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1999 |
2009 |
December 31st 1999 |
December 31st 2009 |
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Tower Bridge, Midnight in the end it was truly a night to remember – for me at least. After all the fretting and worrying about where to be and who to be with on the biggest night of the millennium, I spent it out on the streets of London, watching for the river of fire that never came, but enjoying the fireworks never the less. It was an emotional night, I called home and blubbed, I drank champagne with Dave and wondered what the future held. I felt sad that my photo project had come to an end, and wondered what I would do the next day without a camera in my pocket. |
Café, in West Hampstead, half-past three |
December 30th 1999 |
December 30th 2009 |
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Clive James Night of 1,000 Stars So in the end I watched the programme I had worked on off a crappy little portable TV (although actually I was very fond of this little telly) in the room that had gone from being a living room to VR’s bedroom and back to a living room again. Though there are signs on the wall that she had red intentions that perhaps fortunately never saw the light of day in the end. I stayed in and watched it on my own, and it was long, long, long, and as always I had a few ‘dodgy’ moments when I wondered if this or that bit of archive had been properly cleared. Clive James talks pretty derogatively about this programme in his most recent memoir. I think after this he felt it was time to go. |
Dave updates the website, Curly causes a rumpus |
December 29th 1999 |
December 29th 2009 |
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The Albert Memorial I think I had gone out for a walk and met up with my friend Beth Copley. It was the first time I’d ever since this huge monstrosity of a memorial. It was impressive and repulsive at the same time. |
Lounge, Willesden Green |
December 28th 1999 |
December 28th 2009 |
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Quality Street from Chrysalis Everyone who worked at Watchmaker was given as huge tin of Quality Street as a Christmas present which was very nice. There are few things as christmassy as a tin of these. |
Me, Dave and Dexter, the Millennium Bridge |
December 27th 1999 |
December 27th 2009 |
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Mathew doing jigsaw, West Sussex Despite the fact that everyone around him was weighed down with worry and concern for him, Matthew just carried on as normal, despite the imminent surgery and cancer treatment hanging over him. He he is, apparently engrossed in that Womersley Christmas perennial – the big jigsaw. |
Lost sock, Kenwood House pond, NW3 |
December 26th 1999 |
December 26th 2009 |
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Shoreham Harbour, West Sussex A rather bleak view to match my feelings at the time. I walked all the way here from Steyning which was a good long way. I think Dad had to come and collect me afterwards for the return leg. |
Floating turtle, Willesden Green |
December 25th 1999 |
December 25th 2009 |
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View from Bramber Castle I spent a lot of this Christmas period trying to escape the house where the weight or worry and fear hung over everything at this time. I was probably drawn back to the village where I’d grown up in some kind of nostalgic bid for security. Bramber Castle has always been one of my favourite places. |
First turkey dinner |
December 24th 1999 |
December 24th 2009 |
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Clive and Roz with Helen Margaret Padgett A lovely picture of two very proud parents and their little girl. Clive was a friend of mine from school and he’d met Roz at university. Helen, who is ten now of course has a younger sister called Alice, I went to stay with them a couple of years ago in Dorchester. |
Kenneth Robb surveys the vista |