Bill's Blog

The Titanic's Hundredth Year Anniversary

2012-02-02T08:28:00.002Z

We visited the new complex surrounding the Marina Bay Sands area today - a truly spectacular 60 storey pair of buildings supporting a boat-shaped park on the top. Part of the Marina Bay building houses the brand new Art and Science Museum where we planned to see the TITANIC Exhibition. Fantastically modern I took a few pictures of the entrance.

Then we went in.

This is the Art and Science Museum and this morning (before the monsoon rain pelted down) we visited the Exhibition. I've always had a great interest in anything about the Titanic so this one one exhibition I wasn't going to miss. The whole story of the incredible tragedy was unfolded there. Many original items recovered from 2 miles under the sea in 1987 were displayed there - and in one section we could even touch a 10 ft wall of real ice which replicated the iceberg which sank the mighty ship. A full size replica of the grand staircase was there too:

As we walked round the exhibition we saw how the passengers lived on board. The First Class staterooms were absolutely luxurious and every comfort considered, from satin counterpanes to silver-plated pendulum lamps, designed to remain level in the roughest of seas. From recovered clothes and crockery to jewellery, watches and musical instruments, so much was there to see. Especially sad was the water-stained jacket of one of the stewards and a little child's marbles. On a vast wall were the names of every passenger - both lost and saved. I found the name of Helen Churchill Candee (the lady who left the sinking ship clutching the miniature of her mother, which when recovered from under the sea - she'd given it to a man who had pockets - I was commissioned to make an exact copy for the owners so they could sell it at a Titanic auction for oodles of money).
Yesterday morning, it being our first day in Singapore, we made a trip to the Jurong Bird Park on the east of the island. It still being Chinese New Year here the entrance was suitably festive.

There were so many beautiful birds to see at the park that I'll just show a few of the scores of photographs I took. Before we walked around we decided to travel by monorail to get an idea of the layout and to have a bird's eye view from above.

And here are some of the sights we saw - in glorious sunshine:

In the afternoon, as Haw Par Villa (or Tiger Balm Gardens) - being one of the oldest attractions in Singapore, was not too far from the Bird Park, we took a taxi to this most colourful of places. (I first went there while in the army in 1956 and as I only had black and white film then, coloured all the photographs I took there with photo tints). This is the entrance to the gardens.

So many exotic figures populate the place that I'll just give you an idea as to what has been made. Basically, legends from old China are recreated there. There's even a hall which graphically illustrates, by way of small horrifically made sculptures, all sorts of terrible tortures. But my young friend didn't want to see them - and I don't blame her. Who relishes the sight of someone being sawn in half - starting at the top of the head and working down? (At least Paul Daniels slices Debbie quickly and cleanly in the middle!) But to give a flavour of the place, here are a few of the sights we saw.

And to round up the afternoon I sat astride a tiger - which is about as near as I'm likely to get to a real one - although in a couple of days we will be going to the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari.

As the SMRT ( Singapore underground system) has a station right next to the Tiger Balm Gardens, we made our way back to The Tanglin Club, where we are staying, in a comfortable and highly efficient manner.

Tropical Travels

2012-01-31T04:06:00.001Z

On Thursday my young friend and I set off for a holiday in the Far East. We chose EVA Air - a lovely airline that most of my friends have never heard of.

It's so nice not to be cramped and great to be served meals course by individual course on spotless white table napkins. Apart from being bumpy over Afghanistan and Pakistan we had a very smooth and comfortable flight, and as we left in the evening managed to get a fair amount of sleep that night. Met at Bangkok airport by a smiling Thai driver on Friday afternoon, three hours later we arrived at the Anantara hotel in Hua Hin. This is a view of a wooden figure nestling in the foliage.

And being right next to the sea on the ground floor I took this picture of a pair of little ponies trotting along on the near deserted beach.

