Lateral Thinking


2013 already! I’ve never known time go by so fast. It gets faster all the time. Edward De Bono – the great lateral thinker – gave the answer. If, for example, you are a small 5-year-old boy and ask your mother for a toffee and she says you can have one in half an hour, the equivalent time span apparently elapsed for a 50-year- old man is ten times that of the boy. In other words his half-an-hour is your five hours and you’d need to wait for that much longer for your toffee! So the older you become the faster time seems to speed by. 
It’s already January 12th and I can’t believe it’s been nearly two weeks since I last wrote a blog. Not that much has happened since New Year’s Day anyway. I’ve been working very hard on a small portrait of a lovely lady. I know a workman shouldn’t blame his tools, but I’m convinced the quality of hot pressed (the smoothest) watercolour paper has deteriorated lately. Yesterday I spent over £70 ordering samples of a variety of watercolour papers in the, hopefully not forlorn, attempt to locate the quality I need. The lady’s portrait is coming on well however as I’m using just the point of a new Winsor and Newton series seven size zero sable brush.

We are due a heavy fall of snow tomorrow, so just before it comes a here’s a view I took yesterday of Henley bridge, St Mary’s Church and the Angel pub,



We saw two films last week – ‘The Life of Pi’ and ‘Quartet’. The excitement and adventure of Pi’s travels compared to the tranquillity and humour of Quartet couldn’t have been more different. I really thought that all the animals in the shipwreck had been marvellously trained to act, until my young friend informed me that I was looking at a very clever example of digital imaging. Some were real. (I still prefer to think all the animals – especially the tiger – were real). We nearly didn’t see The Life of Pi as it wasn’t on at our Henley cinema so we had to drive over to High Wycombe. Having booked our seats on line, when we arrived there (with a diversion via Marlow because we were rapidly running out of petrol) we discovered we were at the wrong cinema. I didn’t know there are two cinema complexes in High Wycombe, however after a quick consultation with my satnav we arrived just in time.

Talking of sculptures, I’m getting on quite well with my second effort. It’s of my great nephew Max. Probably only two or three sessions to go before I start the final bronze.



Paul Daniels came over the other evening to have a ham and eggs dinner. He was joining Debbie the following morning in Barbados and I thought I’d save him cooking for himself. He showed me two great card tricks – which I’m determined to master soon. This is a picture of Paul I took the other day – I think he’s practising for his part in the next Hobbit film.