Making an impression, or indeed, the farting yogi!
Sunday morning found me in a park with about 100 other people doing outdoor yoga with an organisation called Park Yoga, a partner organisation of Park Run. Park Run fills parks all over the country with runners on Sunday mornings, doing sweaty intense laps to various standards. Park Yoga is about being stationary, and today sweaty, to various standards.
Outdoor yoga in fabulous weather is quite the thing no need to visualise warm sun on my face. Imagining my foot sinking into the ground was beautifully illustrated by my yoga mat.
I may have overdone the inversion poses and maybe had a little incidental wind issue. Thank goodness for being out in the open air. The ripple of giggles around me the only sign that anything untoward had happened.Inversion poses also flipped familiar jewellery constantly in my face. I so rarely actually see it.
Yoga is good for mind and body and doing it outdoors really does enhance the experience. My summer Sunday mornings sorted.
A proper summer evening in Stonehouse last night. Art, music, soft summer rain and petrichor.
Stonehouse is a city neighbourhood by the sea. The area has been bathed in hot, constant ,early summer sunshine for weeks. Which is why the soft summer rain of last night added to the experience of art and music as the evening took in an art exhibition and live music at opposite ends of Stonehouse, as we did the evening dog walk. Petrichor, subtle but there never the less was the gentle fragrance of the evening. First stop Leadworks in Rendle Street to visit an art exhibition raising money for ShelterBox.
ShelterBox exists to ensure no one is without shelter after disaster. We often work in places that others don’t, making sure that we reach families who need support to take the next step in resuming their livelihoods.
With a brilliant piece of placement the first picture to greet visitors was a painting by Rosie Cunningham. Unintentionally, the whole summer exhibition experience was revealed.
Detail from Big Bird is Watching by Rosie Cunningham.
In the summer months artists and artistically minded people gather in halls, spaces and museums all over England to view summer exhibitions. The artistically minded wear carefully curated summer clothes, maybe a little quirky, women have statement necklaces or hand bags. Men, bold shirts or interesting glasses. In order to stand out from the quirky crowd,the actual artists dial up the sartorial code to Full Flamingo. Quirky for certain but with something extra, dungarees perhaps or a battered satchel. Private Views or one off events like last night are the best place to see this colourful phenomenon.
The dogs are well used to this sort of event having sniffed their way around the galleries and art spaces of London when they were younger. Lola though felt particularly welcome last night, in Stonehouse, with bespoke graffiti.
Soon enough we were off to the far south of the Stonehouse Peninsular for live music at the Arch in the Royal William Yard.
Another summer uniform, shorts, skirts, t-shirts and flip flops to listen to fabulous music in a beautiful spot. Which brings us back to the gorgeous portrait of Van Morrison by Jo Beer at the top of the picture.
This blog will be a bit about bobbing, but not,I hope, too boringly repetitive. The old mortuary ponders USP is essentially about the repetitive nature of every day life, so there is a reason for boring you all sometime.
The point of the above picture is the laugh out loud moment I had when this photo was shared to my Google Phone. So laugh out loud that it took some time for me to compose myself to explain to the bobbers.
On receiving the photo, my phone, using all of its considerable AI asked me if I would like it to remove the people from the image. The idea that bobbers could be so disposable just cracked me up. Just to be contrary I cropped the marina out of the picture.
Today, because of the East wind we changed location again to the steps at the end of Pound Street just off Cremyl Street. It turns out that this location was incredibly sociable and we met a lovely woman from the Rhederlaagse Meren Dippers who offered us a dipping/bobbing holiday based at their beautiful lake north of Amsterdam.
East wind and a high tide can make swimming a little like spending time in a washing machine, at our normal beach. So Today I, once again, chose the secluded steps access to the sea, where there is a little shelter from an easterly wind. This time without interrupting a mourning family. See below ⬇️
Wind was on my mind because, after swimming, I had two consecutive sessions of painting with two different groups. And I needed to finish a painting that features abstract shapes that represent the wind and Smeatons Tower, our local landmark Lighthouse.
To say I have become obsessed with painting the wind since living on a peninsular would be an understatement. I have even thought about getting a home weather station.
Now to excuse myself for a late blog. A timely blog would have happened between the first dog walking image and the second swimming image, but I met three different people I knew on the dog walk and, quite frankly talked too much.
1, Sweet Peas and their placement in a south facing garden with a neighbour.
2, A local anniversary fete with someone I only know by sight.
3, A road accident with a friend I haven’t seen since March.
Blogging time blown out of the water. I had a very quick turnaround to meet my swimming companion. Then we were both off to the same art group where talking and creating is the point of the whole thing. Networking would be the word. Very good for artists who largely work in isolation. We planned our next group exhibition.
Then off to meet the next group, predominantly crafters, at a cafe. It turns out I was at the wrong cafe but I met a friend who I had not seen for a few weeks and we caught up on a project that we had both been working on for a Tennis Club. Half an hour later, no crafters at the cafe and I Whatsapped them to see if the gathering had been cancelled.
I was in the wrong place!
Finally I reached the place where talking was always the plan. For once I was fairly quiet, but I did finish the wind painting.
When I was a small person someone who talked too much was given the derogatory title of a ‘right’or ‘old’ windbag.
On reflection I have definitely been that person today. Caught somewhere between being old, juvenile or pompous.
Or worse!
My father used a much less palatable description of the over-talkative and called chatty people ‘verbally incontinent’. He was himself a skilled listener and rather a wise bean.
