In the Chorus

This is a lovely photo of me and my lil sis sat having coffee outside a Pret on The Strand, London. I love this photo for a number of reasons; firstly it was taken by my sister on a disposable camera hence the grainy quality, secondly Eve and I both look really happy, and thirdly -perhaps my favourite reason - is that guy knocking back that can of drink behind me.
Just think of all the photos of strangers you treasure. Ever wonder who the old woman in the background of your fave holiday pic is? Like this guy in my photo, what is his agenda? Is he pouring that drink down his throat so he can dispose of the can in the bin behind my shoulder? Was he just really thirsty? I don't know the first thing about him and yet there he is, captured in my family photo, he has become a part of my history, he passed through my life and here is the evidence documented forever.

For me the thought of being captured in the back of someone's photo is great fun. I must be caught in hundreds of tourist pics of Lincoln Cathedral as I march too and from work or college. (Probs looking really flustered after running up Steep Hill, yes you read that right, there is a hill called Steep Hill and it is really steep, it has a hand rail fgs.) One thought that particularly pleases me is the fact that I'm stood at the back of the room in a coffee stained shirt in some couples wedding photos.

The thing is, you never know when you're going to be asked to hold the doors open for a bride one day at work. You never know if you're gonna have diluted coffee sloshed all over you by a kitchen porter on that same day. You never know if a picture of you from that day has ended up on someone's mantle piece. You never know if that photo will be shown to someone's grandkids, put in wedding anniversary cards, cried over, ripped up, treasured forever.
It would be nice if we could look great every day right? We could look beautiful in all these peoples lives we're caught in. They might whack out their photo album saying "hey you gotta see this pic from our wedding with a really gorgeous girl in the background!" That would be fab but let's be honest, who has the time to look great every day? I will look like me everyday, because even if I look delicious when  I leave the house, the chances are I'll be pulling a weird face in the photo.