Lochaber Hall, London, 29 June 2019

It was set to be the hottest day of the year so far with temperatures higher than 30°C but, before fleeing to the coast for cooling sea breezes, I first had the small matter of three hours’ morning modelling back at Lochaber Hall. We started with, of all things, ‘warm-up’ poses: six of 5-minutes and ten of 1-minute.

For the 1-minute poses I reprised my sequence from the Dellow Centre last Sunday, in which I made as if to be lifting and throwing a heavy weight. I followed this exertion with a 10-minute pose seated on the floor, then arranged myself to commence a long pose that would fill the remainder of the session. I was specifically asked to recline.

I hadn’t slept very well the night before so a chance to lay down was to be welcomed. Nonetheless I always feel guilty, as if lazy, not truly working for my pay. I was told the previous male model had stood, however, hence repose was the preference now. My work ethic had to be satisfied with the maintenance of many angles instead.

This long pose lasted 45-minutes up to a break for tea and digestives, then resumed for a further 45-minutes to the end of our session. Although the day was warming up outside, temperatures stayed surprisingly cool inside the hall. Apart from a numb leg that revealed itself only when I tried to stand, it was a comfy start to a lovely day.