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pfm Picture A Week (PAW) 2021

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Robin Gillanders, 10th Dec 2012

Robin Gillanders by Pete, on Flickr

Was up in Edinburgh for a party/ retrospective marking the closure of Napier's Photography site at Marchmont and Robin's retirement from teaching there and arranged to snap him. Had a bit of a nightmare day, managed to leave my camera bag with the 'blad on the bus when I got off at the stop for my mum's,a frantic call to LRT to see if it had been handed in and then a dash to Annandale St to pick it up half an hour before I was due to do the shoot. Had to borrow a tripod off him as hadn't allowed for how quickly the light goes at that time of year, and all shot at about an 1/8th and maybe a stop down from wide open.

If Robin likes one of my portraits I know I've got something right

https://www.robingillanders.com/section675777.html
 
and me by him in Feb '87 - studio demo
194666_10151178971666365_1419673075_o.jpg
 
mad-moon said:
Are you really mental..?
Click to expand...

Well I used to have a bit of a temper...

I was sent to boarding school at the age of seven as my parents worked/lived abroad. When I was 9 I went to a new school, quite small about 90 boys, and there it became a sport to goad me into losing my temper. I'd then be caned. Although you would get caned for anything from talking after lights out to not doing your french vocab. Needless to say I wasn't very happy there. When I was twelve I tried to run away with 2 other boys. Left about 4 in the morning but didn't get very far before being sopped by a policeman. We kept schtum in the police station for a few hours before admitting where we were from. Of course we got beaten for trying to run away. At one point the school weren't going to let me back unless I saw someone. About the same time my Dad had gone out to start a job in Iran, the family were to follow a few months later, and whilst there suffered a nervous breakdown and was repatriated and hospitalised, Somehow this became common knowledge in the school and became another thing to torment me about.
I recently came across a letter from the headmaster to my mum which said " Dr Wolff says Peter is a perfectly normal boy coping with excessive stresses. Whatever the causes of these stresses, he seems much more able (to my way of thinking) with life now. As I see it , if he can feel loved and supported at home, then day school could suit him very well"
I never did feel particularly loved and supported at home. I continued at boarding school to the age of 18 with no friends outside school and very few inside and then only after I hit 16.
Only a few years ago my mum said " Oh, were you not happy at school?"
Dad had several instances of depression throughout his life - he ended up in hospital for a year in 2008/9 (complete with shock treatment) before dying in 2010
The MentalP is just a bit of an F you to those who took such pleasure in trying to make my life a misery.
 
mentalp said:
Well I used to have a bit of a temper...

I was sent to boarding school at the age of seven as my parents worked/lived abroad. When I was 9 I went to a new school, quite small about 90 boys, and there it became a sport to goad me into losing my temper. I'd then be caned. Although you would get caned for anything from talking after lights out to not doing your french vocab. Needless to say I wasn't very happy there. When I was twelve I tried to run away with 2 other boys. Left about 4 in the morning but didn't get very far before being sopped by a policeman. We kept schtum in the police station for a few hours before admitting where we were from. Of course we got beaten for trying to run away. At one point the school weren't going to let me back unless I saw someone. About the same time my Dad had gone out to start a job in Iran, the family were to follow a few months later, and whilst there suffered a nervous breakdown and was repatriated and hospitalised, Somehow this became common knowledge in the school and became another thing to torment me about.
I recently came across a letter from the headmaster to my mum which said " Dr Wolff says Peter is a perfectly normal boy coping with excessive stresses. Whatever the causes of these stresses, he seems much more able (to my way of thinking) with life now. As I see it , if he can feel loved and supported at home, then day school could suit him very well"
I never did feel particularly loved and supported at home. I continued at boarding school to the age of 18 with no friends outside school and very few inside and then only after I hit 16.
Only a few years ago my mum said " Oh, were you not happy at school?"
Dad had several instances of depression throughout his life - he ended up in hospital for a year in 2008/9 (complete with shock treatment) before dying in 2010
The MentalP is just a bit of an F you to those who took such pleasure in trying to make my life a misery.
Click to expand...

Holy ****....not such a good childhood at all.....enough to push anyone over the edge..it's good that you can say **** you to all the idiots..that's a great portrait of yourself...You seem to have come out well at this end..Your photographs are quite wonderful and thought provoking....nice work...atb for the future young man....Big Al..
 
mentalp said:
Well I used to have a bit of a temper...

I was sent to boarding school at the age of seven as my parents worked/lived abroad. When I was 9 I went to a new school, quite small about 90 boys, and there it became a sport to goad me into losing my temper. I'd then be caned. Although you would get caned for anything from talking after lights out to not doing your french vocab. Needless to say I wasn't very happy there. When I was twelve I tried to run away with 2 other boys. Left about 4 in the morning but didn't get very far before being sopped by a policeman. We kept schtum in the police station for a few hours before admitting where we were from. Of course we got beaten for trying to run away. At one point the school weren't going to let me back unless I saw someone. About the same time my Dad had gone out to start a job in Iran, the family were to follow a few months later, and whilst there suffered a nervous breakdown and was repatriated and hospitalised, Somehow this became common knowledge in the school and became another thing to torment me about.
I recently came across a letter from the headmaster to my mum which said " Dr Wolff says Peter is a perfectly normal boy coping with excessive stresses. Whatever the causes of these stresses, he seems much more able (to my way of thinking) with life now. As I see it , if he can feel loved and supported at home, then day school could suit him very well"
I never did feel particularly loved and supported at home. I continued at boarding school to the age of 18 with no friends outside school and very few inside and then only after I hit 16.
Only a few years ago my mum said " Oh, were you not happy at school?"
Dad had several instances of depression throughout his life - he ended up in hospital for a year in 2008/9 (complete with shock treatment) before dying in 2010
The MentalP is just a bit of an F you to those who took such pleasure in trying to make my life a misery.
Click to expand...

Pete - that's powerful, and thought-provoking stuff but so good that you're able to stick the proverbial 2 fingers up to those who once hurt you.

Keep these portraits coming.
 
mentalp said:
Well I used to have a bit of a temper...
Click to expand...

That's an inspiring story Peter. I used to do admin work for a local mental health charity. I got to know some of the clients but obviously in my role I would not get to know their back story. I can't imagine how it was going through all of that and it reminds me how lucky I have been.
 
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