It is great to be able to get out and about even though we are still keeping a healthy distance from other people. I went to Barnsley last week to do a bit of shopping, yes I wore a mask, even in the street, because quite frankly once the mask is on I find it easier to keep it on until I am home. Barnsley centre was very busy but the shops were not packed so I think people are still preferring the outside to the inside. There were lots of people sitting outside coffee shops. Anyway I enjoyed my little trip out and the exercise was good for me. I'm loving the warmer weather it makes life so much more pleasurable.
This week I have been busy with my writing making a few adjustments to my poems for the Spoken Word event on the 4th July, and I have been rehearsing my part in the play 'That's the spirit!' which is on at the Academy Theatre, Birdwell, on the 11th and 12th September. I seem to have come full circle since playing the part of Elvira in Blithe Spirit when I was 15yrs old. That was a long time ago!
Painting of the week: well it has only been a few more designs using the phone notebook, so not much to say about that.
I managed to brake the toilet flush function again yesterday but have made a temporary repair, so we are not exactly 'flushless'. David knows quite a lot about flushing mechanisms - say no more.
I managed to cut my hair this week, I haven't been to a hairdresser for about two years now, I did my own before the Covid shutdown, so I just continue in the same way. I will colour it later on in the week. David does his (what hair he has left) own, too. It makes a huge saving on our budget which, personally I put towards clothes or whatever.
I'm a wee bit late writing this blog (well a few hours) because firstly, I was up late this morning, and secondly, I spent some time trying to get through to Virgin because my new phone SIM card had not been activated, and a girl without a phone is like an aspidistra that hasn't been watered for weeks, I was definitely wilting. Anyway, the good news is that I am now up and running again. And why did I need a new phone - watch the video to find out. Shedcast 20, blimey we've kept at it, and now we have, what I think is the smallest cafe-neon in the world, I am sure there will be lots more Shedcasts to come. So, sit back and join us for last night's Shedcast 20.
Artwork of the week - Sorry, nothing that I am prepared to share. It was one of those rainy weeks when going into the Art House was not such an appealing thing to do.
Cello Practice - I did, however, manage a few hours with Valentino, and hope to be up to speed with The Swan, very soon. Bach's Prelude is coming on, and I can play a bit of Beetles just for fun.
As you may have heard (if you have watched the video) I managed to drop my mobile phone down the toilet last week. It was only a matter of time, I suppose, but I have, thus far, never dropped a phone down the toilet before, and of course, rinsing it under the tap may not have helped. I did try to dry it out, but when I took the back off it a couple of days later, it was still full of toilet water - not good!
I have to say my old phone was ready to be replaced, and I have managed to get another one at quite a low cost, so now it is working I'm a happy bunny.
I also did a bit of cloths shopping during the week from a shop in Lytham, it is called Room Lytham and my order was instantly dispatched and within two days I was flouncing around in a new top and trousers, and new beads. I'm delighted with my purchase and recommend you take a look at their shop in Lytham, or online at: Room Lytham Check them out on Facebook too where they post live videos of what's new in. They do specialise in Italian clothing for the fuller figure, but I'm a 14 and whatever I have bought fits great. I like loose!
What else? Well apart from a poetry Zoom meeting, not a lot. David and I went to the Cock, Birdwell, yesterday, and for the first time in a year enjoyed a drink inside the pub. It was so good to be able to chat with a few locals. We were all seated apart, table service (thanks Jen) and, we have booked a table for Sunday Lunch. Yes, I will not be cooking this Sunday, alleluia!
I am looking forward to our poetry circle's Quiz Night next Friday, 28 May on Zoom, and our regular SPC's Reader's meeting on Tuesday. I have poems to comment on, and I must catch up on my reading before the end of the month, so it will be a busy week ahead.
Look after yourselves everyone, and don't forget to keep smiling. See you next week.
David and I were back in the shed last night (after the Boris coronavirus update) to chat about our week and debate a few issues. We would have popped down to The Cock yesterday afternoon but we just managed to get back home after our walk before the rain set in, and just as we were setting off this lunchtime for a cheeky pint before lunch, it rained again. Roll on a sunny day. So, here is the shedcast from last night, we followed it by watching Van de Valk on the tele - not my cup of tea, but David seemed to enjoy it.
