The money’s run out, capitalism has imploded but hope springs infernal, and I just can’t resist a touch of optimism (like a temporary hair colour on greying hair). Panglossian? Yes, but right now that’s okay. If you can’t toast better times ahead on New Year’s Eve, when can you? Realism can wait. The photo is of a weed eking out a living by the side of Deptford canal.
It can no longer be ducked. Christmas is imminent. The geese have got fat. Hams are tender. Turkeys big breasted. Chestnuts are roasting. Pies are mincing. Puddings are plumy. Merry Christmas one and all.
The country has come to a halt. Transport has ceased. Hospitals are filling up with the injured (well, if you will go out, what do you expect?) Flu crisis pending. Politicians sharpening their knives to make more cuts. Shops running out of tinsel. What can one do? Why, make a snowman of course. Put that pent-up energy into making a thing of foolery.
Here’s a picture of a sink. Not my sink but one that I photographed in Desmond’s barber shop in Peckham. From the late 80’s to the mid 90’s there was a popular Channel Four TV sitcom called Desmond’s. It was the first sitcom to feature Caribbean people in a work situation. The series was actually filmed in this barbers. The other photo is of Lloyd tending to a client who has been coming to Desmond’s to get his hair cut by Lloyd since he was a boy. Sadly, after 30-plus years Desmond’s recently closed its doors for ever. For the next couple of weeks, the photo of Lloyd is exhibited at the Peckham Space gallery. A memory temporarily on a wall.
