The Jam Tree, London, 12 March 2018

With The Sun in Clapham undergoing refurbishment, Moon and Nude removed their regular Monday evening life drawing group in south London to a very different space a mere 136m up the road, at The Jam Tree. I arrived early and went through to a large back room where metal chairs had been arranged in a double semi-circle on a kind of AstroTurf carpet, facing two heavy wooden tables draped with material. I guessed this would be my stage for the evening, and was keen to give it a go.

The venue had changed but pose times remained the same: 5-minutes, 4, 3, 2, 1, 10, 15 and 20-minutes to a break, then finishing with 30-minutes and 10-minutes. I began by balancing on one leg and placing both hands on the ceiling, then cycled through a sequence of ups and downs, lefts and rights. During the interval I noticed unevenness beneath the sheet on which I posed and, on closer inspection, saw that planks in the table top had started to creak asunder! I would be more cautious in the second half…

Organiser Aless suggested I lay down for the half-hour pose but, doubting how visible this might be, I opted to prop my head on one hand and half twist my body. Needless to say this wasn’t the most comfortable variation I could have picked. I finished facing forward on all fours, gripping the table’s edge. Generous applause was forthcoming at the end, which is always nice. I rather warmed to working this room and wonder what future it has as a life drawing venue when The Sun reopens. It’s worthy of more use.