Typography & design by
Richard Wolfströme

Exhibition and installation
by Standard 8

Website
Words William Shaw
Design Richard Wolfströme
Photography Kenny Laurenson

Publishing consultant Adrian Driscoll

An Unmadeup Production

Gemma’s house-mates were suspicious of the new boyfriend

The taxi rank, East Street; always busy on a Saturday night

Gemma bought them on a Sunday in the January sale, a beautiful pair of leather boots reduced from £90 to £23.75.

To celebrate she went to the pub and texted this man she used to work with at the BP station. "U wnt 2 join us?" Hamid was thrilled. He’d been trying to get together with Gemma for weeks.

Gemma’s an architecture student; she works shifts at the BP station. Hamid used to work there too until he set up his own dry cleaning business. When he left he realised he kind of, well... missed her. That’s when he started calling her, chasing her, but without much luck until that Sunday.

A few days later, in the living room of her student house, he warned her, "We’re from different worlds." She doesn’t think it matters.

Gemma grew up in Cambridge. Hamid grew up in Iran. He’s a refugee. By the time he was Gemma’s age he was already in trouble with Ansar-I Hizbullah, the Islamist street gangs who ruled his town. Imprisoned twice, beaten up and flogged, at 28, after being shot at twice, he fled.

Gemma’s housemates were suspicious of the new boyfriend. It wasn’t so much the cultural difference, it was the age. Hamid is almost 35; she’s about to turn 20.

But it’s just over a month later, and they’re still together. On Saturday they go out, have a few drinks at Ha! Ha!s. It’s nice to spend some time together. The hours they work, they don’t get much time. They’re still finding their way. It’s 10.30 when they cross North Street to the taxi rank, hand in hand, smiling

"My heel is really wobbly," she announces, and just as she says it, there’s a crack. The heel of her new boot is sticking out sideways, pins pointing outwards like tiny metal teeth.

She limps to the taxi queue, hanging on to Hamid, both of them laughing. In the queue, she pulls off the boot and stands, stocking-footed.

Their young, fragile relationship has already lasted longer than a £90 pair of boots.