That first evening we chose a seafood restaurant right on the beach itself and ate delicious fresh fish to the accompaniment of the gentle sound of the waves rolling in a few yards away.
The next couple of days were spent lazing around. Swimming in the sea and eating satay and pineapple at the poolside restaurant. It was nice and cooling to be sitting on turtle-shaped stools in the water while sipping fresh mango juice with the searing sun blazing away above us. We loved the pool and I especially liked, in one of the alcoves, strong jets of water that massaged my back.

Last night a tropical storm managed to plunge Hua Hin into blackness for an hour, but as the hotel had emergency generators the lights came on again in a couple of minutes.

Today, our last day in Thailand, we decided to visit King Rama IV's Summer Palace and the Big Buddha. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to go in to the upper floors but nevertheless we had a pleasant, though hot, time wandering around. My young friend had to hire a shawl to cover her shoulders, and luckily I wasn't wearing shorts or I would have needed to hire a sarong to cover my unsightly legs! Here are a few photos taken in the grounds of the Palace.

The site of the Big Buddha was much more interesting. About half an hour's journey from the hotel, along a very winding road, we passed this collection of images

And a big carving of an elephant under a shady sala.

Eventually we reached the summit and there was the Big Buddha - a dusky image of a famous Thai monk.

Such a colourful scene. Here are a few of the many photos I took there.

The Thai people buy sheets of gold leaf and attach then to some of the images as part of their way of making merit and paying homage.

It poured with rain today. Luckily the hotel supplied umbrellas because after lunch my cousin David was picking us up to take us to his son Steven's house in Hua Hin. (Steven lives here with his wife Kee and their two children). now we are going to sample the food in the Italian restaurant once more before getting ready for a very early morning ride to the airport.

A Lost Manuscript

2012-01-22T23:46:00.001Z

This is the handwriting of Charles Dickens. When I lived in Bangkok I regularly received hard covered Folio publications. One of the most interesting I ever received was Dickens’s ‘A Christmas Carol’. On each left side of the book was the final printed version, whereas on the right side was a facsimile of the author’s original manuscript. It was fascinating to see all the crossings out as Dickens decided on the perfect word or sentence construction. Many times I pored over his handwriting as he decided on the final name of a character.
Every Christmas I used to have a little read of an evening, entranced by his mastery of words, character and plot. But sadly I lent the book to a friend more than a dozen years ago and never got it back. And I can’t remember now which friend I lent it to! So I’m mentioning this in my blog in case any reader knows where I can obtain a copy of this Folio publication. It’s well out of print now, and the Folio Society can only suggest I scour second-hand book shops. But someone somewhere might know where a copy resides.

Last Friday my young friend and I went to the pantomime to see Aladdin. It was presented by the Wargrave Theatre Workshop at the Woodclyffe Hall.

And what a good show it was. The acting was vibrant and the costumes quite dazzling with acres of gold swishing about all over the stage. We even joined in the singing (when we were asked to sing along with Wong and Pong). Abanazar, the evil magician, (played by Michael Simpson) was wonderful with his long golden robes matching his set of incredibly white teeth snarling and hissing at the audience. The talents of Paul Daniels had been used to stage the magic carpet sequence when Aladdin climbs into a brightly coloured carpet, which magically glided backwards and forwards across the stage with no visible means of motion or support. Against a jet-black background, surrounded by hundreds of bright red bulbs and with the occasional camel or pyramid coming into view, it was mightily impressive.

