Room 2D

Photo-story from Janus 116 Private Saffron James, 19, stands to attention with her bugle under her arm, nervously awaiting the arrival of a superior. When the door opens, the man is a stranger, drafted in from another regiment to conduct her disciplinary interview. Like the clothing, furniture and accommodation she has lived with for the past eight months, he smells of standard-issue army property: functional and unadorned. ‘Your cases are packed?’ ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because Sergeant Morris said I should be prepared for instant discharge, sir. He said I am not shaping up as a soldier and that if I only want to play pretty music, I should go to the Conservatoire, sir.’ Tears sting her eyes but she strives not to shed them. ‘So you want to be a musician?’ ‘Yes, sir. I joined the army to improve my playing and get real experience of life that I wouldn’t get at music college.’ ‘And has this been proven to be th...

Photo-story by Julie Holmes from Februs 13 It had been a great shoot: the garments were a perfect fit, the lighting had actually worked and the girls had followed all his instructions. He’d use that again, the photographer said as he handed over their fee — and for once he was sincere. Their image changed drastically as they shed the filmy satin lingerie they had been modelling and switched back to their day clothes. They were both highly-attractive young women and the jeans-and-t-shirt and summer-frock ensembles enhanced their girl-next-door looks, but still there was something of the butterfly-reverting-to-a-caterpillar in their altered appearance. Back at the flat they curled up cosily on the sofa to look at the Polaroids from the shoot. Seeing themselves glammed up always brought on fits of giggles — a mixture of pride and embarrassment at their tarty potential. It was always hard to identify with the images ...