Through My Lens: Snapshots of My Story

This  site  will be  transitioning   to reflect  my  growing  interest in  sharing some of  myself using  photography,  along  with my  development  as a hobby  photographer. One  way of  expressing this, is  to share  aspects of  my  life  from  childhood to date in images.. The  images  will often, out  of  necessity, be symbolic.  Where  I  can I  will use  my  own images,  but  will also use images  from the  web  ( with  the  permission of  the owner).

 My  mother  taught   me  to  read  from a very  early  age. I  soon  developed a  love  for the  library,  and  would  go there  often  on my  own. I did not realise  it  at  the  time  of  course ,  but  I  now  understand  this  was  in a  sense  a place of refuge.

My mother  delivered  twins  when  I  was 4,  and  so had  three  children  under  the  age  of  5.  Looking back I can  appreciate  the  enormous  stress she  experienced. There was  nothing like  the kind of  support  available to  mothers  then  that  there is  today.  My  father,  born  in 1906, did not  get involved  in  caring  for us  in  any  way. This  was not  untypical  of working  men in the  1960’s. Consequently, my  mother   coped  better  by me  being  out  of  the  way. I  would  be  expected  to spend   many  hours out of  the  house amusing  myself  . The library  was  perfect  for  that.

My  love  of  literature  has  endured  to this  day. Thanks Mum  for teaching  me  to  read.

We moved  around a lot  once  the  twins , Anthony and Rosemary were  born. The  image  below  is a scene  from  Mottingham Village  in  the  1960’s. That  very  view  was   visible from the  flat   we  lived in , at  no 3 Bourdillon Court in  1966.

I have  merged a photograph of  Mottingham,  with an image I  took  myself  in Victoria  BC  public  Library.  It is  the  first  time  I  have  merged  two images  together.  I  quite  like  the  combination of black and  white and  colour. The  black  and  white   tones  seem  appropriate  for  that era.

Photo of Mottingham, Court Road c.1960' from Francis Frith used with permission:

https://www.francisfrith.com/us/mottingham/mottingham-court-road-c1960_m297005