The agony & the ecstasy

This picture just about sums up the family fairground experience I think. It's all here: one child ecstatic while the other teeters on the edge of a nervous breakdown, garish colours, confusion, needless and excessive expenditure... What more could a parent want? I'd like to add that no child was psychologically or physically harmed in the making of this picture. If only I could be certain that were the case...

Formidable festival lady

I went to the St Anne's Well Festival today, a civilised riot of middle-class families pretending they're a bit younger and freer than they really are. You couldn't see the well-manicured lawns for all the tartan picnic rugs and changing mats everywhere. There was cava, there was knitted fruit (I kid you not), there was even a kids' rave tent, complete with nodding DJ and Joe Bananas-style tent next door selling Haribos and sugary drinks by the gallon. The sun shone and the mums and dads kicked back, happy to let the kids run amok for a bit in the hope of a peaceful night later. When this rather formidable lady walked past us I grabbed the camera and shot her without thinking - which is most unlike me actually, I'm usually consumed with self-conscious reserve. I'm glad I got her though - and I'm even more glad she didn't see me getting her.

I'm a sucker for a nice shadow

I can't resist a nice bit of shadow play. And that's a nice colour too - maybe one to bear in mind when (if?) I get round to painting our front door.

The front door has needed a coat of paint for about seven years now. I've resolved to do it at least a dozen times in each of those seven years and, of course, it remains unpainted.

This year though...I can feel it. It's really going to happen this year.

Neglect is a terrible thing

Perhaps that's not the wisest title to use for a post about a picture of ones daughter, but it's not her who's being neglected, it's this blog. It's suffering for a variety of dreary reasons that don't deserve the time of day but rest assured, army of loyal readers, it won't always be this way.

This shot was taken at my nephew Tom's 18th birthday celebration (strictly speaking, I think it was about the 18th celebration he'd taken part in but let's cut the lad some slack for crying out loud). In every single shot of Tom that I've taken he's pulling this ridiculous cheesy grin face - the sort of face you wouldn't want to inflict on anyone without fair warning, so I'm not going to give it any webspace this time. Let's focus instead on the delightful Marni, resplendent in Oliver! outfit, as she eats something or other in front of a mirror.