kimbofo

A year in photographs, A to G

A is for: Abney Park Trust in Stoke Newington, London.
Date: Sunday, April 8, 2007
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-W1

We went to Abney Park Cemetery on Easter Sunday, which is one of the "magnificent seven" London cemeteries laid out in the 19th century, currently maintained by the Abney Park Trust. The park had a wild kind of flavour to it, with many of the grave sites overtaken by ivy and all manner of leafy plants, although General Booth's was in pristine condition. (Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army and one of my ancestors, on my mother's side, so I made sure to take a photograph for her, seeing as she's never visited it.)

Sick note

I've come down with a ratty cold. Typical. I never seem to get sick on company time!

In the frenetic pre-Christmas rush, I was convinced I was going to get ill.

Two of my staff had shocking colds but only took one day off apiece. To their credit, they snuffled their way through a manic schedule and, fortunately for the rest of us, didn't share their germs around.

I got through Christmas but started feeling "off" on Thursday evening. It took two days for the illness to make itself properly known.

As far as colds go, it's a minor one -- I'm a little snuffly and tired -- so I've nothing to really complain about. And after last year's bout of pneumonia it's a walk in the park!

Here's wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2008!

Holiday viewing, part 3

The Wind That Shakes The Barley

I'd wanted to see this at the cinema last year but, in typical I'm-too-lazy-to-get-off-my-fat-arse-and-organise-it fashion I never got around to it. Then I bought the 2-disc DVD special edition set and filed it away for a rainy day. It was filed away so well it got lost, and 10 months later it was rediscovered by T in our storage room. We watched it last night -- almost a year to the day that I purchased it.

Watching a Ken Loach film is never an "easy" experience. By which I mean it's usually fairly hard-hitting and rarely uplifting, but there's often a laugh or two to lighten things up and you come away from the experience feeling as if you've learnt something, not necessarily about history but about the human condition. I've seen pretty much everything he's directed over his long career; some I've loved (Riff Raff) others I've tolerated (Land and Freedom). The Wind That Shakes The Barley, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, falls somewhere between those two extremes.

St Olave's church

Place: St Olave's Church, City of London.
Date: Thursday December 27, 2007.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.

Occasionally I'll come across a little nugget of trivia about London that strikes a chord and makes me want to get off my backside and go explore this amazing city. When I found out about St Olave's church and it's rich history I made a mental note to visit it when I had time to do so. And so, this is how T and I found ourselves traipsing around the Square Mile looking for this little medieval church earlier this week.

The church was one of just a handful of buildings that survived the Great Fire of London in 1666 only to be badly bombed during The Blitz.

Holiday viewing, part 2

Joe Strummer -- The Future is Unwritten

In the (southern hemisphere) summer of 1982 I was 13 and my musical tastes didn't stretch much further than Kim Wilde, Spandau Ballet, Pseudo Echo and Split Enz. (At least the last act has some credibility!)

Then I heard The Clash's Rock the Casbah on the radio and a whole new world opened up to me...

The Clash are usually described as a punk band, but they are much more than that. Their musical influences span everything from reggae to funk. I didn't fully appreciate their work until they had long broken up. I bought several of their albums in my early 20s and still have a soft spot for anything off Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978) and London Calling (1979).

I still remember when lead singer Joe Strummer died (of a heart attack) in 2002. It was a few days before Christmas, and the London Apollo, a music venue which is a few minutes' walk from where I live, put his name up in lights as a tribute to his talent and place in music history. I took a photograph, and wished I'd had the opportunity to see him perform live.

This 125-minute documentary, released on DVD in September, is a biography of Strummer's life. Strangely enough the voiceover is provided by Strummer, cobbled together from various interviews and radio shows, so that he narrates his own story, seemingly from beyond the grave.

Meanwhile the images are a mix of archival footage and contemporary campfire interviews with collaborators, friends and music types. The only annoying thing is that those being interviewed are not named, but it's fun spotting the "celebrities", which includes a very diverse mix from Bono to Johnny Depp and everyone in between.

The film depicts Strummer as a rather complex, flawed person, who was incredibly idealistic. He set out to attack the rock "elite" and then through phenomenal success with The Clash became a member of that exclusive club he so despised. Fame and glory, it would seem, came at a price -- and one he was not prepared to pay.

The overall feeling one gets from this extraordinary documentary is how much he was loved, admired and respected. But you also get the sense that Strummer was not always a happy man, that success was bittersweet and that he struggled to do what he wanted musically (and politically) without compromising his ideals and morals.

