Smoke - Issue 16 (ZINE)

Ever wondered what Matt Haynes did after Sarah Records and Shinkansen?  Well here is the answer....

In April 2003 Matt and Jude Rogers set up Smoke A London Peculiar an A5 magazine of words and images inspired by London.  Here's some extracts from issue 16.............

Still, I tried manfully to get to grips with the trappings of this odd transpontine world: with the trains that ran above the ground rather than below it; with the unique one-eared, one-eyed fauna; and with the way entire conversations could be conducted using only subtly different inflexions of the word “Millwall” (it’s a tonal thing, I think, like Chinese – to my untrained ears, and even after ten years of living next door to a pub, it still just sounds like people shouting “Millwall!” at each other).

Introduction to Smoke 16 - Matt Haynes

Someone is fighting a lonely war against noise on the Central Line. The shrill tone that announces that the doors are closing is too loud for them, or too high-pitched, or both. They scratch their complaint into the doors: Excessive Door Noise; Noisy Doors Cause Deafness; Too Loud. Always the same hand, the same terse concision. How long has this been going on – scratch-scratch-scratch attrition on one side, deafening psy-ops on the other?

The Leyton Roar - William Wiles

Behind Lloyds Pharmacy and the Tesco Metro lies an intricate web of narrow, deep-shadowed alleys. Occasionally opening into secluded piazzas overhung by glistening balconies, these silent pink-walled pathways clearly still adhere to some ancient medieval street plan; indeed, the many private courtyards, with their gently bubbling fountains, have an almost monastic air. My companion remarks that it reminds her of Granada, where – unable to reach her hotel using sat-nav – she’d recently been forced to abandon her hired Fiat Punto in tears, along with the remainder of her holiday.

Ales of the Riverbank - Matt Haynes

We had an illegal picnic in the museum, praising your mum again for her foresight and great sandwiches. You took some funny photos of me being attacked by dinosaur hand puppets in the souvenir store. You didn’t complain when I said I couldn’t buy you anything.

Our Day Out - Melissa Davidson