Well here we are again at the end of another summer break. Tomorrow sees us all head back into school for the start of another academic year. As a pupil it used to mean butterflies and excitement. It was a fresh start. New clean, fresh smelling uniforms. Empty pages in blank, unspoiled books. A chance to begin again. Almost to forget the mistakes of the past year and start on the right track once more. The summers seemed endless, the weather so much finer than it probably was. There was always someone to play with, tennis in the street with Trevor, run outs with Samantha and Jackie, Pink Floyd with Hayley and Jo.

Things do so change.

In an update on adventures:

Yesterday saw us head off to the cricket. How strange the outfield looked without the tree :( Beautiful sunshine, good friends, cold beverages, lots of men in orange t-shirts, scary parachutes and a win for Kent all contributed to a very fine day. I feel every muscle in my body relax when I take my seat at the ground. Every time, I sit, look around me at the lush green field, soak up the energy of the crowd and sigh. Every ounce of tension releasing from me. Thanks to my lovely companions :) I hope the newbie enjoyed it too.

Our final day of freedom was spent basking in blistering hot sunshine on the beach. Myself and the Hogbin contingent braving the water to different degrees before trotting back for a most pleasant lunch. As usual I am pink but at least feel I have made the most of my last day of liberty.

Early to bed, with no prospect of sleep once more and back to the grindstone tomorrow.

Posted by kary at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The biggest of congratulations to:

1 - Little Andy and Jackie on the birth of their beautiful baby girl Chloe. Well done you two. I wish it didnt make me feel so old!

2 - Matt and Mary on their engagement, if you had not read it over at Garry's

The sun is out, my mood is lifting with good news from others and we are off to the cricket this afternoon. Mary, Matt, and I, also perhaps Anthony and Daddy Hogbin too!

Why do I feel like a character from a soppy thirtysomething women's novel?

Posted by kary at 01:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok, so I have been instructed to keep my blog up to date in case a certain someone gets a chance to read it.

So far:
Friday afternoon - Anthony and I climbed aboard our trusty bicycles and headed off to Whitstable for lunch. To him, a nothing ride, to me the furthest I have ridden since childhood. A very fine lunch was had and a pootle back with the wind behind us. We should have made time to do more things like that Anthony.
Friday evening - In a totally unconnected matter I stressed, got upset, stressed and upset some more before falling asleep :(

Saturday morning - Paced about the house until the cricket started, attempting to appreciate the quiet
Saturday afternoon - Sat at the gallery, a few people came in, I carried on making the bag I am attempting to create and I wandered home.
Saturday evening - Dinner at Nik's parents. Having been telephoned by the lovely Emily, there was no choice to be had. A very fine evening, made to feel very welcome and somewhat emotional on my return.
Late Saturday evening - more stress, upset and an early night

Sunday morning - up at 630 as no chance of sleeping, padded about until the cricket started, did some painting, more bag making, cat patting...

...and here you find me. Up to date. A potential evening out with Anthony again as we are both at a loose end. (If he has enough in his legs after his proper ride today) Another day of nothingness looms tomorrow. Probably not even any cricket.

So there you are.

Posted by kary at 05:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was roughly ten years ago. A cold night around November time. A number of us had been out for an evening and we had gathered on the shared balcony between flats.

We few of us knew eachother that well. I have little recollection of the complete list of names but there were some that definitely featured and some that probably did. Beccy, Little Andy, Jonathan, Anthony, Donal, Ness, Big Andy, Roger the Lodger, Pounds Pants, Nick the * , Hairy Jon, Hedi the mental Israeli, Yasmin...and no doubt others through the course of the evening. I had been friends with a different crowd for the first two years of my degree and having completed their course, they left and I was trying to find my feet once more.

So, here we all were outside in the cold. Yasmin disappeared off to hospital with what we thought was an asthma attack (it happened regularly) and the rest of us settled down on the ice cold floor with mugs of Donal's hot blackcurrant, made to the strictest of instructions. So many different types of people, from so many different places, with so many different experiences. We decided to see the sun rise over the adjoining field, so as alcohol warmth bled away, duvets and blankets were fetched. I remember talking with security as they wandered around the site, surprised each time that we were still there. Teasing us with their warm coats and hot drinks. One by one we fell by the wayside, leaving only Roger the Lodger and I out there. It was something like 6am before wet blankets and icy fingers got the better of us and we retreated inside to watch from the warmth of the storage heaters.

