Tag: OMD

January 26th – In the centre of Darlaston, at the other end of the day, one of the last of a breed. Outside Darlaston’s wonderfully imperious Post Office, a classic K6 telephone box, still with the light and a phone.

I’ve never noticed this one before, and the light within them always gives me a warm feeling inside. Years ago, riding through the countryside at night, the sight of that red frame and white light would be reassuring; contact, signs of life and connection in the darkness. I even waited in them for showers and storms to pass.

These days, this classic design is rare, and even rarer with a functioning phone and light.

I’ve just realised this is the second OMD reference on this journal in little over a week…

January 8th – Unexpectedly, Dazzle Ships on the Chasetown bypass. For those unfamiliar with either the concept of dazzle camouflage or the concept album by electronica band OMD, Dazzle Ships were regular ships painted in bright, geometrically random and almost cubist designs in the First and Second World Wars. Through a periscope, surrounded by light glinting off waves, it was a very effective scheme for obfuscating a vessel’s speed, heading and location.

The idea was pioneered by artist Normal Wilkinson. You can read about it here. The Dazzle Ships album is a lost classic, too.

At Chasetown, the camouflage was just shadow and sunlight through a steel bridge, but a fascinating series of contrasts caught just by looking right at the perfect moment.