our ruby wedding anniversary

Forty years ago today we walked out of church as husband and wife.  It was a small wedding by modern standards - no huge, day-long party stretching out into the early hours.  It was just a simple church service, photos then a reception at a local hotel.

We left with 'L-plates' on the car only to sneak back a few hours later once everyone had gone. We married young and had no spare money whatsoever so the offer of a free room for the night as part of the hotel wedding package was just too good to refuse.

So where should we eat our first meal on our own as a married couple? We walked along the beach where we had done so much of our courting as teenagers and bought fish and chips from a seaside cafe. They were truly delicious and we wanted for nothing - we had each other.

We've celebrated every wedding anniversary since then with a fish and chip meal to remind us where we've come from. Over the years we've been so fortunate to eat in places as varied as a famous fish restaurant in Paris, on the wall outside a chippie in a Norfolk coastal town and down in the basement of family-run Jewish restaurant in Budapest.

Today was no exception. We celebrated with a plate of fish-fingers and chips before settling down to watch some tear-jerking videos from our past rescued by our eldest daughter as our ruby wedding anniversary present.

Simple food, simple times, simple love - what could be better.

simple pleasures no. 10 - heaven in a wild flower

Well, not quite wild. It's actually the head of a cultured allium, grown in our back garden. There is, however, a significance in the title to this photo which I will come onto in a moment.

I love alliums. They bring late spring colour, then as the flower-head fades it reveals the beautiful skeletal globe holding the seeds of the next generation. In more ways than one, life comes full circle.

Which brings us back neatly to the very first posting in this series - 'Time Has Told Me' the title of a song by the late Nick Drake.  It featured on an early compilation album, 'Heaven in a Wild Flower', released following his premature death.

As I look back on the photos I've taken and the words I've written I begin to realise my simple pleasures of life lie in those good things which feed my body, my mind and my spirit.  What better way to finish than with some more superb music by Nick Drake.

 

simple pleasures no. 9 - sandman

Despite my ever increasing years I still love a good comic/graphic novel and this is one of, if not the, very best.  Written by Neil Gaiman over a seven year period it features a family known as the Endless, the members of whom are Dream, Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium and Destruction.

The books contain multiple over-lapping story arcs incorporating history, literature, mythology, philosophy and faith. If you haven't heard of 'Sandman' go take a look - it will blow your socks off!

simple pleasures no. 8 - the kissing couple

This simple little automaton has a rather special place in our collection. It was the very first I bought, a gift for my wife.  It came from the magnificent Cabaret Mechanical Theatre in Covent Garden, now sadly closed for many years.

Rotate the handle in a clock-wise direction and a series of small cogs and spindles spin the couple's heads together then apart. A gentle kiss as the couple great each other before they turn to face the operator of the handle, still embraced in each other's arms.

It makes me feel both romantic and slightly voyeuristic at one and the same time, almost as if I am spying on another couple's simple joy in life!

simple pleasures no. 7 - the ticking watch

The gentle tick of of a mechanical watch is a thing of beauty. It will never ever be matched by its electronic equivalent.  

This is one of my mechanical watches and it comes with history. Open the back cover and you will find this inscribed inside...

'The Daimler Co. Ltd for twenty five years loyal and faithful service. 1913 - 1938. T.C. Gandy.'

I wonder who T.C. Gandy was.  What job did he discharge so faithfully for a quarter of a century to earn this watch? What other simple pleasures brought joy to his life? I search in vain for answers.

simple pleasures no. 6 - the pork pie

What could possibly beat a good, honest pork-pie accompanied by lashings of HP sauce?!

There are silly little bonsai versions served at children's parties and pretentious artisan types boasting exotic meat cuts and obscure seasoning but for the best in pork-pies look no further than the humble 'off-the-shelf'.

This one was purchased from the local Co-op for the princely sum of £1.26 and went down a treat after the photo-shoot!

simple pleasures no. 5 - fear and loathing

I love this book! I know I shouldn't but I just love it. It's the story of a journey to the heart of darkness in America fueled by copious quantities of mind-blowing drugs and fast cars. It's written by the late Hunter S. Thompson, one of my all-time favourite authors, and illustrated by Ralph Steadman in his hallmark 'Francis Bacon meets Salvador Dali' style.

I retrieved my copy from the bookshelves to take a photo and now I just have to re-read it. Who could possible resist this as an opening...?!!!!'

