August 2015 – Page 2 – derrickjknight

The Decade That Fashion Forgot

The 1970s have variously been described as the decade that fashion, or taste, forgot. Anyone watching early episodes of such as ‘The Sweeney’, that iconic TV detective series, will probably dissolve into laughter at the sight of the flares, or trousers with wide flared bottoms, that were all you could buy in those days. Orange, brown, and purple synthetic fabrics were all the rage, as were huge shirt collars.

Had I been given a choice, I would probably have avoided buying any clothes until that mad period had been left behind. Unfortunately, in the last three months of 1972, the first apart from Jackie, I lost so much weight that it was either new trousers or continually trip myself up.

These two colour slides from March 1973 demonstrate to what I was reduced.

Jackie took the first picture in the garden of Amity Grove, on the day I produced yesterday’s images of the children. The second was probably taken by Pat, one of the Southwark Social Workers who had accompanied us to North Wales. Jackie had made my magnificent fringed garment.

In my post ‘Vertigo’ I tell a story of Matthew and Becky rushing around the perimeter of a very deep, disused, water-filled, slate quarry. That took place on this trip.

I was much more comfortable with their paddling in streams, fishing for pebbles.

This evening I drank a glass of Chapel Hill pinot noir 2014 to accompany chilli con carne and savoury rice my choice from Jackie’s hot buffet selection, followed by beef casserole, then forest fruits strudel and custard.

Ian and I watched the highlights of the second day of the Oval Test Match. The topsy tyrvy nature of this series continued, as Australia took their total to 481, and England ended the day on 107 for 8

A Walk In The Park

Although my virus has definitely improved, it is still taking a while to clear my head, so, when I set out this morning to scan another batch of Elizabeth’s returned prints, I couldn’t face sorting them, so, instead, scanned a group of carefully catalogued colour slides from March 1973.

On a walk in Westminster’s St James’s Park I made some pictures

of the view looking west from the blue bridge, decades before the London Eye was to dominate the horizon;

of briskly striding wrapped-up walkers, with Westminster Abbey in the background;

and of perching pigeons and other passers-by.

Against the background of the apple tree that featured in Becky’s Book, I photographed

Matthew.

and Becky.

This afternoon Helen, Bill, Shelley, and Ron came fro a late lunch which extended into the evening, when we watched the first day’s highlights of the final Oval Test Match.

Jackie offered a choice of excellent meals well up to her usual standard. There was a tender beef casserole, mashed potato and swede, with crisp carrots and green beans; and there was choice chilli con carne with superb savoury rice. I enjoyed small portions of each. Desserts were lemon tart, profiteroles, and forest fruits strudel. We could take our picks. Assorted red and white wines were imbibed.

Australia, finishing on 287 for 3, had a better day in the cricket.

Succulent Graffiti

On another rainy day, with me not yet fully recovered, and Ian coming down with the cold, we had to postpone Becky’s birthday meal out. I scanned another batch of Barbados colour slides from May 2004, and Jackie stocked up on tissues and medications.

Cacti were flowering profusely.

I don’t know what this plant is (See Mostly Mondays’ comment below. It is calotropis),

but I do recognise hibiscus,

and bougainvillea which grows everywhere on the island.

Maybe these are breadfruit, (actually coconuts, see PS) but most of the Google images have dimpled skins.

A lone stork stands out from the long grass by the sea,

on the coast of which expensive holiday homes

contrast with the traditional wooden chattel houses.

I was surprised to see a horse lurking in the hedgerow, but have since learned that racing is a popular pastime, dating from the colonial years.

This is possibly a grackle, or a Barbadian Black Bird.

The iridescent blue tinge on the neck of the Zenaida dove is intriguing.

I expect there were plans for this rusting drum.

I have seen graffiti in many forms, but only on Barbados has it been carved into succulents.

This evening Jackie collected our meal from Hordle Chinese Take Away which was as good and as plentiful as usual. My drink was Kumala reserve shiraz 2012; Beccy’s, rose; Jackie’s, Hoegaarden; and Ian’s, Tiger beer.

PS. Following the comments of wolfberryknits and Mary Tang, I have corrected my text to show coconuts for breadfruit.

Have You Heard?

Feeling better again today, but still pretty drowsy, I scanned a batch of 22 unsorted random black and white negatives, and tested my memory in an attempt to date and locate them. I think the images were all produced in 1983.

