in sure and certain hope

December 8, 2024

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 1 December 2024].}

I'm not seeking a resurrection to eternal life, but I'd appreciate the sure and certain hope of a break from major stresses and upheavals, thankyouverymuch.

I offer my sincerest apologies for my radio silence during November.

Ironically, I foresaw November as a month mostly at home where I could catch up on editing, share more work with you and get ahead of editing for my end-of-year wrap-up blog.

Oh, the naivety!

I did spend most of the month at home. However, I was still seeking a new flatmate, even as late as my last viewing on Saturday, 23 November.

I'm sure you know flatmate-seeking - like house or job-hunting - is a full-time job.

Combined with my full-time day job, part-time pet-sitting (although the overnight stays have a full-time feel), and attempts to keep up with my art, I've essentially been doing four full-time jobs, with my art being the most neglected.

It's not through choice. Believe me.

My art - alongside time spent with my (mostly) four-legged clients - keeps me on an even keel. Mentally, emotionally, and sometimes physically.

As some of you may know through our friendship on Facebook or outside the social spheres, I gave notice on my home of 8.5 years on 27 November.

It was a difficult decision for my heart but a no-brainer for my finances. Once I confirmed a plan B for storing my belongings and temporarily housing my being, accepting the decision was somewhat easier.

It doesn't mean I'm happy about it, or I won't miss the place I've called home for the longest of any homes I've had.

But I'm trying to look at the positives and embrace whatever the future holds for me where 'home' is concerned.

I want to find a new home in the same or a nearby postcode. But from mid-December, I'll be somewhat itinerant. (You know, more so than usual). I'll predominantly be based in south London around my scheduled sittings.

House-hunting, like flatmate-hunting, is a full-time job. I'm hopeful that putting that on hold for a while to get things back on track will free me up to focus again on my art, at least over the festive season and New Year period.

In the meantime, this is a photograph I took in St George's churchyard in September on the Isle of Portland in Dorset.

I have many photographs from that trip to share with you. Hopefully soon.

the old toll house [kelsall, cheshire, england, 2024]

the old toll house [reflected]

August 6, 2024

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 30 July 2024].}

The Old Toll House, a Grade II listed building formerly a turnpike tollhouse.

hither green crematorium

July 21, 2024

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 17 July 2024].}

untitled #47 [hither green crematorium, hither green, london, england, 2024]

untitled #58 [hither green crematorium, hither green, london, england, 2024]

mamma

July 7, 2024

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 1 July 2024].}

angelic youth

June 16, 2024

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 9 June 2024].}

darkened windows

May 14, 2024

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 8 May 2024].}

These are the first and penultimate photos I took with my D700 when visiting Margate with friends in September 2016 (in reverse order).

A building near Dreamland that I imagine is long gone almost eight years later.

Abandoned and/or derelict buildings almost always catch my eye. They're so photogenic.

untitled #1 [margate, kent, england, 2016]

memorial to heroes of the marine engine room

May 12, 2024

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 5 May 2024].}

I let the team down.

This monument and some flowers attached to a railing near the Isle of Man ferry terminal were the closest I came to photographing a grave while visiting Liverpool last week.

Nostalgia was heavily represented: tributes in various forms to The Beatles, Billy Fury and others. And my memories of Pier Head swirling around my head.

But my time in the city was too short to allow time to seek out a cemetery.

There may have been graves in the Our Lady and St Nicholas Church Garden, but I only paused briefly to capture the church before moving on.

And even when I photographed this monument, I had forgotten seeing it on the map.

Google Maps records it as the Titanic Memorial. Wikipedia tells me that was the original intent of the monument. However, it took on a broader recognition of the heroes of the marine engine room after World War I.

From Wikipedia: The memorial was intended originally to commemorate all 32 engineers who died in the sinking of Titanic on 15 April 1912. Liverpool was the Titanic port of registry, as well as the home of the ship's owner, White Star Line. Construction was funded by international public subscription.

Spaces were left on the monument to record the names of other engineers. However, due to the heavy loss of life throughout World War I, its dedication was broadened to include all maritime engine room fatalities incurred during the performance of duty. Shrapnel damage from bombs that fell during the Second World War can be clearly seen on the monument.

The shrapnel damage mentioned is apparent in the photo I took. However, I was so conscious of time (and the weight of my luggage on my shoulders) that I didn't stop to inspect the monument more closely and take more photos. I only looked up this information after editing. I realised I should have spent more time capturing it.

radio city 96.7

May 7, 2024

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 2 May 2024].}

I visited Liverpool from Sunday to Tuesday to support an event for my day job on Sunday and Monday.

I took advantage of my day off in lieu earned through that to stay an extra day in the city to see more of it.

The one time I visited the city for an extended period was on New Year's Eve 1999 for Cream 2000.

However, my time there during that visit was predominantly spent in a tent designed to accommodate 26,000 ravers, where the focus was music, dancing and welcoming in the new millennium, not the city itself.

I wrote a short piece about that visit on my Instagram earlier in the week when I posted a photo of Pier Head I took with my phone camera on Tuesday during my two-ish hour photo walk.

I snuck a short photowalk in on Sunday evening en route to get supplies from a supermarket. But, both that walk and the one on Tuesday predominantly focused on the waterfront area, with my walk on Tuesday extending into Matthew Street (where The Cavern Club is) and up to Lime Street, from where I caught the train back to London.

Unfortunately, due to the weight of my rucksack, I didn't manage to revisit places I'd passed that caught my eye en route to my accommodation on Sunday with my D700.

I could have left my bag behind reception in my accommodation after checkout and returned for it. But the hotel was about a 23-minute walk from the station, so it would have involved me walking there and back to retrieve it on top of my photo walk when my intended route took me close to the station anyway.

Liverpool is, understandably, littered with tributes to the Fab Four, The Beatles. And, while I have some photos from my visit that relate to them that I'm pleased with and will share in future, I wanted to avoid the Liverpool cliches for my first post of one of my D700 photos from the city.

So, instead, here's a music-related photograph of St Johns Beacon, the former revolving restaurant that became the home of Radio City 96.7 in July 2000.

Radio City's stations rebranded to Hits Radio on my birthday this year. Unfortunately, they've announced they'll rebrand the tower with their new logo, which I don't think will work as well on a structure of that era, so I'm glad I captured it when I did.

I hope to arrange to sit Sir Peter and his peacock friends in Delamere again for a longer stretch. If I can, I'll take advantage of the proximity to pop over to Liverpool again for a day or two or three to explore more of the city with my camera and to visit Tate Liverpool, the Open Eye Gallery, the various museums along the waterfront and more.

camellia japonica

April 26, 2024

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 20 April 2024].}

untitled #286 [st peter’s church, delamere, cheshire, england, 2024]

monument léopold ii [place du trône, bruxelles, belgium, 2014]

leo/poldo ii

April 23, 2024

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 19 April 2024].}

I captured these photographs of the equestrian statue of Leopold II in Place du Trône in Brussels during my visit to Belgium with my parents and then-partner, Kyle, in September 2014.

According to Wikipedia, Leopold II was the second King of the Belgians. Although he still holds the title of the longest-reigning Belgian monarch, by all accounts, Leopold II was a nasty piece of work.

See, in particular, his reign over the Congo Free State (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

I won't use the words 'founder' and 'owner', as we know there were already people there when he claimed those titles who had more right to claim ownership than he did.

leo/poldo ii [place du trône, bruxelles, belgium, 2014]

I usually avoid capturing people in my photographs of monuments, architecture, street scenes, etc., but I quite like the moment I captured with these particular folks in the second image.