New paintings and regular art updates.
Next weekend I’m busy with an open day at Spode and an exhibition and craft sale at the Whitfield centre with Orme Art Group. I was trying to think of a theme to use for some little paintings I want to do and I’m thinking owls and maybe hedgehogs (which will be curled in autumn leaves). If it happens I’ll post some pictures.
You’d think they were brothers
A single mom?
But no, they are not
Two mums, not one.
Each boy cat is happy
One is fat
He’s big and he’s round
He stays on the mat,
The other is older
On a bag, flat!
My other cats female,
Much more aloof
She’d rather be sitting
Up on the roof!
At Miso Japanese Restaurant in London Road, Stoke-on-Trent. Lovely food. I’m so happy that I was able to take my relative out there for a birthday supper.
Sushi and then Bento boxes with Plum wine to drink. It was an extravagant evening, but a real pleasure..
Miso is mentioned in Richard Osman’s book “The bullet that missed”, it’s a crime novel. Part of The Thursday Murder Club series. The owner of the restaurant didn’t know that Osman had written about it!
If you’re in the area why not come to our concert in a few weeks time. You’ll be supporting Penkhull Players and our plans to put on another pantomime in the future. We are practicing ancient and modern songs, there will also be solos and poems. Its going to be fun.
What book are you reading right now?
I’m reading an old Issac Asimov book. The stars like dust. It’s one I had in the 70s and haven’t read it since.
Asimov mainly wrote books about robots and formulated the three laws of robotics. But this book is about galactic intrigue and the attempts of a young man called Biron Farill, who is the main character of the book, to escape the Tyrrani who rule the Galaxy and are trying to assassinate him.
I have completely forgotten the story, it feels old fashioned but has intrigue. I can imagine watching an old film, some of the settings, seem clunky. But it’s worth reading, and I’m enjoying it.
In the church singing carols
Music rises up
To the vaulted ceiling
Every note with feeling
Ralantando, piano
Notes descend and lift
Practice make perfect
Not there yet, but harmonizing
Three weeks to go
To the show!
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I think I would move closer to the sea. Up a hill, away from flightpaths, with a lovely view. A small town nearby.
Wales is close enough so that I can still visit family and friends. I would ideally like a slightly bigger house so that people can stay.
Why a Wales retreat? I know the country to some extent. I have Welsh ancestors, I have family there. I am used to the weather and I think its slightly less polluted than England.
Recently I’ve thought about moving. It’s not in the forefront of my mind, but if I ever have the money I would like to spend my declining years visiting Welsh tearooms and eating bara brith cake, painting Welsh scenery and joining choirs!
He’s on the stairs, sleeping. He’s just home from the vets. He’s got an abscess below his eye and it burst while he was at the vets. I’ve got antibiotics to give him for the next few days. It will be difficult because he doesn’t like having big tablets, he doesn’t like them crushed in food, so we will try with a syringe and a little bit of water again. He hates having his eye wiped, I want to get in there and bathe it but he struggles and fights back, poor cat.
A loud noise by our gate made me jump as I sat in the living room. For a moment I thought someone had jumped over it. I told hubby and he went out into the garden to check. He walked past the window spade in hand, ready to repel intruders. But I reran the image in my head, what I’d heard and seen, I think, was someone opening one of our wheelie bins in front of the gate, to throw rubbish in it.
I hate this nervy, hypervigilant me. I just want to be quiet and calm. I don’t need my blood pressure going sky high! And I don’t want hubby putting himself at risk!
Our choir sang at the switch on of Christmas lights tonight. We sang for about twenty minutes and included traditional carols and other seasonal songs.
The only problem though was the traffic! It felt like hundreds of cars were on the way to the venue. Everyone was driving in the right hand lane as we had to turn right at a roundabout onto the venue. Our choir leader had a asked for designated parking, but was told there would be plenty of spaces. Unfortunately half the city seemed to be fighting for them!
We were dropped off while my friend went to find somewhere to park the car. We had to fight our way through a packed crowd to get to the stage, so when we had finished our set we decided to listen to a couple of songs from the next act, then get going. Unfortunately this meant walking to the far end of the site and climbing over a low fence. When we finally made it to the car all the vehicles around us were in a stationary queue. The cars were moving a foot or two every few minutes. I think we would still be there if a man controlling the traffic explained there was a back road off the site! It took us one and a quarter hours to drive 400 yards!
Despite the traffic chaos, I think we did a great job, we were well appreciated and I’m glad we did it.
Mallaband-Brown