A Little Bit of Nostalgia: 1981, SOS (Save our Steel), Scunthorpe

I recently came across some negatives I have never printed. The subject, a protest march which took place (as far as I can remember) on a cold day during 1981 in Scunthorpe; a North Lincolnshire town grown up with steel working.

Margaret Thatcher’s government was to announce the loss of over 4,000 jobs in the area.

A year earlier, fears had been raised about the long term plans for steel-making in Scunthorpe; now they were being realised.

By the end of the year, the Normanby Park site, after 69 years of steel production, would be closed down and demolished.

Despite the cold, there were brighter moments during the march and many in the community lent their support….

Steel is still being produced, on a smaller scale, at Scunthorpe today; as in the eighties, the future remains uncertain. We hope for a revival of the town’s fortunes…

Thanks for visiting this blog. The photographs were made using an Olympus OM1 with Zuiko lenses. Film stock was Kodak Tri-X Pan.

A school, an hour, an education

‘Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.’ (Kofi Annan)

Having the correct documentation I had expected to spend a day at the Mae La refugee camp on the Thai/Myanmar border. As it was, I managed about an hour at a makeshift high school before the party I was with had to hurry off. And what a hugely rewarding hour that was.

It rains a lot during the summer months in Tak Province

I visited in June 2016. Mae La is the largest refugee camp of nine in Thailand; the latest figures (November 2018} show around 32,000 refugees live there, mainly Karen people, with around a third being of school age (5-18 years). The party I was with had helped in the provision of resources for this makeshift school and was escorted by a representative of an organisation that had set up a teaching English training scheme for displaced teachers.

Auxiliary staff at the teacher training facility

The school was well attended and I found myself welcomed into classrooms much like any classrooms, anywhere. The commitment to learning struck me immediately, though I did manage to disrupt that once or twice:

Some of the older students live at the school; I caught up with three of them at break time and they gave me a whirlwind tour of their quarters:

The boys pictured were keen sportsmen; the school has considerable success in sports competitions – as the trophy shelf shows – despite the small size of the school playground:

The child in the photograph above kept her distance but followed me as I made my brief exploration. One day she will be at school, though she has already embarked upon a life of learning and one which, as I know very well, does not stop.

Thanks for visiting my blog: as usual, the camera I used was an Olympus OMD with a Zuiko short zoom.

At the end of the line and what I saw there…

‘Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and unknown. Through them we pass out into
adventure and sunshine. To them, alas! we return.’

The above caption is an observation made by the English novelist, E M Forster (1879 – 1970). He knew a thing or two about travelling and his quote is very apt for the subject of this blog: Bangkok Railway Station.

People like having their photograph taken with trains here in Thailand. I have witnessed wedding shots being made at a couple of provincial stations, though never at Bangkok Railway Station – or Hualamphong as it is locally known – …yet.

I have visited the place many times over the years, looking for pictures. More often than not I don’t get them but the experience of being at this perpetually busy place is always an enjoyable one.

My favourite time for visiting Hualamphong is very early morning when the overnight trains arrive. The platforms become a hive of activity; passengers, still only half awake, alight, cleaners board, restaurant car staff finish up. Dirty linen is thrown from the train whilst maids and porters execute its transport to the laundry with military precision. By the time I have finished watching this fascinating process the laundry has already fired up a good head of steam.

Trains are well used in Thailand and offers a cheap way of getting around. The journey times are long (the trip from my local station to Hualamphong, a distance of around 24 kilometres, takes about 45 minutes), but I personally enjoy the leisurely pace.

The prospect of the journey ahead, Hualamphong

Monks frequently travel by rail and occasionally present an opportunity for me to flex my observational, narrative style. The presence of barbers on the platform at Hualamphong has always been a bit of a mystery to me….

I will doubtless return many times to these familiar platforms, coffee shops, ticket offices and washrooms before I head back to the UK. Perhaps I’ll step out into the sun or maybe just hang out until it is time to catch the train home. Either way it’ll be an adventure.

I remember wondering who left those shoes and gloves and under what circumstances, lol. The photographs in this blog were taken on my trusty OMD with a Zuiko short zoom on it. Thanks for visiting, I’ll leave you with someone who had obviously had a very tiring day….

Wall, for wall’s sake

I’ve been trying my hand at this blogging malarkey for a couple of weeks now; the idea seems to be to maintain the momentum by publishing posts regularly… and often. But then, not to sacrifice quality for the sake of quantity; and so this morning I had that kind of feeling one gets when faced with a blank piece of paper, pencil in hand and no real idea of where to start. The first mark dilemma. A wall. Best ignore Eric Weiner when he said ‘nothing kills creativity faster than a wall’ and face up.

Looking through my files this morning it soon became evident that walls – as subject – have featured quite regularly in my life. I may be a wall lover, without realising the fact. Certain walls have stopped me – both in a physical and metaphorical sense – and I have recorded that moment.

There are walls that have had historical significance, constructed for protection:

Walls with great character:

And walls that have been used as a canvas for the street artist’s statement:

I guess (hope) there will be plenty more walls to come. Thanks for visiting; as usual the photographs were made using an early Olympus digital camera and my current OMD, except for the cute Portuguese wall which was made using an Olympus OM1, film stock was Kodachrome. I’ll leave you with a wall I found in Lincoln – I researched the markings and resolved the enigma, but that’s another story.

In Defence of the Irritating Photographer Dad

Ever since they were enabled – notably by Kodak – millions of people have made photographs of family members. My mother has her album of printed treasures made with various Box Brownies and Instamatics, my teenage daughter stores hers as files on her smartphone.

Some notable photographers have engaged with the genre of family: Magnum photographer, Christopher Anderson is one that comes to mind. Check out his book, Son. And me – though I’ve never been a professional photographer, I’m seriously involved with it – I’m no different from all those who find a great joy in recording my family life.

It is by being with the family that gives you access to the full range of human emotions, that familiarity along with close observation presents a marvelous opportunity to capture them – even though at times your subject matter may become a little irritated with you, lol.

Sometimes, it is grand to be able to step back; the following two photographs were taken from outside a restaurant, I’d nipped out for a cigarette (I know, my bad – it was raining, too) and watched through the window as my wife and kids made the most of my absence (‘be on your best behaviour, kids’ etc). The second shot was taken after they had spotted me….

Sometimes you get a photograph that goes beyond the snapshot. The two following photographs contain unexpected elements; in the first I did not know that my kid’s cousin would run into the frame and stick her tongue out and in the second I simply hadn’t noticed the image on a tv screen until I had downloaded the images.

And then there are moments when everything comes together just so:

The kids may even put up with photographer dad when he is in the mood to experiment:

Naturally, I will continue to make my family snaps despite the occasional flak. Thanks for visiting – as usual the photographs were made using my Olympus digital camera. I’ll sign off with one of my favourite photographs of all time. A candid shot – it seemed inappropriate to say ‘smile please’….