Banana bread with Taggart, after breakfast with Margaret.

Yesterday Mas was late getting home, so I took the opportunity to recycle some bananas and made banana bread. All went well until I was washing the blender. I poured hot water into it and it burst into about eight pieces which is odd as I am always blending boiling hot soup in it. Maybe after so much soup blending it had glass fatigue! The house smelled nice from the cooking though.
Mas came home exhausted after his meeting and trailing through all the tube labyrinths of St. Pacras and King's Cross. We had dinner and watched a violent Taggart episode (just the kind of TV show to give you pleasant dreams!) before going to bed rather early for us.

Margaret called round after breakfast today and we had a coffee and cake and talked for a while. We live in the same street, but had not seen each other for a month or so. After this Mas and I did a few chores locally.

Camellias in our garden.

Tudor buildings in Pinner high street

Today Mas went off to town early to go to a business meeting. I took myself off to Pinner again to see the friendly framing people. I also took some photographs, remembering to take my camera this time.

The Qeen's Head pub below is supposed to be the oldest building in the street.

The doorways in this passage way get lower the further back you are, from the road ahead.

The last one is less than shoulder height.

Nitwits with blinds and other misadventures.

We had a very humiliating time today.
We have a conservatory attached to our sitting room, and it is fitted with blinds which we pull up rather like the sails of a boat, except for one blind which is pulled up by a small motor. The motor for this blind ceased working about a week ago, so we thought the remote control gizmo's batteries had gone, and we bought some new(expensive) batteries, but when we tried it the engine still did not work.

We phoned the company who had fitted the blinds, and they said they would fix it for us. On cue, one of the men, who we knew, arrived, and we explained our problem, and also told him that the spring on one of the blinds was not working well.

The man looked at the motor for a few moments, then looked at the electric plug on the wall, and turned it on! Of course the blind worked immediately. He then tried the blind with weak spring, and that worked perfectly as well!

Mas and I were overcome by our stupidity and could have given ourselves a good kicking! Needless to say, the blind man laughed, and was still laughing as he left us and drove away.

In the same vein, here is a worse story that happened many years ago: Various heads of department in a large London hospital were having a board meeting when one of them fell face down on the desk with what appeared to be a heart attack.

Someone rushed to get a stretcher, only to find that the poles had been stolen from it! They managed to get him into a treatment room to treat his cardiac arrest by electric shock. The electric pad terminals were placed on his chest and he was zapped, except it did not happen! All were stunned; someone then turned on the electric plug, and tried again, and he was saved! Phew!

In the evening I went with some friends to an introduction to the Landmark Forum. We did not sign up for a course, but it was fun catching up with each others news and talking for a while.

Pinner and parking fine, Mex and the London International Art Fair

On Friday Mas and I went to Pinner to find a picture framer, we did find one, but not the one we were looking for, although we will take future work to him as he and his wife are very nice people. Pinner is an interesting place to visit, and has some beautiful medieval buildings in the High Street, but sadly I had forgotten to take my camera. While we were there we had a coffee, and bought some china, which we did not need at all. Later we found that we had inadvertently got a parking ticket for £50. When we got back to Stanmore we consoled ourselves by having a pub lunch.

Yesterday I met Mex at the Royal College of Art, in Kensington Gore, right beside the Albert Hall, and we went to the International Art Fair. We had an interesting time, and there was some very unusual art that we liked, and both of us liked Simon Garden's paintings; he has a very original style.

We had some tea and cakes, and lots of chat before leaving, and also bought some art books. I was feeling quite tired as I seemed to have had nightmares and restless sleep the night before, but it was a lovely afternoon and I really enjoyed it. We walked to the station together before going off in opposite directions. Luckily I got a seat on the tube, even though it was Saturday evening!







......and another one!

Springy feet in St. Albans, shopping and Sasio's

Today we woke up to a foggy day with temperatures of 3° and feeling chilly. Robert and Tania could not meet us for lunch as Robert seems to be suffering from the same illness Mas had over Christmas.

We went to St. Albans and did a little shopping, and as we walked through the market we saw these springy feet extensions being demonstrated. I have seen them in a TV advert, but did not know that they were available to buy. I would have liked to try them, but in a secluded place, as I am sure I would fall on my head with terrific loss of dignity. Supposedly they are good for toning up muscles.

As usual, click to enlarge.

