Category: Uncategorized

Flower power

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Took a few photos of wild flowers (or weeds) this morning. Things for bees to feed on. But I didn’t see any bees.

The city seems to be full of plants pushing themselves up through cracks in the pavement and along the kerbs of roads. I also saw that green areas which were once lawns now covered in wild grasses and flowers with just a meter round the edge cut back. I did notice that the local main road that was covered in wild flowers a couple of weeks ago have now been weedkiller. The worry is that any bees that sipped from them when they were sprayed will have been poisoned. Madness. I’d rather have weeds than dead bees.

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Slow

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I was walking up our hill today and this passed me….

I’m not saying I walk slowly but paint can dry before I get back from a walk.

My feet are so flat my arches are basements?

I walked about three miles today. I couldn’t find the off switch for the treadmill!

I’m not saying I’m tired, but I can’t walk to the fridge now!

Bad jokes…..

Usk challenge ‘what’s good for you’

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Drawn outdoors, we met with an old friend today, properly socially distanced. I was wearing a mask and gloves, and with my glasses on I feel reasonably safe. I ended up drawing my friend and when he went off for a walk I drew the landscape. There were some big trunked willow trees with wrinkly bark in the background, there tiny leaves contrasting with their aged, thick branches and trunks. It has been an overcast day so the colours were not brilliant. After this I took some photos of some interesting views of the area and some of the weedy plants growing along the track. I might post pictures later. When I got home I saw the USK challenge was to draw what’s good for you, and this was it!

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I want to be out!

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By a waterfall, in the countryside, with friends. A little picnic, some cheese sandwiches, a flask of tea? An apple or a banana. Sunshine, a scent of flowers on the breeze. Driving a few miles further than I have for the last few months. Out of the city. Where my feet can touch grass. Where my eyes can be dazzled with colour and the clouds are as white washed cotton. I want time to go back. Before pandemics and Covid, before corruption and death..

Is it too much to ask?

I love the LOTR

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A drawing of Aragorn I did about ten years ago at a website called sketchfu. I loved drawing there. I miss it. But it closed. I really want to find a simple drawing application that I can do this kind of thing in again. Any suggestions? Everything these days seems to be on Google play. But that’s not how I want to draw. Yes I’m moaning about this again. I did a couple of months ago I think. I just want something where I can get the freedom to do what I want to do. Even if it is just drawing portraits of my favourite stars!

Moan over.

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Portfolio submitted

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It’s taken me three or four days to put my college portfolio together. Lots of images in a word document. I had 51 pages in the end. I presented it as a landscape document. Word is a pain. Every time I tried to fit images to a page it jumped. So that meant I had to delete lines and insert lines. I tried putting numbers to pages, but because it was automatically numbering pages my document started with number 11! I had to work out how to delete 1.

Then I decided to put frames round each image, but the one I chose overlapped the edges of some of the drawings so I had to choose something with a slimmer frame.

Then I had to convert it to a PDF. When I looked all the images were too small. I had to resize most of them. So frustrating….

I hope I learn to do things better. I need advice in using Word, and everything else.

Noise pollution

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Two tankers draining slurry from Portmeirion, the local pottery firm. This is the third day they’ve been doing it. The sound of diesel pumps and engines is so annoying. Have the TV on to drown it out. Usually on a sunny day I’d be in the garden. But the fumes from the lorries goes everywhere. I need to do stuff. The house vibrates when they do this. It might not be very audible in the video. But if we didn’t have double glazing it would be worse! I know they have to do it to keep the business going but this is too much today! I took videos of them from inside the house, with the door closed and the door open. On the one with the door open it was twice as loud. The diesel fumes are being blown away by the wind.

As I write this the pumps have just been switched off. The engines are still running…. No! It’s started up again, must have been changing tankers? The trouble is there is never any warning. They start about 9am and then go on all day. Yesterday and Monday it was just the morning. I want to scream. Would post video but takes up too much memory.

Covid 19 SCAM, BEWARE!

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Bad bad people 😡😡😡 ………And so it begins!……
‘Good afternoon I’m calling from the NHS track and trace service. According to our system, you are likely to have been in close proximity to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. This means that you now need to self-isolate for 7 days and take a COVID-19 test.’
‘OK. Can you tell me who that person was?’
‘I’m not able to tell you that. That is confidential information.’
‘Right. Um… so ….’
‘But you do need to be tested within the next 72 hours. So can I just get the best mailing address so that we can send a kit to you?’
‘Ok (gives address)’
I just need to take a payment card so that we can finalize this and send the kit to you.’
‘Sorry – a payment card? I thought this was all free?’
‘No – I’m afraid not. There is a one-off fee of £50 for the kit and test results. Could you read off the long card number for me, please, when you’re ready.’
‘No – that’s not right. This is part of the NHS so there’s no charge.’
‘I’m afraid there is. Can you give me the card number please – this is very important, and there are penalties for not complying.’
Puts the phone down.
This is how scammers work. And vulnerable people will fall for it.”
Don’t fall for it…!

Please share.
COPY and PASTE

Just a warning for everyone in the UK, be careful don’t fall for it, stay safe

I copied and pasted.

Its looking at me

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I looked over at the sofa and saw, my bag was staring at me, its stone eyes glaring? I knew there were sharp talons underneath. Any moment it could fly up and attack me. And yet it was my favourite bag? What could I do, I couldn’t look away, I did not dare sleep. I would have to watch it until dawn. Until I would be safe.

The owl hooted in my mind, a mournful call, a gentle sound, my head nodded, sleep was coming. I shook myself to wake up. The owl glared. I was trapped.