#491 theoldmortuary ponders

Lovely winter daylight in the studio has given me some time to try a landscape that mingles the visual experience of checking out our swimming zone with the physical experience of checking out our zone. In truth we all predict how the swim is going to be in various ways. The Bobbers who cross the Tamar river have an observation that if the river is rough then the sea to the east will be calm. Bobbers from the North of the city travel together but many of them have already met in a park earlier for dog walking when various predictions for the upcoming bob are discussed. Those of us who live closer shiver in our thick winter coats while walking our dogs only an hour before we slip into something briefer to slip effortlessly, we imagine, into the chilly sea. What is the point of this predictive group Pondering, nothing really ever stops a well planned bob. On only one occasion have we taken the easier option of swimming in the tidal pool, and in over two years only a couple of bobs have been cancelled for safety reasons. We actually bob just a minute or two further east from this location but for every bob, we stand looking at this view and try to predict how much pleasure, or not, will be extracted from the days dip. We are rarely disappointed. If I were to paint an ‘after’ painting it would feature non-stop nonsense talking, flasks and many layers of clothing, not necessarily in the correct order.

#490 theoldmortuary ponders.

Tidal Pool, Firestone Bay ©theoldmortuary

I am very very late to the practice of doing Yoga early in the morning, but 6 months of an acute phase of arthritis has left me stiff and limpy in the mornings. As the first signs of things improving co-incided with the opening of a new gym nearby, I joined and am working my way through the classes that take my interest. Hatha Yoga gets my vote so far. The thought of walking to a warm beautiful space is definitely easier on the mind in those last sleepy moments of bed than my more common habit of plunging into the cold sea.

But both are invaluable in loosening up my cranky, creaky joints, which is my primary need but increasingly I am aware that my happily busy head takes some time out while doing these two disparate activities. Now to work out a way to combine the two.

Work in Progress.

#489 theoldmortuary ponders.

I have been having a bit of a fiddle superimposing photographs with watercolour washes. This is not the look I was aiming for, even in digital art happy accidents happen. I love the coppery tones that a splash of watercolour brings to this sunrise. Suddenly a real photograph becomes fantastical. More like a stormy sunset but facing in the wrong direction. This is absolute serendipity, I could never have planned this but accidents happen.

#487 theoldmortuary ponders.

Every once in a while we drop some widely travelled friends at Exeter Airport in the early hours of the morning. The day always has the same shape, we drop them and then head to Topsham to walk the streets and the Goat Walk, above, before Topsham has properly woken up.

Then once the walk is completed, after 8 am we can indulge in breakfast in an old pub that is now a cafe.

Before heading into Exeter to shop in John Lewis and many other enlightened stores that allow well behaved dogs in. Today’s simple quest was a non stick roasting pan. Oh the glamour! The dogs were on a spending roll though, t-shirts, stem less champagne flutes and room fragrance joined the non-stick roasting pan in the shopping basket. Either their spending or the 15,000 human steps they accompanied us on have exhausted them. This afternoon they are dog tired.

#486 theoldmortuary ponders

This is the little beige dog that is the constant companion to the lighter, brighter, whiter Hugo. Lola was once a dark chocolate dog with milk chocolate brown eyes. The poodle fading gene has caused her to be a completely milk chocolate dog now, so pale we can barely distinguish her white markings. In every way she has been a fabulous companion to both us and Hugo but the determined little face of that dark brown puppy reflects her true character. Today she was determined to share my chocolate croissant. Her poodle nose poking at the brown carrier bag that held it.

Regular croissants are not her thing at all. She can easily sleep through the eating of one of those.

She firmly believes that the beautifully laminated slightly crispy doughy part of a chocolate croissant is hers and I am left with the awkward-to-eat bit that contains the chocolate.

Eating this in the car was a rare treat because we were off to have the car valeted. So the mess that is the consequence of her croissant enthusiasm was all vacuumed away while we did a long dog walk.

While we loved having a clean car inside and out, this is the face of a very disappointed dog who couldn’t find a single crumb to sustain her after her morning walk. We have not yet been forgiven. Hugo has not been forgotten today, but he prefers a plain croissant. They are, after all individuals with their own particular preferences.

#485 theoldmortuary ponders

Little Red Corvette ©Bob Kovacs

Yesterday’s earworm revealed. I love it when I get a Prince earworm. The day is going to bounce along just fine. I was very grateful to see this picture a couple of days ago from an old work colleague, Bob Kovacs. I was never a huge Prince Superfan but his music was part of the soundtrack of my life and I loved the aesthetic of his public life. Sequins are magic circles of happiness.

Raspberry Beret is part of our bobbing in-water singing repertoire because one of our Bobbers, Gilly, liked to bob wearing a raspberry Beret and a pair of cocktail length swimming gloves.

