Notting Hill Diary

After a few wonderful weeks, Mick’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Public Library is finally closing tomorrow.

Nick Reynolds and Viv Albertine thinking meaningful things at each other in the R ‘n’ R Library’s studio

We’ve had some great times there and made some new friends. Rotten Hill Gang played there last night (and thanks to Strummerville for having us) and various members of the band have been involved in a couple of the many recording sessions they had up there in the impromptu studio. One for Ronnie Biggs tune written my Gaz Mayall and Mick¹ and another this week with the Slits’ guitarist Viv Albertine, who I’d never met before, but was thoroughly lovely.

The amiable Ade Sabini, who has been looking after the place, has made a film about it, somewhat in celebration and somewhat commiseration, that I failed to see this afternoon because I was off teaching our new recruit, Gus Robertson, some Rotten Hill Guitar parts².

So all the stuff will now go back to the bunker. There are vague plans and discussions taking place about what to do with it next. One suggestion is for a shop/gallery and that was really Mick’s original idea that he’s been nursing for years.

There’ll never be another library like this and there probably shouldn’t be, because to try to do it again in exactly that way it would be like trying to recreate a great holiday. It can’t be done. Actually I hope it can …

¹It obviously worked because 2 days later he was freed, although where that leaves Gaz’s pile of “Free Ronnie Biggs” t-shirts in unclear.
²Actually teaching is a grossly unfair term. Gus is an excellent guitarist who can figure everything out for himself. We just needed to work out who’s going to play what.