In Monstrosities Mon Amour we celebrate places and things that have been unfairly monstered in popular opinion. Host John Grindrod will be your excitable guide ...
‘Joyous, fun-coloured, and life-enchancing are very much the qualities we are not looking for at the moment.’ So says Philip Downer, occasional tour guide and the man behind a hugely popular Instagram account on London’s architecture, as he shows me the delights of one of the City of London’s most excessive 1980s landmarks, the crazy gothic fantastia of Minster Court. While trapped in the boot of his Austin Maxi I also hear the helium-fuelled hysteria of ‘Sugar Bay Love’, the 1974 falsetto-topped pop song that led to a craze for polyester berets, or possibly not. We talk excess, red window frames and Tin Pan Alley songwriters in the latest edition of Monstrosities Mon Amour.Theme tune by Lorna Rees and Rufus Rees Coshan. Logo by Richard de Pesando. You can support it by subscribing through Substack or through Ko-fi. Thank you for listening.Monstrosities Mon Amour is a reader-supported podcast. To receive new episodes and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Grindrodia at johngrindrod.substack.com/subscribe
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Monstrosities Mon Amour 2: Swindon
In this episode design and feature journalist Helen Barrett kidnaps me in the boot of her Austin Maxi and takes me to the Wiltshire town of Swindon, where we explore the American-style relics of its optimstic twentieth century. Along the way we also find time to celebrate the hynotic rock edifice of Status Quo’s Down Down, and talk class, Norman Foster and Chelsea Girl. Monstrosities Mon Amour is a monthly podcast. Look out for the next episode in January. Theme tune by Lorna Rees and Rufus Rees Coshan. Logo by Richard de Pesando. You can support the podcast by subscribing through Substack or through Ko-fi. Thank you for listening.Grindrodia and Monstrosities Mon Amour are reader-supported publications. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Grindrodia at johngrindrod.substack.com/subscribe
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NEW PODCAST! Monstrosities Mon Amour 1: Corby Bus Station
Monstrosities Mon Amour is a new podcast celebrating places and cultural artefacts more usually slagged off or easily dismissed.In this first episode writer and geek John Grindrod (that’s me talking about myself in the third person, I must stop that) is ambushed by architectural historian and walking guide Mike Althorpe, otherwise known as The London Ambler. I find myself stowed away in the boot of an Austin Maxi, and driven back in time to the heyday of Corby Bus Station. Along the way Mike also shares his love of the 1987 sci-fi film *Batteries Not Included, and together we tackle nostalgia, robot Jane Jacobs and a shared love of greasy spoon cafés.Theme tune by Lorna Rees and Rufus Rees Coshan. Logo by Richard de Pesando. You can support the podcast by subscribing through Substack or through Ko-fi. Thank you for listening.Monstrosities Mon Amour is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Grindrodia at johngrindrod.substack.com/subscribe
In Monstrosities Mon Amour we celebrate places and things that have been unfairly monstered in popular opinion. Host John Grindrod will be your excitable guide to a world beyond the lazy stereotypes of crap towns and guilty pleasures. He'll be meeting people who’ll share their enthusiasm for monsters major and minor, places that get a bad press and cultural artefacts that need to be rescued from the bin.
‘Warmly, welcomingly geeky.’ Jude Rogers, Observer
‘What a breath of fresh air … a genuine celebration of places and culture it’s all too easy to dismiss.’ Radio Times
Theme tune by Lorna Rees and Rufus Rees Coshan. Logo by Richard de Pesando.
You can support the podcast by subscribing through Substack or https://ko-fi.com/grindrod.
Thank you for listening. johngrindrod.substack.com
UK