There is a good art shop in this arcade, and I was looking at fabric paint (thinking of shopping bags). The arcade looked warm and cheerful compared to the grey streets outside.

We snuck in to Sasio's and had a nice lunch, and Mas charmed five extra almond cookies from the friendly waitress to have with the coffee. We left feeling really warm.

Lunch with Pete and considering making bags

Today Pete called and said he would collect the illustrations I had done for him. He was with us by midday, so we all went to The Man in the Moon, and had a cheerful lunch together before he left for a meeting, taking the pictures with him.

I have been tidying up my studio trying to get rid of things I no longer need, and looking at some material with the idea of making some shopping bags for sale. It seems a good idea as we are all being encouraged not to use plastic bags, and cut down on waste. Here are some designs I made a while ago, and sold.

Relaxing in technicolor with good fortune birds

When I am relaxing with my eyes shut, the insides of my eyelids are washed with colours that float and change shape, and as I watch this display I become more relaxed. When doing this and listening to Vivaldi Glorias being sung there was a wash of bright turquoise with a network of purple, and when the male chorus was singing there were shots of maroon as well. I must try this with other music to see what happens.
Today I was thinking, with my eyes shut, and could see a wash of lavender and Potters pink. I wondered what would happen if I prodded my solar plexus, and when I did, everything turned lime green and turquiose. What does it all mean? There is probably a life time of research here.
Getting back to more practical matters, here is a picture I painted recently called Birds of Good Fortune.

Hospital appointments and walking around Hampstead.

Yesterday I had to go to hospital for some test results. The doctors in the clinic where I had my appointment were off sick, except for one, consequently I had to wait there for two hours before being seen. Afterwards I walked around Hampstead, while I waited for a different appointment at the same hospital, and looked at the children playing in the playground of the school that my mother arrended. It was a crisp but sunny day; I took these pictures as I was walking.

I went back to the hospital to the Medical Appliances area as I was ordering some more arch supports. The man who runs this department is very nice, and very cheerful; I always leave his office laughing about something . The first time I went to see him I had almost forgotten the appointment, so I said that as well as the arch supports I needed a new head. He turned to me looking very serious and said that he couldn't supply one.......I would have to go to Head Office!

Photograph of Ontario's February woods and minicards.

Most of today I spent trying to paint a Jake picture for Pete.

I had a nice e-mail from Joan who sent me a photograph of the woods where they are, (in Ontario,) in February, as a contrast to our local woods! Cats and dogs join in the walking as well.

These are some mini business cards that Mex had made for me as a gift, using sections of some of my paintings. The cards are made by moo.com and come in their own rigid plastic box. They seem too nice to give to strangers!

Lunch in Soho with Mex and China town decorations

Yesterday was a bright sunny day, and after the frost disappeared, it became quite warm. As arranged I met Mex in a bistro in Soho. We had a wonderful meal, which was reasonable and very good value. We had a lot to talk about as we had not met up for a long time, lunch time passed too quickly before we had to break for Mex to go back to work. I had really enjoyed talking to Mex, and it was really nice to be strolling around in the sunshine, so I took a few pictures of the Chinese decorations which are put up to celebrate the new year.

I took the tube home, and walking from the station I met the vociferous cat who belongs to a neighbour who, after I took the photo threw himself onto the pavement and rolled about so much I could not take another picture of him.

Walking in the woods and biting fish.

Yesterday we did some shopping, had a qiuck bite at The Man in the Moon, and then went for a walk in the woods. We had not walked in these woods for a long time, and everything was looking wintery and rather colourless, and we were saying how nice it will look soon when all the trees are decked in leaves again, and we saw this bright patch of crocus, the only flowers in the woods.















In the evening we were watching something on TV and I decided to get some oranges to eat, although it is a hazardous thing to do sitting on a cream sofa. Usually I peel fruit and pass some to Mas, who trustingly eats it, while his mind is otherwise engaged.
Last night I thought we should eat a whole orange each, so I passed him one. I began peeling mine, then Mas said he needed a knife. I replied "bite it " (to start it off) "Bite it!" He exclaimed aghast, staring at it in horror, it was as if I had passed him a live fish and told him to bite it. Immediately he realized how it had sounded, and we both had a really good laugh at such a small incident. I guess you had to be there!

