Paints and plants

Rudbeckia, acrylic resist and Indian ink

We inflicted our regular canelloni on Mr & Mrs Engineer Smith last Tuesday, having not seen them for quite a while.  No reports of ill effects.  They went away with their Christmas present (left), having given us an extremely generous theatre voucher.  Martyn tells me it can be used at the Theatre Royal in Brighton, so we might use it for the Rambert show in a fortnight or so.  (Mainly because Yshani is playing, and I've promised her a jar of marmalade...)

make me an offer...

On Thursday we took a ride along to Edenbridge to see the little exhibition that Miss has organised.  We're evidently exhibiting as the Pinnacles Art Group, that being the name of the now mercifully demolished pub near where we meet on Thursday mornings.  I'd only planned to put in the two big pieces, since they are part of the growing corpus of paintings I can gladly live without.  I'd sent off a sunrise and a sunset for framing, and Miss had thought I wanted them included in the show.  Neither is for sale, though the big ones are.  The group turns out some fine stuff, and we have bought two lovely watercolours by the very talented Irene Swain. 

Irene and two fine floral watercolours

She says she's principally a potter, but she sure can paint, and these two will grace Forges-l'Evêque when the show closes.  (Get along to see it if you can: it's at Bridges, a drop-in centre run by volunteers in an old Ebenezer Church building in Edenbridge High Street.  Should be on for a few weeks longer.)  Thence to Chrissie's for a stand-up buffet lunch, to which we contributed a faintly indecent looking panettone.

Amusing interlude today: around midday the doorbell rang.  A neighbour from six houses up the street needs a couple of new windows, and, having seen our contractors' van, came to ask what we thought of their work.  Avis favorable from us, but we're not sure what she thought.  We certainly didn't spare her our thoughts on JokersЯus Home Improvements....  Nice to meet another neighbour in a street where we don't really drop in on each other.  Seems a bit foreign to me, but there you are.

The garden is starting to get cracking.  I've pruned the red-barked dogwoods and the roses that I can reach at this point without sinking into the ooze.  The spuds are chitting nicely in the sitooterie, so should be marching on in their growing bags by the time we head south for a quick break in late April.  Daffodils are starting to go over, but the miniature ones are up now, the narcissi are doing well and some purple and white crocuses are joining their yellow brothers. 

Out and about, mainly on wheels

Rather a lot of miles devoted to the hobby this week: a training course in the county town on Thursday, then a regular day at my home court.  The training was good, and well delivered by two of our favourite clerks, and the weather was fine for the journeys to and from.  Friday was a serious waste of time.  Defendant 1 failed to turn up, so much time spent drinking tea and swapping stories in the back shop, and a leisurely shopping interlude at the excellent new Fortnums' nearby.  The afternoon defendant similarly didn't attend.  So home in time for the end of Countdown ...

Other than that, a pretty quiet week, really.  I had a session with the NHS physio, who has prescribed another battery of exercises, including torture of the ilio-tibial band with a foam roller.  Another of her exercises left me with a sore back for a couple of days, so I've dropped that one: I'll tell her next time I see her, and she'll doubtless advise something even worse.  Still if it all gets me walking more easily, a spot of discomfort's a small price to pay.

Dull, damp weather yesterday for our triangular tour home-Gatwick-Islington-home.  The traffic in London was hellish, but we got the under-the-weather Kate and John home safely, and we survived the perils of the Old Kent Road as we returned home.  Interesting to drive through once-familiar parts of London: from the Angel, we came down St John Street to Smithfield, then down Aldersgate Street, St Martin's Le Grand and Cheapside.  I'd hardly recognise the St Paul's end of Cheapside, which I used to walk every day on my way to work.  That part of the journey was easy: we then crawled most of the way from the Bank of England to Eltham.  If I lived in London, I don't think I'd bother with a car.

Cool, damp day for today's local half-marathon.  I hobbled along to the junction where I marshalled last year: the local rotarians were doing it this year.  Last year it was Citizens' Advice, in the persons of the local chairman and the local bench representative.  This year's marshals told me that drivers were every bit as ratty about being told they couldn't turn on to a road full of runners.  The event gets huge amounts of publicity, and the signs have been up for weeks on all the roads affected.  I chatted briefly with our local BBC man, who was filming in preparation for a report on tomorrow's South East Today: thoroughly nice chap, and I shall not quote his theory of where the ratty drivers had been keeping their heads in recent weeks.  See his Tweet on the marathon: had he panned another yard, you'd have seen yr. obed. servt.

Our grand days out (Two updates)

An enjoyable few days in Yorkshire, based in Cottingham with Annie.  We opted for a less action-packed agenda this time, so in our two complete days there, we visited the (glacial!) Humber car collection, the East Riding Art show in Beverley (followed by drinks at Nellie's, an ancient, dingy, gas-lit boozer, supplying white wine that will never match the charm of the house...), and on Thursday took a trip to Burton Agnes Hall to see the carpets of snowdrops.  Thence on to Bridlington for fish and chips with Annie's former colleague Di and then a bracing walk along the front to the harbour.

