Hipsters

When I got home yesterday afternoon, I found that the postman had put a card through my door saying there was a package waiting for me at the sorting office. This morning it was a beautiful sunny day but cold. I thought I would walk the two miles to the sorting office on the trading estate to collect the parcel. I could have caught the bus but thought the four miles walk there and back would be good for me. I set off, keeping to the sunny side of the street where I could for the warmth that was in it. I walked briskly and soon warmed up. When I began the ascent of the bridge over the railway I could feel the muscles in my legs aching. “This is doing me good”, I kept telling myself. I collected my package and set off home again feeling quite pleased that I had made the effort.

Safely home again I opened the package. It was a book that I spotted on eBay a few nights ago. It only cost me £2.50. It is called The Hip, Hipsters, Jazz And The Beat Generation. It is a very enjoyable book. Not a great academic work but very readable and packed with fabulous pictures. I was a teenager in the 60’s which was a great creative decade, but as I get older I realise that the 50’s were also very cool as well, not only in music but in literature, film and other aspects of the arts as well. Jazz is the main focus of the book with chapters on the likes of Chet Baker, Slim Gaillard, Miles Davis and many more. There is a film section with celluloid icons like James Dean & Brigitte Bardot. The likes of Jack Kerouac and others of the Beat Generation are well represented. There is also a section dealing with the modern era and people who carry on the spirit of the 50’s featuring the likes of Tom Waits and I was pleased to see Van Morrison also gets a mention. It is a most enjoyable read indeed.