Instamatic Camera

This weekend I did what's been a long term dream of mine; completed the Mary Towneley loop on the mountain bike.  It's a two day circular ride through the Pennines, and for whatever reason, it has been one of those things which instantly had me yearning to complete it.  Some desires aren't logical, and this was one of those which just resonated with me without having to have a rational drive to do it.  Just something that lit a flame which kept alight.  When I tentatively posted it as a facebook event three months ago I wasn't sure what to expect, and in reality I was so set on it, I would have done it without company.  When this weekend came, the group was a compact threesome, me, Viv & Jason, with Viv's dad joining us on the Sunday, and the weekend couldn't have been more perfect.  After a summer with no summer, the sun shone on us all day Saturday and most of Sunday, interrupted only by brief but heavy rain showers to provide a welcome cooling effect.  It was just a glorious glorious two days at leisurely pace, riding through the landscape, being part of the hills not just an onlooker.  I don't really do onlooker.

I was in the unusual position of being the one with the camera, having been reminded to bring it beforehand.  Normally I don't really bother with pictures; so many friends with photo addiction and so many mobile phones around that I haven't ever felt I've missed anything not taking a camera with me.  But I did as I was told.  Having had cause to reflect on the purpose of photographs, I confess I'm pretty much a non photo person.  When I cleared out Dave's old photo albums they were meaningless to me, lots of landscapes which could have been anywhere, where I didn't know what the background was, what kind of day they formed part of, nothing, just mental blanks because they weren't part of my life or my set of memories.  Looking at my own pictures, I realise that when I take pictures of landscapes or surroundings the impact is equally meaningless. It's just not the way my brain works, I don't remember things through photographs of hills or trees or skies or beaches, I remember things about people.  Yet I don't need photos to remember what's important, there's a whole catalogue stored in my head and it doesn't require a photo to trigger it.  So I don't really take photos.  Words, however, there's a different matter.  Words can conjure up entire scenes, days, moments, everything really, much more so than photos.  That's why I write. Words are my pictures, and if I can't express things right then the memory becomes clouded not crisp and jagged, pointy even.

But yes, I was made to take charge of the camera, although thankfully others did take on the burden occasionally, particularly when I was otherwise engaged ...

And today was brought to you by BabyBird

"You took an instamatic camera
And pulled my sleeves around my heart"