Thursday, July 05, 2007


at the always-interesting Courtauld site, bird photographer
Justin de Villeneuve's 'Krays'--

"Take my picture of the two Magpie Geese: When I was 16 and I was in dance hall in Tottenham and Reg and Ronnie Kray swaggered in. They had black Crombie overcoats, spotless white shirts, very slim black ties and they were so menacing that, even before I’d turned round, the hairs on the back of my neck went up - I knew there was danger. Behind them were about 50 guys, equally menacing but standing respectfully back - it was the elegance and the brutality combined that fascinated me. Later I became good friends with Reggie. So the picture of the magpie geese reminds me of Reggie and Ron; they’ve both got that swagger about them..."