As we’d highlighted, Brian May, guitarist from Queen, was at Dimbola today, signing copies of his book, A Village Lost and Found.
The place was packed! A huge queue waiting to meet Brian and Anita Dobson, his wife.
VB had a chance to interview Brian (and Anita – hers is coming tomorrow), chatting through his book, passions for stereoscopic photography; animal rights; and the Isle of Wight.
A life-long passion
He’s been interested in stereoscopic photography for about 30 years and in particular TR Williams, the photographer who was the focus of the book. The photos depict 1850s life in a village called Hinton Waldrist, compete with a poem on the back of each of them.
To go along with the book, Brian designed and patented his own stereoscopic view, he called the OWL – the Outstandingly Wide Viewer.
Badger cull law: “There will be War”
Another of Brian’s passions are animals, his view: “Human beings do not have the right to assume that we are the only important species on the planet.”
He launched the Save Me campaign before the last election, encouraging people to vote for the parties that didn’t not want to legalise blood sports.
He brought up that tomorrow an announcement is expected from the Government about the culling of Badgers across the UK, concluding, “If they decide to go with this farmers’ Do It Yourself cull, there will be War.”
Birthday on the Isle of Wight
When VB asked him about the plans for his birthday, tomorrow, he said he would be spending it on the Island, where he plans to “Enjoy being alive. Enjoy the Nature around us.”
Despite not having being here since he was a very young child he told VB, “I’m really going to enjoy seeing some of it again,” calling the Isle of Wight, “a fabulous Island.”
Have a listen …
[audio:http://otw-audio.s3.amazonaws.com/brian-may-dimbola-stereoscopic.mp3]
Image: © Used with the kind permission of Chris Weston
