I found these old photographs on the computer, dating from a trip into the countryside near Hassocks on the August bank holiday of 2007. They made me laugh when I found them. The first photograph shows Andy, Joe and myself, shortly after having found a haystack in a field. Thinking this was a great opportunity for a photograph, I set the camera to self timer, and balanced it precariously on another nearby haystack. A number of mysteries arose when we looked at the photograph. The first were the expressions of absolute delight and unbridled joy on our faces at being next to a haystack. The second mystery is of why we felt the need to all rest our elbows on the said haystack. If you look carefully though, you can see that Joe, on the right of the picture isn't acualy resting his arm on the haystack, but that his elbow is acually suspended somewhere above the haystack. The photograph looks like one of those old hunting photographs, where hunters stand proudly above their kill.
We certainly look very happy about something.
The second photograph shows us shortly after the fist photograph was taken. Having captured the haystack, we now felt the need for a photograph showing us sitting on it. Why do we now look so miserable and serious? Had the haystack disappointed us in some way? Had a shadow of anxiety passed over us? Perhaps there was a group of rival hunters who now felt the need to take our haystack from us, necessitating us having to sit on the haystack to protect it from being stolen.
The answers to such questions will remain mysteries it seems.
Probably just as well really.
