Sunday Best!

Pearly Kings and Queens arrive at St Martin's in the Field church in Trafalgar Square to celebrate their Harvest Festival. When London had a real and neighbourly East End they did all sorts of good works among the poor and dispossessed. From my book, "Being English"

The Winner

At the Royal Windsor Horse Show in the 1970s...a prize for the horse and a stern gaze for your painter with light, perhaps for not wearing the obligatory suit and bowler. From my book, "Being English"

Nostalgia

Sunrise in Hyde Park on a chill Sunday morning in November. Ancient oily engines being coaxed back to life for one more triumphant journey. This was the scene shortly before the start of the annual London to Brighton run for veteran motor cars and their vintage owners. Most of them arrived there too! From my book, "Being English"

Toys for Boys

I took this picture back in the 1970s, long before man eating seagulls became a threat! This angler was fishing near the source of the River Thames, at Lechlade, and was using his catapult to fire bait out to the middle of the river. From my book, "Being English"

On the Towpath

This was at the Henley Royal Regatta, where this couple's sartorial splendour is normally only to be found in the Stewards Enclosure, but then dipping your toes in the River Thames might not be so encouraged there. The second straw boater helped my composition but what happened to its owner? From my book, "Being English"

On Parade

I'd been to a rehearsal of Trooping the Colour and these Guardsmen were marching across St James's Park on their way back to barracks. For a few brief moments this elegant lady became their inadvertent leader. Only old soldiers will notice she's out of step, while the rest of us salute her! From my book, "Being English"

Lunch Break

An every day scene on the beach at Bognor Regis. I went to photograph a Sandcastle Competition but a sadistic Dad with a large bottle of tomato ketchup had other ideas. I know I should have called Child Welfare but, being a true snapper, I concentrated on getting the exposure right! From my book, "Being English"

Beauty Queens

This picture was made in the 1970s on Blackpool's Golden Mile, the promenade between the seaside resort's two piers. Even then there was a sadness about Blackpool, a town long past its golden age and already losing its battle with Mediterranean beaches. From my book, "Being English"

The Dancer

This fellow was getting in touch with his feminine side at London's Gay Pride event in 2009, which took off with dancing classes in Hyde Park. From my book, "Being English"

Crash Landing?

....well, I could tell a fib some forty years later but this biker, spied in Kensington Gardens, London, was actually practicing his yoga. The photograph was cropped square for the cover of "Being English", an act usually against my religion, so here is the original image as shot.