Sparkography

Ok, I’ve posted a photo of an old building but I’m going to start by talking about old people. Bear with me.

I think that old people are great. Now that doesn’t mean I hang out with them knitting scarves and doing jigsaws. But as I’ve got older I’ve found myself looking back at my childhood and realising what a brat I was to my hard working parents, and so I’ve started to appreciate what they went through for me. They’re now in their 60s and heading down under to see me in a few weeks, which I’m really happy about. So I’m in the middle of planning a trip to New Zealand for them (and myself of course – I’m feeling the need for a few dramatic landscapes!) but I have to take into account that as senior citizens they’re unlikely to want to do bungy jumps and skydives.

Obviously younger people are at a different life stage and are maybe less conscious of the contributions of their elders. But I reckon if you ask any person of any age to study a portrait of an old person for just 2 minutes, they’ll start to see the memories that lie in the grooves of those deep wrinkles, and feel the character that keeps the sparkle in those deep set eyes.

Besides we all love our grandparents right? And Santa Claus? And Richard Attenborough from Jurassic Park? And of course there’s our favourite 900 year old, green, pint sized Jedi master Yoda.

If at this point you’re detecting a hint of sobriety about my demeanour you’re right. I had news from the UK today that my granduncle Robert passed away after a fine innings. He was a good man and bizarrely enough he always used to remind me of Yoda. Not that he was green and handy with a lightsabre, but he was wise (he used to be a magistrate) and of small build. And he always seemed to construct his sentences backwards.

So back to those buildings. Yes, they’re old. And run down. And they’ve seen better days. But isn’t that what makes them fascinating? Just as old people were once our age, had real lives (and even had sex apparently!), likewise those old derelict buildings were once hives of activity, forming an important part of the local community and society in general. I love spending time wandering around them and peering through the broken windows. And I bet if you can spare just a couple of minutes looking at one of them, you’ll see those memories lingering within their brickwork wrinkles.