I also saw two films during the week – and they couldn’t have been more different. War Horse was stupendous. Felicity came with me. The glorious colours of the Devon countryside were full of wonderful characters. I’d been to the stage version in London and marvelled at the sheer master of the puppeteers, but what they couldn’t show on the stage was the real savagery and utter horror of World War One. How Spielberg filmed the sequence where the horse charged over no-mans land gathering barbed wire around his body till he could go no further I have no idea.
The other film was 'The Artist'. I went with Paul and Debbie. It was a bitterly cold evening so we opted for dinner prior to the film at a restaurant adjacent to the cinema, to save making the long walk to the other end of town. I enjoyed the film but Paul found it predictable and boring. It also happened to be Paul’s first night out after his horrific accident the previous Sunday. As we went into the restaurant he spied friends at another table and approached them, with his left hand hidden up his sleeve. Having heard about the accident they were quite shocked with the apparent sight of a missing hand. Ever the joker, Paul made light of the fact that he nearly lost all his fingers when his hand went into his circular saw. Being one of the world’s leading magicians you can imagine how he felt when he saw that he’d sliced off the tops of three of his fingers. His immediate rush to our wonderful Townlands Hospital on that Sunday morning was the start of a rapid ambulance rush to a specialist hand hospital where he was operated on the following morning by the best hand surgeon in the country who’d travelled to Henley from Bristol. Of all things a magician needs to work perfectly are his hands, so we are all crossing ours in the hope the Paul makes a complete recovery. Knowing him he’ll eventually build all of this into his performances, and modify some of his close-up magic to work with less than a full complement of digits.

My sculpture classes have begun. I’ve now been to a couple of three hour sessions. Here are the results to date.

I have a long, long way to go, but am beginning to get the feel of the clay. Hopefully over the next few weeks I’ll gradually form a likeness. When I look at the portrait sculptures that the others in the class are making I’m truly impressed. One girl has almost finished a beautiful head of her youngest daughter – it’s absolutely charming – and to think she only started learning how to sculpt just over a year ago. Another lady was working on a head of her husband, and as she was sitting opposite me I kept glancing at the sculptured face, which was apparently talking to me, till I realised the voice was coming from his wife hidden behind the head! Eventually – in a few months time - I hope I will have modelled a life-size head of Rolf Harris.

He and Alwen, together with three other friends came to dinner last Saturday where I was attempting to make an Indonesian curry meal complete with a large variety of ‘sambals’. (I’d sampled many of these dishes at the Cockpit Hotel in Singapore). I think they liked it. For dessert I made the only dish my amah in Singapore had taught me – pears peeled and stuffed with raisins, soaked in lemon juice and sherry and sprinkled with sugar, and finally cooked in the oven covered with meringue and heated till it formed a light brown crust of meringue. Here’s a picture of Rolf saying goodnight to Jane.

What else have I been doing? Spending between 8 to 10 hours a day painting more of Henley appearing beneath a Spitfire. Maybe about a hundred or so hours till it’s completed. Talking of Spitfires I was spitting venom the other day when I read about one of our World War Two veteran Spitfire pilots who fell foul of the antics of a little Hitler spouting ‘Health and Safety’ regulations. A full size replica of a Spitfire was the centrepiece of an air show, but they wouldn’t allow this man to climb into the cockpit! What sort of little minds do these people possess? And the plane wasn’t even leaving the ground!

I have a jolly good dentist. Robin Nagi is his name. About 9.30 the other evening I was watching TV and reached out for a couple of Smarties from the dish on the coffee table. Wondering why one of them was peculiarly hard I discovered the reason. An entire tooth filling had fallen out. Luckily I didn’t swallow it, so putting it in a plastic bag and taking a chance, I rang Robin at his home where he very kindly said he’d see me the following morning at his practice in Oxford. Which he did. And the tooth is now back in my mouth.

Finally I’ve just added a new page to my website. It will show the latest news regarding commissions, awards or other special artistic events, by clicking the word ‘Latest’ on the home page.

Safe Delivery

2012-01-08T12:47:00.000Z

My postman deserves a medal. This letter was delivered yesterday.

It was a thank you letter from my 5-year-old great niece Kate. She’s such a lovely little girl and here’s what she wrote inside. It’s all her own writing and composition. I like the bit about ‘bringing the “crakurs” (crackers) and spending time with us’.

On New year’s Day my young friend and I took a trip to Kew Gardens. We were surprised how few people were there – I expect the New Year’s Eve celebrations were taking their toll. As we entered the gate the sound of a carousel greeted us.

I seem to come across carousels wherever I go. Being a pretty cold day it was nice to walk into the several glasshouses – especially the tropical one. This young fella doesn’t feel the cold. (I thought it was a girl till I walked round to the front of the figure!)

