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…
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.
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.
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…
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.
Summer is here and love is definitely in the air. Heat triggers hormones and the primary drive is initiated. If that sounds a bit too biological and sciencey I am actually an old romantic at heart. There is nothing more positive than seeing young love in blossom. It brings a sense of hope and optimism, which are in short shrift these days.
And for the record, ‘young’ love isn’t exclusive to young people and isn’t even necessarily love in the early stages of a relationship. It can still exist beyond the confines of the honeymoon phase. It will survive intact for as long as you continue to feel it unconditionally and without reserve. Time only eats it away if you let it. Keep fanning the flames and it will burn bright forever.
In all honesty I’m not sure what else there is to say about love that hasn’t already been said in a billion (not accurate calculation) poems, songs, novels and works of art, all who have attempted to explain this all encompassing feeling. Truth is, it’s really not that complicated. It’s actually very simple, possibly the simplest experience on Earth. You love someone. And they either love you or don’t love you back. That’s it. What else is there to know?
And yet we feel compelled to try and understand it so we can hopefully control it. But that is a futile and ultimately impossible endeavour. Many of the shots feature couples holding hands and it does sometimes feel like this public display of affection goes beyond just wanting to touch and be connected, they are actually gripping on to them so they don’t fly off. They want them tethered. There is also a sense of ownership attached to this innocent act, a display to any interested parties to show they are not available. I’m not personally a fan of holding hands but having said all that I try not to be cynical when I see it in others. It’s sweet really, especially when you see it with older couples.
Maybe they are all holding on with all their might because love is a bumpy ride. It’s a bucking bronco, a rollercoaster, a whirling dervish. (I actually don’t really know what one of those is, but it popped out of my brain and it sounds good. Yes I guess I could look it up but where’s the fun in that?)
What I am curious about though is not really the mechanics of love but when did it begin? Love is a construct. The concept was created at some point. Apparently around the 12th century. But who was it? Who invented love? And did they brag about it? Yeah, love, that was me. I did that. And what did couples do before then? What did they say to reassure each other they still felt it when there wasn’t a word for it? But babe, of course I still…umm…you know..no, what? You still what? Actually I don’t know either…
Did labelling it enhance the experience? Or did it allow people to hide behind the word? You can say it when you don’t necessarily mean it. Top tip: Always look in the eyes. Eyes don’t lie but mouths do. I also think the relentless overuse of the “I love you” phrase makes it lose its potency and power. You gotta hold it back. Make that shit count.
I was watching an episode of the new Star Trek series the other night (don’t judge I’m a Sci-fi nerd) and one of the characters said “Love is the only thing that makes the coldness of space bearable”. But I think the same is true here on Earth. Although there is also another saying: “Couples are so boring, everybody knows it” and that’s also difficult to argue with.
And I know I said everything had been said but it turns out that didn’t stop me from chucking in my 10 pence worth…what a surprise.
