Lochaber Hall, London, 5 March 2016

My début life modelling at Lochaber Hall, early Saturday from 9:30am to 12:30pm, was not confirmed until after 5pm the evening before. Late changes to arrangements led to me being welcomed as a replacement for Esther. As the community centre is just a half-hour’s walk from her home, it could hardly have been more convenient.

Lochaber Hall itself is spacious, and the freezing cold outside was able to permeate its walls without much difficulty. Mercifully, I was to be surrounded by three heaters, stood in close proximity, which did their job as well as could be hoped. As a clue to the ambient temperature, however, when dressing at the end of the session, I found that my watch had stopped within moments of me taking it from my wrist.

In the three-hours available, I started by providing seven 5-minute poses, followed by two 10-minute poses. Then, after a five minute break, I settled into a 2-hour pose (in practice it was from 10:35am to 12:30pm with a fifteen minute interval from 11:15am and a stretch late on). I knotted my legs for the long pose, which made the last hour tough but survivable.

The group is usually small, and on this occasion was even smaller; three artists plus the organiser, David, instead of an expected half-dozen. Nonetheless, after the initial shock of finding 6’4″ skeletal Steve would be modelling instead of 5’4″ slinky Esther, they appeared appreciative of my efforts. Upon being asked if I would consider future bookings, I was happy to reply ‘most certainly’.