A hungry raptor on the prowl near Stroud

Back home after a weekend away in London and I'm exhausted. Meeting so many people in different places, with the relentless crowds and cars getting in my way, meant I came home with a sigh of relief.

I did manage to get to a reunion of workers from Tattooist International, a collective of filmmakers established in the early 1970s. Many of the attendees hadn't seen each other for up to twenty-five years. Lots of talented technicians and directors, most of whom were decrying the current money-centrered world of television and film. We had it so good back then, when innovative ideas were seemingly encouraged before profit-making.

I hope now we can keep better connected, as we all seemed to treasure that now passed world, where there was an ethical base to working together, a camaraderie, whilst also encouraging and supporting up and coming talent, whether youthful or not, as in my case, being in my thirties when I began there. My first paid job was as a runner on the Free Nelson Mandela video shoot for The Specials, which Jeff Baynes directed back in 1984, amongst many others. Jeff has helped so many people to get going, offering not only an opening into the film business, but advice and even financial help to young people. Thanks Jeff, for helping me get started and for organising this meeting too.

Strangely enough the venue, MAP cafe and studio, in Kentish Town, where we all met, is owned and run by an old friend of mine, Chris Townsend, completely unconnected to the people I was meeting. Another small world of synchronous activity. In fact I had commissioned his earlier t-shirt printing company, Fifth Column, to make T-shirts for Tattooist to use when filming together. The first occasion was for the Bandaid recording, Feed the world, in 1983, for which Tattooist provided all the film crews and equipment for free to make the documentary and video. Somehow my face ended up in the promo video, and friends around the world all saw it.

Today, I am having a quiet day, with only a visit by Charles C. for coffee. Just after we sat down to drink and chat this morning, I spotted a buzzard climbing out of the valley behind our house. I am always on the look-out for the buzzards because sometimes they fly very low over the trees at the bottom of the garden. I grabbed my camera, which was conveniently on the dining-room table, but didn't have time to change the 35mm prime lens or the settings. I slid open the patio door and tried to keep the rain off the lens as I pointed into the sky. I managed to get this shot as the buzzard disappeared over the roof. Not a great shot, and hopefully I will get a zoom lens out for when I see the buzzard flying lower. But this is today and the rain has tipped down ever since then, so the chances of a better shot are slim.