Weeknotes 2022.37

Word of The Queue gets around, you know. I went to see Olafur Arnalds at the Hammersmith Apollo on Friday (a concert that was originally due to happen in 2020, then 2021.) In one of the gaps between the tracks he asked if people needed to leave to get a train, or if they needed to go and join a line somewhere. He spoke about how when “the thing” happened, he thought “oh shit”—wondering if the concert would still be able to go ahead. It did. He, along with Sandrayati who opened for him, brought the house down. (Beth’s Theme from Broadchurch put in an appearance, as it did the last time I saw him in Utrecht: I wonder if Ólafur considers it one of his favourites, or if it’s just one of the most popular.)

Film photography, to which I have returned after 2 decades, has not lost its novelty but remains potentially ruinously expensive. I nipped into the Photographers’ Gallery at Soho to buy some low-speed film—it’s quite hard to get hold of any film these days, especially colour film. The prices there were pretty good and the selection was wide—they had more than I expected. (The woman behind the counter told me that someone had come in earlier having been quoted £45 for a single roll of colour film elsewhere. There’s always some people out there looking to take advantage of a good shortage.)

The alpine strawberries are having a late flush of flowers. Hopefully this means a late flush of fruits and a longer crop next year. The skimmias are starting to flower again, too—although I expect these would be less delicious.

One final note—I've started a public Instagram with various 'arty' photography shots. You can find me at @joro.jpeg. I will not be checking messages there, though.