The Humbers were amazing.  Their owner is the consummate enthusiast, describing his cars with great knowledge and lots of stories.  One had been delivered to the Queen Mother for use at the Castle of Mey, and registered EGS 21 in Perthshire for some reason.  Evidently she didn't like the running boards because the snow and ice accumulated on them.  Later models had flared doors concealing covered steps...  Probably the closest to unique in the collection was a fine Landaulette used by the late King on a visit to Australia - not, I imagine, that they needed the flared doors to keep the snow out....  At a more banal level, the collection includes numerous late Imperials and Sceptres, the latter being more and more obviously badge-engineered Hillmans.  Amusing to see an Imperial identical to our neighbour's in the Ferry, and a Sceptre identical to my uncle's.  Both owners and vehicles thoroughly late.

The art show included some pretty impressive work, and notably a piece by Annie: a little Mediterranean landscape of lemons, olives and vines.  As usual, there was also a lot to which I wouldn't give house room - but I dare say most exhibitors would say as much on visiting Forges-l'Evêque.

Burton Agnes and Bridlington involved a lot more walking than I've been doing of late, and I welcomed an offer to come and collect us from Brid harbour by car.  Di's welcome was a true delight.  But the same is true of all Annie's friends!  The prom is beautifully paved and smooth, so a good re-introduction to walks in the fresh air.  It's a pleasure to see a fishing harbour with hundreds of yards of crab pots on the quays.  It was clear yesterday, so we had good views north to Flamborough Head.  It was less good to see people allowing their poxy mutts to harrass a beached seal.  Must admit to administering a magisterial bellow.  While we're on wildlife, this was the first time we'd seen ringed plovers in such numbers.

Such walks have been largely off the agenda since my knee started playing up, so it's good to know that physiotherapy is having some effect at least.  But I get a sense that I need to develop a sense of moderation: walking is not so easy today!

Curious thing about Hull: I don't think I've ever seen more learner HGV and bus drivers.  You don't have to stand at Annie's front window for long before you see an articulated truck or tanker go past, and we saw quite a few full trailer rigs as well.  A quick search shows that several firms in the area offer HGV training.  I wonder why there's such a concentration? 

Well, we're safely home, having got a bus from King's Cross to Charing ditto, where we joined a train that spared us both crowds and most of the intermediate stops.  Lovely to spend time with Annie and to meet new friends, and it's also not bad to be home to familiar routines and surroundings.  Part of the ageing process, I fear.

Frühlingsrauschen

Though we've had a lot of grey, wet, stormy days, we're getting some fine ones as well.  Normally when I'm stuck indoors at the hobby, of course, but today started fine and we had a few hours of sunshine.  The spring bulbs are getting into their stride, though we've only had yellow crocuses so far, and I haven't seen any signs of fritillaries.  Plenty of snowdrops, though, and some of the roses are sending out lots of new shoots.  I may have been a bit early with the spuds, which are chitting nicely out in the sitooterie, alongside some healthy perennials that have grown out of recognition since they were delivered as pluglets last back end.  The neighbourhood woodpeckers are drumming away like mad most mornings, and a blackbird is singing beautifully.  Haven't heard so much from the tawny owls lately, though, and mercifully, our neighbourhood vixen seems to have stopped advertising her services.

Last Saturday was the Mayor's quiz, and we did quite respectably - 18th out of 45, and one member short of our usual eight, one of our number having sacked the latest suitor.  The wooden spoons have been held over this year - the losing team saw the writing on the wall and left at  half-time.  Dashed poor show, what?  The Rt Hon Gent's team beat us as usual.  They were at the next table to us, so I guess I missed a trick in failing to spike their drinks.  Memo to self: go easy on the mousetrap next time.  I did not sleep well after the ploughman's copious supper.  Next engagement is the local Citizens' Advice Friends' quiz evening in March, where we tend to do better, doubtless thanks to the fish and chips.

I decided to have another crack at the Mèze sunrise piece, scaling it up a bit to roughly A3.  The rocks are now too prominent, but I'm not unhappy otherwise with the overall effect.  Anyway, I'm instructed that we aren't parting with it.  I won an unexpected day at art class last week after we'd despatched a two-day trial in a startlingly efficient single day.  Good, since I'll be missing the next two Thursdays.  Our art group is exhibiting in a church hall turned café in Edenbridge shortly for a month or so, and we're gathering there for mutual back-slapping on the next Thursday I can do.  I've put in a couple of pieces that I can bear to be without, and will adjust prices downwards if need be!  Meanwhile, a couple of little sketches - the first hack at the Mèze sunrise and a Portuguese sunset - are with our excellent framer.

Marmalade supplies are now modestly replenished, so we are probably adequately supplied until next year's Sevilles come in.  I had a real struggle with the labels last year, so did without.  For some reason, this year's presented no problems, so we can tell t'other from which.

We now have a full complement of robust doors.  The Jokers Я Us Home Improvements front and kitchen doors were pretty decrepit fifteen years after they were installed, and Wimpey's garage back door and window were not wearing their 36 years comfortably.  We're working our way down the list, slowly but surely.  Home ownership is something of a black hole, eh?