Boo. The snows going away.

Oh well, all things must end and this time of year, as much as any other time, highlights the inevitable cycle that is our seasons. The snow goddess has now begun to melt and has, mysteriously, revealed her inner self as being that of a very Moorish design. Is it just me or does she now look like a Henry Moore sculpture. You decide!

A Merry Yule to everyone.

Tree and I took today off work to make a vigil at the Malverns for the Solstice sunrise. Mother had other plans and with the sky being overcast, and heavy with snow, we decided to stay at home instead. We were hoping to see the lunar eclipse as well but that was not to be. As this is a fire celebration, I still cast a circle and we lit a fire in the garden and marked the sunrise together. We then retired to the warmth of the house and cooked up a hearty breakfast. We had hoped to get to Glastonbury for a silent meditation at the Chalice Well but that will have to wait until the roads are safer to travel on. Besides, I am spending the rest of today chopping firewood as the central heating isn't working. A good job we have the wood burner to keep us going!!

Happy Solstice and a Merry Yule to one and all.

P.S I'm sure the Snow Queen has had cosmetic surgery overnight...it could just be the cold...who knows?

Yay ! Its snowing.

Hooray its snowing! Isn't it brilliant when we have snow at Yuletime. Everyone is being so miserable about the cold but I think its great. They say we may even have a white Yule - fantastic. Tree isn't up to messing about in the snow just yet but was happy to watch me make a snow queen and snowman outside on the decking. I decided to make the snow queen first as it is always A-typical that everyone makes a snowman. I had a problem with certain parts falling off but a firm grip and some smoothing action sorted that out! Maybe that's why most stick to snowmen?

Heres to an abstract Yule.

Mat and Katie came over for something to eat and to dress the tree and put up the decorations. They say there is an artist in everyone and Kate demonstrated this with her own interpretation of dressing the tree. Why waste hours when you can just throw it on. It still looks good and arty at the same time. Result!

(We did redress it later)

All for one and one for all !!

I can't believe that the weeks are flying by but I have got a lot to show for my efforts. Tree is well on the way to recovery and is phasing back into work, which is great news. She is still very tender and feels delicate but that is to be expected.
I have been keeping my head down with my Uni work and feel a little relieved now I have the results back from my first TMA. I got a one, with some very pleasing notes added by my tutor. This is such a relief for me but does set the benchmark for all future assignments. Rob, my tutor, is a great chap and has a lot of confidence in me, which is nice.
I feel that I may not be able to blog as much as I would like until I have a few assignments under my belt, but that can't be helped.

Samhain Blessings.

Times flying again and the year is swinging round to its usual quietude of Autumn nights and the cold Winter ahead. I have been amazingly busy of late trying to get into my Open University course and Tree is recovering slowly having had her surgery, so not a lot of time to blog really. Kat and Mattie came over to celebrate Samhain with us and we carved some pumpkins together. I carved a total of three designs in all as I couldn't decide which one I liked best. A cauldron with fire, a bird flying and a witch's face with a cat. I managed to drop Kat's pumpkin which was funny yet serious at the same time. Sorry Kat! Oh well.

It was a special Samhain this year as we said goodbye to a lot of things this year.

Anyway, Blessings to all and roll on Yuletide. Keep warm and may your wishes for the year ahead be fruitful.

Student Lame-O

After years of prompting from Tree and the desire to tie up those loose ends of life, I have finally become a student Lame-O!

As from today I am officially in the ranks of University undergraduateness. My degree will be a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art and the Humanities, covering subjects such as Japanese Haiku poetry and the work of Aung Sang Suu Kyi and her struggle for freedom and democracy in Burma. Bearing in mind that my father was in Burma during the war, I have always felt a connection with this country and it's plight, having grown up with tales of how beautiful a country it is and the problems it has faced.

Other subjects include Art history and the work of Turner Prize winners and loads more.

There is also an option with this degree to take up a Masters as well, which is my overall aim if I'm honest.

Merry Maidens.

After many visits to Cornwall, we finally took time out to find the Merry Maidens. Sitting on the crest of a hill, the stones position promote a feeling of calm about the place and put us at ease almost immediately. Tree and I walked the circle and inner circle and made dedication to the coming Autumnal Equinox, bearing in mind that this will be both a difficult and opportunistic time for us both. When we move to Cornwall it will make a beautiful spot to observe the Winter Yule Solstice. Summer is over but welcome to the cold winds as Mother lays her head to rest.

Land of the giants.

Whilst sitting on a deserted stretch of beach I found the smallest spade I have ever seen. So what else could I do but create the worlds smallest sandcastle?! (Subject to Guinness confirmation).

If you can keep your head, when all about you are losing theirs.