It appears now to be a reflection of how life was going to go. Everyone eventually falls by the wayside. The northerners went back up North, Hedi probably terrorising someone else by now. I still hear from a few, although not many now. Marriages, births etc tend to bring a mail or a phone call. As age sets in people build their lives and disappear. I thought at the time, like most people probably do, that I was making friends who would be there for life. And now another one drifts off to another part of the world, I am wondering who is left?

Posted by kary at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok so perhaps it is the influence of a certain local artist but I seem to have my creative motivation back again. In the old days I used to be making things all the time, from friendship bracelets, to tie dyeing and patchwork during my A levels, to experimenting with mobiles and papier mache mirror frames during my degree...amongst other projects.

Like most things however as age, responsibility and the real world kicked in, it all kind of died. The nearest I got was decorating a room in my house. Which, although considered creative by some just isn't the same as getting stuck into something.

I have never claimed to be good at it. I was of passable talent until the age where I had to decide upon my options at school. You could not do Art, CDT and Graph. Com, so opted for the teacher I liked best and ditched Art. Therefore I started as a reasonably passable 14 year old and remained pretty much at that level.

Having observed for a few months, then taken on technician responsibilities, (the fun of washing brushes, changing water and being Joe Public) I progressed to painting backgrounds...like this one...when we worked with Emily for the day. Now it was time to move on...

My sitting room floor is currently littered with paintbrushes, paints, completed, semi-completed works and canvases yet to be unwrapped. My hands are currently covered in paint, green, brown, red. (I never was the tidiest of people when it comes to paint)

Freddie completes the picture by sleeping curled up on top of my laptop bag which is one of the few clear spaces in the room. Every wannabe artist needs an artists cat!

I addition to this the aforementioned local artist has signed me up to DeviantArt and real, proper artists are commenting on my work so far. I have other work to be added as soon as I have had the reassuring nod that I require.

It is nice to be creating something again and having never ventured into proper painting, it is nice to feel like I am learning something once again. It would be nice to produce things that are passable, but that is a bonus really.

Thanks for the inspiration :)

(Please note that I have no responsibility for the content of DeviantArt, other than my own bit. It might be advisable not to let your kids wander too much :) )

Posted by kary at 07:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When you turn 18 you get a card from your local MP

When you turn 100 it is a telegram from the Queen

Apparently when you turn 30 you get a letter from the Prudential.

Help. Talk about ruin my day.

It is a depressing read

...oh and being a teacher...spot the mistakes?

Posted by kary at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The BBC may not do an awful lot particularly well these days, but one thing they are good at is matching sports to great songs. Remember they delivered us the great Grand Prix introduction by Fleetwood Mac, which I am informed is entitled 'The Chain'? Then there is the Wimbledon theme music which used to give Hayley C and I goose pimples every time we heard it. Classics like Match of the day, Ski Sunday, the snooker...

...and of course Booker T and MG's 'Soul Limbo' which for so many years alerted us all to the commencement of 'Test Match Special'

What a shame the BBC have lost most of the sport and so such TV classics are confined to the sporting theme tune hall of fame.

Nonetheless, we have to weigh up the pros and cons of the BBC losing the events. Great, all time classic theme tunes...or greatly improved insightful and informative commentry and analysis. Channel 4 have improved cricket significantly for the masses and as much as I hate to admit it, so have Sky. I have been a follower of cricket for a few years and I still don't have a handle on ALL the jargon..although a fair whack of it now. What they do however is provide clever cameras, stats, special effects such as Hawkeye and Snicko, along with intelligent and entertaining commentators. They say that ODI's and 20/20 have brought cricket to the masses I think they need to take some of the credit themselves. It is infinitely more watchable and they have removed any sporting snobbery by regularly informing the viewers what exactly they are talking about.

..oh and the fact that we are keeping up with the Aussies for once definitely seems to help. Such a shame on that draw when you start to maybe a tiny little bit, somewhere right at the back, believe they may actually earn back the urn? How great it is to see a team inspire a whole new generation of cricket lovers :)

Perhaps this is helpful too...

