Only a few days until my holidays. I can't wait to get away from the mist, fog and generally dismal weather we've had here for the last few days. I've worked out how to send photos from my phone to my flickr account so keep watching the pics on the side-bar, incase I actually do get some good weather bright enough to take any. Afraid I've had to disable comments on most posts again - hackers and spammers have been extremely active and just about clogged up the whole system and as I won't be able to check this when I'm away, it's easier to close them. Might get a minute to post again before I go but if not, back soon.
I tried this game. I suck (11.578 seconds) Obsessed with my height since both daughters are taller than me I tried this site but it's even more boring than worrying about my height. A new spin on paper, scissors, rock was marginally more exciting but only marginally. I got to round three then got bored again. Making my own band was.........interesting. This was just plain daft. Mmmm but then again, I was trying to have a conversation with myself!!!! My own firework show was pretty. Ah well, perhaps I should have done the ironing instead.
This bank fraud story has been rumbling around for a couple of years - it's taken a long time to investigate it. But I am really saddened because the fraudster was an old school pal of mine. The last time I bumped into him was probably about twenty years ago and I still can't believe it. Donald was one of the good guys. I can't imagine how much pressure he must have been under to drive him down the troubled path he seems to have gone down. I've just looked at my old photo album and there's a picture of a group of friends in my final year at school, 'mucking' about as we used to. Donald is in that photo, and 70's hairstyles aside, it's a great picture and brings back so many happy memories.
But pressure is pressure and it hits people in different ways, as does the pressure to be liked and to be a success. At school, everyone liked Donald, he was mostly quiet until you got to know him and he was funny, he used to be just a really genuine bloke, striving to be heard like the rest of the teenage egos around him. I feel really sad and so sorry for him that the next ten years of his life are going to be curtailed by HM. I guess that makes him the most (in)famous person in our year now. Isn't it sad what living life does to us all, how it makes us change. I wish he'd chosen to be famous in a slightly different way.
Spent the best part of the last 48 hours framing work for the final hand in for this session. Boy am I tired. Don't anticipate a very good mark for this one as things have just been a bit too hectic to concentrate on my art and most of the classes have been life-drawing in charcoal - not my favourite medium and not much scope for a variety of subject matter......but here's hoping for a pass at least. Next year I swear I will concentrate and get my act together so I don't have this last minute panic again.......*pigs....flying*
All good intentions of writing regularly are already going..........busy busy busy. Did manage a wonderful walk on Tyningham beach a week past Sunday but everything seems to have speeded up. Managed a visit to the Degree show on Sunday - a bit disappointing. Will catch up later
Like lots of people, I'm up early today. Not because I'm preparing for the Edinburgh Marathon but because as the news article says it's too hot! That and I have to get SYD ready to go off to France tonight and my head is still buzzing with the great music I heard last night at a Karine Polwart concert at the Queen's Hall. Karine was brilliant. She used to sing with Malinky but went solo last year (and my claim to fame connection there is that Malinky's band member Mark Dunlop taught me how to play the bodhran - well he tried!).
As I do at all concerts, I listen to and nearly always like the support. Last night's support was Yvonne Lyon and I have to say I think I enjoyed listening to her more than Karine. Yvonne has a beautiful, mature, mellow voice which reminded me very much of Mary Chapin Carpenter. I really think this is a young singer songwriter who will be going a very long way. Yvonne mentioned some sadness her family had had as one of her songs was written about it and I found myself thinking about the Roseanne Cash concert the other night and the differences and similarities between the two women. One at the beginning of her career and one with a very long established career already. Both with family sadness incorporated in their music but being able to express that and transfer it to the most beautiful songs. I hope Yvonne gets the airplay and recognition she deserves. I can't keep buying all these support act's CD's without one of them ultimately becomming really famous. Yvonne's one to watch out for I think (so does Iain Anderson)
Hello there to anyone who still reads. I've been sitting at the pc this morning for ages, catching up reading other blogs and realising I really miss writing here and reading friends sites. I keep thinking in "blogging" tems and find myself writing little excerpts and observations in my head but never getting time to get them here. Things have been so busy I just don't seem to have found time to do any work on the site and my futile attemps at changing colours have been both sporadic and fairly disasterous as is blatantly obvious
I'm really stuck on the colour of the links - can't get rid of the orange despite trying to change almost every single colour code I can see on the template. It must be embedded somewhere and I just can't find it. In the meantime, I think I managed to change archives to fairly unreadable colours. Sometime I will try to sort it.
Red Writer on 06.10.06 [more..]
Monday, April 24th
Taking a break
Rather than endlessly bore everyone with what would sound like "poor me" self pity, Red Writer is taking a bit of a break. I'm sure I'll be back sometime. Maybe even with a revamped site.
Back from a lovely holiday in Skye (photos on flickr) and straight into a training course for work last week. The holiday was great. The training course was fun, challenging, stimulating and basically emphasised that even after a move, I am still in the wrong job. All very depressing. And they say, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger!
When I wrote that I was in Fife a week past Sunday, I never thought that one of the harbours we went to would hit world headlines as the first place in the UK to discover bird flu!...
Red Writer on 04.07.06 [more..]
