Xavier Buendia
Photography

In 1999 I first came to Brighton as a language student. Then I had very little knowledge of British culture, all I knew about Britain was thanks to popular culture: Punks, Monty Python, Spice Girls, and warm and flat beer… so coming to Britain was a great opportunity to learn what was beyond pop culture. A few weeks in I hit a wall, I soon realized that locals then were not very good at allowing foreigners to get a taste of their customs, everyone seemed more interested in knowing everything about Mexico so my introduction to British culture was through a collection of satirical postcards titled "The how to be British collection" which explained the ins and outs of how Brits think and act.

Almost 25 years later, I had the opportunity to meet Peter Legon and Martin Ford, a duo of English language teachers and the designers behind the postcards that gave me an introduction to British culture and customs.

Peter and Martyn founded their publishing studio Lee Gone Publications in the mid-90s focusing on language humour and educational material for foreign students. Their publications have become best sellers in the genre reaching over a quarter of a million copies sold.

I tend to photograph the things that I don't fully comprehend to help me make sense of them; in our first meeting, I confessed to Peter that I was a big fan of their cards back in 1999 because I wanted to learn about British culture. However, now after living more than a decade here in Britain, there's still a lot about the culture that doesn't make sense to me so I asked Peter if I could photograph them following them for a few weeks to learn their story and also in hopes to start making sense of British culture.

When we started photographing, Peter and Martin were in the middle of promoting a newly released book "Great English Tales." A completely different book in style and subject stepping away from British customs and lifestyle and moving into history and legends with their quintessentially British sense of humour.

As our conversations grow, I'm finding the challenges they face these days, with the world moving into digital formats, the post-Brexit climate, the cost of printing and materials, and the change into a new genre they are not known for. But they are resilient and persistent; they tell me there's always been something every time they publish a new book. As we shoot on the third occasion, Peter receives a call for an order from the British Museum.
During our next session, they were happy to tell me about their origins in theatre and as language teachers. I also had the chance to see some of Martyn's original sketches for the first postcards and books. I love the nostalgia! It's also the first time I see Peter laughing out loud, he's the formal, business-focused character in the partnership while Martyn is the creative soul.

Photographing this story taught me about nostalgia, partnerships, resilience, perseverance, book-making, publishing, British humour, entrepreneurship, change, and adaptability. I cherish every moment I spent photographing Peter and Martyn and I wish them much more success in their publishing studio. British culture still doesn't make sense to me though.