CHILDHOOD'S END AND ZEP

Reading a little more about Arthur C. Clarke's CHILDHOOD'S END I was fascinated to discover that the ending of the story inspired the cover art for Led Zepellin's 1970's album THE HOUSES OF THE HOLY! It  clearly entered popular awareness to have influenced music and film. Led Zep were an aquifer of left field literature and in particular Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, which sat well with the hippy view of the world and my own. Zep songs which spring to mind include Misty Mountain Hop, The Battle of Evermore and Ramble On. Another Zep tune steeped in the magic of the countryside, although not specifically Tolkien's, is BRON YR AUR STOMP named after a cottage where the band stayed and played near Machynlleth in North Wales. In the late 80's we once stayed with a close friend at Ynis Hir, a Bird Reserve near Machynlleth and although I didn't come across the cottage I was amazed to see sheep with RP daubed on them allegedly belonging to one Robert Plant! Just checking the spelling of Bron Yr Aur I am intrigued to find that the Zep's old cottage in the song is the subject of pilgrimage by fans from all over the world! Still, its a line from their opus Stairway to Heaven that I like the most 'If there's a bustle in your hedgerow don't be alarmed now, it's just a springclean for the may queen'. I love all that green man mythos, which seemed to be everywhere in the 70's. The 80's did a good job of wiping it away for a couple of decades but I reckon it survived in the shadows and like Gandalf the Grey will return one day soon.