Pappa's Pootling Place...

OK, I’ve never called my Dad ‘Pappa’ and I don’t think he’d have appreciated the many hours per day, every day, that he worked at this very bench and very drill in his later years, as merely ‘pootling’.

He now hardly ever ventures outside the bungalow, at 82 and with dementia it’s probably best that he doesn’t either! When the warmth of summer comes then no doubt he’ll sit outside in the garden. He does enjoy that, I so hope he gets a good dose of sunshine this summer!

So, it was with some quiet distress that I photographed the remains of all that remains of his sanctity, his shed.

There was once a roof, of course, the asbestos sheeting of the Nissen hut is now lying about, tidied a little. The storms of the winter brought a small tree down which smashed right through the middle. It was immensely sad to see the rows of neat containers that housed screws and nails and such, that he so painstakingly salvaged from God knows where...

There is order amongst the chaos, and colour too, which is why this Blip remains in colour. It would be too much like a mausoleum in black and white, not helped by the dull dour day. I was going to use the tripod but there was neither the room for the legs and still danger from the partly caved in roof. To the left are parts that are propped up by an old filing cabinet. I did snap from within looking out but went with this one as the central focal point, the drill, is also a human one. Just having a mass of dereliction is just that, without that human connection. I also used a fixed short telephoto to isolate details but that soon got quite depressing and I started to feel unwell.

So, yes, a sad Monday Blip. My father will never need to see either his shed again or the pictures I took. I was pleasantly surprised that my brother was quite supportive for me to take these record shots. He knows that they are not for anything other than documentation and that I can make something out of it for a Blip. I would imagine many families thinking it to be disrespectful or maudlin to dwell on such things. And of course, it gave me something to do for an hour, as well!

My brother is going to call in a house clearance firm to take everything away. What was worth salvaging has either gone rusty or has suffered through not being used for so many years and so I’m sure he might actually have to pay them to do this, not the other way around.

But, elsewhere, the daffodils are brightly blooming and spring has definitely sprung and yesterday was a most gorgeous day. That will return, my brother ensures that my Dad and his sister have every comfort in the bungalow but having said that, seeing this and recording it was a difficult task for me to do.

Thanks for reading this far, you have helped me by doing so, giving the ‘project’ meaning and a purpose.