HITCH

Have you ever entered a room only to forget why you went to the room in the first place?

Recent research has suggested that it's the physical act of passing through a doorway that strips the memory of the reason for doing so. It doesn't happen if you pass from one part of a room to another. Was Lewis Carroll aware of this? And do loft livers who live in one room suffer less from temporary memory loss than the rest of us?

Cher Bill

Wave hello to Andrea Arnold. I took your advice and saw Wuthering Heights which was directed by her. And I agree. The photography was superb, all that movement and shallow depth of field, close focus and darkness. But doesn't it get a bit irksome after a while? Especially the hand held look. It ends up becoming the focus of the film at the expense of plot and character. Good photography should compliment and enhance a story, not dominate it. But perhaps it's what cinema audiences want these days: style over substance. It was the same with Tinker Tailor, and you only have to watch Guinness's performance in the original version to recognise that photography does not alone make a great movie (despite coming close in The Third Man).

Look at Carlos Reygadas's Silent Light as an example. A perfect balance between character, story, and photography.

The Serious Poet.

Radio Four's excellent piece on Spike Milligan is well worth a listen, f you can still access it.

It reminded me of whether it's a good idea to meet your heroes. I'd argue against it, though meeting him was the exception. It was one of the most enjoyable shoots ever.

In at the deep end.

Do you?

spend a significant amount of time photographing or gardening? What do the following questions reveal about your reasons for doing so?

Do you garden or photograph:-

because it is good for you?

because it is good for the planet?

to make money?

because it is a creative endeavour?

to see what the world looks like in a photograph?

to eat what you grow?

to seek praise or approval?

to seek recognition for your achievements?

because it is a job?

to please or benefit others?

to keep yourself occupied?

to create a legacy or a record?

A head gardener's garden. (Anon.)

Polaroid 665

Gone. All gone. None left. Finis!

Dear Sophocles,

I did as you bid and watched an evening's telly. I fear you may be right. I heard a rugby interviewer ask a player if a referee's decision (that they had earlier agreed was spontaneous) was in fact "too spontaneous". Presumably that's an very unique remark. Worse was to come. Kelly Hoppen told her viewers that her style reflected her clients. Look out for a variety of beige people rushing out for her deft touch.

Waldemar Januszczak told his viewers that the painter William Dobson painted most of his subjects from the knee up. Waldemar helpfully pointed to his own knee. Blow me down, his knees are in about the same place as most people's, between his foot and his mouth. By the way, the presenter of the weather forecast reported that we were in for a lot of "weather".

I was told by M M that the minister who can't tie his tie properly apologised to viewers for "giving the impression of wrongdoing" on the telly, though not on the night I was watching. What a brilliant (Minister of) defence. If I've "given the impression" of being underwhelmed by any of the above mentioned telly folk, then I'm really sorry too.

I know you put it down to dumbing down, but I'm not convinced. I think they regard the lot of us as plain stupid. Maybe we are for watching and listening to them.

P.S. That 50mm lens is sharper than I thought it would be.

Growing

Working

Advertisment or Spoof?

Four Eyes in The Garden

are definitely better than two. Thanks to Pia Ostlund, and the Chelsea Physic Garden in London.