Saint George ..

It's St. George's day today - he being the patron saint of Belfast, as any fule kno. I was lucky enough to photograph the great George Best on two occasions, and am pleased to say I asked him for his autograph. It says a lot that I neglected to ask Ryan Giggs for his! Such a shame that Best's life went the way it did but hey, the man enjoyed himself and you can't say more than that.

Despite my claim to be uninterested in football, I'm delighted that Man U are back in the FA Cup Final and I look forward to watching them beat Chelsea in a few weeks time. It'll be the second time I've watched the Cup Final from 'abroad' .. I remember getting up at about 2am to watch the 1991 final from New Zealand .. a few of us 'Brits' huddled around a tiny TV set in the reception area of a backpackers' hostel in Auckland. Great memories. They're the best!

Giggs/God..

Ryan Giggs has signed another year-long contract for Manchester United, and will still be playing for them when he's forty! As a nod to his longevity I dived into my files to find you my shot of Ryan with George Best - a pair of legends if ever there was one - but overshot my alphabetic filing system and came to this shot of 'God' by mistake. (Ok, I know this is Jesus but he's technically the same thing - just ask any of our trustworthy Cardinals!) It's a photo of a sticker on a taxi headlight in Brazil, so .. Freudian slip? Giggs/God? Is it a sign? Actually, thinking about it, it does look more like George Best, doesn't it!

You da best...

It seems the search for happiness is doomed to failure, apparently, because we're always projecting things forward (An expert said!) We will get that promotion, we will win the lottery, etc., etc., etc... Turns out that when you achieve what you aimed at, you soon revert to your normal state of unhappiness.

Well, I guess that's why I'm always so deliriously joyful. I'm always looking backwards!...

Back to the 'good old days' when everything was rosy and Adele hadn't even been born! Back to HP5, and vinyl and news that came on sheets of paper! Back to 3 TV channels - ok, four - and access to bands and famous people without having to sign your life away! Back to a time you could trip over a wire and not make money by blaming someone else! Back to the days when a good photographer could make a decent living without being undercut by a numpty with a 'good' camera. Yes, folks, I like it in here. Those days were the Best...

Write on time...

More on the passage of time!
Ryan Giggs was told after last night's Manchester United win that he was the oldest player ever to score in the Champions' League, a fact he received with a wry smile and a shy thank you! Reminded me of when I shot him as a pleasant young lad with George Best outside Old Trafford. Who'd have known back then he would turn out to be one of our most loyal players! Speaking of loyalty, I was sent an email from Sainsbury's yesterday, asking if I would complete a questionnaire about their clothing range..and it would only take 20 minutes!! Er, no... I'm busy!
Makes me wonder about the lives of the brides I photograph. Some present me with their chosen list of Wedding images within a couple of weeks of their Big Day, yet one couple still haven't chosen any shots for their album, and it's now three years since they married!
One last thing on time. Poor old Poly Styrene died yesterday. She sang with X-Ray Spex, one of the great punk bands of the seventies. She only got 53 years! Make the most of it, folks!
Ok, that's enough clock-watching!