The KPS makes me feel like part of a community. We live in different countries, come from all walks of life and have opposing political views. Nevertheless we do have one thing that unites us – the love of music and, in particular, the Kinks.
If I had not subscribed to the KPS digest I would never have went on a tour of Kinks related sites in London in the splendid company of Olga Ruocco. Even now, seven years later, I think back fondly to my 2000 tour of London. I readily eschewed the tempting delights of the Millennium Dome in favour of viewing the public telephone box used in the State of Confusion video. I think I made the right choice.
Here’s a photograph of me taken outside the Clissold Arms.
Now I’ve never met Frank Lima, Jill Brand, Jim Smart, Robert Young, Scottish Sandy or any of the regular posters. I may agree wholeheartedly or disagree vehemently with what they say; yet I look forward to reading their views in the digest every week. I’ve often been spurred into writing some stuff myself although I’m more of a lurker these days.
If I can give one perfect example of this global community spirit it would be the series of KPS tribute CDs that have been released over the years. A disparate group of people combined resources to create a fantastic musical tribute to our Muswell Hillbilly Boys. It’s hard to believe that this project would have come to fruition had it not been for the efforts of Neil Ottenstein. I’d just like to thank Neil for all his efforts in producing 3000 digests and long may they continue.
Gordon Bathgate