Saturday, June 21, 2008

Miserable wet day - No Barber-Shop

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Picture 1 is yesterday's sunset from my bedroom window and very attractive it was too. The light at the rear of the Acer and to the left of it the Cotinus always looks good.

Today has been drab and rainy throughout, and certainly not worth a picture. And the longest day too.

I'm not decrying 'wet weather' as a subject for Art. Pissaro for instance was very good at it. Picture 2 is his 'Gardens at Tuilieres' which is in The Ashmolean at Oxford.

The rain prevented us from even driving down to Colliers Wood to see if anything was happening. But I guess that singing Barber-Shop to an empty field cannot rate highly on anyone's list of things to do on a Saturday afternoon.

Brian S called in with a Nikon fit bellows/rail device for really close-up work and I very much looking forward to experimenting with it. Watch this space !

My recuperative 'rests' have continued, coupled with frequent kips. I'm sure this drowsiness is due to the soporific effect of painkillers. And although I agree with Bungus that the effect of morphine is not unpleasant I become irritated with myself for the time it takes out of each day. Better than the alternative though.

Picture 3 is by Millicent (just 3). She wanted to do a picture for Grandad Graham's picture gallery wall and this is the result. I love it - it is so lively and happy. And I particularly like the 'writing' underneath that she has done for me.

Once I've flattened it out to get rid of the creases, up on the wall it will go.

For lunch we had a spag/bol I made earlier. It was adequate if uneventful and I finished off the apple/rhubarb crumble from Friday. That was nicer. Y had cheese and biccies with some grapes.

Comments....Bungus .... You are probably right about the bees-in-flight pictures. I guess it was an 'academic exercise' and you know how obsessional I can be.

Re your 'lowering sky' - you seem to be outvoted about the polytunnel. But I am relieved that it is only something as trivial as the 'year' which is incorrectly set on your camera. Good job it isn't something important like the 'seconds'.

I agree with your stance on Cuba. And I don't feel as if I have painted myself into a poetic corner. My tastes have always been 'catholic', maybe even more so than your own - but things arrive and and then leave my approval zone.

Jill .... ........... Thanks for pointing me towards the BBC for coverage of the EU's lifting of sanctions against Cuba. You will also find a para on the front page of Cuba's own 'Granma' newspaper. I like the newspaper; it seems lively, and brief.

Sorry about the gate-bell. I hope the pots of tea were beneficial.

anonymousrob ...... The sanctions against Cuba seem a mystery from the beginning. Reading the link Jill indicated, that the given reason was Cuba's imprisonment of 70 dissidents, I suppose Cuba will impose sanctions on us when we start imprisoning people for 42 days without trial.

Sorry your caravaning weather was bad and can only hope that your dongle provided some solace.

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Quotation time ............................ This seems apt. Particularly in matters of photo-criticism !

"Do not condemn the judgement of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong"

Dandemis

No link behind his name because all I could find were pages with lists of quotes.

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Sunday tomorrow, and all those papers - not finished today's yet.
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Saturday, June 21, 2008

A miserable day weatherwise; sort of black over everybody’s mother’s.

A pretty photo but not obviously a sunset. A sunset over Bill’s mother’s perhaps?
Who says you are more obsessional than me?

Sorry to hear you didn’t make it to the Barbershop thing. It could have made an interesting photo or two in the rain (I am thinking of my favourite ‘I’ll Join the Legion’)

I don’t value time as you do and could gladly become an opium smoker if it gives any of the pleasures of morphine.

You are right to value the picture by Millicent. If her writing deteriorates she should become a doctor.

I honestly welcome the comments on my 'lowering sky' but will not give in to pressure to change it!
We are all entitled to have our views and express them (within limits). That is not a view supported by my one-time friend JJ Prow of the Harold Wilson Organisation (where you picketed)- When he told his wife to shut up and she said, “Well, it’s only my opinion,” he replied, “Well your opinion’s wrong.”
Re: ‘only the year’:
I did say that time is less important to me than to you. 2008, 2010, who cares?

‘Things arrive and and then leave my approval zone’:
Yes, you do switch quite suddenly from one thing to another as I soon realised. I remember describing you at the time as 'a seventeen stone butterfly' (you'd need more than a bumble bee's wings!).

I like the Dan Dermis quote (I expect he was thick skinned).

I haven’t finished last Sunday’s Observer yet, not because I had two copies (Steph went to London for the day and brought me one back). And I only have the Mansfield dand Newark local papers in the week.

Jill:
Sorry about your disturbed night but a bell at the end of the drive does seem to invite mischief! Can you devise a way of switching it off (and a way of remembering to switch it back on again). But more tea sounds a good idea.
We don’t even have (or need to have) gates!

Rob:
The poly tunnel is next door. As I have patiently tried to explain, Bill’s mother’s is always four or five miles away.
While on that subject, it strikes me that accepting the idea of standing in Bill’s mother’s garden is a bit like having a ‘beware of trains’ sign on the front of locomotives.

Russia played well, scored a goal and stifled Holland who rarely performed at anywhere near their brilliant, mercurial best. Only at the end of normal time did they try the Turkish ploy but extra time did for them conclusively.
No, Turkey don’t stand a chance against Germany. Spain v Italy is more difficult to call.

Amir Khan got a surprise but his skill, power and speed enabled him to manage a fifth round victory when his extremely strong, game and resilient opponent was mercifully spared further punishment by the referee.

More Chick:
“After I told my wife that black underwear turned me on, she didn't wash my Y-fronts for a month.”

Anonymous said...

We thought long and hard before having the bell at the end of the drive, but there wasn't really an alternative, the postman was complaining about the extra walk and at that time we had a paperboy as well as a milkman. It's only quite rarely happened that someone rings it and runs away, often it is school kids around 3.30 p.m. And it saves us walking down drive to speak to Jehovahs' Witnesses and their like, we can say 'go away' from the sitting room.... And there does need to be a gate.

The acer in the photo looks beautiful, are they that colour all year? And of course you must frame Millie's letter.

It didn't rain yesterday here, was dull and cool - lots of sunshine here today but very strong wind, it has blown the petals off the poppies.

We went to Carrie's (youngest daughter/child) yesterday, met a lot of people, she has a friend called Bill. She then said 'and this is Bill's mother' - I found it very difficult to keep a straight face, decided I would only dig myself in deeper if I explained.....

Friend whose judgement I trust says the film 'Kinky Boots' on tonight is not at all what you would expect from the title, it is like an old Ealing comedy.