Busy old fool, unruly sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains call on us?
These are the words on the side of Prospect Cottage, Derek Jarman's former home in Dungeness, Kent. A small wooden bungalow with an interesting garden, fashioned out of pebbles, driftwood, scrap metal and a few hardy plants.
If you've never been to Dungeness and you find yourself in this little corner of the country, I would recommend you drive out and spend a few hours.
A strip of headland accommodating two nuclear power stations, a nature reserve and a sprinkling of old railway carriages and derelict fishing boats doesn't sound like the type of place that you would recommend to someone for a day trip. Well Dungeness is different. It has an end of the earth appeal and fantastic light. A photographer's dream. Now the backdrop to numerous fashion shoots and album covers, this Kentish wonderland won't stay this way forever, visit soon before it loses its magic.
Thou, sun, art half as happy as we,
In that the world's contracted thus.
Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
To warm the world, that's done in warming us.
