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.

in situ

Pirate Pimp at the  car park paying machine.

Paris withdrawing more cash!

Hail Caesar. Sassy pants in a phone box!

more guerilla art in progress

Here are 4 creations, all set with 

messages to be let loose on the world!

Caesar!

Pirate Pimp!

Clive the Hulk!

 Paris!

"I am Caesar. Look at my furry pants!"

                      

                                            "Luke, I am your father."

"I've lost my chihuahua!"

"Pimp my pirate ship."

art stuff done by my learners

Totem pole heads! A display that will be loaned to the local library. 



An art piece called 'Dig in.' Not sure how much this was planned and how much just chucked together and called something fancy. No, actually I think I do know.

Air drying clay chickens for Easter...and bunnies and flowers. Other projects included an ash tray with a bunny smoking a spliff.

Coins. Led by two ladies from the museum getting the group to express what they would like to see on a coin if they were in charge of the country. No great shock about the images that cropped up there!

An idea from 'The Guerilla Art Kit.' 

Page 95. 

'Making Friends.'

Maybe someone will like my eyes!

This one was great!

Really

tasty 

one. 

Can't remember where I bought it but I wish I'd bought more than the one bottle. The Ruby Cabernet I had before was a real disappointment but this was quite nutty on the nose, full and juicy on the palette. Label said black cherry but I thought blackberry.

Istanbul, last month. Some snap shots

guerilla art

Mini-me got 9781568986883 for his birthday and I'm going to nick some of the ideas out of it. So, today I have planted up 12 sunflower seeds in prep for some guerilla gardening later in the spring. Once they have germinated in their little peat pots, I'll take them down by the river, somewhere I regularly walk my dog, and plant them. It'll be fun walking past them every day to see how they're doing and also imagining other people's surprise and hopefully enjoyment when they see a random patch of up to a dozen sunflowers where you wouldn't expect them. Might even bring you pictures if you're very lucky.