Aberystwyth

A month ago, or so, I set a deadline for finishing five collages for a book of children's first words. I thought at the time that this was going to be an easy deadline and that a month was more than enough to finish five images. But there was a problem: I had introduced two characters in the first pages of the book, a girl and a boy (see Empty Books), and I was planning to make them appear again in some of the collages throughout the book. I also wanted to keep the characters recognisable by keeping the clothes and features the same. But I could not find the papers I used so long ago for the boy and girl, so I spent most of the month looking for those papers. I have found them, but I do wish now that I had spent the month thinking more about the images than looking for the stupid papers. Nevertheless, the collages are finished and the next five images are: train, sun, umbrella, present and cake.

It is very funny, that for me, the most exotic means of transportation is the train. I had been in numerous boats as a kid and a few cars and even travelled by an aeroplane once, but I had never been on a train until I was a teenager and we went on a trip with my school to Kalavrita. There is a very unique landscape there, with a great canyon and through it runs a very slow, old and lovely train, called Odontotos train. That means literally a "toothed" train because the train runs on cogs for most of the way. It is a very atmospheric, rocky and intimate journey, as most of the time the train runs very, very close to the canyon and to a river too and also goes through tunnels carved in the mountains. It follows the contours of the mountain perfectly and climbs up and climbs down with it. It feels a bit like a theme park ride, not many people fit in the train, made by someone just for that mountain and it feels to the passengers that it was made just for them.

After this train journey I really thought no other train journey could be this memorable. But I was wrong. When I arrived for my University interviews in England in 1997, I stayed with a British acquaintance of my Uncle's and Aunty's who lived in London. I hadn't seen her since I was ten years old and I think she lived near Elephant and Castle. The plan was to be based there for a week and then take a train everyday to the destination of my interview and return after the interview on the same evening. I had some interviews in London and then my first journey was to Winchester and my second to Aberystwyth. I had a huge, heavy portfolio and an oversized borrowed, ridiculous trench coat. I remember very little of my first journey. I remember that I had hoped my Uncle's friend would accompany me on those trips. I think I was a bit taken by the size of London and the busyness of the train stations. On the day of the Aberystwyth journey I remember that I had to go somewhere and then change trains. I can't remember where that was, but I looked it up now and it must have been Birmingham. The first part of the journey I don't remember at all.  Before I left for London, I was reading in Greek The Idiot by Dostoyevsky. But I forgot it at home and in my desperation to continue reading it I bought it again in English. But the book was unreadable for me in English. I managed to read a bit on the first part of the journey, but once I changed trains and was on the one from Birmingham to Aberystwyth, the English The Idiot lost his last chance to be read by me. 

It was a long journey of about three hours or even longer. It felt also much slower than the first part of the journey from London. I thought for a moment that I was dreaming. It was spring and everything was green. There were green hills rolling outside the train window, so close that it felt I was on the green hill myself. There were spring lambs hopping around their mothers just a few metres away from the train. There were rabbits jumping around and coming in and out of their holes. There were also little streams of water with frogs jumping on the pebbles and I could see all that from my train seat. I made a point in the beginning of ignoring this, just in case I was being a funny tourist, and I tried to read the English The Idiot. I remember reading a few lines and then realising I was reading them again and again and again, never moving on. I could not bring myself not to look outside the window for even a second. Little cottage houses were popping around by now, flowers of all colours, even butterflies were flying around. I remember also seeing a fox with two cubs. It was just not a real train journey. When the hills were in the shade, they became some amazing shades of green, full of purple and warm brown and they were just breathtaking. I was starting to fear I would not be able to concentrate for my interview at all.

The Art department of the University of Aberystwyth was beautiful. It was an old department and everything was of dark wood. They specialised in printmaking and in book making and binding. That part of the department had a great smell and a great feel to it, the work was done in a serene and quiet way, much different than the London schools of art I had visited. The staff was so friendly and so inviting, I knew very early on they would offer me a place. After the interview I wanted to see the town before it got dark. I remember walking along streets that were parallel to each other, more or less identical with identical houses. I was about to give up and turn back for the station, when suddenly the streets ended and stopped more or less just above the sea. There was a high cliff and underneath a breathtaking view of a grey, angry sea with huge purple waves. It was so amazing I just stayed there for a bit too long. I remember I took the last train as I missed the one I was meant to take. In -what I presume now was- Birmingham I lost the connection and it was now late in the night and very cold. I think I got a bit scared then. A cleaner unlocked a waiting room for me and told me I could spend the night there till the first morning train. I used The Idiot as a pillow and tried to sleep a bit, but didn't. 

My next train journey was to Newcastle upon Tyne, which remains my favourite city in England. However, there has never been such a lovely train journey like the one to Aberystwyth and of course I would lie if I said that I don't sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had chosen that as my University to study Art. A new deadline for five more collages for the same book is now set to be finished within the next month.