Winter Peach Photography: September 2024

I can't believe I'm typing this just a couple of days after the announcement that our meteorological summer is over. I'm only just getting into my stride! This year saw a late onset of summer and I for one am not ready for Autumn just yet. So I'm going to recap on a few interesting local events to keep the summer vibes going.

First up, the Black Country Folk Festival, which combined the talents of some of the Black Country's most successful independent artists of the last decade and took place in Katie Fitzgerald's Secret Garden, last mentioned here: Winter Peach Photography: Learning, Laughter and a Spa Day; The Best Medicine!

This year's festival got off to a shaky start with a last minute change of venue from the original, Himley Hall, and a mix up over timings. They say bad luck comes in threes and this was no exception. One of the artists on the bill was forced to pull out due to a health issue and the much lauded Jess Silk, fresh from a set at Beautiful Days Festival, had lost her voice and was struggling with her hearing.

In spite of all this, Katie's Secret Garden hosted an amazing event. As per usual, I had my camera with me and indulged in some people watching; an interesting face here...

...a cool jacket...

...and a loved up couple there.

Many of the punters were clearly regulars and knew each other, but we buddied up with another pair of newbies, Owen and Tracey, from Dublin and Dudley respectively and enjoyed several hours of exchanging stories, listening to live music and the odd beverage! Gareth caught up with the lead singer of 90s rock band Pele after seeing the band perform at his old student union back in the day. We also narrowly missed seeing Gareth's old neighbour Dan from Ned's Atomic Dustbin, performing in a side project. (It was late in the day, I knew nothing about this, we'd already been there for hours and the hunger pangs were kicking in).

But here are a couple of the bands we did see. First up, the excellent trio Journeyman with their own blend of traditional, foot stomping folk.

Jess Silk, in spite of her ailments, was present for the duration and popped up on stage throughout the day.

Joe Solo made the 8 hour round trip from Scarborough to perform at one of his favourite venues. As the man himself later said to me, his travel schedule is "borderline masochistic." A real trooper with seemingly endless battery juice.

Another day, another gig and a venue that's new to us. A couple of months ago, I spotted Peter Doherty (of Libertines/Babyshambles fame/notoriety) tickets on sale at KK's Steelmill, an intimate venue in Wolverhampton and promptly snapped up a couple.

Peter is living a life of relative sobriety these days, but there's still an air of unpredictability about him and we knew we would be in for an interesting evening.

Sure enough, upon arrival, I went to check out the merch, only to find a flustered looking man setting out polo shirts for the support act on a table. I asked whether or not he had anything of Peter's and he responded by requesting another 15 minutes as "Peter has loads in his dressing room" and yet, apart from one very tiny t-shirt and a few copies of Peter's book, nothing materialised for the rest of the evening.

Not that it mattered. We were there for the music. Peter appeared on stage well ahead of schedule and without any fanfare, sang a song and then introduced the first of two support acts. Throughout the gig, he would, without warning, dash on stage, dance and jump around on the sofas, harmonise with the second support act, Welshman Jack Jones (part purveyor of "bangers" and part stand up comedian) before exiting the stage again.

Peter's own set was thrilling. He moved seamlessly from one song to another, engaged well with the crowd and was very generous and inclusive to the support acts. There was only one hiccup when he dropped his harmonica and then cursed the fact that it had been in the wrong key all along. Not that the crowd noticed. He rounded the night off with an impromptu signing session as people began tossing on stage everything from pieces of cardboard to Vans trainers for him to scribble on.

As per usual, I lamented the fact that I was only allowed my mobile phone camera, but given that we were right at the front, I was able to get some slightly superior photos and chat to his old friend and official (female) gig photographer.

For our final immersion into local culture, we took a trip into town - Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter - to catch Dion Kitson's Silver Lining Exhibition, which coincides with his first major exhibition at the Ikon Gallery (you can read about that here: Winter Peach Photography: Rue Britannia And The Search For Avalon)

Housed within JW Evans' Silver Factory, which opened in 1881, Dion has carefully placed various works throughout the factory premises, playfully and poignantly drawing on his working class roots and parallels with JW Evans himself, a self made man, whose silverware castings business passed through three generations of the same family.

Dion utilises found objects, elevating them to relatable art.

This piece, Vice, shows gold plated cigarette butts secured in a vice...a simple concept utilising great wordplay.

This piece, a gold plated broken bottle of Frosty Jack cider, laments the addiction problems which afflicted members of the community Dion grew up amongst, often resulted in burn out.

Bob: Mechanised dunking Digestive biscuits. A nod to a very British tradition and the workers' tea break, these nodding biscuits could also be interpreted as subservient nods to the big bosses.

Numerous discarded footballs were mounted in a trophy style cabinet...a visual representation of broken dreams.

This clock, which has been partially filled with resin coated baked beans is entitled "Somat to ate" (Black Country for "something to eat" or a reference to the time.) I'm not sure why I actually waited for this photo bomber to do his thing. The result made me smile.

My favourite had to be Tin Man, created in the artists own image and an homage to his favourite childhood film, The Wizard of Oz. Inspiration struck as soon as Dion laid eyes on this lump of metal.

Originally three terraced houses, the properties were knocked through to house the factory, before spilling out into the long, narrow gardens. A guided tour was essential. We may well otherwise still be rattling around inside the out buildings with the factory ghosts and cobwebs for company.

This atmospheric place is now owned and operated by English Heritage, but is very much the poor cousin to bigger attractions such as Kenilworth Castle, receiving a smaller piece of the funding pie. This by no means takes away its lustre. JW Evans Silver Factory is a must visit place; a fascinating glimpse into our heritage and a rapidly dying skillset. It remains as it was when it was finally handed over to English Heritage in 2008, complete with machinery, dies, office supplies, tools, silverware and some incredible furniture.

I loved the factory's utilitarian chic - with wood/paint patina aplenty - possibly more than the silver itself. Sadly, no photos were allowed of the silverware, but take my word for it, there were some incredible pieces, including a silver Wee Willy Winky's "Nightcap" cup.