How do you use windbag in a sentence?
She was a bit of a windbag, but chatterbox would be a kinder term, she did paint a good wind while she nattered.
Altered photograph of the bar at the VOT where I ended up. Looks a bit windy to me.
Science steps in to gently rub salve into my busy mind.
A visit to Bangkok’s Museum of Modern Art definitely blew my Contemporary art thoughts last month.
I really struggled with my own ignorance of Buddhist and Hindu culture. The first two floors, that I chose to visit, presented art created in the last twenty years but absolutely the subject matter were traditional tales, largely presented in 2d and rendered in styles that are centuries old. I was completely exhausted by hyper-real women with perfectly formed bodies perkily posing, predominantly for the male gaze but pretending to be a classic image telling a traditional story in a contemporary way. In short I was exhausted by perky breasts and buttocks and uncomfortable with images of prepubescent girls depicted with their clothes absentmindedly slipping from their bodies.
My apologies for this being a repeat sentiment of a previous blog. But since the last blog two second-hand books have arrived in my house. Short introductions to Buddhism and Hinduism.
I am making a start with Buddhism.
And in particular with Satan’s Daughters. 10 in number, and the subject of a painting that I really enjoyed trying to understand in Bangkok.
Satan’s Daughter(s)? by Surathin Tatana
Louis Pasteur clarified beautifully the artistic journey that I am on currently. Science is a wonderful thing.
Being surprised by something is the mind’s first step towards discovery. Louis Pasteur
Not the blog that I expected to write today but a fine example of not being able to always plan ahead.
When the weather is good and the tides favourable I often combine my evening dog walk with a quick, solitary dip. This is my favoured location for the evening plunge. Last night my favourite spot was empty as I arrived and I was quick to get in. Only moments later a family followed me down. There was no sun and the water was a little chilly so my plan was for a quick in and out. But at some point I glanced over my shoulder and saw the family were holding an informal memorial celebration and tossing long stemmed red roses into the sea.
I really had no option, despite the chilly ness, but to stay in the water and keep out of their moment of peace and tranquility.
Soon enough they left and the sea was quickly spreading the many roses, placed lovingly in the sea.
If only I had been a little later they could have had the place to themselves. This really is a perfect spot to remember and reflect on other realms and people who are loved.
We have had a busy weekend in some glorious weather. There was just an hour or so on Sunday when we could sit in the yard and enjoy looking at the results of our replanting and reorganising, of the pots and planters.
Apparently Hugo needed some time to consider if plants were in their correct locations. Some had been moved to save them from his wee, I’m not sure he appreciated that plan. But he did appreciate us getting out a sun lounger for him to gain a higher perspective of the yard.
He also appreciated the cup of tea that we made to rehydrate after gardening in full sun.
Unlike us his paws and fingernails were not grubby with hard work and soil. We jokingly call him the yard supervisor, I think these pictures suggest that that is exactly what he considers himself to be.
Just when the garden supervisor was on a break his mature good looks got him spotted, again, as a potential dog model. Let’s see how this unfolds,as a pup he modelled neckerchiefs. He retired after only one campaign.
Sunday sunshine and a bit of tennis. Oh the sun is glorious this weekend. We were up early to enjoy as much of the day as possible.
The tennis club gardens were looking gorgeous in the bright morning sunshine.
Hybrid Peony Bartzilla brought an acidic kick to the border near the tennis court.
The tennis also brought a kick of its own as back muscles complained about the early morning work out. June has arrived and so far she really is flaming. Tonight high tide is at 7 pm and the bobbers are planning a plunge. It will be fab.
Yesterday I was stopped in my tracks by a piece of prose written by Dame Judi Dench. Not being able to match this in any way. I will just share without pondering at all.
“Don’t prioritise your looks my friend, as they won’t last the journey. Your sense of humour though, will only get better with age. Your intuition will grow and expand like a majestic cloak of wisdom. Your ability to choose your battles, will be fine-tuned to perfection. Your capacity for stillness, for living in the moment, will blossom. Your desire to live each and every moment will transcend all other wants. Your instinct for knowing what (and who) is worth your time, will grow and flourish like ivy on a castle wall. Don’t prioritise your looks my friend, they will change forevermore, that pursuit is one of much sadness and disappointment. Prioritise the uniqueness that makes you you, and the invisible magnet that draws in other like-minded souls to dance in your orbit. These are the things which will only get better.”
I’ve made two reels this morning for Facebook and Instagram advertising a communal gardening event in my local area. The links to both are above. The photographs in both are largely the same but for ease I chose two different pieces of accompanying music.
The music choices make a tremendous difference to the sensation of the reel but both accurately reflect the feeling of a beautiful secret garden by the sea. Before doing a Social Media course I was not a “reel’ kind of person but I was persuaded that reels increase engagement. For the most part I am a sound-off kind of person when viewing social media but recently I have realised it can introduce me to music I have never heard before. I’m not sure everyone takes their music/reel combos too seriously so the hit rate for liking reels music is quite low but I am willing to make a small sacrifice to find new musical paths to follow. Although I discovered this music at a funeral, I have shared it on some reels. I hope it makes your 2nd of June jog along on some great notes and proves that even 30 seconds of great music can make a difference.
Readers in London could experience this fabulous man at the Union Chapel on the 10th of June.
More than 30 seconds of mellow sounds. Welcome June, you are most welcome.
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