Today I finished another whodunit from the Lit & Phil, in Newcastle. This was Wycliffe and the four jacks, by W.J. Burley. At one point, Wycliffe is leaning against a harbour wall thinking about his latest murder case when he notices someone nearby…
… A few feet away a woman painter in water colours had set up her easel; her colours were spread out on a little tray and a water pot dangled from a hook. It needed courage, so nakedly to expose one’s talents.
This passage speaks directly to my anxiety and reluctance to draw or paint in public. Yesterday I was looking through some photographs that I had taken on one of the country walks I went on with my friends Tom and Terry. I can remember the moment. We were walking along a path which wound its way through a silver birch wood. A teenage girl came past on a horse; she was deep in conversation on her mobile phone. I don’t know why but that really annoyed me. It was as if her voice was polluting the soundscape. Be that as it may, I knocked out a watercolour to capture the moment.
This morning, I heard the sad news that an old friend of mine, Gerry, has just died. Fortunately he died peacefully; he had not been well for quite some time. We were postgraduate students together and I shared a little terraced house with him and his wife, Mary, when I lived in Sheffield. I shall remember him with much fondness, standing very tall as he did before he needed a wheelchair. He was intelligent, inquisitive, and a lot of fun to be with. My thoughts are with Mary and their family, at this time.
On Sunday I made a chicken and turkey pie. I have to say that I was pleased with the way it turned out. Here is a pic of it before it went into the oven, and then one after cooking when it was on the table.
Speak to you later, my dear blogophiles.