I have been trying to do a Marie Kondo on the house- see MARIE KONDO -in the past few weeks. After 51 years of marriage Val and I managed to accumulate a lot of 'stuff'. I am gradually sorting through it and last week I found a treasure trove of old photos in a cupboard some of which I cannot recollect having seen before. My regret is that I had not found them earlier so that I could have shared them with Val in the final months of her life.
Amongst the photos is this gem-a Cockney family portrait It is a small print and going by the dimensions it is a contact print from a 127 negative. It is a little damaged but still has a very period warm tone.
It shows members of my family and was taken, I believe, in 1948 in Marylebone in London. On the right is my paternal grandfather, Arthur. He was a knockabout guy-at various times a bookmaker's runner, a boxer-look at his nose-and many other dubious occupations. I love his flat cap and the cigarette drooping from his lips.
The small child is me! Obviously I was dressed in my 'Sunday Best' for the photo and take a look at those sandals and the dinky white socks.
On the left is my mother. I remember her as kind and soft but she looks rather hard here. At the back is my paternal grandmother, Annie, Arthur's wife or as he would say in his often used Cockney rhyming slang, 'his trouble and strife'.
The photo must have been taken by my father using his Voigtlander camera which I owned until 2008 when I gave it away in an earlier cleanout when moving house.
It was a very hard time in the UK in 1948 especially in London where my family lived. Britain had won the war but was bankrupt and large areas of London had been flattened by bombing. There was widespread rationing and other hardships. The photo is an evocative portrait from a very difficult time.
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