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ok, so you might be wondering why the hell have I been looking at pictures of the Notting Hill Carnival in July? It’s a good question. It is not because I have a time machine and zipped four weeks into the future so I could document an event ahead of time so it fitted in better with my schedule..but holy shit, how amazing would that be? No, the truth is slightly more basic. These shots were actually taken in 2022 but I took a major dive right after which lasted for about a year and a half (yes, that’s a big dive) and so I was never able to go thru the shots and share them. Until now. I looked at them recently and it seemed such a shame to not at least get some of em out in the world so here they are. The way I see it is, if you capture a wonderful moment, but then no-one sees that moment, was there any point in capturing it in the first place? I would argue possibly not.
The modern way is to get photos out as soon as is humanely possible following an event. If it takes you more than a week or so to get them out you might as well not bother. Everyone has already moved on. Most documentation in this era is shared in real time, in situ, almost instantaneously. Laters is just too late. I don’t take photographs on my phone so this is not option is not available to me but even if it was I wouldn’t do it. Why would I waste time sharing my experience with other humans who aren’t even present when I could instead be fully present? Yes I am still looking down a lens but I am in totally in the moment. It makes sense to me to process and post photos in your down time but younger generations would undoubtedly not agree.
I couldn’t attend last year’s Carnival because I still wasn’t in a good way but since then have been climbing the mountain of recovery (not quite at top yet but I can see the summit) and have my sights firmly set on Carnival 24. It felt weird to miss a year and so will be glad to be back in the thick of this magnificent event and returning to my usual position to document the Disya Jeneration sound system and its crowd in all its glory, which I have been doing since 2007. But as I will be taking my usual summer sabbatical and not posting in August you might have to wait a little while to see the photos. But is that such a terrible thing? Does immediacy always win? I think photography takes a while to distill, like a good wine (not that i know shit about wine). It needs time to ferment and needs distance from the present before it’s full impact can be felt.
So I wish you all a lovely rest of summer and I will be back in September…
Anyone looking to cast “Boris Johnson – the early years”? Look no further. I bet the real Boris has the exact same tat too..you know it.
Words on the street this week. The writing’s on the wall..but are any of us actually reading it?
The question is..who let them out? whoo? whoo? 🐕
I didn’t bother to pick it up to find out. All I know is it ain’t me.
So he does or he doesn’t have a fridge? I’m confused. And is it just me he has a picture of or everyone on Earth? Cos that’s one big fucking fridge right there. I mean don’t get me wrong I love the idea of being on one of God’s fridge but if he does actually have one I think I’d really want to know what was in it rather than what was on it..I can’t even imagine what perishable goods he would be storing..is he a houmous kinda guy? or maybe some old school Dairylea? Last night’s pizza?
And for the record am just saying “he” for ease..obvs could be a she or a they..altho seems unlikely the supreme being would have a human gender at all.about as unlikely as him havin a fridge…and we’re back..
Once again apologies for no post yesterday, I have no excuse. I just forgot. Standards are clearly slipping. I hang my head in shame. In my defence it feels like the last week of school before the summer holidays and in your mind you’ve already broken up. At least it proves this blog isn’t run by an AI…altho I’m sure Chat GPT could do a better job…
And so you don’t feel left out here are two pix for the price of one and as synchronicity would have it I kinda feel these two shots were meant to be together..
Just a few random moments this week…although maybe all moments are random and it’s only when we start joining the dots that patterns start to emerge..but are they really connected or do we just cobble them together to simulate a sense of order amidst the chaos? Discuss
Soz no post yesterday. I was on an assignment all day deep within the other side of the border..aka south london.
Now if you aren’t familiar with the film Notting Hill you may not be aware the blue door and are wondering why are all these people getting their picture taken in front of it and why am I taking pictures of them taking pictures of themselves? These are good questions and ones I have often asked myself during this ongoing photographic project which has spanned a decade or more.
The blue door is basically where Hugh Grant lived in the movie and since then it has become a major photo opp for tourists visiting the area. But not just a few, like a shit ton. It is very rare to go past the door, especially in peak summer season, and not see someone getting their picture taken in front of it. I am actually staggered by how many people want to do this. I really can’t get my head around the fact that this film is still that popular.