We came across these beautiful Balinese style carvings near the restaurant. Although not actually carved by a Balinese, the woodcarver has used different types of wood for all the changes of subject – look at the hair on the man.

Before the rain poured down outside I photographed these images in the Temperate Glasshouse.

Although photography is not allowed in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art our visit there was really worthwhile. It’s the first gallery in the world solely devoted to botanical art, and some of the larger life-size examples are stupendous. As there seemed to be no sign of the rain stopping, and as we had about half a mile to walk to the gate, we were pretty well drenched by the time we reached the car.

Painting-wise I’m now in the middle of my 'Spitfire over Henley' painting. Here it is so far - it measures over 28 inches wide. When it’s finished – in a couple of months I expect, as the aerial view of Henley is taking a lot of time. I’ll wait till its complete before deciding whether to lighten the background a little to bring out the aircraft somewhat.

On Saturday afternoon the sun shone brightly so we had a little walk along the river towards Hambleden lock. As the sun went down I took a couple of pictures of Temple Island and a crew of late afternoon oarsmen.

I have to end this blog on a sad note. Yet another of my very good friends died on Friday. I’ve known Terry Jordan and his wife, Herchel, for over 30 years, and have had many happy times with them when staying at their lakeside villa in the Algarve. We spent many years together at Henley Regatta and the Music Festival, and I painted several pictures of the entire family. Recently they bought a house in Cape Town, and it was there that Terry died. I made this large life-size painting of him a few years ago. Sleep peacefully Terry, you’ll be very much missed.

Talent

2011-12-31T15:12:00.058Z

I just love watching craftsmen working. For example when the TV programme ‘To The Manor Reborn’ where an old mansion was being restored on behalf of the National Trust, it was wonderful seeing all the craftsmen (and women of course) painting, sculpting, carving, and demonstrating real traditional skills. I used to love watching my father working in his shed – he was a carpenter – and to smell the aroma of freshly cut wood. Also the other evening watching Darcy Bussell on TV emulating dances from Hollywood shows, including ‘Singing in the Rain’ and ‘Cheek to Cheek’, it was so good to see her versatility. On Saturday when I visited Rolf, not only does he paint, sing, write and compose music, he’s a wizard with wood. He was carving a beautiful, and very heavy, bowl from a great lump of intricately grained beech, and adding all sorts of artistic touches to it. And a friend of mine who now lives in Australia – we were advertising executives in Asia for many years – and is now retired, took up woodworking several years ago. His workshop is immaculate and he specialises in creating fantastic marquetry. Here is Roy Howard carving a spiral staircase, and the following picture shows a cutlery cabinet with a design based on another of my favourite artists M.C. Escher.

I could spend hours just watching experts working. This includes painters, gardeners, blacksmiths, farriers, sculptors, cooks, designers, watchmakers – I could go on and on.

Christmas was spent with an assortment of relatives. Here is my five-year-old great niece, Kate, on Christmas day playing with her little monkey (who sways around in time with whatever music she puts on to the little device she’s holding in her hand).

I must show you the letter she sent to Father Christmas. The drawing of Father Christmas shows him with a black beard, but she’s remembered he has a hat with a bobble on the end

And yes, she got everything she asked for – lucky little girl.

Boxing day lunch was spent with Felicity and her family and friends. Then in the evening I drove over to my nephew Tim and his family in Twyford. Tim is a firearms instructor in the Thames Valley Police Force, and just last week he was awarded a medal at the Chief Constables award ceremony. He already has won several commendations but this is his second medal.

Talking of nephews, my eldest, Neil, has just been told he will be a torch bearer for the 2012 Olympics and will be carrying the Olympic torch somewhere between Portsmouth and Southampton in the summer.

Florence Pike, my late friend Susie’s 91-year-old mother, invited me, together with Val, to lunch last Tuesday. Susie died at the age of only 40 almost 20 years ago, and at the time I made two large boxed leather-bound photo albums depicting her life, which I intended to give to Susie’s daughters, Nichola and Katie, when I considered them old enough to take care of them. As they are now 27 and 25 I thought that now would be a good time to hand them over.This is a page from one of the albums – It shows Susie with her two little girls and on the opposite page (obscured in this photograph by the interleaved tissue) I wrote a poem describing their life, friends, pets and nannies etc, at the time.

