It was certainly a quiet day in the office ('twixt Christmas and New Year) a graveyard shift if you know what I mean. There must have been eight of us waiting for the phone to ring/hoping the phone didn't ring.
The talk became idle, the mind became skitty (I don't think I know what that means) and the theme got round to photocopying body parts. Naturally.
Various below the waist options were suggested and rejected, eventually, then I asked if anyone had ever photocopied their face.. Brain tumours, cancer, blindness were all proffered as reasons to discontinue this line of thought, but I maintained that as long as eyes were closed and fingers and legs were crossed, all would be ok.
'Trust me, I'm a photographer' is a favourite lie of mine.
So I photocopied my face.
The resulting artwork convinced three other graveyard shifters that this was clearly the way forward. A fitting end to 2009, and an open invite to the nonsense possibilities of 2010. And now we had four A4 images of comatose - like journalists. Whatever next?
When laid down on the desk, it was immediately obvious that we had an album cover in the making. So Xerox, the post-punk industrial reggae-metal band was formed (in the mind at least) and a hasty email hailing our arrival on the rock scene was created and despatched to our newspaper's gig guide author Martyn Smith, who was actually on holiday and certainly not part of this cataclysmic explosion of festive fun. The band artwork was attached for extra authenticity. Rock style anagrams of our real names completed the picture. Job done, as they say. And it only took half an hour. (In the lunch break, obviously..)
When I finally left this place of fun and had a proper break for New Year, Dot and I discovered a brand new bridlepath walk around the countryside of Tenbury Wells, well away from roads, cars, fireworks, and television (although we honestly shed a few tears at the last episode of Gavin and Stacey - lush.)
And I was reminded of a picture taken last New Year's Day on a newly discovered walk near our home.
Lower Kyrewood, Tenbury Wells.
And finally, our lovely grandson Toby came and spent New Year's Eve with us. Four years' old, he wandered into the kitchen as I was struggling with Superion the Transformer while trying to make tea and toast, and demonstrating an uncanny ability to jump three feet from the spot (clearly a Jumping Joe Darby in the making) he asked 'Grandad, what is oil..?' Honestly, what chance do we stand?
We had our first holiday with Toby in September, a short break in Aberdovey for my birthday.
This picture was taken just before his first encounter with a tidal pool. Look out world.............
Happy New Year
Phil
www.thesilverimage.co.uk
