Last night I attended a special PV for trustees of the Museum of East Anglian Life. The event had been scheduled separately to the opening PV on account of the huge positive response to invitations to the exhibition. Lisa Harris and I discussed possible dates weeks ago and we both thought that leaving a gap of one week between both events would be good. How prophetic was that with the benefit of hindsight. With Mrs O’s mum passing last Thursday, it was almost as if she held off her departure so as not to get in the way. She was like that.

It was interesting going back into a social event after a week of intense bereavement arrangements and activities. I had no real idea as to who was turning up apart from a few trustees I had met whilst I was hanging the work. Just as with the first PV people had travelled long distances to meet and view the work. The weather was Biblical when I arrived , the last decent evening having been on 16th, I sat in the car waiting for the rain to subside – choosing a linen jacket was maybe not hhe best for wet weather so I was thankful that the reception was being held in the conservatory but then the rain passed over and some late evening sunshine broke through.

There were 49 people on the guest list and the first person I showed around was Judith Shallow, High Sheriff of Suffolk. I was delighted at her delight and interest in the images. She recognised many locations including the Orford shot and was intrigued by a building in one of my Bury St Edmunds shots. It was then a steady stream of small groups that I led around the exhibition including two peers, one of whom I never actually got a chance to speak to such was the interest shown in both the subject matter and my process for making the work. The last person to be shown around was Lord Cranbrook who showed a very deep knowledge of the subject matter and was interested in my book which although it is available on-line, I cannot recommend the purchase of, owing to poor quality control at the printers. I will have to source a better publisher for a new edition. This morning, I learned the Lord Cranbrook is a leading environmentalist which explains the ease with which he grasped my message, but so did every person I showed around last night.

Several ideas were spawned from this latest PV and they are that the Museum ought to arrange some evening sessions in the Autumn where I can talk people through the series and that I need to source a reliable quality printer for a new edition of the photobook Edgelands, plus the suggestion that the final very large C-Type ‘Leaf and other Litter’ would make a superb and very frustrating jig-saw puzzle.

With the somewhat biblical weather of the last few weeks it was pertinent that as soon as I got home we went to Ararat the landing place of Noah’s Ark but this was not for species counting but for a late meal of possibly the best lamb Shish Kebab I have ever tasted.

Then it was out on the bike this morning. That is only twice this week as I do not do rain on a push bike but my, what a difference the rain has made to our local environs.

This image was made of the Cornus that attracted much attention at both PVs.

Just a few yards away there is the quintessentially British river scene of Sproughton Mill which for years was indeed a derelict ‘Edgelands’ subject only I was not then making the series. I regret not making work of this mill when it was shrouded in scaffolding to prevent it collapsing into the Gipping.

We do live in a beautiful world.