PAGE BEFORE THE FIRST PAGE – DETAIL NO.4

PAGE BEFORE THE FIRST PAGE – DETAIL NO.5

PAGE BEFORE THE FIRST PAGE – DETAIL NO.6

ENSIXTEEN EDITIONS - THE PAGE BEFORE THE FIRST PAGE. . .

Here is the very first visual experiment I made that tips the hat towards the entire ongoing
'bio auto graphic' style of telling my own story.
In the good company of my oldest pal Michael Cumming (Westmorland-born two days after me and my neighbour in the maternity ward in the autumn of 1962 – now a director of televisual comedy for some years) I made a road trip in an open-top Landrover, up and across to Lincolnshire. We headed there to attend a grand weekend gathering of old pals at the home of David & Fiona Carruthers.
In this strange, flat, largely unknown land – unsettling when you're from land of hills and verticality – our storylines converged once again, laughs were laughed and the geographical distances that usually separated us forgotten. . .

After the fact – and using a spare line style that had surfaced in my work as a storyboard artist in recent years – I made this one-sheet impression of the experience.
I can't even clearly remember why I sat down and did it, though it certainly forms a foundation stone for an entire – enjoyable – working methodology with which I still tinker.

It was that tentative first step, and – as has often been the case – it was friends that somehow inspired me to take it.

My next few posts will show details of the above which, as here, you can click on to enlarge. . .
NB - If you read back through the next six posts in reverse order you'll get the original flow of the narrative as intended.

Walking with The Dane Pt.2: Soul-food

The performance of the Marlowe play proved a real treat.
We had long wanted to visit the theatre. What a setting and atmosphere.
We had sought the solace of a seat – and even additional cushion voucher – rather than the cheaper – and undoubtedly vivid – option of standing throughout.
From this placing, stage left, we relished a performance by Paul Hilton (Faust) and Arthur Darvill (Mephistopheles) and a superb cast. The setting and flavour were very much in the style of the play's period (including some haunting sleight-of-hand special effects) but the themes – as we've all sold our souls on occasion – are no less relevant today.
I cannot recommend it – both play and venue – highly enough.

"When all the world dissolves,
And every creature shall be purified,
All places shall be hell that are not heaven."

Leaving the theatre under the deep night sky and walking back across the Millenium Bridge, the feeling of connection to the city, and the lives of past inhabitants, was vivid.
Thanks to Mette for the photos.

Walking with The Dane Pt.1: River's edge

My dear Mette and I have once again been treading the streets of the metropolis during her recent visit.
A particular delight was to head towards the river and - before attending the Globe Theatre for their current production of Marlowe's 'Doctor Faustus' that evening - wet our feet in the sands and silt of the shore at Bankside. Twenty feet below the tourist yackety- yack outside the Tate, the noise drops away and there's the whiff of age, the uneasy creaking of decay and the mutter of the water.
Warmth under frowning clouds.

Meanwhile, at Guildford Cathedral. . .

In the parallel universe of my lecturing job for University for the Creative Arts in Epsom there was the annual ceremony and celebration for the students as they graduated recently.
It's always good to meet parents and partners as the ex-3rd Year prepare to make The Great Leap Forwards and bid a fond farewell.
Here I am with Louisa Brooks (left) and Michelle Siddall (right) on the day. I'm the old crock in the middle.
Thanks for the photo, girls.