Rock the Casbah

Last weekend was the Wirksworth Festival. The sun always seems to shine for the Art and Architecture trail - perhaps too much for my friend Maja's tiny wax houses in a south facing bakery window. It's a great place, perched on a hill, like a seaside town without the sea - though it was part of a tropical lagoon once, which is why the limestone quarried there is so special. There's too much to see and do in one day, but over the years I have learnt to go with the flow. On our way back to the car, we thought we would just pop in to the Moot Hall to catch Bill Aitchison's 'Vinyl' an interactive piece involving old records. When we got there he was playing the Staples Singers 'Come Go With Me' on a neat little record deck. There was a man with a box of singles, who had been visiting his daughter. We were invited to choose something from this box of vinyl treasures. The woman ahead of me chose Soft Cell's Tainted Love and then Bill interviewed her about her associations with it. Basically, she didn't like Soft Cell's version any more, but it reminded her of the record collection she had shared with her brother. Flicking through, I came across Rock the Casbah, and was reminded of my return from a year working in Casablanca back in 1981. I was completely changed by the experience. I had run away from Thatcher's Britain, the spectre of unemployment and the prospect of a miserable winter ( not to mention a break up with my boyfriend)and ended up getting a job teaching English in Morocco. There were many adventures whilst I was there, and loose ends to be tied up on my return. I'd heard stories of attempts on the King's life, and if you listen to the lyrics it tells the tale of one I knew about. Morocco had been the place to go in the hippy days, but by 1980 when I went it had lost some of its perceived glamour. I had loved it. I didn't expect to hear a band like the Clash sing about Morocco and its politics. It may not even be about Morocco and King Hassan Deux, but for me it was, and it revived and reinforced my memories.Thanks Bill.