Garlic and vampires

Yesterday I was notified that my pictures had not been selected by the Mall Gallery for their annual exhibition.
Having considered various options at length, and with my ears intact, I did the next best thing and had my favourite sandwhich for lunch. This is guacomle with about four cloves of garlic crushed into it; I knew I would not want to talk to anyone for a while!
I finished another picture, and watched an old film with Mas, then went to bed in the certain knowledge that whatever else happenend I would not be attacked during the night by Vampires.

St. Alban's market and lunch at Sazio's

We set off this morning to go to St.Albans to get shopping from the market. It was a bright day, and as usual the market was bustling with shoppers. We did a little window shopping, and bought a few toys, and fruit and vegetables.

St Albans market has been held on Wednesdays and Saturdays since Saxon times, it was run by the monastry, as recorded in 1287. After the dissolution of the monastries in 1539 the rights to hold a market were transferred to the Mayor and burgesses by King Edward VI in 1553, and it has carried on till present times.

We had lunch at an Italian restaurant called SAZIO (Italian for satisfied), we had a really nice meal there; I think they must have a new cook now.

While we were eating I was reminded of my mother. She was a good but plain cook (unlike my aunt Kay who used to exotically grate nutmeg and lemon zest into rice puddings). When I was young we hardly ever ate in a restaurant, but she would like to have a cake and pot of tea sometimes in tea shops. Once we were in Heath Street, Hampstead, and noticed a very smart Italian restaurant which had just opened; my mum decided we should try it, and we went in and ordered tomato soup to start with. The soup arrived, it was rather thin with herbs chopped into it. My mother tasted it, and was extemely disdainful, complaining to the waiter that she had never had such horrible soup, and we left. The problem was that it was not Heinz tomato soup, which was the only 'real' tomato soup in the world.





















St Alban's Cathedral

Deer and danger.

Yesterday after doing lots of chores I decided to go for a walk, and find the wood near Stanmore with the deer in it that I had seen when walking with Jana. Eventually I found it, and several people were around walking their dogs. I was surprised how far I had walked, as it had seemed no distance at all walking and talking with Jana.

When I returned home Mas said that he had a narrow escape when driving. Mas is a very careful driver, but as he was heading uphill an approaching car skidded out of control and turned around, and would have hit him if there had not been a post in the way. He returned to the wrecked car, and the lady who had been driving it was not hurt, but said that her car steering seemed to lock. There were two dogs in the car, and the one in front seemed shocked, but luckily the driver was not.

We thankfully had a quiet evening.

Le diner de cons or idiot's dinner.

Yesterday was bright and sunny, and Mas and I went out early to get shopping. Robert came over as planned, but sadly Tania was not able to come over as well. We had a drink, lots of chats and dinner. We were all feeling a bit tired, and watched one of my favourite films that I thought Robert would like as well; a funny well written French farce (talk about shooting yourself in the foot!). Afterwards we watched some more TV until we became sleepy and had a coffee before Robert went home.

Annual exhibition of watercolour paintings at the Mall Gallery.

Mas and I took four pictures down to town on the tube, this was not easy as they were framed, heavy and different sizes. I have entered them for the annual exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, and now will have my fingers permanently crossed for two weeks until the selection committee has decided which of all the different entries to show.

After Mas and I had taken the paintings in, we walked to Piccadily and had lunch at The Stockpot, off Leicester Square. It is a cheap and cheerfull place, and we sat next to a young French couple and got warm, as it is cold today, before returning home on the tube again.

Here are two recent efforts.

Watercolour and Drawings Fair

Some of my paintings have been taken to this art fair by The Linda Blackstone Gallery which seems like a great honour. I was filling my bird feeder when a robin almost flew onto my hand, so I am taking that as a lucky omen.

Watercolours and Drawings Fair
Modern Works on Paper
The Royal Academy of Arts
31 January - 3 February

Photographs of framed paintings

Yesterday I collected some of my pictures that have been framed. In the 'flesh' they look really good, framing makes such a difference! Mas particularly liked the butterfly one and wanted to keep it, but unframed he had not given it a second glance. I have painted the butterfly picture as if it was a silk painting, with gold outlining; the frame exactly matches this cool gold colour.
Unfortunately the photos do not do the framing justice, it is hard to get a good representation as the glass reflects everything in natural daylight.

Sark's way of life will change.

