3 happy moments in my week

It's just a sunflower but this sunflower was given to me by the next door neighbour when it was just a stem and two tiny leaves. This is a sunflower in a garden that has no beds but I've turned my front step into a little forest and it shouts look at me I'm gorgeous. The sunflower happens to be one of my good friends favourite flowers and this one gave me an excuse to text her a picture of to brighten her day. It's just a sunflower but it made me disproportionately happy when I left the house for work to see it's outer petals first peeling open.

I walk my dog, Monty, every evening in the same place but since we've had this really hot weather it's been so much more of a pleasure. One day this last week my friend Elaine joined me to tell me some good news and we paddled. Monty used to be really frightened of the water but with the encouragement of some other dogs he's been getting braver in the water and I love this snap of him balancing on a log and Elaine pretending to kiss him! These silly moments in random half hours need celebrating.

Earlier this week I had a text from a friend saying; 'You'll love the market outside m&s' so after my meeting I headed down and there was stall after stall of Tunisian goods. Even a stall selling red shoes! Uncanny how well my friends know me. I have a growing tug towards the Arab states of North Africa so I couldn't resist these hand painted tiles of doorways. Just a touch symbolic! At least three of them are ajar. And of course, looking at them reminds me of my upcoming trip to Morocco at the end of August.

Pinchmill Islands

Went to a very cool place with my learners today: Pinchmill Islands near Sharnbrook. It's a series of islands in the river connected by bridges in places.

The water can be shallow and still, knee deep in weeds, still pools deep enough to swim in and fast running currents that the light bounces off so you can't see where you're putting your feet for paddling. We got the chicken, kebabs and prawns cooking

on the barbeque and the brave ones waded in - some getting wetter than planned!

Can't show pictures of learners obviously so here are a couple of snaps to give you an idea of what the place is like. Arun is back on the team and is here immortalised hitching up his britches! The river is teeming with fish - I thought maybe chubb but i'm no expert. Particularly enjoyed just letting the young people talk today. Sometimes a day with no formal structure is the best for developing relationship, finding out about the issues they are facing and getting to know them better. Loved watching two guys get to hang out together for the first time - neither of whom you'd imagine ever giving each other the time of day in mainstream school but a camera fired them both up and got them talking. I love this job!

Persepolis 2.0

If you haven't already read the first two graphic novels called Persepolis, I urge you to. They are excellent, accessible and important. In brief it's about growing up, emigrating and returning to Iran. Written autobiographically by Marjane Satrapi, I can't think of a better way to spend a few quid or if you're feeling really tight and live nearby, I'll lend you mine.

Just received this today persepolis http://www.spreadpersepolis...about Iran's post-election uprising. If you've been awake you'll have noticed what's been going on recently. This piece of work is based on and inspired by Satrapi's original work. Dated from June this year, you can't get more hot off the press, up to date, relevant art.

edibles

Curry,

courtesy

of

my

next

door

neighbours

last

night

and

a

dessert

sharing

platter

from

The Park

this

afternoon.

visual history continued

summer drinks

stroked a tapir at linton zoo

gave gifts to friends

paddled

a bunch of stuff wot i did

Went to a charity gig on Saturday night which was actually a whole heap of fun and I danced like a lunatic most of the night. Shame I can't stay permanently tipsy.

Bought the t-shirt.

Saw a lump of tree. Thought it looked cool. Took pic. Here you go, don't say i never give you nuffink.

Took the work guys out for the day to Stoke Bruerne, which wasn't too shabby.

Saw a bunch of trees some place i liked the look of so took a pic. reminded me of 'koktobel'

Sat toasting marshmallows over a fire pit at a friends house while the bananas and chocolate melted in their skins on the hot bricks.

Went to Coventry to look around the uni with a mate to check out some courses for her.

i just opened my cd back up of my 50,000 word novel and it says it's a blank disc. i'm not panicking yet but of course i needed that back up given that the paper version went up in flames...

ice cubes?

One black rucksac full of home grown spinach plus a bit of butter and condiments then HEY PRESTO! - spinach ice cubes!!

does anyone actually read this?

try being unimpressed

     

Souldrop Chicks

run of the mill stuff

had my head wrapped in cling film and made into a plastic fantastic figure

went out for a drink

painted

found a birds nest

catch up

saw a croc

and a frog

had a drive in a porsche

grr

My sunflower seedlings have been mown down

Pupdate

Monty is home.