Posted by kary at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New photos not great in quality and not truly indicative of the quality of work produced but there as requested nonetheless :)

So the weekend.
Saturday: A morning spent on housework (with one eye on the cricket of course), an afternoon of celebration and sadness, an evening of DVD's (and sleep) with friends/family.
Sunday: A visit to the gym, celebration on the climax of the cricket, watching painting and football, being a guest for dinner, then painting and another film.

The cricket. How anyone can fail to be entertained by cricket when it is played out like the last test is beyond me. How exciting! Great batting performances, big sixes and fours all over the place, great bowling, Warne stepping back onto his own wicket (hurrah!) and a truly amazing climactic victory by just two runs. Hard to catch your breath! Well done England!

The football. Less said about that the better. I assumed that Wenger had something up his sleeve in letting Edu and Vieira go...perhaps for once, the professor didn't have a plan. I don't have the butterflies I usually get at the start of the season :(

Posted by kary at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Another fruitful day spent watching the cricket. Thankfully lunch and tea afforded me short breaks where other things were taken care of and shopping done.

So, England put in what appeared to be a good batting performance yesterday, exciting if not a little bizarre producing a run rate of more than 5 an over in a test match...who needs ODI's?

But could they match it with the ball? The dream start of 0-1 when Hoggard took an early wicket...for once maintained and an equally good bowling performance to dismiss Australia 99 runs short of our first innings total. Hurrah!

Sadly, we finished the day 25-1 after a fantastic ball from Shane Warne... but for once. Hope may actually be restored? Touch wood and all that.

Fingers crossed...

Can you tell I have not been up to much?

Posted by kary at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At last the summer has arrived. Outside the window, through the jungle of plants that has become the table of late, I see a clear blue sky. (Well, through the window, plants and covering of cloud, I am sure there is a clear blue sky. Let's go with that...)

...I see a clear blue sky. The cats are basking in the sunlight that streams through the window (cloud and plants) Children play in the street outside, relishing those long Summer days where school is but a distant memory (we need to imagine said children also as they are all no doubt in their bedrooms glued to Fifa two thousand and whatever on the Playstation, really believing they are spending their summer playing football)

..and the sound of leather on willow fills the room.

The absence of children is something I noticed the other day. Is it that we spent most of our Summers inside as children and we just have a rose tinted memory of the past? I remember playing tennis in the street, all the kids out together, the familiar shout of 'CAR!' when someone came along. There was football in the garden, smashing Trevor Newnham's garage door window. Taking our bikes out, riding around the streets, over to the lake, down the alley playing run-outs. Having flea-dart fights, picking blackberries, coming home when the street lights came on, or someone's mum shouted out for dinner. Grabbing our swimming kits and getting the bus to Harrow Lodge, filling up on sweets from the shop opposite with the change. What do kids do now? Was it really like that? There is a golden haze to all my memories, it was always sunny and we always seem to be in slow motion, like something from 'The Wonder Years'.

I want to believe that it was really like that, in truth, we were probably bored senseless and spent the entire break bickering whilst we watched the rain pour against the window.

As I type, the hundred comes up for England. Without loss. Against Australia. I hate it when England give us such hope. Reality will no doubt kick back in shortly.

...and so it does, 112-1 as Strauss goes for 48. *sigh

Posted by kary at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To begin with two shameless plugs...

...and 'Almost Dogger' is still on at Herne Bay Library.

If you are local, go have a look at both, if not then make a day of it and come visit the Bay anyway :)

Thanks.

Secondly an update as requested by the usual suspects...

Not a great deal to report to be honest, more painting done, trips into Canterbury and Folkestone, artwork viewed, people visited...nothing out of the ordinary.

Thirdly, a thought for the day...

A few years ago a pupil of mine gave me a rubber plant as a leaving present. That plant was one tiny leaf in an equally tiny pot. I named her Naomi, as I always name the plants after the child who gave them to me. I repotted her again this weekend (with some encouragement) and she is now almost a metre tall! Each time I look at her I think about how the most beautiful things can come from the most humble of beginnings. It reminds me that patience, determination and the odd drop of water can make all the difference. She did not fall by the wayside like some of my other houseplant disasters, she plugged on, slowly and steadily, always reaching that bit further upwards and every day the sky gets that bit closer.

...and finally...

Nik, thank you for filling my fireplace with such beautiful flowers :)

Posted by kary at 04:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)