Obviously, taking into account that we now live in a world of equal opportunity, anti -discrimination, non-sexist, utopian harmony, we must now make allowances for those times when we all lose our head ...but still need the toilet. It is good to see that the Cornish County Council have embraced this need by supplying segregated toilets for such an emergency. I did, however, also notice that they only have female headless facilities. Rudyard Kipling would have a fit!!!

A weird, wasted, week away. (What a waste man)

In between tests, work and everything else we decided we could do with escaping for a few days down to Cornwall to see Joy and Nige. They had a bit of a full house so we camped in the garden which was fun. Joy had to work in the week so we entertained ourselves with a few trips out and about.

One day we discovered that Perranporth beach has a hidden section that is only accessible when the tide is out. This area is massive but completely deserted. As we walked the length of the beach we thought we saw someone sitting on the dunes, alone, in the distance. As we got nearer we saw that it was in fact a sculpture made of rubbish and driftwood. There was a board on it to say this was "Wasteman", that "Manny C" was the artist with a request to continue the family and build more. What a cracking idea. We then noticed that the beach was absolutely clean and clear of all rubbish and I think this idea should be adopted across all beaches. We spent some time chilling on the beach and then had to retreat as the tide started to come in. Not before we had given Wasteman a pair of sunglasses though!!

I'm all heart.

Maybe its the hours I'm working, or the power of suggestion, but I feel a lot worse since they started the tests. Oh well. I am on the next phase now with a heart monitor stuck on me to record a 24hr ECG. I'm not expecting anything to come of the results unless I have an episode while wearing it. We shall see.

Ariwa!!! Mad at The Big Chill - it's all a bit too much.

Ariwa!!! Just got back from The Big Chill and enjoying a hot shower and comfy bed again. Its all getting a bit much for me old bones all this Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll. Tree and I took Kat, our niece, with us for her first festie experience. It was very "safe" as festies go and good as a first one. I found its all got a bit clinical now, what with showers, places to straighten your hair, a full on hairdressers and not to mention the supermarket, complete with freezer units, shelves and everything you expect at a normal shop. What happened to the thrill of roughing it and running out of loo roll? Everyone felt a bit "normal" as well and the usual festie, random, abstraction had to be looked hard for. I was happy to round off the whole thing by going to a two hour set of Mad Professor (Ariwa!!!) but had an episode for my trouble and conked out for the whole of Paloma Faith's set. Overall, I would recommend this as a first festie but doubt I will go again.

Take a pew and relax.

Finding a little time between work and The Big Chill I decided to make a chair that I could carry but that would be robust enough to withstand the rigours of a festival. A Voila! the Wyrdewood portable chair (not a pew) was born. Using 100% recycled parts it can be carried over the shoulder yet provides ultimate comfort, if I say so myself, with its flexible upper back support. Every festie goer should have one. But oh, whats that, they can't. Shame.

Lets raid the attic!

After looking at a couple of lithographs hanging on our walls for six years, and wondering how much they were worth, Tree and I decided to go to the Antiques Roadshow and find out once and for all. We originally bought the pieces at an auction, on a rainy day, which wasn't well attended. I hadn't even looked at them before the auction and it was only when the auction started that I noticed them across the room. Even from far away I could see the detail in them was very fine and knew that they must be good quality. When they came up I took a punt and managed to get them at one bid over the maiden for £26 the pair. As we left, a car pulled up and a man offered us £100 on the spot for them. We declined, obviously, and I started to get a little more interested in them. Back home, and a lot of research later, I found that one was by Axel Haig, one of the most highly regarded lithographers in England, and the other by William Renison, a Scottish born Artist and etcher. As they were known artists we raised our hopes a little. Previous works by Haig had sold at Christies for £900 plus! When we got there the queue was seemingly endless but we enjoyed seeing and meeting different people and celebrities along the way.

We met Mark Poltimore for the valuation and found him very charming and entertaining. As it was, we knew as much as he could tell us, apart from their value. Unfortunately, price is dictated by the subject matter so he advised us not to plan our retirement yet. However, £200 quid is not to be sniffed at and represents 769% increase on our original £26 investment. If you put £26 in the bank for 6 years it would be worth £29.38 at best. They will now be put in safe storage to accumulate further. Result!!!!!!

R.I.P Spook.

It is with great sadness I must relate the passing of Spook this afternoon following a short period of illness. In the last month he had developed neurological complications which left him unable to control his back muscles, in addition to Type 1 Diabetes which he was being injected twice a day for. He was responding well to the insulin injections but his quality of life took a serious downturn this weekend and the difficult decision was made to lay him to rest. He will be sorely missed as he was an exceptional cat. As a rescue cat, he had, until recently, a good, healthy life and was nearly 14 this year. His memory will always be alive and he will be remembered with deep fondness and love.

