It somehow seems entirely fitting that Daevid Allen, the legendary musician and poet, early associate of William Burroughs and psychedelic founder of ‘Gong’, should have died on Friday 13th. I had the great pleasure of spending a short amount of time with him when he stayed on two occasions in our house in Whitstable with his French girlfriend . He had come to make music with his old friend Hugh Hopper and I must admit that I knew nothing about him when he arrived. Later I realised that he was treated with almost divine reverence by his followers; indeed one middle aged male groupie asked me how my life had changed as a result of having Daevid as a guest! At the time I thought that such a suggestion was hilarious and absurd but he was undoubtedly special, very few people have forged such a particular life and his vibration, for want of a better word, certainly rubbed off on me. I will remember him sitting in our garden talking about the early days of Soft Machine and of giving his guitar to Jimi Hendrix. I will remember him sitting in our kitchen strumming his guitar and talking about the influence of the moon and I will remember how careful he was with his food and his health in general. Finally I will remember him, or his girlfriend, for breaking our shower unit, for which he wrote us an apologetic and humorous note enclosing money for its repair! I last saw him backstage at Lounge on the Farm where he played with Gong to rapturous reception. A genuine one-off and uniquely sane, he led his own life and will be remembered.
Julianna and Brandao run a great wine and real ale bar in Porto, the name is Maravilhas and its at 17C Rua das Taipas. They are a really nice couple and the bar is definitely worth an extended visit should you be in those parts. These shots were taken on the old Rolleiflex hand held at 30th at 2.8, hence a bit soft but atmospheric.
Shots taken yesterday. Very windy and cold and hard to keep the Rolleiflex still. The black and white film seems to do justice to the atmosphere of the day.
