One sunny morning in 1968, I had settled down to my customary reading of the Sunday newspapers on Hampstead Heath in London, when a couple sat on the grass near me. I was a little irritated when they switched on a transistor radio and was pondering giving them a lecture on the sanctity of peace and quiet. But then I heard the piano intro to <i>I Say A Little Prayer</i> and all was forgiven. A rare sunny day on the Heath with musical accompaniment by Aretha Franklin -- what more could one ask for?
Alas, Aretha has gone. All the tributes to her this weekend are so richly deserved. She was such a truly inspirational singer and someone whose soulful music has given me such pleasure over the past five decades. With her passing, the world has lost not only a uniquely gifted spirit, but a whole lot of soul.
Like many of my generation, my introduction to Aretha was her 1967 hit, Respect, which was two minutes and 28 seconds of unrestrained, in your face soul. It was authentic "sock it to me" music.
Over the years I grew to appreciate some of Aretha's lesser known numbers. Spare a couple of minutes and listen to her singing the Hoagy Carmichael masterpiece Skylark. It's simply beautiful.
Tears and cheers
One of Aretha's many remarkable performances came in 1998 at the Grammy Awards when she stepped in at the last moment -- the show had already started -- to replace Luciano Pavarotti who had fallen ill. Rather than sing one of her multitude of hits, which she could have done with ease, she instead performed, unrehearsed, the challenging Puccini aria, Nessun Dorma, so closely associated with Pavarotti. It was an extremely brave thing to take on, but her breathtaking rendition absolutely stunned the audience. Have a listen to it on YouTube, it will send a shiver up your spine. Aretha has to be the best ever stand-in
Perhaps the most memorable moment in her later life came in 2015 when she performed (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, honouring songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. In the audience was President Barack Obama who famously had to wipe away a few tears during Aretha's performance.
Farewell to Mike
The sad news won't stop. Former Bangkok Post colleague and friend, Mike Stead, passed away earlier this month after a short illness. I worked with Mike on the Post newsdesk at the U-Chuliang during the 1980s. We got on well despite working through some difficult times. Mike even dragged me along to watch his beloved Liverpool team play Thailand at Supachalasai stadium in the early 1980s. It was so long ago, Bruce Grobbelaar was in goal.
Street life
After he left the Post, Mike would occasionally pass on to me amusing snippets about his misadventures, for use in this column. The following tale I particularly liked as I suspect many readers have experienced something similar to Mike when the Big Mango can get on top of you.
After he left the Post, Mike was working for a financial company on Asoke. One day in the early 1990s, in need of some cash, he nipped out to the local ATM. As tends to be the case when you are in a hurry, the ATM was malfunctioning. Not to worry, he strode off to the next machine which wasn't working either. It was stifling hot and he was working up a sweat. His mood was not helped when he was sideswiped by a motorcyclist using the pavement as a short-cut. After one more abortive attempt to use an ATM he was having some doubts about the merits of high-tech banking.
Eventually he reached New Petchaburi Road. He then spotted an ATM on the other side and waited at a pedestrian crossing … and waited and waited. But of course nothing stopped. By now he was hot, sweaty, uncomfortable and dispirited. Finally he vented his pent-up frustration on a nearby temporary road sign which he booted with some glee. He felt better after that ... briefly.
Enter a policeman who had just witnessed this gross abuse of a road sign. Worryingly, Sgt Plod was shaking his head. It didn't look promising…
Well officer, it was like this
With the arrival of the constabulary, Mike had visions of a night in the monkey house for abusing a road sign. His already bad day was deteriorating rapidly. Mike then blurted out, in English, to the policeman a stream of consciousness, featuring malfunctioning ATM machines, maniacs on motorbikes, terrifying traffic, useless pedestrian crossings, the bloody hot weather and anything else he could think of.
The policeman probably didn't understand a word Mike had said, but got the gist that he was unhappy at not being able to cross the road.
Then came a bit of classic "Thainess" we've been hearing about lately.
With considerable aplomb the policeman stepped out in front of the traffic, waved it to a halt, and escorted Mike across the busy road before wishing him the best of luck at finding a working ATM. A noble gesture by Sgt Plod, rescuing a foreign citizen in distress.
Thanks for that honest anecdote Mike. May you Rest in Peace.
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