A Merry Summer Solstice

Hoping you have a Merry Solstice celebration and Midsummer blessings to you all.

Me and Vincent Vega

In respect to what Tree said about seeing the doctor, I booked an appointment and we both went along today. I was half expecting to feel stupid as I prefered to stay in denial about my health and thought the doc would say there is nothing wrong. As it is, he has diagnosed, subject to confirmation, that I suffer with neurocardiogenic syncope or vasovagal response. I won't bore you here but, in brief, a nerve, controlling involuntary actions of the heart, etc goes a bit A.W.O.L from time to time caused by certain triggers. This causes blood flow to the brain to plummet and a blackout follows. In my case it is triggered by fatigue or changes in temperature, which explains episodes in the sea, on a hot day on holiday, coming out of the steam room at the gym,etc. I now have to have a bank of tests done including ECG's, an X-ray of the heart and blood tests. In the long term it means I will have to adapt my lifestyle and practice certain routines to implement at the first signs of an attack, to avert it. I am just relieved to know I am not going mad and imagining it all. It could have been far more serious and I am lucky in that case.
On a lighter note, Tree says it sounds like Vincent Vega out of Pulp Fiction and it could end up as my nickname - Great!!

Surfs Up Dude.

Seeing the weather was looking a bit better and being in need of another holiday, even for a long weekend, Tree, Matzo, Germaine, Mike, Kate and I went down to Croyde to catch some sun and sea. Germaine hadn't been in the sea in this country, having only experienced the warmer waters of the Caribbean Sea, and was game for giving it a go. The surf wasn't too high but we managed to get a couple of hours out of it. I got too cold and had one of my turns which Tree wasn't too happy about, as I know they worry her. Mike didn't have any sun cream on and ended up looking like the proverbial lobster. We spent most of the evenings just relaxing and taking it easy ( I wasn't fit for much else). Germaine creased us up with his inimitable way of putting things and looked like he was riding a huge inflatable Vagina a lot of the time.(See photo). I recovered quite well, enough to pack everything away on Sunday at least, and was glad of having Monday off as well. We were so lucky with the weather seeing as it rained on Thursday and then stayed fine until the moment we got home!!

I have promised Tree I will go back to the doctors again to sort out my blackouts once and for all.

The Christening.

Everyone I know who rides has always said that, at some point or other, a new bike will christen you. Well I got mine just yesterday as I reached down to check the oil valve and brushed against an 800 degree exhaust. At first I thought it was just a minor burn but very quickly I realised it was a bit more. The skin almost instantly fell away and it started bleeding. One of the dermotologists at work spotted it and said it would most likely leave a permanent scar. So I got my christening! It is now a few days on and it has ulcerated to the point it will leave a scar. The photo shows the burn just after I did it and it looks quite tame but, trust me, it aint. I won't be doing that again in a hurry !!

He shoots , he scores.....

Well today I took one big step towards my goal of getting my bike back by passing my first test. The test took a total of 8 hours with half of it being on the road, connected by radio mike, with the tutor. The first half was on a disused airfield and involved an array of tests including emergency stops, slow controlled turns and an assault course. The on-road was mind numbing as it was so hot and I was fully kitted up. I was quite dizzy and vague by the time I got home! The good news is that Tree and I went out today and bought my new bike. Tammy is now sold and goes to her new home later on today.

Tree is adamant that I will not miss Tammy but I think I will always have a soft spot for scootering about.

Then again, I have just fired up the Yammy and already become seduced by the sound of the V-twin rumbling like gentle thunder!

What a jolly holiday.

You know how it goes... work, sleep, work, sleep and then before you realise it you need a holiday and, surprise, its holiday time!

Tree and I decided to go back to the first place we ever went on holiday together in Ibiza. We mailed ahead and managed to get the same apartment at the front of the hotel with a beautiful view of the bay at Portinaxt. How good is that? It was just like we had never left.
We filled up the days with trips out to the Hippy Market and to different places around the island. We went to St Antonio and watched the sun go down looking out to Cafe Del Mar, next to Mambo and Club Paradis. The first time we went to Cafe Del Mar there was just an old jetty by some ropey hotels. Now there are big staggered verandahs with canvas canopies that loads of people sit out at. Every night people gather to see the sunset. As the sun sinks below the horizon a big cheer goes up and people clap and whistle. All very pagan if you think about it.

Tree wasn't too well on the second week, so we took it easy and stayed around the apartment and beach. I was glad just to do nothing and chill out. I reckon I put on a few pounds as well due to the fact that the Spanish have no real understanding of veggie food. Nearly every dish was loaded with cheese and indigestion was rife!