Photographer: Homer Sykes
Book title: Once a year.
Published: 2016
Size: 240mm X 295mm X 25mm (Portrait format)
Weight: 1572g
Pages: 160 pages of images – some double spread. Plus 42 pages of explanatory text on images.
ISBN: 978-1-911306-03-0
Purchase price: £30.00 UK
Publisher: Dewi Lewis Publishing
Website: http://www.dewilewis.com

A fascinating and insightful look at the peculiarities of the British in the 1970’s.
Are we any different now?

In this book, Homer travels the country documenting arcane events which, as the title suggests, only happen once a year. If you are interested in documenting the British this is a splendid book to purchase. The pages cover events from January to December spread over a few years in the 1970’s. The resulting images document the strangeness of the British, mainly English, and also reveal life as it was lived 40 years ago.
The style is photojournalistic with a strong nod towards ‘Picture Post’.
A lovely nostalgic book.

Coincidentally I had covered the Haxey Hood  – the event on the first page – some 40 or so  years after Homer was there.You can see some pictures from that trip here.

Note: A special thanks to Si Barber  for pointing me towards this book.

Peter Barton 2016