Hey Ho! We enjoyed our burgers, they were not ruined so we didn't go to bed hungery.
Painting of the week - this was a hard one, I thought I would have a go at painting waves. It's not as easy as you might think. Anyway this is a first attempt so I'll try harder next time.
We had a little shopping trip into Barnsley at the beginning of the week. The town was quite busy so we didn't linger, but we managed to get a few bits from Wilco's and Boots. I did look around Next, but there was nothing took my eye. The bus was busy and, as ever, we were glad to be home.
Our walk through the woods last week was swift yet enjoyable. We walked to the Mill and then back through Birdwell woods. It was a tad muddy, but I had my stick and my legs were good to cross the many styles we came across. And when we got back we enjoyed lunch at our own little 'kafenieon' at the bottom of the garden.
This morning I received my complementary copy of the 'Hear My Voice 2020' collection of poems by people of Barnsley including Ian McMillan and Eloise Unerman. I have a poem in there so I'm proper chuffed.
It's not been a bad week, all in all. Now I have to turn my attention towards a little publication which is in the planning stage, by members of the Shortlands Poetry Circle, due for publication by the end of the summer. It's all go.
If you haven't seen my little YouTube videos of recordings of my favourite poems (not mine) from long ago, you know, Edward Lear, Lewis Caroll etc, you might like to take a look at Poetry from the Shed, where every week I choose a famous poem to read out loud.
Just for fun I thought I would record some of my favourite poetry. And where better to do that than in the shed. This one has stuck from childhood, it really is a fabulous poem.
We were back in the shed last night for our Shedcast and regular ring-round of our friends. We did intend tripping off into the countryside again, yesterday, but it was so cold we decided a short walk would be best and then our regular Friday night pint in The Art House. So, from the cosiness of our little shed, here is our Shedcast number 17:
Our week started well with a visitation from my sister Joanna, and hubby, David. It was Sunday and the sun shone. We sat in the garden with a glass of prosecco and soaked up the company. It was sooooooooo good to chat, and laugh, and catch up after a year of being apart due to the Covid Laws.
My lovely sister brought me chocolates and flowers and a load of other things, but best of all was the hug that we had both missed for so long. She also brought the good news that her eldest son, Ben, had got engaged at the weekend to Hayley. Congratulations you two!
There was no painting of the week this week, I was too busy writing, but I did tidy up the shed a bit. And speaking of writing, I enjoyed a zoom meeting with members of the Shortlands Poetry Circle, which is always inspiring.
World news is not good as far as the virus is going; India is in a state of emergency, hospitals are overwhelmed, there is a shortage of ventilators and oxygen, and aid is being sent from around the world. My heart goes out to those poor people. And it is not just India, parts of Africa have got it bad and South America. This thing is far from over.
There has been a lot of 'Boris Bashing' in the press, this week, all about who paid for his flat to be decorated - I ask you, do we really care right now when the world is in such a state? Surely there are more important matters to debate in Parliament.
On a brighter note, it's the first of May - hurray! Kalo Mina! to my Greek friends, and Kalo Paska! as this weekend is the Greek Easter. May your lamb be succulent and your spirits high!
And on that note I will wrap up for today and go and get some breakfast, have a good week ahead.
Sad news! Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh died yesterday morning at the age of 99 years, may he rest in peace.
Meanwhile, life goes on for the living and the good news is that some of the Corona virus restrictions will end on Monday as the number of people infected continues to drop with deaths now down to below 20 per day. The Barnsley area is still one of the highest infected in the country together with surrounding northern areas. Pubs will be allowed to open on Monday, but only as outside venues, so those without a beer garden will be out of luck. Our beer garden is ready for the onslaught!
So, here is last night's shedcast:
Poetry and Prosecco - The Zoom event organised by members of the Shortlands Poetry Circle was a lovely event and made for excellent Friday night entertainment. Not being able to get wifi to the shed, we converted a corner of our living room into a shed lookalike for 2 hours of poetry- it was fun!
