31 May 2008
Do you ever wake up in the morning with your heart almost bursting through your chest. You don’t know whether it's love, frustration or you’re just glad to be alive. You’re still at the moment where it could go either way. Your arm remains flung over your face and behind your closed eyes you can see a million silver pin pricks in a midnight sky. You open your eyes to brilliant sunshine and the feeling inside propels you out of the bed and you just want to do something or be somewhere that gets the feeling out from inside. You have Radio Nowhere on loop inside your mind and you want to be part of those rhythms and pounding drums and voices speaking in tongues. Your book of faith has long been flung but you still hope that salvation will come. And you wonder if this is what happens when you die, your spirit finally learns how to be free and to fly. I hope so. But until then you make do with being part of a crowd, singing at the top of your voice, singing out loud and until then you’ll keep looking for ways to let it out.
29 May 2008
Prom Dresses, Piggies, Gigs and Crowd Control.
It's not often things are quiet, and they certainly are rarely boring around these parts and this week has been no different.
Last night took in a Springsteen show at Old Traffords - great night, great music but as always, over all too quickly. More about that on the music page when I get half a chance.Today saw the arrival of an old friend in the shape of Piggie (in-depth explanation here!). Piggie is staying for the week and accompanying us to Venice for a few days. Look out for the photos!
My nephew, Micky, has been causing havoc with his band again - go get yourselves a read of this.
And we've been out buying a fabulous prom dress for Jenny - it's by Pearce Fionda and I don't think I've ever paid so much for one piece of clothing in my life, but it is absolutely beautiful. Red dress with black satin and beading - to die for and she looks absolutely gorgeous in it. The Prom isn't until July so photos will have to wait until then!
27 May 2008
Well now all of the displays have been dismantled and the room can go back to being a church again, but what a great time we had over the weekend.
I've met some wonderfully encouraging people during the past three days. I've got contact numbers for the local photographic club, met a lady who lives just around the corner, who has also just taken up photography and was so excited by my display that she came back later with a friend of hers who is a graphic artist. Another chap ordered some prints for his wife, who turned up the next day herself and asked me if I would be interested in doing a workshop in schools with young children (I've hardly learnt to weild a camera myself never mind teach kids!) Of course I said yes! Got some great comments and also lots of constructive advice on things I just hadn't thought about. All in all, alot to go away and think about, and put into practice. As if that wasn't enough, I sold 8 pictures and 8 notelets over the weekend, which has just about recouped my outlay.
Tiring, exciting and emotional but well worth it.
Some photos I took over the weekend here (more to follow)
25 May 2008
Derbyshire Open Craft Weekend
Day one of the exhibition went well. It was a really good day and went a lot quicker than I'd anticipated. As well as the exhibitors we had two poets, a mime artist, a storyteller and a guy playing African drums to keep the interest going while people were looking at the displays. Three of the Artists have also set up their eisles and are painting away while people browsed.
John Sutcliffe at workThe painters who are displaying their work are very talented, there are some lovely pieces. I'll add a few more addresses to the links page next time so you can check them out.
All the live performers were good, the drummer got the kids involved, Becky and her friend had come to help me finish setting up and stayed for about three hours and enjoyed themselves so much they are both coming back again today.
Becky (in green) with her friends
Overall I'm fairly pleased with my display. I went for smaller framed prints which were more affordable to buy, but on seeing them all arranged, larger prints would have been more effective. Not to worry, it's all a learning curve, and yesterday I sold 3 pictures and 3 notelets. I'm really chuffed that people like them enough to want to buy them, and I got loads of positive feedback.
Sold!
23 May 2008
I've discovered a new (to me anyway) combination of flavours that is great. With the warmer nights getting more frequent (she said hopefully) we've started eating salads. Now I know they can be the most boring things in the world, but I even managed to get Jenny to partake last night with the addition of my secret weapon.
Onion Bajhis. It makes sense really, cos if you get one from local takeaway or as a starter in a restaurant, they serve them with salad, so I thought I would extend the selection a little. So far we've had OB Salad with celery, lettuce, yellow pepper, red pepper, cucumber, tomato, coleslaw, cheese, ham*, pickled onions, spring onions, beetroot and new potatoes. Vegetable samosas work just as well too - very tasty and just right for a light summer tea.
On a more serious note, the company I currently work for has all its clothes manufactured in China and as a way to help out a little we've set up an appeal following the recent earthquake. You can find details here and read about how cycle clubs in China have been helping out with the rescue efforts.
