Happy to Help

You know that you’re knocking on a bit if the phrase ‘when I was your age’ hasn’t been used by anyone referring to you for as long as you can remember but you appear to be surrounded by increasing numbers of people to whom the phrase would be relevant. I am also reminded of the rapid passing of time when filling in official on-line forms where date of birth is required - I have to scroll down for an eternity to find my year of birth.

And so as another year comes to a close inevitably some of us reflect either masochistically or triumphantly on the past twelve months. My year began on a high with the addition of another dog to this humble household. My Open Studio events were successful through spring and summer. Then I had a ‘bummer’ of a time with vertigo for the best part of the second half of the year. However people have been very kind and understanding which helped me a great deal and I am very grateful to everyone.

Being unable to work for five months and growing increasingly concerned about finances I have found great encouragement in reading about how others have dealt with adversity and succeeded. I was delighted to find a rare interview with Lucian Freud on the BBC IPlayer which opens with Lucian whispering:

“I think many people are astonished that anyone would sacrifice the possibility of comfort and what is thought to be an agreeable life for a life of uncertainty and loneliness perhaps. Where you are engaged, to them, in an incomprehensible activity with results that are fairly unlikely to change or affect your situation in an economic way. The thought of that, it seems to many people, is astonishing”. . .

Nothing much worthwhile in life came easily to anyone.

Now as I continue to recover and learn how best to manage my condition I have got back to work. Over the past couple of weeks I have really enjoyed working up several designs for the first of my relief prints. I have researched and sourced the best affordable equipment to produce them and I look forward to getting underway with them in the New Year. The enforced lack of activity on the painting front has provided me time to consider how I want to take my work forward. I have been reading Michael Wilcox brilliant book “Blue and Yellow Don’t make Green”. Wilcox has worked as both a professional artist and an engineer which led to a study of light physics in relation to the needs of the artist. It has changed the way I think about colours and in turn those that I use on my palette. To familiarise myself with Wilcox theories I am closing in on just over 2000 colour mixes.

A whole lot of colour mixing going on 

Then along came Christmas and the dogs got into the spirit early. At the beginning of the month my Aunt and Uncle popped in to drop off a Christmas present for me. “Not to be opened until Christmas Day” I placed the beautifully wrapped slightly squidgy gift on a tea trolley in the corner of my living room where it would forego temptation until the big day. The following day I was out and my neighbours kindly came in to let the dogs out from time to time. That evening I returned from 8 hours in the car through snow and traffic jams to a house littered with thousands of small shreds of wrapping paper - my Aunts wrapping paper.

I spent the next half an hour searching in vain under sofas, beds and cupboards for whatever it was that had been in the wrapping paper. No luck – perhaps it was edible? Eventually I phoned my Aunt and she told me that I should be looking for “A nice warm scarf” Then my neighbour phoned to tell me that the fist time they called in to let the dogs out Turner greeted them enthusiastically with what appeared to be an old rag in his mouth. It is at times like this that any guilt I feel about his pending visit to the vets at the end of January for castration simply melts away.

I confess to being ‘Bah Humbug’ about Christmas. To my mind it has become overly commercialised to the detriment of its origin and true meaning (in this country in particular). So this year I volunteered to help out at the Holt Community Centre Christmas Lunch.

I arrived at the centre on Christmas morning at 10:30. The tables were already decked out with festive runners, poinsettias, balloons, napkins and crackers. The place looked fabulous and that was all down to the efforts of organiser and head chef Carolyn Burns whose Birthday and Christmas does actually come at once – Christmas Day IS her Birthday (I know you couldn’t make it up). Her organisation was impeccable and shortly after she had briefed the 16 of us volunteers people began to arrive and we all knew precisely what to do to make the day a success for our guests. 150 turned up for the lunch. There was turkey with all the trimmings, Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, mince pies, chocolates, a raffle, quiz, live music and carol singing. I managed to work through a couple of dizzy spells without dropping anything or falling over and the day went without a glitch for all concerned. By about 4:30 everyone had gone, we had cleared everything away, I was happily exhausted and ready for a large mug of tea back home on the sofa with the dogs.

When anyone asks me what was the best present I had this Christmas, I will tell them that it was looking up from my bowl of Christmas pudding to see the expression of utter contentment on the face of a sweet old lady (of 98) in a lovely lilac outfit as she nodded off to sleep after her meal. Something money can’t buy.

“ That everyone may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his toil – This is a gift of God” Ecclesiastes 3:13

And despite their bad behaviour at the beginning of the month the dogs didn’t miss out. As you might imagine, there were plenty of turkey scraps to bring home . . . unwrapped.

A very healthy, happy and prosperous 2018 to one and all.