The Chess Player

When I was in town today I was very happy to see Peter playing chess in the sun outside the Victory Theatre.

Peter Rushforth has lived in Blackheath for many years and has had a fascinating life.
He was born in 1920 and spent the last three years of WWII as a prisoner of war in Changi and Burma.
Being a Japanese prisoner of war was life changing in many ways.
There was an extensive library at Changi and he read about art and philosophy.
He also carved simple wooden chess sets.
He's a renowned and revered artist potter, influenced by Chinese and especially Japanese stoneware. 
To read more about him, go here.
There are also images of his beautiful pots.

He recently suffered a stroke, and after a stint in hospital is obviously happy to be back in Blackheath and can often be seen at this coffee shop, accompanied by friends.
I snapped this from a distance as I didn't want to disturb him.

And I forgot to say, he's a passionate chess player.