* meat eaters only.
21 May 2008
I'm thrilled to say that the film page is up and running and I'm really happy with it so far. Go see, go see!
20 May 2008
My memory appears to be improving. Which is great news in itself and about which I could write reams but that's for another time. On compiling a list of my favourite books I remembered some gems that I have read over the past couple of years. In doing so I also remembered Catherine Ryan Hyde and you can read what I have to say about her here.
19 May 2008
I've been tweaking the site a little, a font change here and there, the addition of a film page, still to be populated, and the complete erasure of the content of the music page.
Despite music having dominated my life completely for so many years, it is the hardest page for me to construct. I am going to have to give some deeper though as to how I present my musical tastes.
16 May 2008
It's all sorts of bitty news today.
Firstly I have a new job! I start as an Audio Typist at the local hospital in about a month. Although it's a step back ability wise, it's the same salary as I've been getting in my current job, but hopefully will have a lot less stress. It's mornings only which will free me up in the afternoons to pursue some of my burgeoning hobbies, such as the photo thing, not to mention keep on top of the housework (I have to say that incase the hubby reads this).Speaking of which, I have been invited to exhibit some of my snaps at a Derbyshire Open Arts weekend over the bank holiday. Artists and crafts people all over the region will be opening up their studios and workspaces to the public to raise their profiles. Three of our local churches are hosting displays and one of them has asked me to participate. So the past couple of weeks have been spent choosing frames and preparing some of my pictures for display and sale. I'll let you know how it all goes!
I'm also hoping to do a photography diploma starting in September, the prospectus will be released in a couple of weeks so I'll know better what it involves, but it's something I'm quite excited about.
Some of you will be familiar with my nephew's band - The Ramsays. Well not only did they win a competition to support 'One Night Only' which they did at a sold out event at Newcastle Carling Academy last week, but they also supported The Holloways at Northumbria University last week. How good is that?
And lastly, despite the tooth having been fixed, the tongue hasn't recovered so I'm still chucking pills down my throat every couple of hours, I suspect the abrasion has got infected so if it's still the same by Monday I will be off to the GP.
Oh and well done Leeds!
14 May 2008
After gradually getting worse and worse I'm pleased to report that my tooth has been fixed. It was a fracture - most likely brought on by the filling last week. My tongue is still painful having a sort of blister on the side, but I'm hopeful that will be alright in the morning. Anyway, I'm treating myself to a chinese take away tonight to make up for the fact that my main source of food stuff over the past few days has been ibuprofen. Oh happy day.
I subscribe to a blog by writer and inspirer, Robin Sharma. Here's one of his blogs from last month that I thought was good.
We Need More Mandelas
The world needs more Mandelas. more people standing for Good. And excellence. And honor. And bravery.When I was in South Africa last October, I received a book called "In The Words of Nelson Mandela." It's become important to me. Here's just one line from it: "I felt fear more times than I can remember. But I hid behind a mask of boldness."
So today, please remember the power of the next 12 hours. A white sheet of time. That you can draw whatever you want on. Leadership and personal success is all about those little choices that you make every day. Choices to shrink from being your best or to expand into the possibilities that lie just in front of you. And my greatest wish is that you choose to play amidst possibility.
You can find more of Robins thoughts here
12 May 2008
I had a filling done on Friday, to repair half a tooth that fell out a month and a half ago. This morning the other half of the tooth vacated its post- leaving a jagged filling sticking up and into my tongue. So it's painful to eat, talk, drink and swallow. And I can't get an emergency appointment until Wednesday. I might have to give up on my vow of temporary abstinence and sucumb to something strong. Grim stuff.
On the plus side though this weather is lovely, I've abandoned my boots in favour of my sandles and hung my jackets up. Isn't it nice to be able to discard a few layers? Hope it lasts!
I'm cat sitting for not one, but two lots of neighbours, surely a sign of summer almost upon us with folks going off on holiday. We really must sit own and book ours. Italy is high on the list, with three votes out of four, but a late contender has arisen as we've been offered a cheap week in a friends place in Spain.
Heat or culture, heat or culture. Can't I have both please?
With the near completion of another website I decided to do a dedicated site to advertise them. So I did a nice little template in photoshop and have uploaded it here It's not finished, but will be soon. It would appear that I really like bright colours.
11 May 2007
I was having a play around with Photoshop last night and came up with this. Not to everyone's taste but I'm really pleased with it.
