words and stills

15/03/26: I spotted a banner whilst on a moving train some weeks ago. It hung beneath the window of a home which backs onto the railway line. I guess the author wanted to make a progressive political point, and I’d say it works – or is at least provocative. I approve of this. Fast-forward to today: since I last took this train he or she (the author) has updated their banner text. When I first saw it the message read: “WHOSE LIES DO YOU BELIEVE?”. Version 2.0, seen here; is different but still a valid question.

Obviously I cannot know the context but either question could surely be asked of citizens under any government, anywhere. Given the dangerous global upheaval happening at the moment, my money says this refers to the United States and the wannabe gangster in charge. Or rather, a comment on the real-time media coverage of current events, and the biases attached. The nature of any such bias depends on who owns whichever news outlet one might choose to read.

Many years ago I had a friend who had served as a navigator and officer in the air force. Fourteen (I think) years older than me, he had been operational during the cold war and had plenty of fascinating experiences to recount. We used to play golf and socialise together. I remember one particular pub conversation, which occurred between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent reunification of Germany. (so in 1991, I suppose)

The West and indeed the wider world watched these events unfold with optimism, but when I asked my friend about his feelings on the emerging geopolitical future, he was guarded. Doubtful. ‘Extremism’ was quietly being talked-about again in some political quarters of Europe.

My friend was a highly intelligent man, and someone generally economic with words. I doubt I will ever forget him saying: “You and I were both born in the post-war era. I’m worried we’re no longer in that, but moving toward another pre-war era”. So: are you a conspiracy theorist yet…?

[Aside: this photo is a bit of a cheat as far as Project365 goes, but could not be avoided. Beloved and Self were going out for the day AND the sun was out, which offered a rare chance of some proper observational picture-taking. Disaster struck. As we were leaving, a quick check of the camera revealed a flat battery – the digital photographer’s curse. Not owning another battery, and not wanting to use a posher camera I had to make do with the camera app on my ‘phone for the day. I shot in monochrome with the 1:1 aspect ratio. That’s ‘120’ or ‘two-and-a-quarter-square’ film type in old money. Note to self: must source a couple of spare batteries for the tiny Canon online.]

14/03/26: This creature is named Spike. He is one of our two amazing black cats, and is a Very Large Feline. He graciously – if a bit grumpily – agreed to take us on when we visited a local specialist cat rescue centre. We know the place well; the people there are incredibly driven and passionate about finding forever homes for cats who for a variety of reasons do not have one.

My love for cats is well-understood amongst those who know me. I am an animal-lover and always have been. My family have kept cats as pets since I was around six years old. I become emotional and/or enraged when I hear of any animal being abused. Spike is the third cat we have homed from this particular centre; he has now been with us for five years.

My wife and I are unashamedly dedicated to black cats. Not simply because of their striking beauty and personality but because they can be criminally – and entirely irrationally – overlooked by people seeking a pet cat. Absurd superstition can lead the intellectually sub-normal to believe there is something unlucky about a black cat, and so pass them by. Those more enlightened know the exact opposite is true, and that is all I need to say on the subject.

As mentioned above, Spike is a BIG male cat. He is not obese, simply a magnificent specimen. A mini house-panther, if you will. We think he was less than two years old when he came to us. Unbelievably, he had been a stray for some reason before a good person found him and placed him safely at the rescue. Perhaps he was forced to compete for food, or may have been abandoned. <seethe>

Either way, he has a voracious appetite. Regardless of eating his own food, he wants to share whatever we are eating and will not be denied. Here, he was being extremely forward in demanding to share his Mum’s supper. He can be relentless when he detects we have something he might enjoy, to the point of annoyance. His most favourite treats are pork products. Naturally we indulge him, because we are weak. And when he turns on the charm he is adorable. We love him.

[Aside/Full Disclosure: cats in general are amazing, but black cats in particular are truly mystical pets and great companions, in my humble opinion. No cat should be homeless. There, I’ve said it.]

13/03/26: There is a good selection of take-away food outlets within a minute’s walk of where I live. Many different cuisines, which is a good thing from the point of view of options. I’m pretty sure I’ve never had bad food from any of those I have patronised. For reasons I cannot explain I have not used this place before – I simply haven’t thought to – so perhaps I should rectify that in future, seeing as I enjoy fried chicken. That said; judging by the lack of customers when I took the photo, perhaps the place isn’t too many people’s ‘favourite’. Hmm..

12/03/26: I recently came across this, set into a pub fireplace. It is some kind of carved or molded face, not unlike a bas-relief. The face is, I think, a representation of a ‘Green Man’ who appears in English folklore and stories from other cultures around the world. While the name is relatively modern, the idea of such a figure goes back several thousand years.