This is my set which we recorded earlier in the shed:
For the first time in a long time we had visitors last week and we all sat in our garden in the freezing cold, in the hail and snow, in the perfect happiness and joy of being together. Thank goodness for fire pits!
And David and I went for a few walks during the week, at least we can do that:
So, it has been a good week for some, and a not so good week for others. I am looking forward to the week ahead, to more artwork and hopefully to a bit of cello practice, AND a bit warmer weather - please!
Have a good week, everyone, keep safe and keep smiling,
I wish you a pleasant weekend full of love and hope and lots of Easter Eggs. As you will see on the Shedcast, David and I have a bit of chocolate in the house for the weekend. The weather has turned chilly so we shall have to put on an extra layer when we walk out today. But hey, it's not mid-winter and the spring flowers are out, and the birds are singing. We shall enjoy the fresh air, and thank God for our health and the freedom to enjoy the countryside.
The past few days have been lovely and warm and we were able to sit out in the garden and even have a chat to our neighbour, over the fence. Things are almost normal!
My artwork of the week - subject 'Birds' took a few days to complete and I have now started a big picture commissioned by my sister. The bird is a Bearded Vulture which lives on Crete and is an endangered species. The person is a Cretan poet, Kostis Moudatsos. As ever, I know there is room for improvement but I do so enjoy the challenge:
Endangered Species
And I know my friends will not mind me showing you their paintings because we all work so hard every week. I think this week's efforts were especially good:
So, the challenge of a new week is ahead. I know it is going to be a good week because we are going to have visitors on Tuesday. We will sit in the garden and share an hour or two, something that we have not been allowed to do for months. The restrictions are easing and we can now meet up to six people in an outside space. The number of people with the virus is now going down, millions have been vaccinated and slowly, slowly, the world is opening up in Britain. Unfortunately it is not such good news for many other parts of the world where lockdown rules apply. This virus is not going to go away, we know that, and we must all be vigilant for some time yet.
In the meantime, we shall do our best to enjoy life. It's another month and another book. I'm not sure what to read this month yet but last months book 'Daemons' by Anthony Peak was very interesting, though a bit tedious to get through, and in such small print that my eyes were certainly struggling.
Last night's Greek Night was fun but it was no substitute for the real thing. We played Greek music and ate Greek food, we even did a bit of dancing, but at the end of the day, we were at the bottom of our garden, not in a Cretan taverna. Well, we tried. Anyway here is the video:
We did keep ourselves busy during the week, David had an unexpected walk out to collect a new flushing mechanism for our toilet as I had been a bit heavy handed and broken the loo. Oh dear! Anyway he sorted it out. He also spent a day putting shelves up in his shed - yes, David has his own shed. Meanwhile I was painting or poet-ing.
This is my painting of the week - Subject, Dreams:
And here are some more photos of our Greek Night, a bit of a lonely affair!
And today we are a bit sluggish but the sun is shining and we had a good walk out this morning. The local riding school were out exercising their ponies, and up at Pilley, tea, coffee and pop were being served at the village hall, where people were sitting outside with their drinks even though it was quite cold. Had we taken any money with us we may have been tempted. The daffodils looked lovely on the banking as we went up the hill and it was a lovely walk.
Now I am going to do a bit of reading and enjoy what is left of the day. I hope you are all having a lovely day too, as ever, keep safe and keep smiling.
Spring is springing, there are daffs in the garden, buds on the tree, and a definite warming up of the air. So is it surprising that there is a modicum of optimism about. Certainly in our house, hope is is word of the week. So, looking forward to better times we move into the future with lots of plans to keep us going. I have paintings to complete, a song to finish writing (the music that is) and lots of baking to do because all our tins are empty. The better weather calls for longer walks in the countryside, and days in the garden, so all in all there are happy times ahead.
Here is last night's Shedcast, it's just a record of a moment in time really, but it gives us a bit of a purpose, and we have a laugh making it.
