Snap decisions: why crowding into a photo booth with friends is still a magical experience | Nova Weetman
Last New Year’s Eve, I was out with a friend,We had no plans, so we met at a local cinema and then wandered the long street between our houses, pausing for a drink or two in various bars and chatting to strangers doing the same,We stopped when we became hungry and shared a plate of curries and drank beer in the window of an Indian restaurant, watching the parade of partygoers outside,Then we walked to the top of the hill to watch the fireworks lighting up the sky,It was after midnight as we strolled back but we weren’t quite ready to call it a night, and we found ourselves in a games arcade where a bunch of women were cramming into a photo booth to take a strip of black-and-white photos together.
Their enthusiasm was infectious and so we waited until they were finished and did the same.I now have the strip of photos stuck on my fridge, secured under a magnet for a local plumber.In them, we are both grinning wildly at the camera, our faces squashed close, the years of friendship evident in our expressions.When I was cleaning up my parents’ house after my dad died, I found boxes of photographs that I’d left behind when I moved out.They chronicled my teens and 20s and showed faces that I’d long forgotten.
Among them was a single rectangle black-and-white frame that looked to be cut from a much-longer strip of photos.I like to imagine that, after crowding into the photo booth and posing for the shots, the three of us couldn’t afford more strips, so we cut this one up and took a panel each.In the shot, I have long hair pulled tight into a ponytail but my smile is much the same as it is now.I don’t remember when we posed for the photo but it would probably have been on a rare night out in the city as we trekked in on the train from the outer eastern suburbs and spilled out to all the promise of the grown-up world.I stuck this single frame next to the New Year’s Eve photos on my fridge.
Two nights out, nearly 40 years apart.And a record of who I was as a young friend and of who I am now.Looking at the photos, I decided that I needed more to fill my fridge and so these became the beginning of something bigger.Now, whenever I’m out late with friends and we pass a photo booth, I drag them in so that I can add to the mini gallery of faces I love looking at each day.There is something about the strip photos that preserves friendship for me in a way that a single photograph does not.
Perhaps it is because the photographs exist as a series of changing poses that suggests evolution or complexity to a friendship, where a single image captures an isolated pose.Or perhaps it is due to being squashed together and staring up at the lens, waiting for the flash that never seems to go off when you imagine it will, and finally when it does come you’ve already given up posing so the images are more candid than any you prepare for.Despite most of us carrying mobile phones equipped with technology that takes far better photographs than a booth does, crowding into a machine with friends to take strip photos is still a thing.I wonder if it is because there is something magical about having to wait by the booth for the strip to finish printing and pop out into the tray before we then crowd around to check if our hair looks OK or if our smile is straight.The rarity of waiting for the photos to print seems to increase the joy.
I have thousands of photographs on my phone snapped without much consideration for form or composition and I rarely look at them.But a strip photo is proof of something, it’s tangible and real.And importantly, these tiny squares don’t tell the whole picture of whatever is happening because there is no background.They aren’t an attempt at capturing an event like other photos are.These are something simpler, a reminder of a mood, a feeling, a connection between us and the people we care about.
And they are a record of a moment in time that we can stick on our fridge.Nova Weetman is an award-winning author of books for children and young adults, including The Edge of Thirteen, winner of the Abia award 2022
Jose Pizarro’s recipe for caramelised brussels sprout and panceta montaditos
Brussels sprouts are perhaps not the first thing you think of when you think about Spanish food, but they do have a little history in my homeland. They arrived in Spain in the 16th century, through trade with Flanders, and were often paired with pork, which we love. Here, however, I caramelise them with onion, thyme and sweet vinegar, then serve on crisp baguette with soft cheese and pine nuts. A small bite with big flavour, and just right with a glass of oloroso – perfect for festive times.Prep 15 min Cook 35 minMakes About 20 canapes1 tbsp olive oil 125g sliced panceta (Spanish bacon), or pancetta, finely chopped1 medium onion, peeled and finely sliced1 garlic clove, peeled and finely sliced300g brussels sprouts, finely sliced3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped2 tbsp sweet apple vinegar 2 tbsp soft light brown sugar Salt and black pepper 20 slices fresh baguette 150-200g soft curd cheese, whipped, or whipped cream cheese50g pine nuts, toastedHeat the oil in a large frying pan, then fry the chopped panceta for about five minutes, until golden and crisp
Tasting 291 Australian supermarket products has taught me there’s no correlation between price and deliciousness
After a year of taste tests, Nicholas Jordan has learned never to judge a food by its packet – including the cooking instructionsImagine going to a work Christmas party and being greeted not by your current workmates and bosses but by everyone you’ve ever worked with. Imagine the mix of dread, nostalgia and excitement that would bring on. That’s how I feel every time I walk into Coles Broadway.After trying 291 supermarket products for 14 taste tests this year (one more than last year’s haul) I feel as if I know all the characters in there and, despite only having relatively short interactions with many, I have strong opinions about all of them.I want to tell everyone my opinions but supermarkets aren’t particularly welcoming places for giddy soap-box speakers
Drinks ideas to get your NYE party fuelled
Oh, you thought it was all over? After all the carolling, gifting and tree-ing (not to mention the eating and drinking) of the actual Christmassy bit, it feels almost cruel to have to do it all again, and on – in my opinion – one of the most stressful nights of the year: New Year’s Eve.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.If you’re not paying over the odds and going out, with long queues and stressed-out staff, you’re the stressed-out one yourself
Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for pimento cheese and pickle loaded crisps | Quick and easy
Pimento cheese, a much-loved American spread, has been a permanent fixture in my kitchen this month. Whether it’s a quick sandwich filling in times of chaos or an effortless party dip, I am addicted. My favourite way to serve it, though, is as part of a loaded crisp platter. Use salted or pickle crisps, and load them up with spoonfuls of pimento cheese, sliced pickles, herbs and heat. Move over nachos, there’s a new crisp platter in town
Ten things I love (and hate) about restaurants in winter
As the wildly popular social media platform celebrates its 10th year, we ask the Topjaw frontman what he loves – and hates – about eating out during the festive season.PiesI love pies. I scoff when people ask: “What is British cuisine?” First, we have the most diverse culinary scene on the planet, with great Asian and Mediterranean food everywhere. And, second, what even is British cuisine?! A pie is one of the greatest dishes ever created. Think a chicken, rabbit and tarragon pie, with good 50:50 butter:potato mash and really good gravy
‘Many over-hyped London restaurants left me cold’: Grace Dent’s best restaurants of 2025 | Grace Dent on restaurants
For reasons that may already be apparent, and that are currently playing on BBC One, I have spent much of 2025 watching people cook scallops and souffles in a windowless television location unit in Digbeth, Birmingham. MasterChef, despite being one of the most exhilarating jobs a girl can do, sucked up most of my waking hours this year, and made my free time extra-precious. So the very best restaurants I found this year – those with zinging hospitality and heart-thumpingly good food – became equally extra-crucial.I’m talking about the likes of Tropea in Harborne, just down the road from the TV studio, and where I’ve spent a fair few Saturdays eating butternut squash arancini, fresh tagliolini and whopping great deep-fried salted cannoli. Over in Bristol, meanwhile, two absolute gems revealed themselves on the very same trip: Ragù and Lapin, both in Wapping Wharf and both in repurposed shipping containers, but entirely different creatures
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