Letter to myself

Dear Me

It’s been a horrible few days. I’m worried and scared, but I must try and cope. Remember to breathe, don’t hide away. Memories of other situations make me want to do this.

I remember my mom when my dad died, she sat on the settee in the darkness for three days, in the end I wrote her a letter and asked her to look after us, her children. I think that finally got through to her. She seemed to respond.

Writing this is just a way of talking to myself, but to share with others, maybe it is something to think about for other people?

Asterix the Gaul

What’s your favorite cartoon?

If I shouldn’t use this image I will delete it.

This was my favourite cartoon whan I was growing up. The stories were funny and cheeky. Asterix and his huge best friend Obelix would take a magic potion if they were going to fight the Romans so that they would have massive strength and defeat their opponents.

The tribe of Celts they lived with were a motley band, the Chief was scared that the sky was going to fall on his head, so his guards had to hold a large sheid over his head to stop it landing on him.

There was a wizard with a long white beard that made the potion. I think he was called Get-a-fix?

Obelix was a massive figure and would carve standing stones and carry them around. He was always trying to get extra potion.

I loved the books and would draw the characters endlessly to try and get my skills at copying images honed. At one stage I think I had all of them.

Meat?

What are your feelings about eating meat?

I know I should eat less meat and more vegetables. I realise that the amount of CO2 and Methane created by meat farming is a major contributor to global warming.

The problem is I was bought up eating meat. Some of it was poor cuts of it, my parents could not afford much, so we had some very strange things on our plates. I’m not going to go into detail, suffice to say most of them had odd shaped bones.

I have tried to eat vegetarian food. But it’s hard to find a supplier of good imitation meat that isn’t too expensive. Suddenly vegetarian foods have become fashionable and therefore costly. With the cost of living crisis even tins of baked beans from some suppliers have trebled or quadrupled in price. So I guess the way to go is to cook from scratch.

Thinking about the prompt, I will try and eat less meat.

Open day went well

Not my studio….

It’s my neighbours across the corridor. I wish I had that view but my studio is window free, which means it’s easier to heat! A few people came in and said how toasty and warm it was. I sold a couple of paintings from there and a few miniatures in the makers market. But most of all I liked asking people if they were artists, or if they enjoyed it. I enthused to parents to get their children involved in art. It was a good day.

Sometimes

Do you trust your instincts?

I’m rather wary of instincts, I have been known to trust people even when it has not been earned. Or distrust people who turned out to be the nicest and kindest people that I’d ever met before. But it’s not a regular problem, mostly my instincts aren’t too bad. And sometimes I know instinctively what’s going to happen. I don’t claim to have premonitions, but maybe I observe more subconsciously than I realise. So when something happens I feel vindicated.

But there was the one very odd incident. I dreamt of meeting old friends I hadn’t seen for years in the middle of a thunderstorm. Then a few days later we were cycling out to our friends when we met them and our old friends cycling the other way. That was strange enough, but the clouds were building up and the thunderstorm arrived! We had to take cover in a bus shelter. My dream actually came true! So maybe my instincts should be trusted. X

May blossom

What’s your favorite month of the year? Why?

My favourite month is May, when blossom opens on trees, the sky turns a beautiful cerulean blue, and suddenly bees and insects wake up. Then I watch the blossom unfurl, tight buds become satin skirts and whirl outwards. Scent fills the air. Beware storms, thundering through the sky, their gusty winds can strip the flowers before they are pollenated, or frosts can burn their delicate petals. Their safety ensures a good crop of cherries or pears. Apples too can sink or swim depending on the weather.

May brings beauty in other forms, buds and leaves follow the blossom, the leaves stretch as water floods into their veins, brilliant greens or pinky mauves fill in the gaps between the twigs. Warm sun is absorbed as the leaves feed on the light. Photosynthesis is a miracle of nature. Clean air circulates, breezes stir, hedgerows grow and light up with May blossom.

Yes May is my favourite month, the warmth of the sun starts to return, days are longer, brilliant and lovely, if we are lucky we can enjoy the seasonal spectacle.

I don’t

What podcasts are you listening to?

I’ve never got into podcasts, I’m not even sure what they are? Are they radio shows that include video, or TV shows, on the Internet? I guess like anything else they can have their own style and substance.

I don’t have an iPhone, do you need one of those to listen to podcasts? Are they short programmes or long ones. If you call something a podcast does that mean it really is? I watch lots of videos, because I’m a visual person, and although I can pick up a tune or understand an argument, I’m not necessarily an aural person. I’m not into music, not in a big way, I tolerate it, and unless it’s a particular classical style I can pretty much leave it.

Please give some examples of good podcasts, and I will try and catch them?

Freedom to play

What does it mean to be a kid at heart?

Freedom to play, freedom to think. Work with others, like this collaboration mural. The brain is plastic and it changes massively through childhood. Keeping hold of that willingness to learn and play helps solve problems, makes you think.

Memories of paddling in a river, or climbing a tree, having freedom to go to college and learn. I also think wit, and humour is important. Playing with words, striking up conversations with people. Enjoying puns and jokes, still being able to giggle. Fun is freedom to keep hold of your childhood.