"Smile"

"Smile though your heart is aching...
Smile even though its breaking,
When there are clouds in the sky
you"ll get by.....

Charlie Chaplin.

A year in a day... travelled in to London to shoot my friend Mags' gig.. 'Magdalena Reising and the Blue Cafe'.. her wee jazz quartet... It started in the train with a remarkable conversation with an "old sea dog" & stories that adventure books are made of... then walking thru Shepherds Bush, i came across a woman...her bike upside down & chain tangled & jammed solid arround the gears..her hands & arms black with grease...it took the two of us 15 mins to get the chain back on. By then my hands were coal black!..& i took my leave. No way could i go to the photo shoot like that...i walked on & found a Scooter showroom...inside i told the owner my greasy tale..& he kindly slapped some yellowish goo on & sent me off to wash... majic!..sparkly new hands...
I had noticed he was struggling to walk...& commented on his arthritis..."No way" says he "I was bitten by a false black widow spider & my legs blew up like balloons,".. so i stayed & listen to his story..he had been in a lot of pain..& felt very ill..but was now on heavy doses of this & that... basically he needed to talk... Then off to the gig, & was pleased with the days photos... then on the way back my brother phoned to say Dad had taken ill & was rushed to hospital.. & was now on drips & antibiotics..hes 90... and 800 miles away. So here to finish the day is the lovely Magdalena.