Bad Time Charlie

I've just made a return trip to Charlie's Coffee Shop in Belfast. Four years ago, they were kind enough to feature my first and only photo exhibition, 'Tuneage Clicks'. And since then the photos have been on the walls - occasionally making room for someone else's work. But mostly around the place.

A few times there was a request that I might update the images, and I've thought about it often. Sadly though, Charlie's closed today. Apparently they've found the economics just too hard to contend with. And so I took my old work home, Wayne Coyne and all.

Out of curiosity, I found an old video of the launch party and put it on. The shop was freshly painted and full of promise. I looked rather pleased with myself as we had fun with ballot tickets and some Flaming Lips CDs. Two of my old friends stuck up a relationship that night and the footage shows them flirting with intent. There's also a few relationships in the picture that have turned sour. But the most surprising thing about the film clip is the mood of the night. Belfast was booming, ideas were budding, and we assumed that it was going to last for an age.