The Old Dairy, London, 7 October 2015

As October arrives, so life modelling effectively enters its winter season. Those of us set to spend hours posing naked and motionless in a sunless room naturally turn our attention to whether or not a heater will be provided. Venues without them soon earn a poor reputation in the community of models. How pleasing, therefore, to discover The Moon and Nude at The Old Dairy making an extra special effort:

“Got the hot water bottle ready for you Steve.”

I didn’t know exactly what this meant when Julia, the group’s co-organiser, posted the message while I was on my way to the venue. Upon arrival, however, I was shown her simple stroke of genius: she’d filled a hot water bottle with boiling water and placed it amid pillows under the sheets on the floor. This was in addition to a traditional electric heater standing to one side. So thoughtful – and it worked!

Having thus been spoiled, the onus was now on me to deliver an interesting sequence of poses for the 21 artists that surrounded me on all sides. Timings would be as per the usual format here: 5 minutes, 4, 3, 2, 1-minute, then 10 minutes, 15, 20 minutes to a break, followed by half an hour to finish. It’s possibly my favourite arrangement.

For the short poses I stood, sat in a lotus position, stood again, cowered and planked. For the medium poses I stood, sat on the floor and lay down. Finally, I set a bar stool centre-stage and sat upright with a slight body twist for the closing pose. That twist is important for a longer pose as it means at least three-quarters of the room should see (hopefully) an interesting profile, whereas a front-facing pose may serve only half.

Time flew. It is a lovely group organised by genuinely nice people. Within myself I am enjoying life, so I was posing with a becalmed body and a mind swimming with happy thoughts. We switched on the heater during the second half, and the hot water bottle served me well throughout, but ultimately on this night it was the positivity in the room and in my own spirit that warmed me most.