With the masses gathered and plenty of time on your hands you need to judge quite carefully

With the masses gathered, and plenty of time on your hands, you need to judge quite carefully the foods that should make an appearance here. There is a practical side to all this - if you have cooked a big lunch, you are not going to want to produce a dinner as well. "I don't care, really, but don't you think you should buy me a large drink?"John Deakin was never at a loss. His leathery face grinning, he bought me several`John Deakin Photographs' is published by Schirmer Art Books on Thursday, pounds 40 hardback (pounds 20 paperback). Any time."So Deakin and I had a reverse performance, and this time it was at the right angle. "One day I'll give you a picture," Francis said.One afternoon about a week later, I wandered into a Soho club, a bit off my beat, but in I went.

The room was full of sailors, all of them crowding round a familiar figure - Deakin. His hands were full of the original photographs he'd taken of me, and he was selling them off for ten bob a time."Deakin," I yelled. I had learned so much of the ways of the world from him, and though, at times, I had not properly understood half of his teaching, it had nevertheless, willy-nilly, been assimilated."No, of course I don't mind. Wherever he appeared, the air brightened, groups of people were animated, electricity buzzed, and bottles of champagne appeared. Sometimes I was aghast at the scathing sarcasm which bubbled out of him, but it had never been directed at me.

At every meeting, I had learned something new from him, been captivated, spellbound. When I was 18, I had spent all my mornings, afternoons and evenings with him, dined alone with him at Wheelers (oysters and Chablis), gone with him to the Gargoyle, listened to the wit and wisdom which flowed almost continuously from his lips. Francis said, "Look here, Henrietta: this blithering idiot has reversed every single shot of you that I wanted!""Ho," I said. "You astonish me!""Well, look here, Henrietta," - Francis shot his cuffs, displaying enormously strong-looking wrists - "would you mind letting him do the whole thing all over again, but the other way up this time?"I gazed at him.

"That's it," he said finally."Yeah, I should think that you'd have just about covered every angle," and, eventually, "Shall we go and have a drink?"I was having a drink with Francis Bacon and Deakin in the Colony Room, Muriel Belcher's establishment. Open up your arms and legs wide." He started snapping wide-angle shots between my legs."Deakin, I know you've got it wrong! Francis can't possibly want hundreds of shots of these most private parts in close-up. I just don't believe that is what he is interested in painting It can't be so." In the end, he overrode me. After all, Bacon had told him, not me, what he was after, and so forth I had a couple more drinks and gave in Snap, snap, snap, and on and on he went. I mean, he's not into the Pieta phase.""Well, what shall I do then?" I squeaked."Throw yourself back on to the bed and abandon yourself. We had some drinks, and a little bit later retired to my bedroom.

Deakin said, "He wants them naked and you lying on the bed, and he's told me the exact positions you must get into." Feeling a little shy of stripping in front of someone who definitely did not desire me, and for all I knew might never have seen a female body in its entirety, might even be disgusted by it, I sat on the edge of the bed with my arms and legs crossed."For God's sake, sweetie, that's not exactly inspiring. Francis said, "I'm thinking of painting some of my friends, and I'd like to do you, but I can only really work from photographs, so, if it's OK, Deakin will come round to your house and take them I'll tell him what I want. You are beautiful, darling, and you always will be, you mustn't worry about that."Deakin arrived at my house in Apollo Place a few days later. What had happened? A new barman had served him with a large glass of Parozone, which he had not realised was always kept on the bar in a white wine bottle A lesser man would have died at once Not Deakin.