Painting of the week: Subject Abstract
Dancing Queens
The Green Godess
I received lovely flowers for Mother's Day:
And my video poem which I made for 'Message in a Bottle' Barnsley's Hear my Voice project, was very well received.
Let's all have a good Spring doing those things we love to do. Keep safe and keep smiling everyone.
Yeah! Get a load of this! Eat your heart out Andy Warhole. Boredom is really getting to us now and short of going naked in the shed we came up with a psychedelic shedcast. As ever, make of it what you will, but we did have fun and that's what it's all about.
I think you will have got the gist of how we were feeling last night, it's been a fairly rubbish week, I took sick for a couple of days, the weather was inclement, and there was nothing but bad news on the telly (well, except for the Grayson Perry Artclub show last night).
Anyway, I did manage to complete a bit of artwork, and I did make a short video of a new poem, 'On the Breeze there is a Song' which I have put up on the Hear My Voice Barnsley Facebook page. So, this week's artwork is 3 Men in a Bar:
And this is our 'bar' last night:
As I said the news has been very depressing this week what with the abduction and murder of a young girl in London, by, to make it worse, a serving police officer, and the hullabaloo about Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey, what a can of worms that has opened up, not to mention Covid being on the rise again in Italy and throughout Europe, and the never ending negativity about Brexit. It's enough to make you want to stay in bed till it's all over.
But of course I won't be doing that! For one thing it's Mothering Sunday tomorrow and I have in mind blue skies and a walk through the woods. Then next week I am going to throw myself into the world of Abstraction to produce and abstract painting. All good fun, eh! I've also got my book of the month to finish, so a bit of reading to do.
Anyway, that's us for this week, I hope the Shedcast brought a smile. Happy Mother's Day to all mums out there, it's feet up and enjoy the chocolate time.
It has been a bit 'parky' this week, as they say in Yorkshire. In fact when David and I went out for our daily stroll, and wearing fingerless mitts, my finger ends went a waxy shade of pale and I thought how easy it must be to get frostbite. Luckily a bit of clenching and unclenching of the fist did the trick, but I was very glad to get home and into the warm. When we went up Pilley Hill a few days later it was a glorious day, the daffodils are coming out and there is a resplendent show of crocuses on a council verge just past Aldi's.
I have been doing a bit of poeting this week, I have writen a couple for the Shortland's Poetry Circle on the subject of trees, and I was inspired by the Lawrence Ferlanghetti poem, 'Waiting' to produce one of my own, 'Not Waiting'.
Painting: My painting of the week is 3 Men in a Cave (see it below). This week's subject is 'Open Choice' so I have absolutely no idea what I am going to do for that. And I hope the shed is a little warmer, though there is a splendid heater in there should I wish to be toasty.
So, here is the Shedcast from last night, would you believe I was drinking tonic water and not cider because I've had a bit of a dicky tummy of late. I went a whole week without alcohol, no wonder I'm not feeling up to par.
We decided to eat in the house last night where we could sit and watch the Grayson Perry Art Club show, I do love Grayson and Philippa Perry.
This is what I made for dinner but unfortunately I couldn't eat any of it. Never mind there is plenty left for the week ahead.
Friday Night Home Made Pizza
And David says these were the best scones I've ever made, well he would wouldn't he?
And this is my painting of the week, make of it what you will.
3 Men in a Cave
Thursday was World Book Day, so I am making a special effort to read at least one book before the end of March. I have embarked on The Daemon by Anthony Peake, A guide to your extraordinary secret self. So far it has definitely hooked me in. My only complaint is that the type is very small for my ageing eyes, I might have to get a magnifying glass. Anyway let's see how it goes.
The only other exciting thing that happened this week, apart from buying a new top on the internet, which was a surprisingly satisfying experience, it fits well and was a speedy delivery, was a flock of gold finches descending on our tree. There must have been at least 30 of them, flitting about, flashing bits of yellow, while we watched on from the bedroom window which is about tree top height.
You can see we are not living in the fast lane. Is anybody? Schools go back on Monday so we shall see how that affects the spread of the virus. I am full of hope for the summer.
