death & despair

This was the end of our Tony Blair.

A few years ago the village had a competition to make scarecrows, to be placed on public view and judged as to artistic and maybe sarcastic merit.

Local lads expressed their enthusiasm by throwing many down the hill, after a night too long in the pub, so the communal spirit dried up and became rather prune faced.

We couldn't quite bear to eviscerate Tony, so he hung about for some years getting increasingly dilapidated and earning stinging epithets such as straw man, feet of clay, jerk etc.

Our Tony had a head then, but he lost it about the time we invaded Iraq and I realised I had been thoroughly hoodwinked and had likewise had to accept my jerkhood.

While Tony burned I was working on my new piece for summer exhibition.

We have to take a look at the area around the exhibition centre, an old Victorian Maltings and produce something relevant.

I decided to Do the arches

They are tall and elegant, which at the mo, my piece isn't. M gave me some lovely silks which I have juggled into position, but then I thought I would trap them behind a chiffon so i could set about stitching them to death.

Demise arrived earlier than I expected, unfortunately, as the lovely sheen has gone dull and all sorts of doggie hairs, fluffs and detritus have been stuck down as well.

Oh dear.

animal kingdom

Two males - masters of their territory.

Aggers doesn't seem to miss his sister, but he does make a big fuss of Hattie the dog whenever he gets the chance, washing her ears and face with big satisfied purrs.

Hattie puts up with it for a while, but then shakes off the attention and potters off to sit nearer the fire.

Aggers is not a nice cat, IMO, he ate a mouse last week and left only the tiny surprised little face on the mat to greet me in the morning, as I tottered down stairs.

garden of eden

The bird of paradise plant in the conservatory has produced it's 3rd flower, in a desperate attempt to prove it really is summer [which I guess it is in South Africa] here it is a cold and blustery day, tho admittedly it was sunny this morning.

This was my view of the garden in the summer, but I must admit to some artistic licence.
I have given over the gardening [weeding] to the Retired Person. He is digging away like a human Tonka truck I have to shut my eyes and wait till May when the next village has a Plant Fair, then i can buy some more plants to put in the bald spots.
I definitely won't complain at the mo as he is hacking manfully thru the couch grass and creeping buttercup with much energy and purpose.
When I lived in N London when the children were smallish there was a park a short walk away. It was called Paradise Park, which must have been some sarcy counsellors idea of a joke, as it was a horrible parched area - heaven only to paedophiles and junkies. The boys wisely played football in the side streets.
There was a city farm tho, further along, a community project with goats, pigs, a cow and donkeys, probably chickens and ducks. Daughter saw her first birth there as a kid emerged from a nanny goat, presumably she wished grandson had arrived with such ease.
Wow I have just googled it, things have moved on -See the magic of a caring government -

"Paradise Park Children’s Centre, a flagship new building in Islington has won the prestigious national award for ’Building for Sure Start’ at the annual Sure Start Partners in Excellence awards”. The £1.1 million building, which is nearing completion is a partnership between Sure Start Hillmarton and the Islington Play Association. The scheme was funded by provided by Sure Start, Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative, London Development Agency, Islington Council and charitable donations.
A striking feature of the building is vertical green walls with plants growing from two sides of the building, supported by recycled rainwater. The green walls as well living brown roofs will increase the wildlife inhabiting the Park.
The building incorporates a community café linking the Centre with the park and the wider community. The children's centre is one component of a master plan for the regeneration of Paradise Park and Greenspace will be locating a park ranger in the building and looking after the green wall."

Wow again.