I was in Nottingham on Saturday morning. When I was photographing the iconic Royal Concert Hall, I glanced across the road and noticed a man and woman who were dressed very stylish. I thought their outfits looked like 1950’s fashion and I also thought they might make great strangers for my strangers project. I crossed the road and followed them down towards Trinity Square. When I caught up with them by I engaged them in a bit of chit chat.
“Hello, are you off to a retro event in the city”
“No, we always dress like this” replied the man
“Ahh right, you are both dressed, very stylish. Is it 1950’s or possibly 40’s?”
“1950’s , most of what we are wearing is authentic 50’s clothing”
“Yes I thought, it was 50’s, you both look cool”
“We are off to meet my daughter, she’s 30 today, we are going to a restaurant, I’ve told her not to be late, she’s always late”
“Where are you off to?”
“Turtle Bay, just here” (we were walking by it)
“Is it any good?”
“It is if you like spicy food”
At that point, I introduce the idea of photographing Chris and Teresa for my strangers project.
I looked around for a good location, everywhere was in bright sun, although I did notice a wall that had some partial shade, so asked Chris and Teresa to walk over to the wall.
I shot a few shots, full length, to showcase their amazing outfits. That was it, I thanked them both for the photoshoot. Chris had a what I thought was a scouse accent.
“BTW is that a scouse accent you have”
“Yes, I’ve moved around a lot, but settled in Nottingham, what’s your accent, it’s not from here”
“I’m from Bolton, I’ve lived in Nottingham for over 40 years, I worked in ICT most of my career, I’m retired now”
“Ahh right, so you wander the streets doing this then?”
“Well not all the time, but I do enjoy photography”
I give Chris and Teresa my contact card and tell then to contact me if they want the photos”
I got an email from Chris on Sunday, telling me it was nice to meet me and could I send him some photos. Chris signed the email “Chris Withe” and I thought I recognised the name, so did a google search. Chris is a former professional footballer, who played in the Football League for seven clubs, Newcastle United, Bradford City, Notts County, Bury Chester City (loan), Mansfield Town, Shrewsbury Town and Boston United. Chris is the younger brother of the former Aston Villa and England striker Peter Withe. So that’s why Chris said he moved around a lot !
When I sent the photos to Chris, I asked him was he the former footballer, Chris Withe, to which Chris said yes he was. Oh and Chris really liked the photos too.
A good stranger story and a good photo too,
@marlboromaam thanks maggie for your continued support
@denful thanks granny for the fave and comment
@happypat thanks Pat, this was a fabulous meeting
@pdulis that is very kind of you to say peter
@spanner thank you so much
@beryl beryl i am pleased you like this and thanks for the fave
@newbank thanks newbank, it is indeed :)
@sangwann dione thank you so much for the fave
@casablanca thanks Casa' the outfits are indeed amazing
@777margo thank you very much margo
@salza thanks sally , so pleased that you like this shot
@bkbinthecity cheers bkb, much appreciated
@kwind thank you so much
@ljmanning thanks laura it was a good meet :)