40. BRONWYN

I am reading about Beastie Boys, looking for a reason why “Curt Finks” might have referenced them in a short story. Perhaps just a signifier of loud noise for an elderly gentleman.

I’m not sure that The KLF sampled Beastie Boys, but The JAMs appear to have been influenced by their sound. A Google search takes me down some blind alleys, but also into some interesting and uncharted (for me anyway) territory. I knew about The JAMs’ use of Beatles samples, and The Beatles themselves splicing their own material up to create new sounds, but not about the Beastie Boys sampling the Fab Four on The Sounds of Science. They end with “Eat a chicken gizzard with a girl named Lizzy”.

My thoughts slip around on connections, landing in unexpected places. I am left with an earworm from the White Album: “Her name was Magill and she called herself Lil/ But everyone knew her as Nancy”.

Ali comes in for lunch and we knock about my current preoccupations. I put on Rocky Raccoon to scratch the Magill-shaped itch, and we talk about nagging doubts about The Foundation Doktor and the trees around Ely Cathedral. Who can we ask to double check the state of their foliage?

Ali starts talking about Bronwyn from Kings Lynn. You may remember her from Curt Finks’ story “Brent Goose Rock”. She is the only person in GANTOB (the book), or associated writing, whose name has been unchanged (with her permission). Ali recalls that Bronwyn’s nickname at school was “The Pig”, on account of the blues band Blodwyn Pig, and her father’s occupation (farmer). But this concealed a more obvious piece of nominal determinism, her maiden name being Gosling, suiting her fulltime job with a bird protection charity on the East Anglian fens. Paul McCartney would no doubt have had a field day with that one.

Ali phones Bronwyn after lunch, and they talk about the recent arrival of thousands of migrating geese, and how much his Dad loved this time of year. Ali explains the reason for his call and settles down for a long chat. A few minutes in, he jots down a note and slides it across the table. “She says the trees locally are in full leaf, though autumnal!!!”. We have the evidence we need to confront The Benefaktor and The Foundation Doktor’s lies. I ready myself for a trip to Edinburgh.

GANTOB

2 NOVEMBER 2023