Richard Curtis said he wrote the film as a love letter to the area he lived in but by making it the title he kinda ruined it because after it came out this neighbourhood was propelled onto the international map and suddenly rents went through the roof and a lot of people who had lived here contentedly until then were then forced out. I was living in a shared 3bed house with garden 500m from Portobello and paying £85 a week in rent at the time (I know it seems almost impossible by today’s insane prices and was booted out almost immediately after film’s release so they could sell it.
Curtis also then sold his property for 1.5 million squid and then fucked off somewhere else. Doesn’t sound like the actions of a man in love with the area does it? I mean don’t get me wrong the gentrification of this area would always have happened but it accelerated it with a turbo boost transforming it virtually overnight.
So understandably there was some local animosity and resentment towards the movie and the he tourist traffic it generated. The blue door was even graffitied over a few years back, undoubtedly by a disgruntled local who clearly wanted to tarnish the film location and those that flocked to it . This incident even made the news (daily mail obvs) and headline read “Notting Hill fans fuming at shocking condition of door” (musta been a low news week)
I actually thought the “tourists suck” graf scrawled on the pillar pretty funny as the tourists have to get their picture taken next to it, although some attempt to cover it up, clearly not wishing to suck.
I mean I get why locals are fed up with the tourist trade as it has ramped up prices across the board and ushered in a relentless amount of coffee shops, ice cream parlours and 90% of all establishments and market stalls now cater towards the tourists. I mean, its not been all bad for the area, it has brought in a gi-normous amount of business but its character and inhabitants, the two things that made it what it was, have been somewhat squeezed out.
And so back to the blue door..these are just a few of the photos I have taken over the years..I’ve pretty much got enough to fill a book..is is a book anyone wants is a different question. Why am I so drawn to it? I guess there is something about the endless repetition with slight variation that gravitates me towards it..I think there is also something about the glee on the faces of the fans..its like they feel one step closer to the film they revere and adore…and I guess the way the movie made them feel is present in their faces and that is worth capturing. And it probably also gives them a thrill to think Hollywood stars had stood exactly where they had. The essence of Julia Robert’s clearly still lingers.
And just for the record I don’t loiter outside the door..I do have better things to do..these were all taken on flybys or while waiting for Mrs B to get a coffee from the starbucks on the corner…gotta every moment count and all that..
People sitting on pavements this week..why? Well, its hot innit and people like to be outside. And unless you are in an establishment there is nowhere else to sit in this neighbourhood. There used to be one bench on Portobello and the council removed it. (covered extensively in a previous post a while back) I mean, god forbid you might want to park up for five minutes and rest your feet. I guess they just want you to keep moving and keep consuming. It feels like a war on the poor because if you can afford it you can go to a cafe or whatever but if you can’t the street is where you hang out. They don’t want to provide seating because they don’t want people to congregate. But as you can see there gonna do it anyway so you might as well give em somit to sit on…
I personally like hanging out on the street and have no problem sitting on the curb. I kinda actually prefer it. You feel like you’re right in the action. I’m not advising this anywhere there is major traffic as you are basically at exhaust pipe height and that can’t be good but if you find yourself in a pedestrian place why the hell not? And as an added bonus you don’t have to pay a fortune for a drink at bar prices….I still weep at paying nearly a fiver for a non-alcoholic beer..I mean, come on, its not even getting me drunk!
And if you still want to be on the street but you don’t like the idea of sitting on dirty pavements and that’s fair enough you can maybe improvise with some abandoned furniture…
Or find a doorway..
Or mebbe bring your own..
Or you could just say fuck it and go all out and lie in the road..mebbe not advisable if you’re not inanimate..
And so concludes this mini feature on impromptu alfresco lounging.. at the end of the day we just social animals and we gonna congregate no matter what..seats or no seats. And as we the only mammals that tend to require furniture to sojourn somewhere maybe we should take a leaf from our fellow vertebrates and be a bit less picky about where we sit..
