zeitgeist

Peter Smith aged 42 died at 9.05am Christmas Eve, in the arms of his dear friend Ricky Aitken who often was his companion over the last two decades of his sadly shortened life. Peter suffered from epilepsy and towards the end of his days a deepening dependency on alcohol. The death of his mother a year previously wounded him like a fatal blow, he often talked of his loss. Among his closest friends he counted Dermot and myself, Paul Anderson, sons of the deceased poet and novelist Freddy Anderson.

My own memories of him, are of a charming man who had what the Spanish call “duende loosely defined as ”The ability to attract others through personal magnetism and charm” . It is defined more intricately by Lorca the famous Spanish poet. In other definitions of ”duende” there is talk of an earthiness, a gritty magic realism that may be seen in films like “Pan’s Labyrinth” about the Spanish Civil war.Peter was very much the politician of the “Stand down Maggie” generation and had met Paul Weller on many occasions. He was a member of the Anti-Nazi League in the late seventies and a ”Up the tree” protester in Pollok. He also was part of the Northern Soul movement which has and a great following in Glasgow along with his friend the DJ Rab McNamara.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS