Interview someone — a friend, another blogger, your mother, the mailman — and write a post based on their responses.
Good Morning Basking Shark, of all the creatures I might have imagined eating breakfast with you were not on my list. As the second largest shark in the world I was completely unaware that my chosen breakfast spot, Trevone Bay was also yours.
For me a bacon bap.
For you the attraction is Shrimp, Lavae, Zooplancton, Copepods and fish eggs.
For two hours we watched as you basked in the bay. We watched as families belly-boarded, oblivious to you just 100 yards from their happy squeals.
Follow the boys head up to see the sharks dorsal fin.
What a privilege. The shark however was unavailable for comment. Not wishing to speak with his mouth full.
I had an accidental art day yesterday. Starting with a surprise print sale. I was already a bit guilty that my creative output had dropped to zero for a month or so and I had to admit that and felt like I was slacking somewhat, while visiting other artists in their studios this week.
The unexpected sale of a print made me get out a watercolour doodle from early July.
Woman with drapes.
I worked onto it with a biro and an ink pencil with no great plans beyond doing some digital tweakery along the way. Maybe it is the slow approach of autumn but my woman with drapes emerged as a woman perching on a pumpkin.
The original drapes had been inspired by Cyril Power, a Modernist artist. Best known for his posters. His use of curves in straight places has always fascinated me.
Which took me to digital tweakery yesterday.
Two photographs superimposed.
Which then led to a full Cyril Power moment
My Cyril Power moment.
And that should really have been the end of it. But the pumpkin was unplanned, so I wondered if I could tweak a bit more and move my serene woman into somewhere with more serenity than a pumpkin patch. A bit more tweaking and by adding a still reflective pool, the original serenity and calm are restored. The pumpkin is gone.
And now when I visit other artists in their studios I can say I am working on a study of serenity. That makes me feel super serene , and I can still see Cyril Power in this image. Just calmer and less frenetic.
A stormy day yesterday provided the perfect illustration of a safe harbour. 100 yards and less than five minutes walk divided these two photographs yesterday. The difference is almost unbelievable.
The storm and some commitments kept me out of the water yesterday. But my short walk along Admiralty Road on a stormy day gave me some lovely hugs as I met fellow Stonehouse friends also making the journey from storm to safe harbour.
theoldmortuary took a trip to The Old Morgue yesterday to see the work of Drawn to the Valley artist Mary Toon as part of the Open Studios Event. The Old Morgue is just off Plymouths famous Union Street, which gives visitors the chance to see Urban Street Art, something that flourishes in this historic part of Plymouth.
Mary’s feltwork is always vivid and fascinating.
I bought one of her felted bead necklaces. I have no idea what was in her mind when she created this but for me it sums up the magic of the creativity that the Tamar Valley and the borderlands of Devon and Cornwall inspire. For me it is about the sheep of Dartmoor and the higher reaches of the valley and the pebbles beneath my feet on my local beach. Mary and I had a serendipitous meeting at Tranquilty Bay a few years ago. Mary along with other talented singers were performing Sea Songs on the beach. Calling to the Sea as the tide came in. The sounds drifted towards us as we did our evening dog walk. The whole experience was ‘other worldly’ as the sea wall hid them from view until the last minute. It was easy to imagine the Oceanids were, somewhat implausibly singing in Stonehouse. These woolly baubles will keep that lovely moment in mind.
Hard at times to imagine, but bustling, urban and sea-facing Plymouth is a vital part of Drawn to the Valley. Home to a large concentration of members, who meet regularly and support and galvanise one another to be experimental and collaborative in their work and their group exhibitions.
Mary has chosen a fascinating place to invite art lovers and visitors to. A brilliant choice of venue for Drawn to the Valley to show how diverse and fascinating members are.
My feet, and the rest of me woke up at a normalish time 6:00 and needed a light on. Wind and rain outside, but not quite visible. Sunrise was at 6:24 today. Another sure sign that the ‘scrag end of summer’ is fully established in these parts. At this time of day I am accustomed to considering an early dog walk to avoid the heat of the day. Today the consideration is rain avoidance. Hurricane Erin is the cause of our disturbed weather, she is heading to our shores in a less powerful but still disruptive way.
