Daniel Lehan's blog

Fox

The two halves of a fox lay either side of the railway line, cut, almost with surgical precision, by the wheels of some train.

18th July 2004

Manor Park Station, London E12

Missing Love

2 guys talking in line waiting for a cash machine:

I’m still in love with the girl I fell in love with .... and lost.

8th June 2004

Liverpool St Station, London EC2

Is it ?

An elderly woman with a young boy comes down the stairs to the train platform, holding his hand.

As the train draws in to the station the child asks:

Is daddy driving the train ?

She looks into the train drivers carriage and says:

No, not this one.

26th May 2004

Manor Park Station, London E12

Lights ... Action ... Cameras !

I am standing on a ladder reaching up into the branches of a tree, installing my work Silver Hands for the show What’s That in the Woods ? In a nearby car park, a young man stands by a car, shouting at the driver. He slams his coat down on the car bonnet as the driver gets out. They square up, throw several brief punches and stop fighting. After a few seconds, the driver returns to the car. The young man once again stands by the car, shouts at the driver and slams his coat on the car bonnet. Again, the driver gets out of the car, they both square up, throw several punches, then stop fighting.

Then, and only then, does a sound boom come into view, and a number of others, who are variously, a cameraman, a sound recordist, the director and a group of other actors, applaud.

23rd June 2004

Millfield Arts Centre, Edmonton, London N17

Dead Friend

A young woman is talking on the mobile, she is calling, probably a woman, who she perhaps does not know. The woman’s phone number was listed on a mobile phone belonging to a mutual male friend. This friend has been beaten up, and perhaps left for dead in Epping Forest. It seems that he had taken a considerable sum of money from his bank account and had then gone missing.

June, 2004

Train from Stratford to Manor Park, London

A Departed Colleague

Changeover of bus drivers on board a bus:

I guess there will be a collection.

I will call his wife.

He was a nice bloke, too.

18th May 2004

Penzance Bus Station, Cornwall, South West England

I Cant Say What She Is

A young man chatting to his friend Scotty on the mobile:

Had a lovely evening in London last night, saw Paul. He’s off to Singapore to see a girl. She’s less than a girlfriend, but more than a ...... but I cant say that word as I’m on the train.

11th May 2004

Train, Victoria Station to Ramsgate, South East England

Pavement Press-ups

A wet and windy day. A man lies face down on the wet pavement, doing an idiosyncratic series of press-ups. This involves raising and lowering his upper body and keeping his legs flat against the ground.

30th May 2004

Hoe St, London E17

Bear The Builder

An articulated lorry waits in traffic. Seated in the passenger seat, wearing a yellow florescent jacket and hardhat, is a full size toy black bear.

27th April 2004

Regent Street, London W1

Which Way Do I Go ?

A bus approaches a roundabout and the female bus driver calls out to a group of schoolboys standing in the aisle:

Left or right ?

Slightly bemused they chorus:

Right!

A male passenger strikes up a conversation with her and she explains:

This is my first day out on my own on this route !

25th March 2004

W19 Bus, Wanstead Flats, London E12

Give Me A Wave

Announcement by train driver:

This is a message to the school party who will be shortly getting off at Bethnal Green Station. There will be a member of staff at the platform to meet you. Please also take your time when getting off the train. There is no need to rush ! When you are all safely off the train, please give me a wave and I will then know you are all off the train.

24th March 2004

Central Line Train, London E12

That Woman On The Front Page, I Went To School with Her !

A woman shows an article that she has cut out from a tabloid newspaper and shows it to another woman. The article has a lurid headline about the boss of a company who used company funds to pay for his visits to a prostitute. The company went bust with over 170 people losing their jobs. There is a photograph of the prostitute who charged £1000 a night. The woman says that when she saw the photograph she immediately recognised it as being someone she went to school with.

27th February 2004

Bus, Leytonstone, London E2

Tickets Please !

Two ticket inspectors board the bus, as they do so, a young man tries to get off the bus, roughly pushing past one of them.

The male inspector asks to see his ticket, but the young man refuses, gets past him, and turns round and squares up to him boxer style. A few punches are thrown with the inspector saying:

Don’t try it !

The bus door closes and just before drawing away, the man runs back to the bus and thumps the side window with great force.

9th February 2004

Bus, Lea Bridge Rd, London E17

A Well Read Bear

The head of a small teddy bear appears from the top of a paperback book being carried by a man, whose path is blocked by a woman arguing with her boyfriend.

7th February 2004

St Martin’s Lane, London WC2

Look at These

A woman in the front passenger seat of a car holds up a pair of knickers in both hands. The driver of the car is male.

7th February 2004

Ledbury Rd, London W11