Pan Up
I don’t know about you, but I’ve just about had enough of the UK’s efforts at government lately. I’m off to Switzerland
The Belle Époque ran from roughly the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, ending abruptly with the start of World War One in 1914. It was a period of peace, prosperity, economic growth and optimism, taking in much of Network Rail’s favourite ‘Victorian times’ (1837 to 1901).
Railways were built and a growing middle class made use of them to travel around Europe, enjoying the rise of western Europe’s Golden Age. Music, art and architecture spread the optimism, appreciating the past while looking to a great future.
I WANT TO BREAK FREE
I’ve not forgotten this is a railway magazine, but to make the point just indulge my peep at the outside world. Importantly the Belle Époque wasn’t recognised as such while it was going on; as Joni Mitchell sang, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone’.
In recent years there has been a third industrial revolution where we beat ploughshares into keyboards. Music saw a revolution in the 1960 to 1990s period with amplification, the Manchester Free Trade Hall ‘Judas’ call and all that. As for art, I would struggle to say our second Belle Époque did much for it.
