Category: W11

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Happy Whatever!

My favourite steel drum playing Santa was out again this year and was delighted as he has provided me with my xmas post for many years as sure many of you will recognise him. Even though he doesn’t ever look super happy and a little light on xmas cheer I am always very happy to see him.

Seasons greetings to you all, wishing you a merry whatever and a glorious new year…

…see you in 2023!

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People wrapped up for winter this week..why? Cos it’s fookin freezin. I don’t have any snow shots cos I live in central london where the snow settles for about a minute before evaporating into thin air but here are a few heavily attired Londoners making practical yet still fashionable solutions to the sub zero conditions…

And no, just because it’s artic temperatures doesn’t sadly mean that global warming isn’t happening. It’s just a cold spell.

And for the record if you live in a society where people cannot afford to heat your home when it’s this friggin cold your society is broken.

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#MYLDN (1707)

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#MYLDN (1705)

This week I have featured people who I have taken multiple shots of over the years. I rarely take more than one picture of someone but there are some who I have continued to capture over the years as find them particularly interesting to photograph but also because I see them regularly. After I posted shots on Monday of Christine (bless her) it made me realise that there were others who I have collections of too…

I know it all sounds a bit stalkery but I’m not following these people I promise. I just run into them a lot. And they all seem to have a story. There are many locals who I have seen over the years and never spoken to but have always wondered who they were and what they were like. But it’s difficult to bowl up to people and say, seen you around..how’s life? Wanna spill your story? It just doesn’t really happen.

I have been in this hood a long time and have pottered up and down Portobello Rd for decades so have seen a lot of the same people day in day out. As a result I am on nodding terms with tons of them, smiling terms with many, stop and chats with a handful and those I would call friends just a few.

This guy for example I have just seen around a lot and think he has a great look and seems very cool. I will call him Monsieur Moustachio..because I can. On appearance he looks French or Italian, could easily work in fashion, probably moved to London so he could be himself and loves Krautrock and tangfastics. This is obvs entirely made up and I really have no idea who he is or what his story is. I just observe and project. I imagine what people’s lives might consist of, yet know full well that my assumptions are just fiction and probably nowhere near an actual fact. Still as I often quote the great Herzog..”the truth should never get in the way of a great story”. Here’s to the mind machinations of the imagination and all that they bring.

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#MYLDN (1704)

This is Bass Man (another highly imaginative name). Most thursdays you can find him on the steps of this property playing an unplugged bass to music he is listening to on his headphones or on a tablet. Or sometimes he is just playing along to a song in his head.

He is always deeply focussed with his eyes closed and rarely looks up when “playing”. It is difficult to tell if he can actually play because you cannot hear him. And yet skill set aside, he is extremely dedicated as is out there almost every week.

I don’t actually know if he lives there or not as have never seen him come in or out. He is just on the stoop, using it as a stage. He seems to be really enjoying himself. Everyone walking past watches him with the same fascination as you get the sense, in his own mind, he is performing to a devoted audience of thousands.

I confess I have never spoken to him (yes, I’m shy) but have heard him speak and he talks with an incredibly high almost cartoon like voice and is mostly subdued until he interacts with people then becomes very animated.

He is another great character than inhabits this neighbourhood and the world is a better place for him in it.

Maybe one day I’ll talk to him and find out what his story is. If I do I’ll let you know. In the meantime we can but wonder..which is maybe better.

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#MYLDN (1703)

This is Ricasso. I almost certainly have more photographs of him than any other local.

I love running into him and find him such a fascinating character. If he isn’t embroiled with someone else I will have a little stop n chat. He is funny and friendly in equal measure and there is a kindness to him even though life has clearly not always been kind to him. Everyone else in the neighbourhood also seems to know him and he is an integral part of this community.

He appeared twice in my MYLDN photography book. This is what I wrote about him there:

“Ricasso is a local character who you can spot on Portobello Road most days, hanging out, always a can in hand, and often with bruises over his face. As a street drinker and one that sports a fairly flamboyant look, he invariably runs into bother with other neighbourhood drunks.

He is also a talented artist and you can often find him sketching for cash on one of the street corners. I bought a pastel drawing from him that he created on the spot. It’s of a woman staring into a mirror. I have seen him do this sketch many times before and his portfolio is filled with alternate versions along the same theme.

On the one he did for me, he wrote down the side of it “I see you baby shakin’ that ass” and proclaimed that he put this on all his illustrations. I knew this not to be the case but didn’t want to contradict him. The picture is now hanging up in my kitchen and I look at it every day.

He informed me that he was born into a very wealthy and very posh family but went off the rails due to drink and drugs and they disowned him. Even though he’s clearly had a turbulent existence he has a very warm amiable personality and nothing that he has gone through seems to have dampened his spirit at all. “

Sometimes I don’t see him for months and I worry that something has happened to him and then he just pops up as per usual. There used to be a lot more characters like Ricasso around this area but he is one of the few left and this place is all the better for having him in it and hope that remains the case for a long while to come…

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#MYLDN (1702)

This is Loud Suit Man. Not his actual name but one I imaginatively made up after much deliberation. I have seen him down Portobello Rd many times and he always has a extremely brightly coloured suit/hat/shoe combo on. I have never seen him in regular everyday clothes.

And he always seems to have a mood to match. Always smiling. Laughing. Joking with people. He seems very good natured and full of positive vitality. But then you would have to be to wear the sort of outfits he does. You could never be moping around with a sour puss face wearing these type of garments that’s for damn sure.

He seems very warm and approachable although I have never actually approached him. Maybe I will one day. I’d be interested to know what’s driving this outlandish peacock display. He is a true dandy who seems to just want to put a smile on people’s faces to match his own. So thank you Loud Suit Man…you are a burst of colour amidst the greyness.

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#MYLDN (1701)

This is Christine. She used to work at ‘My Beautiful Launderette’ on the corner of my road even though she was well into her late 80s. She worked there until they shut it down and sold if off to make flats about a year or so ago. I used to see her most days and we would have a little chat and I always enjoyed our conversations. I considered her a good friend of mine. She had a mischievous smile and was always cracking jokes. She was from Austria originally, had a great accent and was also extremely small, barely taller than the machines.

In the summer she would sit on the steps of the lauderette after she had finished cleaning and watch the world go by.

After they closed the launderette I didn’t see much of her and the last time I was with her she said she had developed a heart condition. I had been buzzing on her door recently but there was no answer and knew something had happened. The other day I found out she had passed away and was very sad to hear. I will miss her. RIP Christine…

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#MYLDN (1689)