Chemo Model Mandy

Let me introduce to you Mandy, she is a new model and ideal for practicing lighting techniques!

The postman knocked on my door Friday morning asking me to sign for a package. It came delivered in a grey plastic bag. He had a bit of a worried look on his face when he gave it to me and said it feels like a head! I had to explain it was a plastic head to alleviate his worries.

She looks remarkably like some of the people I have met during my visits to the hospital after they have had their chemo. I’ve called her Mandy (to protect the look-a-likes) as I didn’t meet anyone called Mandy. I know people are going to say … is it me! and the answer is … if you think it is yes.

The reason I bought this is so that I can practice taking my portraits photography without having to have someone sit for me all of the time. It doesn’t replace the practicing with a real human model, but it is the next best thing in there absence.

I didn’t tell my wife Charito that I was buying this, so when it arrived and before she came home from work I thought I would play a bit of a joke (I should really think these things through thought before I do them). I got some cushions and clothes and went upstairs…. yes you’ve guessed it, I put her in my bed with the head on the pillow and the cushions etc underneath to make it look liker her body. When Charito came home I sheepishly tried to persuade her to stay in the kitchen with me. She wanted to go upstairs to have her shower but I asked her to stay for a while…. I slowly built up the suspicion as I was hiding something upstairs, so sure enough after me begging her not to go upstairs … she went upstairs. She looked in the bathroom, then the spare room, all the time asking what are you hiding and me denying anything. Then she went into the bedroom looked around and gasped and shuddered as she saw the woman in our bed! Then after a second or two realised it obviously wasn’t real. I then got called lots of names in Spanish that I can’t repeat on here except that I was an ‘imbecile’.

We both laughed about it at least I think she was laughing, it could have been more of a sneer.

As I was writing this, it reminded me of another instance when daughter was born and I pretended to drop her on the kitchen floor using a doll dressed up in her baby clothes!…. Trust me don’t ever try that one, it really isn’t worth the emotional upset! I think maybe I should go to counselling for my warped sense of humour.