dreams and nightmares - no. 110

finding my voice

Dear Sheddists,

my last post was a memorial to my sister, Hilary. This post is about the impact of her death and three other crucial events in my life - the subsequent death of my father aged 48, the birth of our learning disabled son and the birth of our physically and learning disabled grandson.

This post is not intended to be maudlin. I am not feeling sorry for myself, I just wanted to express in photographs something I have long felt to be inexpressible.

Men do not find it easy to talk about difficult things. Our culture tells us men are expected to be the strong ones. So we don't talk about what really matters.  To compound the problem, we are all so busy we fail to stop and listen when someone needs to speak.

So these photographs are about how I have felt over the years. I want to say a very big thank you to those who have helped me find my voice. First and always is my dear wife who has listened, encouraged, challenged and affirmed for so many years. She loves me as I am.

Second are my children (and their partners) who I absolutely adore.

And then there is Zoe, my cousin and sister (figure that one out!), Debbie, my wife's best friend and Kate Green, my photography tutor who has helped me discover so much about how to communicate in pictures.

I could explain the meaning behind the photos that follow, but I won't. I will leave it to you to find your own interpretation.