Gilly Bobber ©theoldmortuary

Gilly was unaware of the lyrics of Raspberry Beret until she started regular dipping in the sea. Knowing Gilly there is every chance she got her Beret from a second hand store, while bobbing, she didn’t wear much more. Singing while swimming, especially in cold, cold water, is quite a challenge. We are only a truly reliable choir for the chorus but we bring enthusiasm and neoprene glamour to the genre of aquafunk.

©Lyrics. com

After 2 years of being Bobbers, Gilly, is the first to leave us to permanently dip in other waters.

We held a drybob for her, with some singing and she has taken her Raspberry Beret to West Sussex to swim on bigger beaches with different people.

Drybob Farewell

And that my friends is another earworm to start the day.

#484 theoldmortuary ponders

Today was a big day for the blog. I swapped to a new platform for publishing. Pushing the button and uninstalling the old system was a moment of anxiety. But guess what happened? Nothing, everything slipped smoothly into the new format and off I go. Everything is pretty much the same except every day there is a spunky little suggestion as to what I might like to write about. I may not take their suggestions seriously, the first one thought I might like to discuss what my parents did at my age. Well let me think..

Their ashes had, at this point, been buried in a country churchyard for two years. Idyllic in many ways but I am sure they would rather have been living and laughing. As it was they had been moved from their last resting place by a very industrious mole. This does not make for a great travelogue or even a great blog. So this is the first and last time I will seek my inspiration from spunky suggestions from Jetpack. WordPress was never quite so frivolous. I prefer raking through my own thoughts for these ponders. For reading to the end of this transitional blog I gift you an earworm. Answers tomorrow.

#483 theoldmortuary ponders

It is not everyday that I turn up to work looking a little like a queen. One of the 3 Armada portraits of Elizabeth I has arrived at the Museum and Gallery where I work. A painting that has stared out of a million history books. The iconic image of a Tudor Queen that is both familiar and yet never actually seen before. Sartorial comparisons may take a stretch of the imagination but to aid the process I took up a queenly pose while working.

While the Queen holds a globe to show how well Colonising was going, I am close a Barbara Hepworth sculpture because it was the only round thing available. In the Armada Portrait we do not see Elizabeth’s shoes but in a painting from a similar time I found her feet.

Tiny Elizabeth feet in flat shoes.
Bigger feet in flat shoes of a simple design not too dissimilar from Tudor shoes.

Elizabeth and I were both wearing predominantly black garments but with peach ribbons and statement necklaces.

Hers were statements of wealth, mine are the opposite. The Lanyard is a modern emblem of employment. My necklace is home made from recycled beads. The thing they have in common is that both my lanyard and plastic beads and Elizabeth’s pearls and silk ribbons are made from traded goods, mine possibly more ethically traded than hers. Which brings us to the backgrounds of both our pictures. In Elizabeth’s picture there are painted scenes of Francis Drakes victory over the Spanish. In my picture the background is filled with objects from the permanent collection of The Box, Plymouth. Without the British victory the world and this wall of acquisitions would look very different today. Below is a link to an explanation of the Armada events

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/spanish-armada-history-causes-timeline

Strange how far Pondering over peach ribbons and beads can take me. Coincidences can be a wonderful thing.

#482 theoldmortuary ponders

Lichen on a Victorian grave.

One day after Valentines Day is the right time to say that I have never been a fan of the whole, commercial, overload of pressure that is imposed by the notion of a special day for expressing romantic love. The root of my dislike is almost certainly rooted in my adolescent years when acne made my face look like a cheap pizza. No cards, signed or otherwise found their way to my home. The acne and possibly the experience of being a spotty teenager shaped me, not necessarily in a bad way.

Love Locks at St Ives.

Obviously I am not averse to romantic love but I don’t quite get why it has a day to itself when other forms of love are equally satisfying and beneficial.

Rusty Painting ©theoldmortuary

Love for Life, Family and Friends are just as valuable. I’ve used another love to illustrate this little love rant. The love of rust. Not always metallic, sometimes just a rust colour. Add rust to verdigris and the love just magnifies.

Ceramic pot, weathered in a garden

Not too far from home this lovely door with added graffiti always makes me stop to appreciate the colours and industrial strength.

Cold War bunker Richmond Walk

In complete contrast these naturally occuring barnacles are rich with colour and texture.

My love for rust is obsessive, as obsessive as my dislike for the commercialisation of the 14th February. A proper Valentines Grinch and proud of it.

Cafe seat, Toronto Island.

And finally one that was taken close to home a few years ago. I have no idea what it is. I love it!

#481 theoldmortuary ponders

A year ago I was learning some lovely colour exercises while on an on-line course with Tansy Hargan.

http://tansyhargan.bigcartel.com/category/online-courses

On the same day I collected some Mussel shells.

It is only when the both popped up in the same photo file that I thought about putting them together.

Neither photograph was taken with overlaying in mind but this rough little experiment has given me inspiration. I have spent a whole year doing these little colour doodles and wondering how to incorporate them into my work. With the right photographs the doodles will have a new way of being used.

Imaginary backgrounds
Imaginary sketching

I just need to remember where I put the mussel shells a year ago. That may take some time!