RIP Jimmy Forsyth

"Jimmy Forsyth, who documented Scotswood Road in the 1950s and 1960s, died on Saturday 11th July 2009. His work stands as one of the great records of its kind - a portrait of a working class community from within."

From here

"Because people are people...I always say: people are people. People are characters, of course. I'm supposed to be one. You're not supposed to have opinions now. But we've all got opinions, haven't we?"

He needs to get out. When he is laid up... he photographs the same anonymous strip of buckled paving stones crossing a grass verge, over and over. This is the path connecting his tower block to the bus stop that he can see from his window. "I'd have a terrible job getting to sleep if I didn't go out," Jimmy once said. "You've got to work yourself tired." He is offered lifts, but, while he's happy to stand and chat, he rarely accepts them: "I might miss something."

From here

UPDATE: fantastic video obituary of Jimmy Forsyth here via the BBC News