Bang!

I thought that some fine words would come to accompany this photograph - taken during the finale to the 'Classical Fantasia' concert at Kirkstall Abbey. But somehow they won't come except to say that the smell of gunpowder, the screams and blasts of fireworks and the eerie lighting really does fit the 1812 Overture!

The precision, the co-ordination and the creativity that go to make up a few minutes of spectacular entertainment is a real joy. That we invest such energy into pleasure - even a fleeting pleasure - stands as a contrast to the soul-destroying drear of a purposeful life. There is no purpose to fireworks beyond pleasure, lighting the old walls just gives a context to that splendid show of fire, noise and light - this is not well-being but pure hedonism, pleasure for its own sake. And I loved it!

Bang!

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