near chelwood gate

about five cc of undiluted torres diez is burning a hole right through me

du temps recherches

on Sunday, instead of going out to do some casual work and even despite needing the cash-in-hand, i stayed home to read the last 250 pages of proust, starting in the wee small insomniac hours, and after a few diversions and interruptions, finishing just a little after bedtime

whew !

i'm very glad to have read it because there was much to entertain, enthuse, inform, amaze, and delight me, and even to stretch my less-than-elastic mind ... but there were times when he seemed "to go on a bit" and so i wished he'd hurry up and get to the point on several occasions ... however, overall impressions can be summarized as "hurrah, very well-done, and thankyou, a thousand times, dear marcel !"

99.9*% empty

the fancy dress store at clapham junction

glass from ellen

one year on ... shaun's leaving present remains his pride and joy

lovely ... skies in motion

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap081231.html

clapham common ... foxy encounters, and is subsequently stalked by, mister curiosity crow

does anyone have the phone number for insomniac photographers anonymous ?

happy new year, pussycats ... everywhere !

peering through the window of a chandelier shop in dorking

delight yourselves at dulwich picture gallery ... now !

http://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/exhibitions/now_on_show/what_are_you_like.aspx

http://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/exhibitions/now_on_show/saul_steinberg_illuminations.aspx

honestly, i really did mean to send you one ...

breakfast is served, m'lud

just messing around

many thanx to my excellent brother dave for this photograph showing ...

an unknown lady, billy wheadon, the reverend arthur beaghen, and michael ramsey, archbishop of canterbury, in the churchyard at malmesbury abbey

http://emotionalblackmailers.blogspot.com/2008/12/doh.html





















i suppose that it was mr beaghen who was responsible for the renovations that destroyed the interior of saint mary's church, where thomas hobbes' father once officiated, and possibly it was he that binned the parish records, too, yet he always seemed to be the personification of kindness and goodwill

mr wheadon had a little hairdressing business in the south-west corner of the cross hayes or saint dennis's lane and i was taken there once or twice for a brutally quick trim that brought tears to my infant eyes

on the wall of his dilapidated salon was hung a pre-war photograph of him cutting a friend's hair in the lions' cage of a visiting circus

it is more than fifty years since he cut my hair, yet in all those years, and amongst all the really wonderful people i've encountered, it would be hard to think of two with as much life and good humour as messrs wheadon and beaghen

seasonal stuffs

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/apr/12/featuresreviews.guardianreview21

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/arts/design/02kenn.html

christmas dawning

doh !

it took me 45 years to twig that my infant school's father christmas must have been the reverend arthur beaghen

the funny thing is that whilst i don't even need to close my eyes to recollect his appearance, and nor do i need silence before hearing the echo of his voice, i cannot lay my hand on a photograph of him ... yet ...

and a couple of days later ...

http://emotionalblackmailers.blogspot.com/2008/12/many-thanx-to-my-excellent-brother-dave.html