 'We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like, 'I feel a little light-headed; maybe you should drive...' And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around our car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas.'

©  1971 Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

simple pleasures no. 4 - hidden treasure

I love finding hidden treasures - little notes in books, old papers or long-discarded toys.  These are things which speak of the exquisite beauty to be disovered amongst the ostensibly mundane lives we lead. 

Here are just a few examples of some of the finds I now display proudly in my study.  A letter-heading from a tiling company stuffed deep into the crevices of an old set of drawers owned by my mother.  A 'Magic Roundabout' car left behind in the loft of a house we had just moved into. A card in the pocket of a gorgeous leather Gladstone bag I still own.

Simple pleasures - but what beauty!!

simple pleasures no. 3 - the boot

I do love a good boot. My feet are not insubstantial things; they are also somewhat flatter than the flattest of proverbial pancakes, meaning good support is essential.

Hitherto my boot of choice has been the tried and tested 'Timberland'.  I have several in my collection for like most men of a certain age, once an item of clothing has proved reliable, comfortable and reasonably priced then serial purchases are made as each successive iteration begins to wear out.  Of course, its predecessor is never consigned to the bin. This invariably results in my gentleman's wardrobe resembling a costume equivalent of the picture of Dorian Grey, albeit in reverse.

Step forward then the newcomers to my burgeoning boot camp. These are 'Red Wings', which I assure readers of a more sensitive disposition have absolutely nothing to do with a badge of honour awarded to Hell's Angel following the performance of a somewhat racy sexual act. Google it if you really must.

The boots in question are 'Iron Rangers', which if the advertising guff is to be believed, were 'designed with a double leather toe-cap for extra strength for the miners of the Mesabi iron range in Minnesota'. I am blissfully unaware of the existence of any Mesabi iron deposits in the immediate vicinity, but can draw comfort from knowing that should any be found I will be properly equipped.

Ah, the simple pleasures of life!

simple pleasures no. 2 - the wooden heart

'Treen' n. a generic term for small household objects made of wood.  Derived from old English word 'trēowen', meaning wooden.

I love a good piece of modern treen, which this most definitely is. A wooden jigsaw in the shape of a heart, at first sight it looks easy to assemble.  However, on closer examination the puzzle is significantly more difficult to solve. The heart is sliced in two, meaning it must be built in three dimensions.

It is, perhaps, emblematic of the complexity of human emotion. Whatever the case, it is another simple pleasure.

simple pleasures no.1 - time has told me

The summer holiday homework for my photography group is to take ten photos on the theme of 'Simple Pleasures'.

Here's my first, a box-set of CDs compiling the work of the late Nick Drake.The box itself is a replica of Nick's tuck-box at school. It was used to guard the cakes sent to him on a regular basis by his mother, Molly.

My first encounter with Nick's music came through, "Nice Enough to Eat", a brilliant 1960s Island sampler. One of the tracks I played repeatedly was "Time Has Told Me", which I subsequently discovered was the first song on Nick's debut album, "Five Leaves Left."

Nick led a short and tragic life, dying in mysterious circumstances aged just twenty six following yet another bout of depression. He's buried at Tanworth-in-Arden near to his childhood home and his grave is a regular place of pilgrimage for his many fans.

I've visited twice and on both occasions I found a haunting, elegiac beauty in the silence of the graveyard. If you want to see the photographs I took just click here.

If you've never heard the music of Nick Drake I thoroughly recommend it to you. It's one of my simple pleasures in life and I'm listening to this as I type.

From the Morning

A day once dawned, and it was beautiful
A day once dawned from the ground
Then the night she fell
And the air was beautiful
The night she fell all around.

So look see the days
The endless coloured ways
And go play the game that you learnt
From the morning.

And now we rise
And we are everywhere
And now we rise from the ground
And see she flies
And she is everywhere
See she flies all around

So look see the sights
The endless summer nights
And go play the game that you learnt
From the morning

Songwriter: Nick Drake

© BMG Rights Management (Uk) Limited, Warlock Music, Ltd.

eeek!!!

What a fantastic time we had this afternoon in Worcester.  We went to see the marvelous soul band, 'Eeek'. Their highly impressive set was lead off in fine style by Martha Moxon,  star of two recent appearances on ITV's 'Voice Kids'.  Such a talented family, Martha's mums are Lucy and Mandy, the lead vocalist and guitarist respectively of Eeek.

If you haven't heard their music before please do click on the links above. You won't be disappointed!