The island of Sark is part of the UK, but it has been somewhat independent and has a feudal laws which have had to be approved of by Britain. There is a small parliament; the head of the island is the Seigneur. This way of life has more or less remained the same since Elizabethan times, apart from the German occupation during the last war. It depends largely on tourism for income.

The reclusive billionaire Barclay brothers, (who own The Ritz hotel in London, and the Daily Telegraph,) live on their own island, in a castle, in Sark’s territorial waters. The brothers have bought up a fifth of Sark, including three of the six hotels. They are in conflict with the Seigneur, and have stated that their ultimate goal is the democratic reform of Sark. The Seigneur has called for his own feudal powers to be restricted, but Sark’s parliament has resisted. The Seigneur is popular, and his family have governed the island since 1852.

Last year the European Court of Human Rights bought pressure on the island to change the inheritance and some tax laws. On January the 13th Jack Straw (the British Lord Chancellor) demanded that Sark move to full democracy. On January the 16th the parliament,( the Chief Pleas,) modified some of the laws.

This is some kind of democracy when two extremely rich brothers, living on their own island within a fortress can bring pressure to influence the way of life of Sark, while at the same time buying up the island for their own profit.



















La Coupeé, which joins Big and Little Sark.

Kaffee Fassett, Hampstead sites and lunch with Diane

Yesterday I heard Kaffee Fassett, (the renowned textile designer, knitter, quilter and artist) being interviewed on the radio. He was born in California, but lives here now. When asked what he thinks of British weather he said he really enjoyed it, and when it was dreary and grey outside he looked forward to sitting beside the hearth and knitting, which he can do really fast.

I always feel like knitting in the winter too, I think it must be something to do with the survival instinct. One of these days I will try my hand at one of his lovely bright designs.

I took the tube to Hampstead, and walked down to Belsize Park to meet Diane. On the way I took a few photos.

Flask Walk, Hampstead

Hot crépes!

Moroccan Cafe.

Diane and I met as planned in 'Ask', and had a drink before going back to Hampstead and having a small lunch with some laughs and a long chat in The Flask Pub restaurant before going our separate ways.

Selecting pictures to frame and sociable goings on.

Having decided I could not paint a masterpiece right now, I enlisted Linda Blackstone's help to choose some pictures from those I have already painted, for mounting and framing. Although she was really busy packing up her gallery she took a long time helping me, and she picked exactly the right mount and frame for each picture. She is the artist! I am really looking forward to seeing them once they are done as they will look so much better framed.

Diane came over for dinner which was really nice and we drank the delicious wine she bought, exchanged Christmas gifts, and caught up with what has been going on. Due to one reason or another we had not seen each other for two months which is unusual for us.

Today I had a nice long e-mail from Betty who I also had not heard from lately. For some reason her computer had decided it did not need to work for a while, as they do, but after resting it is back, and standing to attention again.

I went the scenic way to Watford, on the bus, today and got some shopping. Now I must go and cook dinner.

Swimming and The London Art Fair

We managed to go for our first swim this year which made us feel virtuous, but the water in the pool was cold which was a disincentive to stay in for too long. In the evening we went as invited to our neighbours, Glen and Barry for dinner, which made a nice change.

Today we went to the London Art Fair which is held in the Business Design Centre at The Angel. We looked at the displayed art; a lot of it seemed quite underwhelming, but there were some very interesting pieces, and as usual I liked some of Chris Bushe's paintings.

http://www.panterandhall.com/artists/bushe.html

When we left it was beginning to get overcast and dark, but this man was playing haunting Irish folk music in the street, while he was walking a tightrope.

Friends, family and Tommy Cooper

The other day I was walking home and feeling a bit blue, probably just because it is January. To cheer myself up I began making a list of all my family and my friends and people that I have known and loved throughout my life. I reached home about 20 minutes later and had not stopped counting, but I was feeling extremely lucky to be me.

Here are a few of some old Tommy Cooper jokes that Tania and Robert sent me yesterday: ( they liked 9 best, but I liked 2 as it reminded me of silly breakfasts with Mas.)

1. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any.

2. My friend drowned in a bowl of muesli. A strong currant pulled him in.

3. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.

4. So I was getting into my car, and this bloke says to me 'Can you give me a lift?'I said 'Sure, you look great, the world's your oyster, go for it.'

