Thanks to AnnieandChris for organising today’s London blipmeet. I was impressed at their ability to shepherd 14 blippers as we ambled along the Thames chatting and getting distracted. Such management skills augur well for the future of blip. It was great to meet blippers whose names I know and be bemused yet again that there are people who’ve been around for ages who I’ve never stumbled across. A special treat for me was finally getting to meet wonderful Bittersweet after over four years of knowing each other virtually.
 
Since I was trekking to London I made a day of it and went first to the exhibition curated by Martin Parr at the Barbican: Strange and Familiar: Britain as Revealed by International Photographers. I was expecting too much. There are some superb photographs, but very few made me feel that outsiders were ‘revealing’ my culture. Too many got snagged on stereotypes (bowler hats) and the ‘other’ (Sikh turbans). In fact, the exhibition Martin Parr curated 2-3 years ago of his own and Tony Ray-Jones’s photographs (Only in England) got under our skin very much better, I thought.
 
Storm Katie brought just the sort of light I enjoy – bright sun seen through or reflecting off rain– this one was at the Barbican.
 
Black and white in colour 84