I do wish I had been referring to the slimy, ex-Conservative MP Alan Clark: I think his take on prison thugs, skinheads, and football hooligans would have been hilariously ill-informed.

(Sadly, I was actually referring to Alan Clarke, director of ‘Scum’, ‘Made in Britain’ and ‘The Firm’. Probably, quite an obscure reference for a non-Briton but only an IMDb search away.)

I am somewhat touchy on the subject of modern British barbarism. We have received incredibly bad press on the subject. However, I cannot say that we aren’t deserving of such scorn. I was born and raised in a particularly unlearned area of the country and had quite a hard time of things for wearing anything but a shell suit and, the modern-day equivalent of woad, the Burberry baseball cap.

I’m a fresh graduate (photographer, theorist/critic, ex-model…also looking for a real job *hint hint*) and have only managed to escape that kind of mentality in recent years. The feeling of being spat on and having bricks thrown at me as I walk down the street in my Hedi-accented outfits is still rather clear in the memory.

As I said before, London is one of the last places where the enlightened far outnumber the unlearned, and have free rein to do/wear whatever they so please. For this reason, I am incredibly protective of it.

Even in jest, I think you hit a nerve… Why pay for a shrink when I can talk to Rob?

But, back on subject: Charles Guislain.Yay!

Tx

P.S. Aussi, si n’importe qui de Peckham lit ceci (qui ne sont pas des fanatiques de ‘Only Fools and Horses’) et est en désaccord avec mon dédain pour lui, je serai heureux de faire des excuses. En particulier, pour mon Français faible.

I know you really know I have been (am) ever-so tongue in cheek with my comment(s) seeing as I readily observe Boudica Britain as supremely oddballish when it comes to what they, in Britland do and wear…That’s why I suggest Charlie matches ‘them’ before he steps ashore; if he hasn’t done so already?

In any case…am intrigued by your references to ‘Alan Clark film’ (of which, at my intolerant age, should be familiar?) Was he in the Conservative Gov who later wrote notorious diaries…?

Or, was that another Alan Clarke..?

and as for Peckham…?

Suspect you are quite a snoopy know-it-all who may have an editing track somewhere along the line.

Oo

London is the city of ‘oddballs’, it always has been. I see many boys in outfits, not dissimilar to those of our beloved Charles, tottering about the streets on a regular basis. In fact, I was and still am one of those boys!

I’ve rarely had anyone bat an eyelid.

Granted, London may be one of the few bastions of odd in England but such a situation is nothing unique to this country. London has been a centre of creative innovation for generations, incontestably in the area of fashion. That is the reason CSM has the international reputation that is attracting monsieur Guislain after all.

I, and many others, will welcome him with open arms. Stop trying to scare the poor boy away.

I recommend a trip back to London; lots of things have changed in the past thirty years. We don’t even get hanged for fancying boys these days.

If you live in London…well…I reckon it’s time to wander outside Peckham.

Tx

I suggest, he goes fully prepared to Britain with a more, shall we say, ‘Boudica look’…That is, blue woad smeared on his face, horned hat and, always, with a barbaric screeching demeanour constantly shouting, for example, “Come On You Gunners!” If he must wear a flowing cape, it should depict The Cross of St. George or Her Majesty’s Union Jack.

Charles HAS to dispel any suspicion and threats from the British he will meet who could regard him as an oddball that could be kicked about mercilessly.

Anyway…

Good Luck to him.