Starting a New Job and Abba's Voyage

My new job for the next three months started, and I spent part of the morning walking around and taking  look at the area around Earl's Court. I photographed a delivery man with a pile of exciting looking boxes, and a woman in a charity shop, as well as making a mental list to go back and meet some of the people in the shops that weren't open yet.

I'll be running art workshops, and I made a poster for that and chatted to the woman who runs the community centre where I'll be working. I even drew the delivery man, because I need to get going, even with background work.

In the evening, I went with Offsprog One to see Abba Voyage in its own purpose built arena opposite Pudding Mill Lane Docklands Light Railway station. This was my birthday present from my Offsprogs; they had remembered that I'd said I wanted to go, even though I knew it would be weird. And it definitely was! The holograms were really clever, but the avatars were a little on the glitchy side (which was quite pleasing). There was a live band, which seemed to confuse everyone because we'd realised that there was no point in applauding holograms. But then the band appeared out of a hole in the ground, so everything changed. There was some beautiful animiné in a couple of the songs. There were too many new Abba songs that we didn't know, but the old favourites sent the audience wild, and that was us too. It was hilarious to see the vanity of the male members (sic) of the band, who in avatar form had lost the hamster cheeks and chubby chins of their youth and who looked quite elfin. There was also a notable chumminess between the holographic band members that had been nowhere to be seen back in the day: they were well known for their frosty performances with absolutely no onstage camaraderie. But that made it all the better really because artificiality is what it's all about, and there was a lot of knowing reference to that fact: 'costume changes' in the dark, and so on. We were in the mosh pit, along with the girl gangs (fun) and the tall men who talked all the way through (not fun). the latter disappeared shortly after being asked not to FaceTime their mates during the performance (seriously!). It was a genius birthday present. Thank you, Offsprogs.

I didn't mind the rain today. On my way to the studio, I spied a fabulous postie in a voluminous fluorescent anorak pushing a trolled and I asked if I could photograph him, and explained that I would be making a portrait from the photo. 'Yes', he said, 'So long as you don't show my face'.

I think I may have more stories like that before this project is finished!