Tangled

A drawing from a while ago. It was called molecules. I was trying to find an image that describes my tangled brain. I think I’m OK, then I don’t know. I’m trying to do things, but I’m tied up inside a cotton sack, trying to find the way out.

Am I being dramatic? Perhaps, I have lots of thoughts about what I want to do, but the procrastination gets me all the time. The older I get, the less enthusiasm I have. Sorry, its just one of those nights. I’m watching a sad film and it’s getting to me. I sometimes feel time is running out. Grief is a tight knot. Like a molecule, twisting and turning. Time for some rest perhaps…… I’ll be OK….

Tired

Chocolate and bunny

After the choir singing and procession I realised just how tired I was. We went into the robuck centre in Newcastle under Lyme and stopped at the cafe in the atrium. I wanted something to drink and somewhere comfortable to sit down and rest my ankles and knees!

The cafe was called Family Bakery Cafe. It was friendly and had cakes and pastries on offer this afternoon so I treated myself to a hot chocolate drink and a poppyseed pastry swirl to go with it.

The robuck centre has many closed shops but it sounds like more stores will be opening up. I hope so, the cafe is a good thing to have because it’s hand made cakes are delicious. But the way things have been no one has any money at the moment. I wish this small business all the best. X

Security

Are you seeking security or adventure?

At my age I prefer security. I used to like adventure, but I’ve grown out of it!

When I was young we used to cycle all over the country, riding a bike or a tandem for miles. We would go out and ride at weekends to different destinations. We would also catch the train and then cycle from there to campsites or a place to visit like a castle or a forest. One of my favourite places was Grizedale Sculpture park. On that occasion we had got a car and the bikes were tied to the top of it. We parked at the campsite and used that as a base to cycle all around the lake district.

One day I was cycling home from a friends houss and was hit by a car. I ended up with a fractured skull. From that day I became nervous of cycling. After a couple of more years of riding the bike suddenly collapsed underneath me. It had been damaged in the accident and the brazing had broken on the bike headset. It took months to get my bike repaired by which time I had started to drive more frequently. My health got worse and I was not able to ride my bike any distance.

I think it was about then that I became more risk averse. I still liked to go and do adventurous things but I was more careful. Nowadays I am even more concerned with safety. Covid and the pandemic has made me more aware of my situation and my security. I guess that I realise my life has changed, and I can not do things I would have happily done in the past.

Daisy daisy

Artrage drawing with metallic and non metallic textures. Duplicated because I was thinking of the song ‘Daisy daisy, give me your answer do…’, I remember at the end of the film ‘2001 a space oddessy’, the computer Hal2000 starts to sing the song as its memory is being deleted by Dave Bowman, the sole surviving astronaut.

If you’ve never seen the film, or read the book (by Arthur C Clarke), I’m sorry for the spoiler. The book goes into a lot more detail, and several of the main parts of the story were changed in the film. Clarke went on to write sequels to the story from different protagonists perspectives. I can’t remember them all but they were good reads too. When you think how old the original book is you can forgive some of the odd, old fashioned ideas, and the film seems slow in comparison to films in today’s times, but it’s a beautiful piece of work. No massive cgi special effects or green screen, just well painted images merging in with the live action. Worth a read or a watch….. I won’t reveal the rest of the story….

Belly

Belly rub? Yes please, I tickle his tum. He purrs. Friends with each other, he is content to lie on his back. No sharp claws, quiet paws. Ten minutes, twenty… Then up he gets and toddles off to his food bowl. Next out into the night, the wind is blowing and the stars aren’t bright, in fact it’s blowing a hooley out there… But he’s happy and replete, out on his nightly patrol, come rain or shine….

Who to invite?

If you could host a dinner and anyone you invite was sure to come, who would you invite?

I would invite all my artist friends from over the years. Plus all my family. I would go to the Leopard Hotel in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. It would be fully restored (it was destroyed in a fire) and all my murals would still be there.

We would chat about the old days, and what they had been doing. Find out about where they had lived after I lost touch with them. I would lay on a good meal for them depending on what food they liked. I don’t remember what they used to eat? How could I after 40 years or more in some cases… But to know their life has gone well and hopefully they have been successful.

Who wouldn’t I invite? Famous people. I would be in awe and unable to talk. Can it be possible to meet someone who is important and speak with them at their level? I just don’t know.

Questions like this trouble my imagination. It’s wonderful to think of great people, but I would be too nervous and shy!

Mad dress

I’m singing at the weekend and I needed a mediaeval type dress for a pageant. I found this in the local store. It’s very “flaggy” or like a patchwork. I’m going to wear it because it’s long enough to cover my legs and that means I can wear warm leggings underneath. I hope the weather is better than it has been all week. It’s been raining and cold.

It’s a wrap around dress and I had to move the button inside to slacken it off a bit. Anyway, wish our choir luck, we are going to need it if we aren’t going to get very wet!

Knowledge?

What do you think gets better with age?

Thinking about this question is a challenge. As I age I know I’m not getting physically better, but I hope and believe that I have better knowledge now than I did in the past. I try and keep up to speed with many things. I would say I’m a generalist, not an expert. My brain cannot take all of that information in, but I can try.

I think you always need to be willing to learn. Why not? Why be afraid of finding things out? It makes life more interesting.

For instance, the images that The James Webb telescope is taking of the universe really interest me. Our eye on the universe has got so much better in recent years. Then knowledge about chemistry might help us reduce or stop some of the carbon dioxide emissions that are causing global warming? Changes in computing and AI might help with human health?

And knowledge should be something we all seek. Having knowledge can give us a personal key to what is going on in the world. Avoiding fake news and fake facts. Being wary of things that are too good to be true (They probably are). There is a lot to sift through. But I think its worth seeking out true knowledge.

Eye see the world

A doodle, I liked it, only a simple finger painting exploiting the tools in Artrage.. I might do more to this, but I just left it as it is for now.

I wonder what coming generations will think about how we treated the world they will inherit. Weather forecasts are saying southern European countries will experience the hottest summer temperatures this weekend, up to 48.9°C, about 113°F. About 60,000 excess deaths in Europe were recorded last year from heat related causes. What are we doing?!

So keep your eyes on the world and do your best to cut global emissions. Thanks.