Its not often we get a coronation in the UK, and naturally it was a great opportunity to go out and capture some iconic moments of the afternoon prior to the main event, as crowds of people were gathering around the Mall ahead of the procession which would bring the new King and Queen to their Coronation at Westminster Abbey and back to Buckingham Palace the next day.
Santa Cruz das Ribeiras is located in Pico Island, archipelago of the Azores. Every year, during Shrove Monday afternoon, a group of inhabitants, mainly young people, get together to fight a peculiar battle: they throw flour to each other while they go through the main streets of the village. Almost every one protects their eyes with glasses, because the flour is thrown with considerable force and without any warning. I had to protect myself with swimming goggles. Despite that, some flour got into my eyes. I also protected my camera, to avoid considerable damage.
Early this year, in February, I stepped out of travel quarantine and into a cold, mostly empty city, and spent a lot of my time searching for a space to allocate my time. I needed to get back into a structure and rhythm, and wanted to find something which would encourage early mornings in order to reset my sleeping patterns. I found one solution in Hyde Park, not long after dawn, as military drills took over a small area next to the Knightsbridge Barracks.
It must have been one night in December 1956 when I went to see the most important circus show in recent years. It was not just any traveling circus but a contest in which you could see the best of many circuses and which took place in the then brand new Palacio de Deportes de Barcelona (1955). I guess I was accompanied by José, a good friend of the family.
I was walking down the shoreline in Margate with Amanda and David, complaining to them after a passing seagull had offended my favourite summer scarf, when David pointed out towards the lighthouse, cutting me off. A procession of yellow-suited and booted sailors were accompanying a boat as it was towed out to the water’s edge.
