There was more than a whiff of spring in the air. The peacock displayed ( he really has managed to produce a hell of a tail from nowhere!), the peahen watched, indulgently, for a while and Little seemed suitably awed. I got a lot done...always the case when the sun shines, however wanly. Because we had had the builders in for so long, we suffered from workman invasion fatigue syndrome...plus our very engaging doing-it-for-'fun' painter lost interest..so we have been living with plaster on the walls... I think that contributed to the BG's sense that we were, once again, in only a semi-stable state. I decided to bite the bullet and get the decoration done. Nick, the new painter ( really a potter and a yoga instructor in real life) has made a huge impact ..the BG's room and bathroom are almost finished and the BG can see that the onerous and tedious decanting of the contents of his room and the decamping to the spare was well worth the effort. My turn to evacuate tomorrow night. What is alarming is the volume of DUST, never mind the vast quantities of stuff... Upstairs will be transformed and it's great that all the niggly little unfinished bits downstairs are now tidied up, too. Maybe we will feel more anchored.
I know this won't please the cynics...but, hey, I don't think there's too much wrong with the guy. There may be not enough right with him, but he means well and he's the best hope we have of ridding ourselves of the SnotGobbler.
No, I did not do this...no photoshop and definitely not clever enough to do it, anyway! Do go and look,via Idle. There are some fab efforts. Bright sunshine today so off out to the woods to gather fuel. Must get myself a black shawl, some clogs and a gnarled old stick to really look the part... Maybe I'll get some inspiration for my own version....it must be possible to dredge something up out of my increasingly-right side-dominated brain. Interesting, isn't it? The more I paint, the less I can write!
...I think I may have found my landscape voice.... My mate Binny's stricture that I use a limited palette has transformed the work. These were done with four colours and white.
My blood boils the instant I hear that stupid bloody phrase. WHY would children from 'deprived' backgrounds ( deprived being defined, as far as I can see, as not :having Sky/going on skiing holidays/speaking properly/eating veg and fruit/giving a toss about learning/The Arts)aspire to 'better' themselves through education? They, and their pitbull-keeping/daytime telly-watching/benefits-dependent parents, despise education in all its aspects. Labour regard proper education and a proper regard for it as a mark of the privileged/the elite so they hate it, too ( not for their own kids, of course) so want to reduce it to the lowest common denominator or just smash it up so that no-one can have it. These people Labour claim need help don't want to push themselves or they would!.They want fame on a plate, celebrity on a pizza, riches in a bap. Social engineering won't work. A lot more good would be done by following the example of many European countries whose education system is geared to employment and thus gives equal prestige to caring/practical training and qualifications as to more conventionally academic subjects. And you aren't going to get kids motivated in school if a) the parents couldn't give a monkeys/the teachers couldn't give a monkeys and the kids' peer groups regard working hard and being good at school as the mark of , at best, a nerd and , at worst, a total loser who deserves to be pulped. The Tories batting on about restoring respect for teaching are only very slightly on the right lines. I, personally, think it is a BIG mistake to say that people have to have Grade B in English and Maths...I am sorry, but the people who are fab at one are usually crap at the other..all this means is that you'll get a load of all rounders. WHAT TEACHING NEEDS IS PASSION AND A REAL LOVE/FLAIR FOR THE TEACHING PROCESS!
The gardens of the Grand Mosque, Muscat. Tranquil. Exquisite. Sunny. Here, we missed out on the second batch of snow and had to settle for sleet and rain instead. Not a good trade! The peacocks looked bedraggled all day and have gone to bed wet. Ugh! Poor Ps! Heard a sweet joke.. Paddy is having trouble with his computer at work and has to summon the help of the IT department. 'What's your password?' asks the geek, ' Because that seems to be part of the problem...' 'DumboPlutoSnowWhiteShrekMickey MouseDonald DuckBobtheBuilderNogginTheNogDublin' replies Paddy. 'Are you nuts?' asks the geek.' why is it so long?' 'Feck! You guys have a nerve!' retorts Paddy.'Sure and wasn't it one of your own guys who told me my password had to have eight characters and a capital?!'
Ok...so the school plans to keep parents informed as to school closures (weather) via Twitter, so I decide to sign up and join the tweeting classes. Mobile phone sign-up seems sensible..I already get Parentmail on the computer. What a pointless, frustrating palaver! Go through all the stages ( which, of course, require one to send MANY, EXPENSIVE texts....) only to receive the utterly maddening text telling me that I have started the sign-up process but, sadly, they have not heard from me for a while ) yeah, like a nano-second sine I sent through my password for the second time) so could I start all over again! NO! I COULD NOT! NOT FOR A THIRD TIME! Grrrrrrrrrrrr. It explains how they make their money...B*******! And how come nobody on Broadcasting House this am wanted to even refer to Watt's account of life in No.10 as revealed in the Mail on Sunday ( which I do not buy, but looked at online following Guido's piece). The account of a fairly high level dinner party, during which Broon sulked because his guests had sat down of their own accord whilst he disappeared to take calls, is both comic and alarming. Can't believe it did not catch a reviewer's eye...Instead, there was plenty of time allocated to the Prime Mentalist's assertions that the Patsy/Hoon episode was silly..etc etc. The BBC is so biased that I can barely listen to it, sometimes. Oh, and did anyone catch that juvenile, puerile, INFANTILE 'dramatisation' of Roald Dahl's children's book, 'Matilda'? WHAT WAS THAT DOING ON a) PRIME ADULT TIME ;b)occupying the CLASSIC SERIAL spot and c) ON RADIO AT ALL? It was beyond dire. What were they thinking of???We had the misfortune to hear it on the way back from the airport last Sat and listened in horrified disbelief. Truly awful. Last rant: Could we please have the snow back? It's a lot easier to bear than this nasty sleet!