All up, this is a genuinely moving and articulate documentary about one man's life and his musical legacy. I really enjoyed it -- and must make a mental note to buy more DVDs like this for T just so that I can watch them!

Holiday viewing, part 1

We've been holed up in our flat drinking wine and watching DVDs for the past two days. Here's a rundown of what we've seen so far...

Bladerunner: The Final Cut

I gave this to T for Christmas. It was the one thing he'd asked for, but little did I know there were about six trillion new versions on the market, including a 2-disc set, a 5-disc set in a box and a 5-disc set in a tin. In the end I plumped for the 5-Disc Ultimate Collectors' Edition Tin only to discover Amazon had sold out! I managed, finally, to buy it from an Amazon marketplace seller with a dodgy-sounding name, thinking it would never arrive in time for Christmas. Lo and behold, never judge a site by its URL, because it came thudding through my door within 36 hours. Perfect.

Despite being a huge Harrison Ford fan, I've never managed to sit through more than 15 minutes of Bladerunner whenever it's been screened on TV. I've always found it too dull, too slow moving, too concerned with atmosphere and ambiance than plot or dialogue and have usually switched the channel! But I made a special effort to watch it yesterday, and while I can't say I've been turned into a Bladerunner fan, I appreciated that it's a film you just have to let wash over you.

I did, however, find it a little hard to suspend belief, especially when it's set in 2019 and there are adverts for TDK cassettes and Atari computers in the background. Well, it was made in 1982, so I suppose the film makers didn't know that both would become obsolete...

St Paul's by fairylight

Place: St Paul's Cathedral, London.
Date: Thursday December 27, 2007.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.

We escaped the flat for a few hours this afternoon and headed into the City for a wander around. The weather was very mild -- certainly no need for hats or gloves -- so it was perfect conditions for taking a photograph or two -- although I admit to taking slightly more than that (try 123!)

I always love traipsing around this part of London. The urban fabric is amazing here, with incredibly historic buildings nestling up against brand new structures. There's a lot of construction going on at the moment, so things don't stand still for too long.

We took our time exploring little cobblestoned streets, courtyards and bigger roads, making our way slowly from Tower Hill to Blackfriars. We stopped for coffee at Fenchurch Street and had a bite to eat at Ludgate Hill, and before we knew it twilight came and went and it was very dark outside and time to go home.

The above photograph, taken looking up at the dome of St Paul's Cathedral through a smattering of Christmas fairylights, was the last on my camera. I'll post some more when I've worked my way through them.

From kimbofo to you

The pantry's full of food, the fridge is full of booze and there's a chocolate cloud cake baking in the oven.

There's no tree, but the Christmas lights are up, the cards are on display and there's candles aplenty on the coffee table.

Yes, I think we might be ready for a quiet, festive day tomorrow. Whatever you get up to -- if you get up to anything -- I hope it's a peaceful and enjoyable one!

Fog-bound

All pictures taken: Olympia and West Kensington, London.
Date: Sunday December 23, 2007.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.

I woke up at 8am to discover the world outside the bedroom window was shrouded in fog. It was so white and so thick I could barely see the houses on the other side of the street.

With no sun to burn it off, it stayed like this for the rest of the day. At 2.30pm I popped out for a little shopping excursion and took these snaps (while juggling two big bags of groceries in either arm), but they don't really convey how mysterious and eerie the streets looked, although you should be able to tell how dark it was -- all the cars had their headlights on.

Freshen up, lollipop!

Mid-way through the New Model Army gig that I attended on Thursday night I had to totter off to the lady's loo. Down a very dodgy flight of stairs and through one gigantic swing-door I was greeted by a soap-and-paper-towel dispensing attendant shouting "Freshen up, lollipop!" over and over like a stuck record.

"You should tape that," I said to her, as she squished some pink liquid soap into my cupped hands.

"Tape what?" she asked.

"The 'freshen up, lollipop' thing. Would save your voice. You could just press the 'play' button and keep it on 'repeat' and no-one would know the difference."

She looked at me like I'd just told her the secret of the universe but didn't want to believe it. She gave me a big smile and started shaking her head, as if to say "no, no, that's not possible". And perhaps it wasn't, because for all I knew maybe the management was paying her £1 every time she got the weird sing-song phrase out of her mouth.

Unfortunately, my question put her off her game and when she went to repeat her little mantra she could only stutter "freshen up..." before bursting into a huge fit of the giggles.

"Sorry," I said. "But that tape recorders looking like a good idea, right?"

"Oh get outta here," she cried, waving some paper towel in my direction.

"Merry Christmas -- and have a great night," I said to her, as I opened the door to leave.

"Freshen up, lollipop!" was her reply.