It was 25 years ago today...

Well, not actually.

I was going to post these last week, but the scanner problem stopped me, so allow me the small delay.

It was 25 years last week when the Big Storm swept across Southern England and toppled all the trees.

I was at college at the time, and walked thru Kensington gardens to get there everyday. The sight of all those trees, shattered and uprooted, was astounding. Some of the root systems were as big as houses.  It was a surreal and charged place for several weeks as they worked to clear them all away.

Anyone else remember the avenue of plane trees towards Kensington Palace that were all flattened ?

I went out sketching the next day, it was too beautiful and sad and unreal to not. And here are two from that day.

I was included in some photographs a news reporter took, but have never seen if any of the photos with me in were ever used anywhere. I suspect not. The world can only deal with one trauma at a time.

This was my favorite sketch, at the time, and now. You will need to click on it to enlarge it to see it.

This tree had literally been twisted apart, the truck standing upright, but every single branch had been ripped away and lay around like huge scattered arms. It was up by the Lancaster Gate entrance between Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. I also added a sketch of the photographer. in the top corner, see.

Seeing the sketch again brings that day back in such sharp focus. I am back there, right now, on the same spot, in my mind.

Oh Frabjous Day

Callooh Callay.

I have a shiny new scanner my son.

Now I have some catching up to do.

Found a great spot to catch people in the National Gallery last friday. It was cold and raining and I was in Soho with an hour in hand before a meeting. In such moments, and in such a place, you could do a lot worse than the National Gallery. A LOT worse. But I am way too boring for that. so....

This guy was part of a very animated group discussing their cameras.

I liked how the cube stool he was sitting on got all squooooshed under his weight.

Not good enough

Managed to coax the long defunct scanner on my old printer into life.

Hurrah.

But don't like the quality of the scan. Not subtle enough.

Apropos of nothing

Last night, during a ( very uninformed ) discussion with a mate about the military campaigns of the Duke of Wellington, and if the siege of Lisbon was before or after the Battle of Waterloo ( anyone ? ) he suddenly announced, with some relish " Adolph Hitler took Crystal Meth."

A conversational curve taken so sharply I may have discourse whiplash.

Still no scanner. Pray for me.

R.I.P.

It has to be faced. No amount of resetting, or rebooting, or new cable buying can shield me from the fact.

Scanner has passed to a better realm.

PC WORLD here I come.

Not fixed yet.

Scanner still in intensive care, but had this one ferreted away.

I called it Legs Over.

Drawn in Soho Square, a few summers ago.

Tragedy

Sung in the lush high notes of the Bee Gees, NOT the weird wedding video stylee of Steps. ( Although as I write that I am not convinced either is the better )

I managed to drop my scanner and now it just sits and glares balefully at me with it's single green eye.

And nothing will scan.

So I have stuff to post, but the technology is fritzed.

Ah well... Bear with me.