Martin Parr’s father, Donald, was not just a keen birdwatcher; he also wrote the definitive avifauna of his home county, Birds in Surrey, 1900-1970. Published in 1972, it inspired the 12-year-old me to explore the birding hotspots around my suburban home, and helped shape my lifelong passion for birds and birding. I never managed to be any good at photography, though.
Stephen Moss
With my wife Beverley, I attended Martin Parr’s glorious Return to Manchester exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery in 2019.
His stunning 1983 black and white photographs of Yates’s Wine Lodge in Ashton-under-Lyne evoked vivid memories for Beverley of queueing to be served a “blob”, which was akin to a rite of passage for Mancunians of a certain vintage. This delightful concoction consisted of a sugar cube slowly dissolving in a glass of warmed Australian white wine. Beverley assures me that Parr’s photograph perfectly captured the effect on consumers.
Mike Pender
