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August 26th 1999 |
August 26th 2009 |
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Me and Paula Simpson Paula’s boyfriend at the time took this picture, they’re married now, with two children. I’m wearing my favourite Antoni and Alison t-shirt and a grey pencil skirt I still have. In fact I just packed it this morning into a suitcase along with the grey jacket I’m also wearing in this picture. That was a present from RT and was another very favourite item of clothing – I can’t get into it now, but I’m not ready to give it to Oxfam just yet. |
Moving the first things in, Willesden Green |
August 25th 1999 |
August 25th 2009 |
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Palace hotel, Manchester One of the old drama queens of English hotels, and a couple of years later I got to film my own Queen of drama in one of its suites – Julie Goodyear, sprawled across a massive bed drinking champagne and introducing clips of people from other soap operas battering each other. The morning I took this photo however, it was just another delicious slice of Victoria architecture. |
Packing, West Hampstead |
August 24th 1999 |
August 24th 2009 |
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Under the viaduct, Manchester For me this view is magical and mysterious, the glow from the street light bouncing off the red bricks of the abandoned building huddled as close to the viaduct as its engineers dared build it. There were buildings a bit like this in and around the East End when I moved in a few years later, but they’re all gone now, redeveloped, erased. |
Hanging out with Gemma and Eleanor, David’s Deli, West Hampstead |
August 23rd 1999 |
August 23rd 2009 |
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Canal Street, Manchester I found the northern cities I visited in 1999, Manchester and Leeds, really impressive and beautiful. I loved their industrial bits, and the rich red brick used in so many of their buildings. I think I found them much more exciting in a way than London, because they were so different. There was a certain ruggedness in their skylines that London didn’t have –perhaps more noticeable because I never felt that I got a good look at London in the same way – it was too low and sprawling – even the bit around Kings Cross which had an industrial flavour was so run down and (literally) piss-stained that it lacked the clean, hard impact that the old warehouses, and canals of the once industrial northern cities. |
Dexter catches up on some Sunday morning chillin’ time |
August 22nd 1999 |
August 22nd 2009 |
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Bill Boards, Manchester I don’t know what I was doing in Manchester again…though it’s possible I was there spending a week working for a company called Straight TV on an idea I’d had for a documentary about Muslim pop singers… |
Monster cat on the fence, West Hampstead |
August 21st 1999 |
August 21st 2009 |
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David Bradbury, Finchley Road Another moody shot of Mr B. Standing at the top of stone steps that led up to the back alley where our front door was. If you haven’t already checked out David’s website then go there now! |
Damson Jam – A bumper year – who wants some? |
August 20th 1999 |
August 20th 2009 |
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Church meeting, Finchley Road This was a colourful sight for sore eyes every Friday; the meeting of the Victory Christians (Where Jesus Christ is Lord). This building is gone now, and so are the houses next to it. Replaced by posh flats and a furniture showroom. All that happened while I was living in the East End. Until I saw this photo again I couldn’t remember what had been there before the new flats…London does that to me; gives me a kind of architectural amnesia – I see a building site in a familiar place but for the life of me can’t remember what that block or street, or corner o the city looked like before the hoardings went up and the cranes appeared. |
Under the tube bridge on Kilburn High Road |
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