, the feeling that something untoward may happen is all pervasive and I think that it really helps the film along as there is a genuine tension when the wife soon finds out, or more accurately, works out, what has happened. She has her revenge, of sorts.

The more detailed plot points are largely unnecessary, but this chance encounter has resulted in quite a lot of money for the couple so they decide that they should do a similar thing but more systemically - preying on vulnerable single women in order to pry savings from them. The story itself follows the exploits of the couple and what they have to do, as a team, in order to trick their victims.
There are questions raised about the ease with which everyone accepted the adultery (victims were aware of the marriage) and how there are some people that are desperate for attention - and not necessarily in the way that we often think of. As the pair have a number of victims, it is at once heartening and disheartening to see them have their hopes raised and then dashed in such a simple way. It almost seems as if the women are so unused to anybody considering them, and their feelings, that there is almost a Florence Nightingale effect that takes hold and that is what makes them such easy prey.

The thing I found quite curious, and again likely to be cultural difference, is that they don't appear to be scamming for keeps but in order to borrow the money so that they can restart their business. Some might say this is a fable about the difficulties of raising capital for entrepreneurs in Japan and how there needs to be a way for some businesses to be able to leverage the latent savings of the domestic, family saver. I'm not sure that was the intention of the director but I think a lot of these films are often about the side-effects of small "c" conservatism on the national psyche (although maybe sub-consciously).
I feel the purpose of the film was possibly to highlight the difficulties of women (and to a lesser degree, men) in the world of expectations that we all live in - and the husband/fiance does seem to be a vehicle to show the tensions that women in Japan (maybe more so than many other industrialised nations) face with the marriage of progression and conservatism that Japanese culture has.

Overall, it was an enjoyable film and it is now not that often that I watch films all the way through without a break so this must have been compelling enough. When it moves out of the exposition stage into the meat, the film definitely moves up a notch and there is a comfortable uneasiness throughout the film from then on.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone that is either used to, or is comfortable with, slightly incongruous pacing and style. I'll leave it up to you as to whether it is a juxtaposition or just incongruous.

Trailer and film details here:

The Pergola

The Pergola and Hill Garden?

A few weeks back, I was feeling a little bored so decided to walk through the heath - unsure of where to go, thought I'd make my way to Golder's Hill (entering near gospel oak for obvious reasons). I thought of heading north towards Kenwood through the wooded section but got a little lost... A map may have been useful.

What is a pergola? I was intrigued so I walked over.
It is there on the maps, Hampstead Heath is hardly the shrinking violet of London's green spaces but I've since not met a single person that has heard of it let alone been there. What a delight. Both to go there and also to let other people know of it. Mainly to let other people know.
As described here [link], the space has an interesting past and a lovely interlinked tube connection - some of the positive knock on effects of the tube where it was actually thought about. A smaller version of a Berlin mound [link] I saw whilst there in 2010.
For me, it was entirely unexpected so as I walked near it, I had no idea what it was. It looked grand - and grandeur is not lacking around these parts. The pergola itself is fenced off and the garden appears gated so I assumed it was private. The gate, however, had a closing time...

Walking in, it felt rather evocative, but I'm not exactly sure what of.

The pergola itself gave good shade from the sun and was not busy. There were people there but few enough that you could often look around and nobody else would be in view most of the time. My personal musical accompaniment of the Shadow Of The Colossus soundtrack [link] may have helped it really felt like a faded beauty - a space where once ostentatiousness was normal.

The actual building is not so big, and even the garden is not massive but it is large enough to feel lost in and empty enough for the same feeling. The grounds are well tended with nice flowers, a little pond and a sloping garden seemingly designed for sunbathing.

Here's the map:

View Larger Map

And here are some photos that might be a little clearer than the ones embedded in the post!

Pergola and Heath