Strangers house

Recently I took my boyfriend to my childhood home. I was born in an old match factory deep in the Black Forest in a small town called Haslach. Our next door neighbour, an old lady with fluffy white hair, passed away in April this year. I will always remember her sitting in front of her house smoking and watching people go by. Last year she was getting frail (she was at this point 92!) I used to find her sitting in her living room fast asleep with the TV on full blast. She was a friendly but stern little old lady and my brother and I always made the effort to visit her when we were about.

Anyway when my boyfriend Dylan and I got to Haslach, she was no longer with us and her house was very much empty. I had never really been past her living room, kitchen and hallway, so it was exciting and a little strange when my father unlocked the house with the key he had been given by her son. My dad opened the doors of the rooms each more exciting and jaw dropping than the next. The house was gigantic, Dylan and I were getting giddy with excitement and trigger happy with our camera's. After we had been shown all the rooms and even been taken up to the dusty two story attic and it was time to leave and go out for dinner.

The next day after breakfast we asked my dad to let us into the house again so we could have a longer look and take some proper pictures with a tripod. The lighting was orange and moody. I took a self portrait first but then thought I'd like to involve Dylan somehow. He suggested we got naked and sat oposite each other at the table. Brilliant! I looked around for some props. I loved the cheap red felt rose which was already on the table and wanted some tea cups to pretend we were having a tea party. Luckily Dylan found a vintage china tea set in the sideboard. We quickly undressed, self consciously trying not to attract the attention of the gardener who was pottering around outside.I set the self-timer and ran to my seat oposite Dylan who was already in character... CLICK, and here is the photograph.


'Drinking tea in a strangers house'