The Less-lust Man, 1988: Lust we forget the Less Lust man who walked
up and down Oxford Street for about 50 years teaching the world how to lessen
ones lustful desires and keep a lid on it.
You would always see this huge plackard coming towards you in the crowd, with
the suspended booklet (and price tag) swinging from it, all held up by this
oldie gent with glasses and mackintosh.
And so in 1988 I took this candid
shot of him, but his face got obscured. I was a bit too bashful to go and ask
for him to pose. But such a regular feature that chap was. He had his speil,
which was the same on the board, and I remember him quietly asking "Will somebody buy my booklet, only ten pennies.." One year, the booklet went up
to eleven pennies. I often wondered if he ever sold any.
I remember when he died, he got a big mention in the
Evening Standard, but I forgot to keep the cutting. Damn. He seemed such
a nice old boy. But I think a spot of lust is good for you! So I've read...
Brian Haw, 2006: Come rain or more rain, our man in Parliament Square
will be there, screaming and cursing at the commons, right till the bitter
end. And it's been a long haul, as our Brian has been camped out there for
many years now, on his long campaign. He's built up quite an art gallery of
signs and posters, mostly against the war. It's hard to believe that this
has been his only world, but on seeing his weather-beaten complexion, you
know he's had a tough time with the elements. Seen here at his bell-ringing
best, and the tourists loved it. As did my camera, which caught him in action.
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