I first knew Charlie when I was at a London Colour Lab, which was well before I set up on my own as SOLUTIONS photographic, and I was honoured and delighted to be invited to join him for his party amongst his family and friends on Saturday.
Arriving early I decided that I would learn something of the area around his daughter’s flat in Leinster Square, so started taking shots at 3200 and eventually 5000 and 6400 ISO, in what I refer to as unavailable light photography! Using flash in such circumstances loses the ambiance. However no one says it is easy; I was still having to shoot full aperture at 1/30th or less! I do not have the steadiest of hands, but I assured Charlie I would not be using flash and later when at the party, we were outside and I took fewer shots simply because the light was even lower than my threshold!
I spotted the new city bikes and learned from one user that he was finding it more convenient than taking his own bike into the centre, but had so far been very lucky always finding a docking station space at the end of his journey. I learned something of the local history from a plaque on the fence in deep shadow, and admired the architecture of a nearby church and spotted the cosmopolitan nature of the area served by restaurants and shops.
I managed to wrongly note the number of the door, but fortunately my mobile served as a remote doorbell by my ringing Charlie! He introduced me to members of his family, and I learned that he and one of his friends and I had all studied at the London College of Printing at the same time, though never met at the time!
The highlights of the evening were the opening of some presents, the fireworks, the launching of magic lanterns, and the moving speeches by Charlie’s children. The stalwart work put in by Gee should not go unreported, she did all the cooking and preparation then followed it up by doing all the washing up at the end. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and very memorable evening for which I feel privileged to have been invited.
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