Graham Gibberd

 RIP Graham Gibberd. Sad news about our old friend and neighbour in Lambeth who passed away with dementia recently. A lovely man who was very kind and generous - who put a rubber roof on our old leaky flat in Lambeth Walk just before Archie was born. Enormously knowledgable about the Lower Marsh area and wrote a definitive book on the subject which is now highly collectable. He will be greatly missed.

Lower Marsh SE1

Discovered this still from the 1950's film "Waterloo Road" recently on Instagram of Lower Marsh market in it's heyday. Sad to see it now with just a few stalls left. Even in the 80's it had some life when I worked at Cooper's Natural Foods part time. All gone now. The seond photo was taken a few years after Coopers closed - the building empty and falling into decay. Business's bought out and run down so property developers can buy up huge chunks of London for huge profits - sheer greed. A once lively community decimated. There;s Tim Cooper in the other photo - an early shot of the health food emporium with some of my paintings on the walls.

London ( more photos )

London Weekend

Nice fun packed weekend in London with Archie, Meriel and Jennifer. Stayed in Jennifer's basement. Packed a lot into three days including excellent "Play Well" exhibition at Wellcome Collection. Archie's work at Southwark Park Gllery, the UVA installation that he helped with and the Carnaby Street Xmas lights that he also helped with. Very packed in the West End - glad to escape back to Knightsbridge. Lovely food too including Dishoom curry place in old art deco theatre. Italian that Jennifer treated us to and lovely lasgane that Meriel made at their flat in Fulham. Also visits to Sadey Coles to see some amusing video work , Science Museum, Serpentine galleries and walks in Hyde Park etc. Phew! More photos coming up.

One more from RCA Convocation.

Photo by Gail Gilliland.

More RCA photos.

Post gaduation photos around the Albert memorial - Tony Eve and family come to visit - Jane who organises outside events for three London art schools - etc. etc.

London trip - RCA Graduation and Degree Shows

A busy week in the big crowded smelly city. Saw lots of art and caught up with lots of old chums - Jane and Graham, Dick Turpin, Tony Eve and Family, John Hegley and many others too numerous to mention. Saw lots of art too at the V&A, Serpentine s galleries, Sophie Coles, RCA degree shows of course - our main reason for going - to see Archie and Meriel's work and see them get their MA at the Royal Albert Hall. The weather was wonderful - too hot at times but we stayed in the shade mostly and managed to cool down with copious bottles of water and the occasional beer! Must thank our hosts too- the lovely Jennifer and Matteo Adinolfi who let us stay in their arty basement close to Hyde Park. So lucky to be so near to all the museums and the college so walked mostly everywhere except for ocassional bus rides ( which took ages ) to Lambeth to visit old haunts and ee exhibions at the Portland Street gallery and the West End. Also managed to catch the Artist's Postcards show at the British Museum in which I have one collaged postcard. In the same cabinet as Tom Philips, Yoko Ono and Gilbert & George to name but a few! So nice to get back to quiet leafy Cheshire. More photos soon. Took hundreds!

London Weekend

Nice couple of days in sunny London to see Archie and Meriel's group exhibition over at RAW Labs in docklands. Stayed with our old friends Jennifer and Matteo in leafy West London by Hyde Park where we went for nice walks to see some art at the Serpentine galleries and watch the swans hiss at passing dogs. Also the parakeets that love apples. More art at the Welcome Museum and the Design Museum - thanks to Meriel who got us in to see the Hope Not Nope exhibition . We ache all over now after all the walking.