Running to go nowhere.

In the never ending search that is the solution to my health issues, I went back over to Gloucester for an ETT (Exercise Tolerance Test). This involves walking on a treadmill that increases in speed and incline while you are hooked up to an ECG machine. Needless to say, I walked it. Although I felt completely wasted at the end, there was no significant result. So, onwards and upwards. Bring on the next one!!

Spring has sprung!

Just a quick one to wish everyone blessings for the Spring Equinox. The Green Man is reborn and walks with us till Samhain Eve. Time to get the garden dug and the seeds sown!

A bit of a close shave 2

Following on from a previous blog about the drawknife, I am pleased to say that I have completed the restoration. Using the existing handles to create a card template, I turned down a nice bit of white Yew, that I had been keeping for just such a job, and burnished them to a nice smooth finish. After cutting the holes for the blade and making sure I had matched the detailing on the originals I burred over the blades shaft ends to secure them in place. Job well done I think!

Oi 'Arry. Ever had that sinking feeling.

Late last year, Tree and I volunteered to join the OOPS (One Off Performance Society) and help stage a production of Titanic at the Swan theatre in 2012. The show is booked to run the same week as the sailing of the Titanic and the last curtain goes down on the hour the Titanic sank exactly one hundred years to the day. As part of the background to the production, a few of the company got together and decided to go to the Titanic exhibition in London's O2 Arena, including Tree and I. The exhibition was average but the most memorable part was a section of the Titanic's hull that you could touch. It felt quite weird to be tactile with something so well known and to connect with a piece of history in that way. To think how far down and for how long it had been there was a little eerie.

As well as the Titanic expo, the O2 were hosting the X factor auditions. As we left the exhibition ,and passed 1000's queuing to sing, I turned and realised we had lost some of our group. They were not far away as the lure of a huge X Factor screen had proved too much for the luvvie in them! In the end even I succumbed to a bit of fun with a plate glass window by doing my Harry Worth impression. And before you ask "Who's Harry Worth" go look him up on the internet. It helps if your over 40 as well! Just look at Harry Hill to see his legacy. Excellent comedy in its day.

Its all gone a bit lopsided.

As part of the ongoing investigations into my blackouts, I went to Cheltenham today for a tilt table test. This involves being strapped into a table and connected to an ECG machine, heart monitor and blood pressure cuff. They then tilt you at 70 degrees and monitor your levels. After about 20 minutes (which feels like an hour when you can't move, talk or walk) they induce an episode by giving you GTN (glyceryl trinitrate) which makes your heartrate increase about 3 fold so you feel like your head is going to explode. I didn't have a full blackout but I think they got the readings they needed. Before giving me the GTN the doctor said "it may give you a bit of a headache". Suffice to say I was ill from the moment I left the hospital and have had a serious episode all afternoon flipping in and out of consciousness. It was a good job Tree was with me all day to manage the episode as I was originally going to take the train to Cheltenham!!

I see now what the consultant meant when he said "No one likes a tilt test".

Whoa there boy. A bit of a close shave.

Tree, very kindly, pointed me in the direction of some plans for a shavehorse and I am resigned to getting on and building it. My first project will be to shingle the shed roof in oak but I need a drawknife for this. This is where I could bore you with the old ebay bargain story but I shall suffice to say that I found an antique one mis-listed and won for a mere £11 (They usually start at about £40+). The handles are cracked and need replacing but that is no problem on the lathe. I have started by regrinding the edge back to it's original razor sharpness. I shall retrim the ironwork to take the new handles and pressure fit them before burring the ends to hold them in place. I will post the photos after the restoration to show how I did.

Blessings of Imbolc to everyone.

Imbolc blessings to all!!

As part of this years resolve I decided to follow in my father's footsteps and bake bread from scratch. I'd forgotten how much time it takes and couldn't get the first batch to prove. A bit of quick thinking and a plank of wood later I found the best place to put it to rise was over the woodburner. I'd like to show the resulting walnut loaf but sadly it didn't even get to cool down before Tree and I ate it all. The house smells of freshly baked bread as well! Mmmm...fresh bread.

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!!!!!!