Both Nichola and Katie were absolutely delighted with the albums as they had no idea that I had made them all those years ago. Here they are last Tuesday with the books on their laps.

On the way back from Florence’s we got completely lost in the dark. Although I was using my sat-nav, at times the oncoming lights of cars were so dazzling I couldn’t turn right when I was told to because the roads were not lit at all and for all I knew I’d end up mounting the kerb! so the journey home took twice as long as it should have done. Home at last I was so whacked out I meant to just flop out and watch TV. But having made a Christmas cake from a special promotional free box of Delia Smith’s ingredients a few days earlier, I decided I'd better cover it with marzipan and icing sugar. I won't tell you how I got on, other than to say I ran out of icing sugar and knocked over a whole box containing hundreds of little silver balls. (I’m still finding them in my kitchen). Anyway here’s the end result – the little fir trees were snitched from the ends of my artificial Christmas tree!

The next day Stewie (another nephew) and his delightful family came over to Val’s where she made a nice lunch for us all. Here they are, minus Annabel who seems to have disappeared somewhere.

Now I’m back to my Spitfire painting – so far I’ve spent just under 200 hours on it and have only painted less than a quarter of the background, so I reckon there will be another 200 hours to go before I complete it.

Having had a really painful back this past two weeks I found a really good chiropractor – Amy – who, after 3 sessions, seems to have worked wonders. Trouble is when I crashed my car some 40 years ago in Singapore it left me with one leg 2 inches shorter than the other, the result of which is now probably coming home to roost. Amy also used acupuncture, which probably helped a lot. So now the back is better and I’ve been given a clean bill of health with regard to the cancers, I look forward to a healthy and happy 2012.

And as the clock reaches midnight here are some of the scenes in London right now.

Finally, to all my friends, wherever in the world you are, may I wish you a very happy, healthy, and peaceful New Year.

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-23T21:01:00.000Z

Although I’ve been painting about 8 or 9 hours a day on my big Spitfire and have finished the aircraft itself I hadn’t quite appreciated what a marathon the rest of the painting would be. It’s a large picture – over 28 inches wide – and to paint all of Henley from the air is daunting. To make the Spitfire stand out from the background I think I’ll have to give it a light spray of white and mask the aircraft. That is if I can get my Aerograph working properly. (I tried ringing the people I bought it from but it seems they are no longer in business!).

Felicity and I had a nice meal in the Chef Peking on Wednesday prior to going to see ‘Hugo’ in 3D at our local cinema. We weren’t expecting much but I found the film absolutely fascinating. Although, because of the minimal sight in my left eye, I can’t really appreciate the 3D effect I would thoroughly recommend this film. So inventive and colourful – and if, like me, you appreciate images shown around the birth of the cinema you’ll like it even more.
Then the following evening my young friend and I went to the Regal to see The Sleeping Beauty ballet beamed live from the Royal Opera House in London.

Our cinema shows this sort of event from time to time. One of the advantages of seeing Opera or Ballet in this way is that you get to see the orchestra from behind and close-ups of the dancers and performers. A couple of minutes ago I made a booking for next March to see Romeo and Juliet – it must be popular as I only managed to get the last three seats!

This week has been party week. On Saturday evening I went to one in Henley. We had a professional quiz Mistress (if that’s the right word for a lady Quizmaster) and I learned a lot. For example what is the most populous bird in the world? Answer – no, not sparrows. The answer is chickens.
On Sunday Joan and Hamish Hale invited me to a small riverside drinks do. They live on the other side of the river. Here’s a view from their window

My Christmas tree is now decorated and all my presents are wrapped and ready to be delivered. I’ve just been working out a schedule of all the friends I’ll be seeing tomorrow and Christmas day before I go to Marlow to spend Christmas with my niece Louisa and her family. Kate, her youngest, still believes in Father Christmas so that will be good.

