Beyond Castle Wolfenstein

Sunday: my brother being in town, set to trying to persuade him to come over for dinner, to which end I bought some good victuals; meeting him at Finsbury Park to try to get him to come to mine on the correct bus, a few hours later than originally planned. From Finsbury Park he took me to the Faltering Fallback, off Stroud Green, where his old friend Daniel was celebrating the Christening that day of his youngest. At the pub became reaquainted with some of my brothers friends, those who I went to school with and those I knew from his group of friends. Of them, one of the oldest being Josh. Josh was somewhat the worse for wear when I arrived, and proceeded to drink some more and bought me a drink or two as well. As it happened he took to singing in a raucous way towards other guests of the Christening, which resulted in something of a brawl between himself and one called Bully. In the affray they both fell upon Bully's wife, whose arm was broken, this taking place on a raised balcony put up for smokers. Upon the three many more piled on, and then Josh, my brother and I were quickly hurried from the premise, lest to be there when the police arrived. We were not the worse for wear too much, although Josh was missing a few square inches from his scalp; I would image that the others will be feeling their bruises more the next day. From there to the World's End, where Josh vexed upon a tear in his shirt more than from the loss of his locks. While at the World's End Angie, Daniel's sister, and her boyfriend Lee arrived, and then we to theirs, which was close, and much revellery until 3 in the morning. They were most hospitable.

Tuesday: This week being a bit empty of work but for Tuesday, when I visited to Chloe's, who is one of the temporary editors of lecool, alongside myself and Josh Jones. Had a nice time there, her housemates being jovial and she feeding me a nice chilli. We worked until about 11, and it was nice to do such work alongside someone rather than in the confines of a box room with no company. When I returned home, read Pepys until early in the morning; on occasions I like to read his diaries in synchronicity with now, and it seems that the October days of 1665 were fascinating times to be alive and amongst the rulers of the world. It strikes me that he is a truly good person, in that he is honest with himself about his drives and flaws, and trusts in his own judgement of other men, so that he is happy to work hard without promise of reward, thinking that his hard work will be recognised.

Thursday: Meeting for the lecool book, with a good turnout - only 3 or maybe 4 writers missing from the whole project, although there is still not graphic designer to start tying all the ideas together. It is promising though; we should be starting work shortly - in fact, should have started on Wednesday, with me taking photographs of a man who has built an airplane wing in his living room - but that was cancelled, and so I spent a lot of time doing little but reading - more Pepys, of his happiness at the justified rise in his position, and also Wilmot, on the perils of promising too much love. There is something analagous between them in my eyes, although I would expect they'd both see it differently: both are supremely honest about their own failings and vices, and make allowance for them, and are not hypocrites.

Tetris

Friday: I'm sitting here thinking "so where has all this taken me?". Today has been an odd day.. went to the council offices early this morning, and the lady was very nice. When I left she came running out after me and told me I'd forgotten to sign two forms. Then home to fret about a video interview I was giving with some nonsense marketing research group.. I ended up leaving the house wearing (7 scarves, each my favourite, mismatched socks because I couldn't decide between two pairs, my shiniest red trainers, my velvet jacket, my orange jumper, my shiny yellow sunglasses, a glove on my left hand, three badges promoting vintage curtain-hooks, Edmonton Library and Jesus, and a bright turquoise tie) exactly the same things I had thrown on when I woke up.. jeans, army shirt. The interview itself was a bit tedious. Then I waited around to see if I could get a photopass for Broken Social Scene at Koko.. failing that, came home. And right now right there I typed "home" without thinking twice about it.

Asteroids

Saturday: worked with Takashi Kamei on a shoot for an Austrian broadsheet's fashion section; ; it was a nice day, perfect weather, nice shoot. I was shattered after though for some reason. When I got home I fell insto one of those sleeps that make you feel drugged, where you wake up with the wrinkles on your pillow etched into your face, the arm you slept on dead and numb and heavier than it should be I dreamed strange dreams, dreamt I was asleep and lying there on my bed semi-conscious, not moving. I could see the back of my head. I need a haircut.

Sunday: Sunday was a day of rest, until about 7, when I made my way down to Dice Club, to see the Guillotines and Ipso Facto play their stuff. I got some nice pix; I like the club, it's full of Shoreditch types but they're a friendly enough crowd. I took along my landlord, Rene, and a photographer I used to work with, Mari Sarai. Afterwards we went to The Old Blue Lst where there was some acoustic Blues being played on guitar and banjo. It was nice; I'd hoped that moving to Hackney would get me out and about more, but I didn't realise quite how convenient it is to get down to Old Street, and quite how many interesting place there are to explore in the areas in-between. Broadgate Market needs some serious time.. it seems like there might be some interestingness amongst the blatent overpriced faff shops.

Monday: from the 9 O'clock appointment with the council to the meeting with Roxy Erickson at the Richmix Cinema (she's organising the Bike Film Festival and I was taking her portrait for lecool). We had some fun getting her bike into the cinema and afterwards we chatted a bit about her work; she's a photographer by day, and has an awesome bunch of pictures on her website.. one of those people who seems to do everything, and everything done cool. Nice lady - she's the one I once almost brained with a bike polo ball. Later I went to see Tammy Nichols, yet another photographer, although this one I know socially rather than through work. I was also shooting her portrait for lecool, we're interviewing her as a graphic artist although truthfully she might be best known as a character on the fetish scene. We got some great pictures, she had two set-ups, one as a sky pirate, one as a 30's flapper fighting against zombies, bloody machete in hand.

Tuesday: Another busy day: editing the pictures from the last few days, then off to the tube trains on the building in shoreditch to shoot a couple more portraits. I got a brief fear when I climbed on top of one of the trains, I have a little problem with height sometimes - just I feel like I don't balance very well. It was very pretty though, all the trains were nicely painted. From there, down to King's College for a gig by Maps; it was for an interview and I thought I'd go for a live pic rather than a posed one, just for a change. On the way down, as I passed Holborn tube station I noticed that there was a tape barrier across the entrance, and two men were heading towards it in some sort of uniform; one of them held a white sheet in a see-through plastic packet. Only as I passed the van they'd parked on the yellow lines and saw that it was a private funeral firm that I realised that it was probably a body bag they were taking down. Then home to bed, and sleep, and a lie-in.

Leisure Suit Larry

Friday: head down to Koko to do a postrait of a chap called Daveid, who organised music at Koko, for lecool. Nice guy, saw him for about five minutes, one of those people who make you think that they will always be in the background of cool. When I got home, the food delivery had arrived, from Waitrose. There's something a bit frightening about having luxury goods delivered to your home once a week; it's a bit like looking into a future of never leaving the house. Later I went to my friend Michelle's birthday drinks in Shoreditch. When I got there, she introduced me to her friends, who all seemed a bit taken aback by me, as if they thought I was someone she'd just got talking to on the street. Met her boyfriend for the first time, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone smile so much. After that I headed down to Fabric; it was the first time I'd been to a club that size since the smoking ban kicked in, and holy crap it stank. Fabric is a nice club filled with worrying people; I stayed a couple of hours and then went home.

Monday: spent a lot of time reading, finished American Gods and a book that Mick leant me about the Ripper murders. Then spent a lot of time thinking about people I don't see any more, and how it's a bit wrong with the world that I can wrench my life into something approaching a stable shape and then lose what I wanted the stability for. Heard from my father; his illness turned out to be less serious than they first thought, so they won't be slicing him open too much more, and there's no great need to panic. My father has celebrated this by going into hiding.

Tuesday: went to see Heavy Trash, Jon Spencer's new band, and they were absolutely fantastic.