Not a great photo..I'm shivering and don't have a tripod! Another day of no school...but lessons sent through online so the BG has had a 'normal' school day. Snow is forecast for Sunday, so we may be marooned for another few days. I am debating venturing forth tomorrow, but our lane remains very, very icy and the farmer's 4x4 struggled to get up it today. It's a bit frustrating because the main road is navigable...but it would be both scary and expensive to meet anyone else on the lane if local intelligence is anything to go by. Read the Prime McMentalist's loopy letter on Guido... Oh, and if you have not seen 'District 9', please get it out on dvd...really excellent. Saw it on the plane on the way out and it still haunts me. 'Inglorious Basterds' was a blast, too. Very silly but definitely entertaining.
Being snowbound has its advantages. I have knuckled down to another still life...pepper with berber tassel. Fingers slightly numbed by the cold..the woodburner is going full blast but it would take a serious furnace to conquer current conditions.
...what were they playing at, besides living up to their names? I am sure there are plenty of people who loathe the Madman as much as we do, but who wants the poisoned chalice right now? This whole ongoing fiasco looks like an episode from 'I, Claudius'...during the reign of Caligula...or Nero. Can't you just visualise all those furtive meetings with conspirators, the midnight visits to the Poisoner down the back streets, the dark mutterings, the honing and hiding of blades...... All very nasty, very noxious, very now.... Oh, and above is what Caramac thinks of it all!
That's Caramac walking across a corner of the big lake... These pics were taken first thing, and we've had a much bigger delivery of the white stuff since then..and it has turned a lot colder. Painting on the agenda...plus a poem which has been boinging about in my head overnight. BG practising chords. Peacocks high-stepping it over the snow. Mrs P has lost all her tail feathers....how? Did she abandon them as a drag in the inclement weather or did something chase her and get a hold of them? Did I hear right? Did Peter Mandelson really remark in an interview that he felt his lack of ambition had held him back? Does the Prince of Darkness have a wicked sense of humour to go with all his other wickednesses???!
Even the poor peacocks were semi-frozen this am, with a dusting of ice all over their backs and tails. Glad I split wood yesterday because it is BRUTALLY cold today. Snow is on the way and the BG may get a welcome day in bed. We are both a bit jet-lagged/cold-shocked to be honest! in addition, my head feels as if it is in a vice...dratted migraine! The pain, on top of a ferment of disparate creative impulses, has left me rather like..well, I was going to say a headless chicken...but headless would be a dramatic improvement on my current state...!
As temperatures plummet ( -6 predicted tonight, and snow MAY be on the way...), I thought a little fix of exoticism would not go amiss. This is the Grand Mosque, Muscat...a fabulous confection of marble, gold and swarowski crystal..oh, and the second largest hand-woven carpet in the world. Very splendid. Spent the day washing bikinis and sundresses and chopping wood. Slithered into Axminster and back ( our lane is like the Cresta Run!) and am now debating a very early night with a hot water bottle or a snuggle up with same hot water bottle in front of 'Hustle'.
Oman! What a place! I would definitely go back..like a shot. It was heart-wrenching to leave...mainly because I'll miss my sister, but also it is bliss to know that it will be warm and sunny pretty much every day and that the sea will be gloriously inviting, no matter what. Above is a pic of the desert trip ( including that unnerving drive!) and one of the wadi near Fanja. The BG weant a bit native and now has two turbans and a dishdash! There he is with his uncle and cousins. Little Miles carries a turban off with considerable aplomb and the Omanis are also delighted to see him capering about in the streets of Muscat. We minced back down the A303 and subsequent lanes on the ice last night and this morning everything was encrusted with ice. The peacocks' water froze over immediately it was refilled...grim. We feel pretty discombobulated but need to get our act together quickly. The BG is back at school tomorrow and the log pile is utterly depleted.....oh, for the sun!
Ex-City(escaped in 2001...yeay!),taught English to nippers for a bit. Quit to write full time. 'Share' published Sept 2010, now in paperback and boardbook(June). Poetry collection 'Pig Nuts and Peacocks' to be published by Rufus Books in September 2011. Open studio at Lyme Regis ArtsFest 17th-25th September.
