A whole world on your plate - # 327

This market stall crammed with exotic and out of season fruit made me think of Joseph Conrad...a remarkable author, famous for "The Heart of Darkness" etc.

At the turn of the 19th/20th C he wrote "The Secret Agent" about anarchists, subversion and bomb making in London. If I remember correctly, he has a scene where a man walks down a London street and the "brilliant gas lamps" pick out the fruit stalls and the exotic fruits displayed. (It could have been written for a film scene, although cinema did not exist).

Reading around, I also discovered that already in the late 19th C the coming of railways ensured that early season fruits could be brought from Uzbekistan into Western Europe, and a lively trade developed long before 1914.

So.....not much has changed in 130 years. Britain is still struggling in Afghanistan, Iraq, and on the edges of "Empire", while at home, London is still the somewhat seedy but magnificent melting pot we all know even today. Shadowy figures play cat and mouse with the police and produce bombs in suburban hide-outs, cook up wicked plots without even giving a hint to their innocent wives, and send innocent children to their death as bomb carriers. At the same time, our market stalls are bursting with exotica from the ends of the earth, transported by the marvels of technology to be "on our table, picked fresh from the vine only a day ago".

A master of his trade - # 326

There are few things more enjoyable (for me at least) than watching a stall trader at work.

I took about ten shots of this chap at his regular and highly professional pitch near the market square. Every shot showed energy, movement, skill, concentration and underlying it, salesmanship and a knack for making people smile - while making money. He is making a living by keeping people happy where-ever he finds himself.

A few days ago I showed my compost bin and was amazed at the responses which showed how we are all so very much THE SAME. Same concerns, same loves and sentiments (admittedly not without some cultural differences, but they can be resolved with good will and common sense).

I've been fortunate to have had a career that took me around the world dealing with all kinds of people. How fortunate I have been to have that experience.

I must work harder at my crowd scenes and people shots.