Sunday, April 2nd
Treat
I think SO was feeling sorry for me because he'd booked me a treat for the weekend up at Loch Rannoch. The scenery was stunning. It seems a long time since we've been out of the city. I guess the last three months have been a bit stressful and incredibly busy. But fresh air, starting with a walk at the Birks of Aberfeldy - after stumbling on the the opening of the spring exhibition at the Aberfeldy Gallery (with free glass of wine) and lunch at the wonderful Watermill bookshop and gallery - was a great way to start the weekend. The waterfalls were fantastic (I have pics and video and will try to get them up here). The colours were stunning, such a contrast to the grey of the last few months. Vibrant blues and greens - it was like stepping into a Jolomo painting.
Loch Rannoch was also beautiful and we arrived at the hotel in time to have a walk down to the shore before dinner and catch the sunset. Schehallion was still covered with snow and it was great to think I climbed that last year. It was even warm.
On Sunday we took a trip up to Rannoch Station - almost the middle of no-where - on the way spotted, buntings, pied wag, buzzards, chaffinches, gold crest, buzzards and it's definitely the season for the frogs (or maybe toads?). We really had to be careful not to stand on them on the path around Loch Laidon. It was really great to get away. Being just before Easter, it was pretty quiet too which made it more relaxing. I think at heart I'm just a misanthrope. I did catch myself thinking how different our family is. When we were walking in a wood being deafened by birdsong, SYD was wandering around Rome, Italy and SED was home preparing her art portfolio for her college interview. It's so strange when they grow up.
Oh, and I passed my art assessments. I just wish I'd had an easle and paints with me over the last couple of days, the first foray out to the countryside in spring always has me so inspired. I wanted to buy every cottage with a for sale sign, give up working and set up a studio!
Smoking Ban starts in Scotland... British Summer Time begins... Mother's Day...
Red Writer on 03.26.06 [more..]
Saturday, March 25th
Cheesy, I know but.....
.... "The joy you send out never leaves you. Instead, it carries you along. Be generous with the joy you express to others. For the more of it you give, the more of it you'll have.
There is no end to the joy that is within you. To know and experience the value of that joy in your life, set it free and let it flow into your world.
You have everything you need to make a joyful day today. For all you need is to let the joy be.
Spread joy, and you rise to a more enlightened perspective. Spread joy, and you build a more positive world.
When you find yourself longing for more joy in life, remind yourself to let it be. Spread joy, and you will surely know it."
Well, I'm slowly climbing out of the doldrums. Through all the stress I'm beginning to see the funny side of things again...
Red Writer on 03.25.06 [more..]
Friday, March 17th
Dawn Chorus
Still dark at 5am, this little bird was singing it's heart out (This is a bit of an experiment as it was saved on my phone and opened in quicktime so hope you can all hear it. It calls itself a .amr file but not sure what that is! Let me know if it works please.) Prize for guessing which bird it is!
Red Writer on 03.17.06 [more..]
Wednesday, March 15th
Spreading Too Thin
Seems like I've done it again. I spun yet another gossamer web, a diaphanous silk and cast it over my world. It touched many things for a short while but the web is breaking, the silk is tearing and the spider is falling from it's ephemeral world into a big black void.
Anyone out there know how to get several big blobs of fixative off a pastel drawing? I did one I was really pleased with yesterday and which I was going to put in for assessment but in spraying it a few blobs of fixative (rather than a fine mist spray) landed smack bang in the middle. I thought they would dry out but they haven't and now I don't think I've even got a finished piece from the weekend.
Well it's official. I've left my last job. The last bastion of keeping in touch, the email account I've had for seven years and which I was clinging onto has been redirected so that someone else gets my mail!!!(without my permission or knowledge!!!) so it had to go and I've asked the C&IT people to delete me. I really don't like the thought of someone else picking up my private emails. I have to say I'm a bit gobsmacked that it was re-directed without anyone even asking/notifying me. There was a clear message on it which had been on from the day I left telling people who to contact but there were personal things still coming to me which I would preferd others not to see but which I couldn't seem to redirect. Ah well, there's loyalty for you. At least it lasted a few weeks. Pity really, It makes me feel quite sad and I guess the way it's been done suggests someone felt they needed to see my emails and that makes me feel slightly violated. It was my email address and now it's dead. The final link gone. I wish I'd deleted it immediately myself. I have an incling that if things carry on the way they are, the new job will be going fast too. Some things are just not worth the extra money.
Just spent the last two days in the studio on an art weekend. It was so good to be drawing again. I haven't done much since last June!! So two whole days was fantastic - apart from the fact that there was little or no heating (all heaters directed at the model only) which you don't really notice until you stop when the models have a break, but which has left me with a numb tip of my right index finger! The first day I did have a few thoughts about why I was there as I felt as if I was right back to square one and my drawings were scarsely above primary school level but a couple of reasonable pastel sketches eased me back into things slowly. Then more pastel, charcoal, oilbar and pencil and then back to pastel today. By the time I was on the last piece of the day today, I finally realised, I really enjoy this and I enjoyed seeing people I haven't seen for ages. I really don't enjoy working and I could give it all up right now if someone was kind enough to pay me enough money to do so. I know, only five weeks into the new job and I'm having second thoughts - not good.
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