Among my many youthful plans, being a weather forecaster was one potential career path, as was Agony Aunt. Both could easily be revived as interests in semi-retirement.I also wanted to be a window-dresser at Selfridges on Oxford Street, maybe less transferable to the dabbling level of interest that I currently operate on for the other two. One can casually offer advice to others and comment on the weather. Not always at the same time of course.But rearranging a shops window display is not something that can be dabbled at without both causing alarm and probably setting off an actual alarm.
It must have been at this time of year, a year ago that I considered getting a little App operated weather station for our yard. Maybe I should do something about that.
Semi-retirement is like that, so much to do, so little time to do it with all that other dabbling and procrastination going on… Not to mention the weather, because here it comes.
The last public holiday in England before Christmas Day. A day that often disappoints with slightly grumpy weather. Today though, was gorgeous and this panoramic view is like a great turquoise smile expressing exactly how a holiday Monday should be.
I had a swim and didn’t want it ever to end, but superb swims, like all good things must come to an end. The balmy waters of Firestone Bay were just perfect today. There is a suggestion that the weather will turn tomorrow…
And just like that the rain arrived overnight.
Very disappointing weather behaviour. Of course exactly the sort of thing that underlines that the scrag end of summer has established itself as a transitional season and that layers and waterproofs may be needed for all future adventures.
Not exactly my favourite recipe but definitely the favourite of the week.
Our weekend newspaper has a pull out cooking segment. Most weeks we find something new to cook.
Koftas are a favourite meal and this recipe was so simple and pretty to make, it will definitely become a regular.
The most favourite of these weekend magazine dishes is a chicken and Chorizo dish which also features oranges. We have been making it for years. We no longer refer to the tatty scrap of torn out page that first inspired us. Who even knows if we are adhering to the actual recipe. Do we care?
Not a bit, it whatever form it takes, is a classic family meal.
That is my answer for today but as yet I have not read the recipes in this weeks ‘Feast’. There could be a whole new favourite on the blog tomorrow.
Bantham boathouse doesn’t really look like this but I wanted to create an image that depicted a really hot day and the hubbub or cacophony of sound that floated over the car parks as families spilled out of their cars for a day at the beach at the height of summer. The image is unreal in the way that it might be depicted in an animated film. All a bit too much going on. Bantham is a regular spot for us to visit out of season when the world is calm and the beaches are empty.
But this summer we have defied our own rules and visited really iconic and beautiful places nearby in peak tourist season. When people have travelled thousands of miles to visit us it would be churlish of us not to go to the most beautiful but busy places. The same scenario last year, just slightly off peak season taught us a thing or two about not being so precious about places being crowded.
So once the last of our summer guests left we packed up the van and took off to Bantham . There is something magical about large numbers of people all being set to have a good time in the same place. The simple pleasure of a bucket and spade day on a beach in sunshine is timeless.
Our plan was a BYOB* and coast path walking trip. Audio or photos would have suggested some sort of coastal carnage. As people, looking like ants from a distance, criss-crossed the ancient sand dunes in a quest for a few square feet of space with a nearly high tide taking most of the beach.
Absolutely not the calm and empty space we are used to but beautiful in a different way. Alive with the energy of humans having fun.
I am no town or indeed city planner so this is entirely a personal fantasy. My city would be a port with a large deep river flowing into the sea.
The river would have islands.
And bridges.
The central area would be traffic-free and would have independent retail outlets and restaurants, parks, libraries and cultural destinations. Book shops and cafes would edge the canal banks while other retailers would cling to the river banks. Low rise mixed use accomodation for holiday makers and long term renters would create calm and shaded squares and back streets. Most importantly the streets would be paved and cobbled with trees providing shade. The real world would be held at bay by the river and canals so the central space could be a kind and comfortable beating heart of the bigger city. A place to connect with people, or not, and to expand thinking and life experience before returning to the real world via water based public transport.
In this fantasy I am simply a city centre kind of designer. The money making, practical and essential suburbs are someone elses responsibility.