It was probably Jessica who made this picture of Louisa and me in our house in Gracedale Road. The ginger jar on the shelf above my shoulder was one of the spoils from our mudlarking. The large gilt-framed painting above Louisa’s head is ‘Have You Heard’, by Mary Evelina Kindon, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1905. Sadly, I no longer had room to hang it when I returned to London, so Michael arranged for its sale at a Bonhams auction in 2009.

It was only this morning that Becky was amusing us with a description of how she would work on the pc at Commonside Trust, whilst simultaneously cradling a teenage client’s infant. The next two shots, as she plays cards whilst nursing Louisa, demonstrate how she perfected the skill.

Having peered through a magnifying glass all that time ago, Matthew was to give Jackie and me one each for Christmas a couple of years ago.

Sam is engaged in one of his favourite pastimes.

These landscapes were probably taken in Surrey on a visit to Polesden Lacey.

Polesden Lacey is an Edwardian house and estate. Located on the North Downs at Great Bookham, near Dorking, Surrey, it is owned and managed by the National Trust and is one of the Trust’s most popular properties. This photograph suggests to me that it was here that Sam lost his soldier. Jessica, Michael, Sam, Louisa, and I travelled quite regularly down the A3 from Gracedale Road to this garden.

Michael, inspired by these visits soon became a life member of the National Trust.

Here are two of Louisa concentrating on her food in Gracedale Road.

Jessica, Louisa, and Sam enjoy a game of ball at the home of Aunt Elspeth in Rugby.

Jessica’s late. loved, cousin Anthony tends his mother’s garden in the background.

The daffodils suggest this must have been around Louisa’s first birthday.

Finally, can anyone identify this grasping plant?

This evening we dined on Jackie’s superb liver casserole, mashed potato and swede, and crisp carrots, broccoli, and green beans. I drank more of the cabernet sauvignon opened four or five days ago. It was still drinkable. Ian and Jackie drank Hoegaarden, and Becky rose.

Around West London

Feeling a little better today, I dozed away the morning, got up for lunch, and scanned another dozen slides from the Streets of London series. These were all made in April 2004.

This young mother, speaking on her mobile phone in Avery Row W1, to the west of New Bond Street, blended perfectly with her surroundings.

Further west, Westbourne Terrace Road Bridge crosses the Regent’s canal in Little Venice. As the plaque indicates, this was once in the Borough of Paddington which was absorbed by Westminster in 1965.

The Bridge House pub lies at the corner of Westbourne Terrace Road and Delamere Terrace. The pub was fortunate enough to survive World War 2 bombing, which is more than can be said for many of its neighbours.

The Little Venice area lies within the parish of St Mary’s on Paddington Green, visible in this view of St Mary’s Square.

The A40 flyover overlooks a bricked up end of the square, and in 2004 the now- completed apartments for sale in Paddington Walk were still being built.

Church Yard Walk provides a route through to Edgware Road.

Sussex Gardens W2 forms a T junction with Praed Street, which is always as congested as this.

Marylebone’s St Christopher’s Place looks like an alfresco dining room.

Maintenance work was being undertaken at The Churchill Hotel in Portman Square.

Ashland Place W1 is one of the many streets that enjoys a view of The Post Office Tower.

Saint Michael’s Street W2 houses one of London’s many Starbucks coffee houses. I wondered whether the man on the chair was waiting for coffee, or simply having a breather. So many food and drink outlets place seats outside that are very tempting to people who simply want to sit down.

The historic Mason’s Arms pub in Upper Berkeley Street was founded in 1778 and rebuilt in 1870.

This amble round West London was probably carried out on one particular day.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s famous sausage casserole; crisp carrots, broccoli, and green beans; and mashed potato, followed by treacle tart and custard.

A Virus

I am ailing. I am sneezing, I am coughing. I ache. I shiver.

This morning, I dozed over my laptop. Back in bed this afternoon, I vainly attempted to still the words wandering at will across the pages of Rumer Godden’s (Mr WordPress, Ms Godden may be regarded as a goddess by some, but that is not what I wrote.) ‘China Court’.

At noon I walked out to admire Aaron’s work on refurbishing the Brick Path. He has nearly completed the task.

After this I photographed a hoverfly on a clematis Natacha in the New Bed,

a rose Gloriana, now in bloom,

and Just Joey, now fully opened.

Finally, I imagined I saw an owl in the dead maple. Perhaps I was hallucinating.

