Simon Callow has written a fabulous obituary in The Sunday Times today, for one of his heroines Lynn Redgrave. Old people like me will remember her as the lead in Georgy Girl, the film which put insouciance on the map in the '60's. Click on the blog title to see his write-up.
On the Bank Holiday my friend Peter passed away. I met him at St John Ambulance, and we fell into a habit of idle chit-chat, as you do. He was a cyclist and photographer, same as me. He used to cycle from central London to work in west London via a detour to Waltham Abbey, an extra thirty miles, just to keep in training. It was a bit easier for him in those days, the 1930's, as there were fewer cars about.
He'd had a really exciting life, in the War he'd served in the Ambulance Corps, been a POW, and returned to civvy street afterwards. His enviable job was as a bio-medical person, seconded to The Met assisting as a photographer to the forensic pathologist on occasion. When I first met him about three years ago he was then about 85 years old. He still drove his car all over Britain, attended the St John Ambulance meetings every week, and could talk about whatever you like for hours . . . He was a joy to know. Sending a condolence card to his family seems somehow less than what's required.
Peter was REALLY enthusiastic when he found out I'd bought a Bronica medium-format film camera, and was actually using it to shoot projects, in preference to just doing it digitally . . .
He did like this 35 mm. transparency of Canada Water, one I shot just after meeting him for the first time.
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