That's all from us this week. Keep well, and keep smiling,
I hope you are all well and looking forward to the week ahead. I know I am because it will start on Monday with my Covid-19 vaccination, a good start to the week. As usual we enjoyed a lovely evening in our shed last night, ringing round family and friends, and making our little Shedcast, and here it is:
Painting project of the week - 'A Book Title' I chose 3 Men in a Boat, and this is what I produced:
3 Men in a Boat
I must say that I am pleased with the result, and again I learned such a lot in the painting of it. Another little success this week was the acceptance of 3 poems by the Hear My Voice organisation of Barnsley. One for the upcoming Anthology of Covid Poems, and a couple for an extended work to be available in the archives. So that put a smile on my face.
Tuesday was pancake day, hurray! I quickly beat up a batter for a tasty lunch, tossed pancakes with honey and lemon. I would normally have freshly squeezed orange juice on my pancakes, but our only option was lemon this year. Still, they were scrumptious, a real treat.
The main news of the week, I think, is the landing of 'Perseverance' on Mars. It is a large vehicle that will drill into the surface of Mars and look for signs of microscopic life. It will also take loads of photos, some of which are already being sent back to Earth as we speak. What a great achievement! It has taken a month to reach Mars.
Royal News: Unfortunately, Prince Phillip has been taken into hospital, and as he is almost 100 years old, I am sure he is not too good. But, a world that can land on Mars, can surely keep Prince Philip from pain. I hope so and wish him well.
It was also announced this week that Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will no longer perform Royal Duties as they have opted to exit the family, and make an independent life of their own. On the one hand it is very sad to lose the young royals, but I am sure it is right for them, and I can't help thinking this is all a result of Princess Diana's death. For someone who lost their mother at an early age, I know full well that that pain never goes away.
But let's not get maudlin, the day is bright, and I've got a busy day ahead, plus I have got the joyous task of shopping on line for something new to wear - always a bit of a booster.
So, I'll finish here and get on with the day. As ever, David and I wish you all the best,
Go on smile, we're trying our best to keep cheerful in these times of constant bad news. Anyway, we had a lovely shed night, talked to our friends on the phone, and survived another week. Here is my artwork of the week, the subject being Marine/Nautical.
I think you can tell my inner mood from these two paintings. Anyway, next week the subject is 'food' so shouldn't be so depressing.
Generally we manage to stave off the blues and keep each other going, plus I had two Zoom sessions with my poet friends this week and that was very pleasurable.
Our Shedcast was a little crazy, but it was what it was:
Hello everyone, Well the snow went and the rain came, storm Christof brought high winds and flooding to some parts of Yorkshire, but luckily we live on a hill and apart from the ground being a bit waterlogged we were not affected. Today we have blue skies though there are a few clouds about and it is still very cold.
The Covid virus is still raging through Britain and the hospitals are now under great stress. People are dying at a rate of well over 1000 per day, and still there are reports of large gatherings for weddings, parties, and even funerals. The police are now handing out heavy fines whenever they happen on these events.
The vaccine is being rolled out at a fast rate, up to date 5 million people have received their injection. So, we hope and pray that this will begin to show results in the next few weeks.
David and I have kept ourselves busy this week with our respective projects, my art and music and David's reading and gardening. I did catch him up his ladder pruning the tree with his old saw and I was glad when he'd finished that little job, the last thing we need now is a fall. But he's safe and sound (well almost sound) and the tree looks much better.
I did a bit of baking yesterday, making bread is a very earthy thing to do, and it tasted delish too. My tin is full of chocolate tray bake so we are all set for the week ahead.
The art project went well, 'Childhood Memories' it was good to revisit a time, long ago, when I used to work the bellows for my granddad, Joe Royston, who was a blacksmith. I remember my mum once saying, if Jane had been a boy she would have been a blacksmith. That would not have mattered these days would it?
Down the pub - The Art House
All together in The Art House
Garlic Bread a la Jane
Childhood Memories
We will be back next week, God willing, so until then,