This character is invariably bearded and long-haired, dressed in or even made of, foilage, and holding a stick or stave. He is a wild man of the woods; a symbol of the cycle of fertility, death and rebirth. He represents mankind’s relationship with nature, and is one of the most ancient pagan symbols to be found in the Christian church. [Aside: When Christians began building churches in ancient Britain, the Green Man’s appearance would often be made in walls and facades in the hope that the nature-worshipping Pagans wouldn’t feel quite so put-out in their own land. Analogous deities can be found in Middle Eastern and Indian legends.]

The Green Man is a farmer who makes things grow after the winter. It is believed he will bring good luck at the beginning of Spring and then again at harvest time. This is where pubs come into the story; the Green Man has long been associated with the growing of hops and the brewing of ale. I like the idea of a benign figure who is all about the fecundity of life, and food and drink. Perhaps that’s the reason many pubs are named after him. And why he appears on tins of sweetcorn.

11/03/26: I do not know why but for as long as I can remember I have been obsessed with lines: outlines, boundaries, perspective lines and so forth. I often find myself following the line of architraves, picture or dado rails in the room where I am, with my eyes. I might begin at a single point such as a corner, (at ceiling height or carpet level) and divide the ‘cursor’ created by my eyes into two. These two pointers then separate and move away from one another in opposing directions, in order to trace the aforementioned boundary line around the room.

My view navigates window-frames, alcoves and chimney breasts until the two cursors unavoidably cross-over one another then continue on until arriving back at the starting point and coming together again. It is important to stress that this phenomenon only acknowledges straight lines; vertical and horizontal. Rarely diagonal. As a rule curves do not resolve in my brain for this exercise. I draw 3D wire-frame cubes in space based on my surroundings. If I ever doodle on paper I draw connected blocks. Or complex plumbing.

As I write I realise this mostly only occurs indoors; presumably because in the outdoors there cannot be a ceiling to enclose the space. When I used to draw and paint, whatever subject I was attempting was controlled by strict rules about perspective: railway lines bisected by level-crossing gates, paths, long runs of telephone wire on poles alongside a road, (an arrow-straight road, obvs.) or architecture – anything so long as it rushed away from me toward a vanishing point. Perhaps unsurprisingly I have long admired the work of M. C. Escher.

I’m sure this strange view of the world – literally my view – has influenced my photography also. I began taking photos roughly aged ten years old, so one can appreciate how long I have been afflicted. The wall in this (gasp, outdoor) photo has brickwork, pipes, signage and a window all perpendicular to one another; which all meet the criteria. In my mind the scene is let-down by the curved conduit which holds a cable carrying electricity to an emergency alarm. Clearly I’m losing a grip on my sensibilities as I age, because I saw it but decided to capture the image anyway. The onslaught of senility must be well under way.

10/03/26: After a period of days apart due to family needs, my wife and I repaired to our local pub to bring each other up to date with events and to enjoy a quiet drink in civilised surroundings. This was temporarily marred by what appeared to be an entirely unnecessary disagreement between two dog owners.

I was concerned for both animals, who were innocent in the whole business. One of the owners verbally abused the other for no clear reason other than he seemed to take offence at the other’s dog. (who was a little larger than his own but looked placid enough.) What made things strange was that the two men clearly knew one another, and the abusive owner was happy to publicly disrupt the environment with a frankly pathetic macho display. He was scaring his own dog in the process, and I privately hoped something might happen to humiliate him.

Ultimately the man on the receiving end of the nonsense – and his partner and dog – chose to leave, which I felt was wrong. He struck me as a reasonable person and not someone to look for trouble, unlike the first. The protagonist stayed, his bewildered pet now a bit distressed. I hope the dog gets fed-up enough to turn on the idiot and bites him some day.

09/03/26: Today I saw this homemade poster, stuck on a bus shelter. I have limited understanding of Middle-Eastern geopolitics but I absolutely do understand that I wish people would not kill other people, especially due to differences in ideology. The poster needs no explanation, I share the sentiment.

08/03/26: This is a large square in the City of London financial district. Confusingly to some, it is called Finsbury Circus, which implies a circle, but there you go – at least the central gardens are circular. My working life began here when I underwent commercial experience at a stockbroking firm in this square. Within a year of that placement, I took my first full-time job at a bank less than five hundred meters from this spot. That was in December 1981, almost two millennia after the Romans established Londinium as a center of trade and administration in AD 47. The face of The City has changed since I first became a tiny part of it; the extraordinary surge of major building projects which began in the 1980s is mostly complete now, but I doubt things will ever stop evolving here, not really. The City of London has always been a special place for me, and despite many years away and much of it now being unrecognisable I love it still.

07/03/26: This local pub is known for very good food but also for being somewhat expensive. (where isn’t expensive, these days?) As a well-documented fan of pub grub in general and pies in particular, I love the spirit of this advertisement. I may have to persuade Wife that we should objectively perform food (ie. pie) testing.

06/03/26: This was taken at 07:32am while I was waiting for a work colleague who had kindly offered to give me a lift to work. I was grateful for this as I have been carrying an ankle injury for some time; which made the usual walk-bus-walk unfeasible. Normally there is significant road traffic at this time, but today was eerily quiet..