5. 'You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen. It said, 'Parking Fine.' So that was nice

6. Two fat blokes in a pub, one says to the other 'Your round.' The other one says 'So are you, you fat bast**d!'

7. A man walked into the doctors, he said, 'I've hurt my arm in several places’ the doctor said, 'Well don't go there anymore'

8. A man takes his Rotteweiller to the vet. 'My dog is cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him?''Well,' said the vet, 'let's have a look at him' so he picks the dog up and examines his eyes, then he checks his teeth.Finally, he says, 'I'm going to have to put him down.' 'What? Because he's cross-eyed? No, because he's really heavy.

9. Two elephants walk off a cliff...boom, boom!

Socializing, shopping and car maintenance

We have been fairly busy; I have painted two more pictures (but still have not managed to do a significant one) and Mas has been working on his web site. In between we went to St. Albans and had lunch with Tania and Robert in the Thai restaurant, and one evening we were invited to a party by Margaret and John who had prepared a lovely buffet with tempting food for a variety of different tastes, and it was fun seeing friends again.

On Saturday we went to Boreham Wood to get some shopping. We walked past one shop window where an elegant young boy mannequin was dressed in smart but casual clothing with a nice jacket over his shoulders; then he moved! We watched him for a while, saw him arranging his pose and then startling people in various ways. He was probably about 10 years old, but very good at it. I think he must have seen the mime artists that sometimes perform in Leicester Square.

Today we went to Watford where I bought a new swim suit (which I hope I will be able to squeeze into) and had lunch at Yummy, a Chinese restaurant that we eat about once a year, but the owners always remember us. On the way home the sound from the exhaust (or muffler as Mas would say ) meant that we had to replace it immediately. We had a downpour of rain driving home, and I saw another double rainbow.


















Romy relaxing in Belize.

Stanmore churches and W.S Gilbert

Mas and I, feeling somewhat stir crazy, decided to have a pub lunch in Stanmore. After lunch we went for a short walk through Stanmore for a bit of exercise, and because I wanted to look at the church which I had only seen in passing before.

In the church grounds there is a ruin which is securely locked, but a notice says that it can be viewed from April onwards. Being curious about the history of the church I found that there had been several churches on the same site.

The first that is known about was built in the 6th Century by Saxons, after they conquered London. The second church on this site was built in the 14th Century, dedicated to St. Mary.

The third replaced St.Mary's in 1632, and was the first church made of brick in England. It was dedicated to St. John and was consecrated by the Bishop of London,William Laud. After the civil war William Laud, who was then the Archbishop of Canterbury, was put on trial for High Treason because he had consecrated three churches (including this one) and it was considered a papist tradition. He was beheaded at Tower Hill on 10.1.1645.

The present church was built close to the ruin. The foundation stone was laid in the presence of the Dowager Queen Adelaide (married previously to William IV, and aunt to Queen Victoria), who was residing in Bentley Priory at the time. This Anglican church, named St. John the Evangelist was consecrated in 1850.

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert is buried here: Dramatist, librettist, poet, illustrator who worked with Sir Arthur Sullivan to write 14 comic operas.

After this we went home for a cup of tea to get warm again.

Computer problems and infectious smiling

The beginning of the year has been a bit fraught for us. Mas updated the computer security systems which caused problems for days on end. Hopefully things will be better now. I have been urgently trying to paint a masterpiece, but listening to protracted conversations with computer help lines has not proved too inspiring. I have painted two pictures, but they have not worked out as I intended.

On a more cheerful note, Chris sent me this from Switzerland :

Smiling is infectious
You catch it like the flu;
When someone smiled at me today
I started smiling too

I passed around the corner
And someone saw me grin
When I smiled back, I realized
I`d passed it on to him

I thought about that smile
And realized its worth
A single smile, like his or mine
Could travel round the earth

So, if you feel a smile begin
Don`t leave it undetected
Let`s start an epidemic quick
And get the world infected.

New Year's Eve

The last day of the year, and Mas is feeling better, but still with a cough. We went out and got a little shopping then, as we walked along the street, there was a smash and grab incident just in front of us with various people shouting. It transpired that a young man had gone into a small shop and snatched a handbag from a dummy in the window dragging half of it away. Two of them were chased out of sight by a security guard, but I think that only the dummy body was found.
After this we had a pub lunch at The Moon Under Water, just for a change of scene.

We had another quiet evening, but did stay up long enough to see the New Year in, watching TV.

Happy New Year!