Author Archives: John Kerridge

About John Kerridge

I have a camera, drink tea and trip on untied shoe laces.

The Twister (unknown)

Stepping onto the platform and easing themselves into their seats apprehension was etched on their faces. Music beating out a reconfigured 1960s song with a tedious uniformed beat blended perfectly with the whirling scent of fried foods, sugar laced candy floss, diesel engine. The petulant tantrums of the never ending wants of children fought for attention over the screaming seagulls seeking profit from discarded food, whilst the arcade games beckoned another loser. They sat easing their tensions with bursts of laughter until the operator relieved them of their tokens and secured their safety harness. A loud horn signalled and the ride started and for the next 5 minutes nothing else really mattered. Portsmouth Fayre.

Embrace

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They stood above the crowd as I was walking towards the front of the stage. At first they spoke a few words and then smiled at each other. The type of smile that comes from security and comfort, which can only be exhaled through shared love. It was not only the kiss, but the way they held each other. The embrace. A moments silence, I took the shot and the camera fell to my side. They separated from their embrace and people in close proximity were all smiling.

Fatoumata Diawara

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Fatoumata Diawara was born in Côte d’Ivoire to Malian parents before moving to France to pursue an acting career. She later took up the guitar and began composing her own material, writing songs that blend Wassalou traditions of Southern Mali with international influences. In September 2012, she featured in a campaign called “30 Songs / 30 Days” to support Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, a multi-platform media project inspired by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s book. In 2013 her world tour culminated in a landmark performance at Glastonbury, West Holt Stage where I took this shot.

Mudeford Spit

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Historically part of Christchurch, Mudeford Spit was sold to Bournemouth Borough Council in 1935. It is the larger of the two features, the other being the Haven, that almost encloses Christchurch Harbour, leaving the water within to exit through a narrow channel known as The Run. Formed by sand and shingle brought around Hengistbury Head by longshore drift and pushed towards the shore by waves from the east, the spit is the most mobile of Dorset’s geographical features.

The Beach huts, located on Mudeford Spit, can be reached on foot or land train from the Hengistbury Head side of the harbour, or by the Ferry from Mudeford Quay. When available for sale the asking price for a single beach hut can be as much as £250,000, which does not include £2000 per year leasing charges and the annual council tax.

West Norwood Cemetery, London

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West Norwood Cemetery embraces dignified silence, being reflective, there is a deeply respectful and humbling sensation from visiting this cemetery. An appreciation of ones own allotted space in this metropolis we call a world that carries on regardless of individual circumstances. The realisation that time is the most precious resource we have freely inherited from our parents. Cemeteries are indeed emotive spaces and nowhere is this more evident than West Norwood Cemetery.

One of the magnificent seven cemeteries of London and recognised as a site of major historical, architectural and ecological interest. West Norwood Cemetery has the reputation of holding one of the finest collections of sepulchral monuments in London, featuring 69 Grade II and Grade II listed buildings and structures, including a dedicated Greek Orthodox necropolis with 19 listed mausoleums and monuments. Its extensive Gothic Revival architecture qualifies it as one of the significant cemeteries in Europe. The cemetery has a very active Friends of Group that aim to increase knowledge and appreciation of the Cemetery. The group hold general tours on the first Sunday of every month, special themed tours of the cemetery during the summer, and meetings with talks during the winter.

Today I Stumbled Upon: Memum

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These photographs were influenced by Memum’s debut album ‘Became A Leaf’ which consists of subtle melancholy, tones of beauty, cloudy noise and ambience of deep woods. They were taken with Lofi camera and whilst strolling around the Wiltshire country wearing headphones.

William Golding’s footsteps: Salisbury

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It feels a million miles away from the pressures of London strolling through the fields of Salisbury, Wiltshire. Caught in the pause, I take this photograph and reflect that novelist William Golding is rumoured to have enjoyed this very walk.

In 1935 Golding started teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury. His experience of teaching unruly young boys would later serve as inspiration for his novel Lord of the Flies. The novel told the gripping story of a group of adolescent boys stranded on a deserted island after a plane wreck. Lord of the Flies explored the savage side of human nature as the boys, let loose from the constraints of society, brutally turned against one another in the face of an imagined enemy. Riddled with symbolism, the book set the tone for Golding’s future work, in which he continued to examine man’s internal struggle between good and evil. Since its publication, the novel has been widely regarded as a classic. Golding was brought up in a politically radical family. His father, (Alec Golding) was a science master at nearby Marlborough Grammar School, a socialist who advocated science-inspired rationalism His mother, Mildred was a campaigner for female suffrage.

Today I Stumbled Upon: Sharp Medicine – Forty Five Revolutions Per-Minute

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One of my favourite finds on Bandcamp this week. FORTY FIVE REVOLUTIONS PER-MINUTE is the debut release from The Sharp Medicine, a Proto-Rock band from Los Angeles. These songs were self-recorded at the band’s rehearsal space in downtown Los Angeles, and in the band member’s homes. Not a dollar was spent on recording equipment, studio space, or a producer.

This limited edition record comes in a silkscreen jacket, with a riso insert, kraft paper sleeves, and metallic silver type on uncoated black labels. Release edition of 300. All round perfection.