The words are from a poem by Tom Splitt called 'The Tree'
10 May 2008
Took myself off to the Garden Centre this morning to get some plants for the garden. I don't usually do any gardening as I'm prone to my joints swelling up after a couple of hours, no idea why, but it always happens after gardening. So I've not done any for the past couple of years, leaving Simon to do it instead. We landscaped the front garden last year so it would be pretty maintenance free, so I thought I should be alright to go and potter. Cleared the dead leaves and deadwood from last year, and trimmed back the plants that had become a little over enthusiastic because of the recent good weather.
I bought some Lobelia, Petunas, Pansies and assorted other bedding plants for the pots and planted them up too. I started clearing the weeds out of the block paving, but as it was painstakingly slow, I resorted to the weed killer. 2 - 4 weeks to kill off the weeds, oh well, just as well the car is on the drive most of the time.
Here's some photos I took - it's looking rather nice and worth not being able to move very quickly for the rest of the evening!
7 May 2008
The weather is so glorious at the moment, and I just want to make the most of every moment. On my way home from work there's a signpost for a wildlife reserve so I decided to spend my lunch break there today. I took the camera with me again, and went for a wander. It was so peaceful and still apart from the sound of birds chirping away merrily. I found a reservoir with swans gliding across and a picturesque jetty, although I was on the pathway on the hill overlooking all of this. I will go back next week, weather permitting, and take the other track and see if I can get down to water level.
I've noticed that early evening is a great time to take photos too. There's been a few nights over the past couple of weeks when I've headed out into the countryside or around the town around 7.30 pm to take some snaps. It's best if the sun is still out, but getting lower in the sky, making long shadows - it's just magical and I've taken some lovely photos at that time of day.
Tonight, Jenny and I went off to Rother Valley Country Park. I got some nice photos of the Swans and the setting sun reflected on the water (which I will try to upload tomorrow) whilst Jenny gave me the port-mortem on her Spanish GCSE which she took today.
We were just about to go back to the car when we noticed a blue tit lolling on its side, clearly injured. We called the one remaining member of the park's staff over (it was near to closing time) who advised us to take it to a Vet or the RSPCA. It was a half hour drive back home in which Jenny gently cradled the little bird in her hands. We have a vet at the top of our road, so intended popping in there. They were shut and the man who lives in the adjoining house tore a strip off us for moving the bird at all, quoting facts at us, and sounding terribly knowledgeable. However, when I checked on the RSPB website it gave us completely conflicting advice. I was so angry at him, but relieved that we hadn't done anything wrong.
Fortunately I have a friend who is a vet over the other side of town, so we called him and then took the bird up to him. After examining the little thing, Steve said it wasn't injured and had probably been stunned after a crash landing, although the tail feathers were all a bit skewiff. He let it go in his garden where it spent the next half hour perched in the same place in Steve & Janet's conifers. So all seems to be well, much to everyone's relief.
6 May 2008
I have decided that I have been unfair on Danny Wallace. On deeper reflection, there are those who have made my list because of only one book, and having laughed outloud at least three times today whilst reading 'Yes Man', persuaded me that he deserves to be there (read this).
It would be fair to say that over recent times I have been trying to fight off particularly negative feelings. Sometimes I have succeeded and other times I haven't. Reading 'Yes Man' has been quite timely. Whilst I won't even attempt to say yes to all of the things that come my way, a la Danny, I have decided that I will say yes more often.
Managed to make time to have an hour's stroll through Linacre Woods with Simon. Took the camera and got a few nice shots.
I realised that it was bluebell time and knew the woods would be full of them. I wasn't disappointed.
Interesting fact of the day: Did you know that embryos start as a kind of blank female template and it's only if their Y chromosone triggers the production of testesterone that it becomes male. Kind of puts paid to the spare rib attitude doesn't it? But anyway, that's why men have nipples.
4 May 2008
The Pursuit of Happyness. Blimey, what a film. It was just meant to help me make my ironing less boring, not inspire me or reduce me to tears! I didn't realise it was a true story either until the blurb at the end. Just goes to show what you can do if you have the passion and motivation to do it. The world is certainly full of inspirational stories.
Quote of the film: "It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?"
A five flower film that goes straight into my Top Ten (but that's next month's list!)
2 May 2008
Many apologies to those who have left me messages over the last few weeks. I did something to the shout box last night that has somehow disabled it. I will try to find a replacement though, cos it's lovely to hear from folks and get a bit of feedback about the site. In the meantime you can always email me using the link at the side.
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