He got through his operation fine and is up and about again. He is on painkillers and antibiotics which go down surprisingly well when hidden inside 1/4 of a chipolata! He's not himself, still woozy from the anaesthetic but that's good as he's on strict rest for 5 days. The wound looks pretty grim but he's going to be ok.

A couple more 'outpatient' appointments over the next couple of weeks and we should be back to normal.

Thank you again to everyone who helped either by talking to me on the phone when I was wondering what to do, calling vets and friends for me, giving lifts and carrying Monty when I couldn't. It means a huge amount to me.

Guerrilla Gardening

Took my sunflower seedlings out to where Monty and I walk every day and planted them out in a fairy circle of 8 with one in the middle. I really liked how they looked. 

The soil I chose is in a grassy area close to the

 river that is always very damp underfoot so I thought that would give them a good fighting chance of taking. I settled them in with a bit of potting compost then stood back to survey my handiwork.

Earlier in the afternoon I had 'harvested' the stems of some juicy weeds that grow vigorously in my garden, thinking that once dried they might make excellent stakes to support the sunflowers once they grow a little. I don't know if they will become brittle or strong once dried so I'll give it a go and see how it goes. I have them wedged behind a pipe outside my front door for the sun to dry them out.

Unfortunately, after this otherwise very pleasant sortie, my dog was then attacked by another dog who tore a chunk out of his throat and has landed him in the vets for an operation and overnight stay. I am really upset by this incident but also very angry at the dog's owner who didn't have him muzzled or on a lead and couldn't call the dog off. The vets have just called me to say that he was really lucky as the bite was very close to his jugular but that the operation went well and he should be able to be out tomorrow but might be a bit lame after everything has settled down.

Hike for the Homeless.

           

As planned, I did a sponsored hike on Saturday to raise money for the King's Arms Project supporting the homeless of Bedford. As not planned, the 20 mile r

oute became 22 miles between signing up and starting on the day. Sneaky!

For the first 7 miles I was on my own and read a good 60 pages of my current book; 'Number9dream' by David Mitchell. The first 14 miles of walking were pretty easy. Kept up a good pace and was mostly enjoying myself. There were some beautiful views along the way.

Around the 14 mile mark my feet went from uncomfortable to incredibly painful and the last 8 miles were agonising. Ankles up I was fine but I sustained a big bruise on the side of my foot and blisters pretty much everywhere else. Thankfully I wasn't particularly tired or achy but the feet really made it miserable going. Every step was an effort. 

We had 2 main stopping places. At the first I was fine and just got my official stamp and marched on. At the second one, I had coffee and foot massage with lots of cream! From that point on I was just looking to the horizon and willing Bedford to appear.

It was a great moment when I finally sat on my 'ped to head back home. The next day however was a bit of a shock as I discovered I was incapable of weight bearing! 3 days on from the event now and I can walk again though there are still blisters and the bruise but it's all for a good cause, right?!

POND DIPPING

prep hike

Went for a ten mile hike to the Danish Camp in Willington today in preparation for the 20 miles I'm doing next Saturday.

Meri bravely came with me. We had a great cream tea half way that saw us through to the end. 

I can confirm that both of us have aching feet now and although I think I'll be ok with energy levels for 20 miles, I'm not so sure my feet are going to be happy about it.

home grown lunch

someone else's art

I don't object to a bit of Hockney.

I may have taken a photo of this Warhol but I didn't use flash photograpy. Honest.

guerrilla gardening

Did some guerrilla gardening with my learners today. We watched highlights from iPlayer about the plight of honeybees then went out to do something small about it. Armed with wild flower seeds and a trowel we went out looking for scruffy bits of land. The first place we stopped was by a big bank of soil that had recently been planted up with ivy but looked really dull. I pulled out the trowel and immediately realised we were being watched by someone from the building. She called out, 'Can I help you?' and I bluffed my way through with 'So guys, what plant do you think this is?' and they joined in gamely before i waved my trowel like someone with authority and led them away with 'OK, if I could ask you all to move along this way...' and we legged it round the corner and cracked up!

We finally found 4 small spots to dig over some soil, water the ground, sow, cover and water again. There was a sense of adventure that got them reasonably well interested and enough perception of risk to make it better than sitting back in the classroom 'learning' stuff.

The irony is that when I got back, I was approached by my manager and someone from the aforementioned building to go and speak to their staff about young people and how to relate to them! ha ha. Hopefully I won't get recognised and questioned about it.