Wednesday 11 May 2011

Hidden fires.

Sat opposite this chap on the train at the weekend. Balding, glasses, fawn jacket over quiet check shirt, doing the Independent crossword. Maybe not one of life's hellraisers.


But now, if you didn't spot it immediately, have another look at the gap at the top of his shirt... 

Do judge a book by its cover, that's very much what the cover is there for. But don't judge a man by his fawn jacket... 

10 comments:

riffle said...

I'm guessing he lost a bet and had to get the Fire of London inscribed on his torso.

BTW, I saw this wonderful Renaissance painting (no joke) and thought of you for some reason.

http://arthistory.about.com/od/from_exhibitions/ig/renaissance_faces/vett_ngl_08_09.htm

Or, if this works to make it clicky:
Portrait of a Young Boy holding a Child's Drawing, ca. 1515

Can't wait for the next series of Cabin Pressue, but glad to see and hear your name on every third UK program I happen across. Excelsior!

Ginge said...

I feel like I should probably be disturbed, but...hm.

kodama said...

The man is hot!

Daedalus said...

Run! It's Mr. Neutron!

Kaitebon said...

One could argue that judging a man by his suit is more analogous to judging a book by it's dust jacket...

...and dust jackets are the fake advertise-y bit, with the generic compliments trying to make you buy the book, which in my twisted mind seems somehow to fit really well with the photograph of the man on the train.

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Miss Pear said...

Heh heh, I'm fascinated by this kind of thing. As a freak who is currently in non-outwardly-freak mode, it's amazing how different peoples' reactions to you are when looking or dressing differently.

I used to have bright purple hair (genuinely not attention-seeking; I just adore purple and employ the notion that if you can change your clothing/makeup colours to mad levels, why not your hair as well?) and the reactions ranged from "AWESOME!!" (West London) to "Die, you f***ing freak!" (Essex, you'll be unsurprised to learn). Currently, I'm mousey-brown (resting my hair due to it falling out) - and nothing, nada, nowt. People are so used to the norm that they don't bother to scratch the surface, and I find it simultaneously hypocritical and fascinating. I even did a psychology paper on it once (hence not being able to shut up now - sorry).

There was a storyline in Corrie along these lines about 15 years ago where there was a guy in a suit working for the DSS and seemed "normal", but he had an anarchist tattoo and was working to make things better for the people from within. It's not how you look in this life, it's who you are, and some people seem to forget that.

I think the next stage is everyone getting forehead tattoos of an amusing or offensive phrase of their choice. Bagsy 'Arse Biscuits'.

Piques said...

I am impressed that you took the photo!

Did you take loads of other random photos so that it did not appear that you were specifically taking his photo? Or perhaps you pretended that you were playing about and the photo was accidental - albeit well framed?

I see the man in a leather get up at the weekends.

Ashamedly, I am more than a little interested to see a photo of that too.

benjiboy said...

OMG! That's my Dad! AW bless him...before he got involved in the business of import and export of fine crystal decanters with the Irish company 'Waterfords', he used to be an ace, cross dressing assassin for a Belgian motorcycle gang...he always used to set fire to scenes of the crime. They called him 'The Burning Bush'. How we look back and laugh! Good old Pops.

Iain said...

At first glance I thought this was going to be a post about sitting opposite William Boyd.

I guess I was wrong.

However, having just had a quick skim through Google images and found a lot of photos of Boyd in high buttoned shirts, bow ties and polo necks... maybe it still is.