Limehouse Blues

Ooh look what I found whilst travelling with Sir John Betjemen on a train through East London on the way to Southend in a glorious film entitled "Thank God It's Sunday" ( as seen on YouTube). It's my old ACME pre-fab in Camdenhurst Street in Limehouse where I lived from around 1975 to 1985. Incredibly cheap studio and living space and incredibly cold in the Winter and incredibly hot in the Summer ( especially the scorching one of 1976 ). I had some interesting neighbours , mostly artists of one kind or another. Next door were two performance artistes who dressed as spivs and sold tat from an old battered suitcase. Aound the corner was Bobby Baker who made life sized figures of cake. Her pre-fab was open one weekend and totally filled with cake figures you could take a slice of and eat whilst admiring the art! Also some biker's , but less said about them the better! There was even a back garden where I grew vegetables one year and supplied most of East London arty community with cabbages and onions!

Archie - Open Studio - Galleria ACME - Peckham

Strange isn't it that nearly 40 years later Archie is renting his studio from ACME as I did back in the 70's except then mine was a pre-fab in Stepney for £3 a week or something stupid and I could live there as well! Good to see ACME still a going concern - helping out artists in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Stepney was pretty basic but very cheap to live back in the 70's and 80's. I got to exhibit at the Whitechapel gallery a few times and made enough work to get my foot in the door of a couple of galleries in the west end. All run by crooks sadly so didn't last long. Mail art came along and rest, as they say, is history. Our 40+ year archive "Curious Things" opens in Manchester on Monday and on for 6 months. #mmucuriousthings

Camdenhurst Street, Stepney - 4th May 1976

Dear C, R and A, What a nice suprise. I certainly did not expect a reply and certainly not an invitation after such a long silence and my intimidating Easter card! I was looking through some old letters ( they are in suitcases, various sizes of wooden and carboard boxes and take up most of the room here ) and came across some from you in Africa, and wondered how I'd lost contact with such friendly and delightful people ( I really mean that, honest!) My memory is petty terrible at the best of times ( and seems to be getting worse!) and I was suddenly plagued with the notion that I had written at some time a poor and ill formed letter that had brought about this sudden break in communications from you while in France as you were all over Africa and then returning to England, and so there was a big gap at that time for everybody, not just me. Hope you can make sense of this, I can't! Anyway, I'll just fill in the gaps and tell you what' been happening in my thin little life since then. When I came back from France I "crashed" on Dick and Cheryl's workshop floor (lumpy mattress) in Lambeth for about a year ( it seemed like an eternity at the time, feels, in retrospect like about 3 weeks! ) I was looking around for a studio (or anything ) during the letter part of my stay, and eventually found out about ACME Housing Association, and after an interview I went on their waiting list ( meantime I'd outstayed my welcome in Lambeth and went to live with my parents in Basildon - still on the dole ) and lo and behold 7 months later I was offered a pre-fab in the most unattractive part of London, which I jumped at immediately ( I was quite prepared to live in a hollow log at that time!) So here I am, snug as a hamster in a shoe box! Plenty of room for a solitairy artist to paint, sleep, eat, wash etc. and even a little garden to dig in if I feel so inclined ( and had money for a spade!) My neighbours are a rum lot, except for Colin and Patty next door, who like a lot of things that I do, and only last night were in here listening to Tony Hancock and old BBC comedy shows and chuckling to ourselves. There are 24 or so pre-fabs in this block- 14 of which are occupied by artists of one kind or another ( so they tell me!) 7 are squatted in ( mostly hells angels and thick hippies ) and the rest ordinairy East Enders just dying to move out into a nice council flat or maisonette. The gas men were here yesterday and put in new pipes etc. for natural gas conversion. My heating has gone "up the creek" consequently! I'll have to collar one of the gas men and make him look at it. Brick Lane market is quite close and I usually go there every Sunday morning to hunt for bargains and just enjoy the atmostphere of a "real" street market, not like the awful tourist trap "petticoat lane" just around the corner. Last Sunday I bought some quite decent classical LP's for 20p each, only they didn't have the outer sleeve, and some were a bit crackly but otherwise excellent. Also a large enamel saucepan that weighs a ton, just right for cooking curries and thick soups without spoiling them. That was only 50p ( it has a lid too ) I have a couple of collages in the East London Open at the Whitechapel Gallery but apart from that no offers of gallery space are forthcoming. ||However, after mu slides are returned from the Greater London Arts association ( I've applied for a grant and certainly won't get it ) I shall hawk my wares around sympathetic galleries if I can find any! There's a possibility I may do some murals for a local arts association, but people often say things they don't really mean ( nothing came of it ). Meanwhile I'm slowly turning out some watercolirs and hope to start a large canvas soon ( my first attempt was a terrible failure, I feel reluctant to start again!) The sun is out and my washing is flapping and dancing on the line and I must go and browse through situations vacant ( just in case!) I haven't heard from Bill and Lynne in a while.Their last letter said they'd be in Red Deer until the end of May, but didn't say where they were going after that. I certainly hope they come back to England, It'll be lovely to see them again. It'll be even nicer if they are staying with you and I can come and visit. Whatever happens, I certainly hope to hear form you soon and about life in Berkshire and little hand clapping Alice. Love Michael.