And an old mate dropped in to see us the other day and he inspired me to write something.
When Patrick hoves into view it always has an unsettling effect on me.

Patrick Chauvel and I go way back.
To a time almost forgotten, when I worked in Paris for SIPA press and I could call myself a photo-journalist without sounding pretentious.
Patrick was there too and at a time when my ability to speak French was almost non-existent, his mastery of English was very welcome.
We got on immediately.

He was wild.
Still is.
Whereas I’ve become a responsible member of society (! ha !), Patrick has continued to plough his own mad furrow.
You see Patrick should be dead.
Several times over.
If he were a cat, he would be a dead cat – Nine lives are just not enough.

Patrick is probably the worlds longest serving war photographer.
If memory serves me right I think he started with the Six Day War in 1967 and he has just kept going.
Fortunately for him, if not for the rest of the world, the conflicts have never let up.
So he’s been supplying photographs of man’s inhumanity to man non-stop for almost 50 years.
He’s got good at it too.
His pictures are always the “sharp-end” stuff, where things go bang.
And I guess he’s got good at surviving those situations, despite picking up a few nasty holes in his body.
Have a look at his web site which is not very well maintained but gives you an idea of the wealth of images that he has captured.
I had quickly decided that war photography was dangerous, so my dalliance with that side of things I kept to an absolute minimum … just enough to maintain a conversation in a bar.
For Patrick it is his life.
Whenever he comes to London he tries to drop by and we catch up and drink wine, bitch about clients, exchange stories,  and generally reminisce. It’s good.
But when he leaves I worry.
I worry that this may be the last time.
He has been tempting the Gods for too long with views of his backside scrambling for cover.
One day I fear they may reach out and claim him and we will all be the worse off.
This time I decided to do some pix of him in case I don’t get the opportunity again.
Keep your head down you mad sod !