This evening Jackie produced delicious pork chops cooked with mustard and almonds; mashed potato; and crisp carrots, green beans and cabbage. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but could only eat a small portion. Cherry crumble and custard was to follow.

Park Life Curtain Call

Today I finished scanning the Park Life prints from 20th July 1996. Here is the third and final set:

This afternoon, Jackie and I enjoyed a barbecue at Cathy and Rob’s in Highcliffe. This was the first dry day in four, so we were all very fortunate. Very good quality tasty burgers and sausages were supplemented by various plentiful salads, and cakes like Helen’s famous black forest gateau.

Park Life Part 2

On the decking an unusual new pair of pigeons glistened in this morning’s drizzle,

which bejewelled ornamental grasses alongside the Phantom Path.

Heavier rain had spattered rose Just Joey with up-tossed soil.

Tom Jones’s parents had featured in the last of yesterday’s scans of Park Life prints from 20th July 1996. Now a teacher himself, he co-starred in the next scene:

Even lollies didn’t detract from audience rapture,

although Jessica, in the centre background, had spotted something to divert her attention,

which she then conveyed to Jane Keeler.

Care was on hand to administer a puffer to a young lady who had perhaps become overexcited.

Barry, of New Forest Chimney Sweep and Repairs, visited on time, to sweep the chimney and check on its condition. It will come as no surprise to anyone who has read about the general maintenance of Old Post House under the previous ownership, that the sweep extracted 65 litres of soot, and pronounced a relining, although not essential, to be advisable. He would be unable to do that until the Spring. He left our sitting room spotless.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s classic chicken jalfrezi, pilau rice, and vegetable samosas, followed by mango Soleros. I drank Kumala reserve shiraz 2013. Jackie and Ian chose Kingfisher, and Becky a Grenache rose 2014.

Park Life Part 1

During a brief cessation in the day’s steady precipitation, I took a walk down to Roger’s gate and back. A solitary wasp fed on blackberries in the hedgerow.

Following my post on Robin Hood Theatre, Becky and I couldn’t quite remember whether NITS had performed there. ( Louisa has subsequently told me they did). We did both, however remember an open air performance staged around a bench in the grounds of Newark Castle on 20th July 1996.

I photographed the event, and, today, scanned 20 photographic prints which depict the first part of the story. Entitled ‘Park Life’, two years after Blur’s eponymous hit record, NITS put on an excellent mime enjoyed by many local people.

In presenting these images, I will leave readers to provide their own text:

Louisa is behind this mask.

Josie King, in the red dress, who stands by her daughter, was the manager of the Robin Hood Theatre at that time. We bought Lindum House from her and her husband, Norman.

Among the spectators were our friends Pat and Pete Jones, whose son Tom appears in the next scene with which I will continue tomorrow. Anyone who finds Pete familiar will have seen him in the corner of their TV screens when watching Channel Four News, or on stage interpreting Shakespeare for audiences. He was signing for deaf people.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s classic chicken jalfrezi, pilau rice, onion bhajis, and samosas. My choices of the available desserts were egg custard and cheesecake, and of beverages, Cimarosa reserva cabernet sauvignon 2013.

Hedge Cutting

It was an exchange with Cynthia Guenther Richardson, herself a talented story-writer in Tales for Life, that alerted me to the fact that I had unread novels of Rumer Godden in my bookshelves. Cynthia’s enthusiasm led me to begin reading ‘A Candle For St. Jude’, yesterday, and finish it this morning. Like Tales for Life this book keeps the reader eager to learn the denouement. The work is full of beautifully described detail and insightful characterisation. I will not reveal the plot, but can say that all senses and emotions are carefully evoked. I mentioned the setting yesterday, and will add that the writer’s intimate knowledge of a dancing school clearly comes from her own training as a dancer, and subsequent running of her own such establishment.

Paul and Mike from Double Glazing Doctor replaced the hinges in five of our Everest windows and repaired the leak in the Velux kitchen window, and this afternoon our new Samsung television was installed.

A new visitor to our garden was, I think, a Speckled Wood butterfly.

I wandered down to Roger’s gate and back, in time to witness hedge cutting in Downton Lane.

This presented some interesting traffic problems.

Early this evening Becky, Ian, and Scooby arrived for their holiday with us. We all dined at The Red Lion in Milford. My choice of meal was a meaty Mexican chilli burger, served with crisp salad and chips. Jackie couldn’t eat all her hunter’s chicken, so I enjoyed some of that as well. My drink was Ringwood’s best bitter.