I had the sheer dumb luck of spending a bit of time with Julian while he was here recently. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a person of such gentle nature produced the most tender and affectionate work I've ever seen.
From 'For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness'- a beautiful book published by SteidlMack in 2005.
"I met Charles Albert Lucien Snelling on a Saturday in April, 1992. He lived in a typical two up two down terraced house amongst many other two up two down terraced houses… It was yellow and orange. In that respect it was totally different from every other house on the street…. ….Charlie was a simple, gentle, man. He loved flowers and the names of flowers. He loved colour and surrounded himself with colour. He loved his wife. Without ever trying or intending to, he showed me that the most important things in life cost nothing at all. He was my antidote to modern living."
Julian mentioned that Charlie was everyone's favourite. I'm sure that there's a good intellectual explanation for this, but I'll not particularly interested in that. For me, his work with Charlie is particularly painful and bittersweet. I have only one regret in my life so far -- not an exaggeration -- that I did not get around to photographing my great-grandmother before she passed. She was my antidote to modern living, and I had utterly failed to preserve the memory of her. She deserved that, at the very least.
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