Derelict Thursday Challenge - 'War on War'

Derelict Thursday Challenge week #8

Tag all entries Derelict Thursday

No individual listing with links now but ALL correctly tagged entries for this week are HERE!

Please see updated guidelines now applicable, in yesterday's Blip. But, in essence if you can't see your entry in the above link (it's in time and date order) then check that it's tagged properly. It will be up you to check this, I won't be doing this from now on. A little more care all round will save us all time and frustration!

Likewise, please don't provide links to your entry on the Forum or on this page - I simply won't have the time. My viewing of and judging for my Favourite and Runner Up will be from those in the link too, so if it's not there, I cannot consider it.

BUT, please DO enter and enjoy the Challenge as before!

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Winchester Day 2

Winchester was voted the best place to live in the whole of the UK, I think back in 2012. One of those dodgy TV polls only entered into by those biased enough to really bother by such things and by those who are fortunate to live there, too, of course.

Very early mornings always brings out those – like me – to be considered by some as the dregs of humanity. Even in sweet, touristy wealthy Winchester you see zombie-like addicts shuffling and the odd sleeping bag. I no longer have anything to do with that world – I’m neither ashamed or proud of my attitude now. I survived, I hope they do too but my struggles are as real as theirs are to them and only I can battle mine. It’s my full-time job.

It’s also the time to see cities as they are. Not how we’re supposed to see them, dressed up by councils and trade associations. So, Winchester’s main shopping pedestrianised thoroughfare is far from being exempt from the odd spot of dereliction.

This was not my original choice for the Challenge. An even more ugly and big boarded up shop with daubed ‘closing down’ had that honour. But I like to see the less obvious too and think laterally. Here, to me, those cheesy awful older person’s Christmas ‘gifts’ – fluffy slippers and knitted scotty dogs really make me feel quite ill at their triteness, when next door, scrawled in seeming desperation pencil is ‘War on War’.

It was this boarded up message that had got my attention and I took a pic of it on its own, first. Feeling it just wasn’t enough, I looked for a context for it to be in. Glimpsing at the shop next door, I knew I had my message and my Challenge entry.

Sorry if you cannot read all of (any?) of the pencil scrawling. It’s clearer in Large of course but was still quite faint and whilst some editing helped bring it out, to try and do so more would just look bad – and odd. That is the other contrast too, of course – the trite cheesy commercial message is in eye-catching bright colours and the serious message can hardly be seen. Except by those who really look.

Lens is the very old manual (but delightful) Nikon Nippon Kogaku 35mm f1.4 – great for street shots and with a lovely warm and buttery bokeh, when conditions suit that style.