It just remains for me to wish all my ‘readers’ a very Happy Christmas and for those I didn’t send my Christmas card to - here it is.

The Lights of London

2011-12-12T19:08:00.000Z

Upon occasion I’m an honorary and unofficial member of the W.I. This meant that I could go on the coach trip to London last Thursday afternoon. The plan was to see the Christmas lights, the London Eye and the German Christmas market on the South Bank, and finally watch the ice-skating at Somerset House. It was a blustery evening as we made our way round the city, here are some of the lights in Regent Street, Oxford Street, and others in the West End:

And a window display when we stopped briefly in the traffic.

After quite a comprehensive tour of central London we arrived at the South Bank and the London Eye. There were about 50 of us so we needed two ‘pods’. I’ve always wanted to go on the Eye at night so this was my chance. Spectacular views, and although we could hear the wind raging around us - especially at the top – we were snug in our pod.

After about 35 minutes we climbed out and visited the Christmas market which stretched a fair way down the Embankment. The stall selling Venetian masks intrigued me

Then we saw the Carousel. And I was persuaded to mount one of the horses for a ride. Gripping the pole tightly I hung on for dear life, and in fact quite enjoyed the experience.

We were hoping to see the ice skaters at Somerset House, but London was jam-packed that evening and the rain absolutely hurtled down, so we had to give it a miss. We couldn’t find a parking space anyway.

The previous evening my young friend and I went to the Mill at Sonning to see ‘Funny Money’ – a farce by Ray Cooney. Dinner is part of the evening at the Mill and being near Christmas one of the choices was Christmas turkey with all the trimmings. Very good. The play was hilarious, and as the seats in the Mill are very steeply raked we had a great view.

It’s party time right now and on Friday evening I went to Broadplat House where Fee and Stan were holding their annual Christmas drinks party. Always one of my favourites as it heralds the beginning of Christmas. Then on Saturday evening my good friend Jules was celebrating her 50th birthday. She’d arrived the evening before direct from Canada (where the winds was so strong that the journey only took five and a half hours, instead of the usual seven). Staying with friend Sue in Henley we had a great time. Here she is blowing out the candles on her cake, and surrounded by the men there.

One of the girls (not at the party) contributed some incredible cup cakes. Here’s one of them – all made of dual-coloured icing sugar. Even the butterfly is made of icing sugar.

Now I’m very busy painting my big Spitfire – another 4 or 5 days to finish the plane, then weeks of work to paint the background – which hopefully will show all of Henley from the air.

I managed to complete the miniature of the young lad during the week, so his mother can have both miniatures in time for Christmas as I think she intends them to be her husband’s Christmas present.

Today was a good day as I’ve just come back home from the oncologist who has given me a clean bill of health. The blood test was excellent and the report on the colonoscopy was positive too. I remarked that I wish I’d been able to see the camera travelling around my body on the screen, but was completely out of it at the time, and didn’t see a thing. To which he replied that the injection I’d been given into my vein was the same as is used in so called ‘date-rape’ cases, so I may have been conscious but just can’t remember what happened.

One last thing, my friend Jane (a fellow garlic hater) gave me this card the other day. What a hoot!

The Sculpture Lesson

2011-12-04T14:48:00.000Z

You’d think these three heads were made by a very experienced sculptor, wouldn’t you? In fact they were all made in just 10 lessons by people who had never sculpted a head before. The teacher is Shirley Collen and I have already signed up for her class commencing early in January. Shirley is the lady I painted playing her saxophone recently. Here we are together when I delivered the completed and framed painting last Thursday afternoon.

She certainly is a multi-talented woman. I saw her portfolio of both portraits and landscapes – in oils. They are amazing. I know that she’ll be a very good teacher, and intend to use Rolf Harris as my first model. When I called in to see him and Alwen on Saturday morning he agreed to pose for a sculpture, so when I’ve worked out exactly what I need to do I’ll get ready for my first lesson with real anticipation. How exciting. It’s always good to see Rolf – he never stops. For example yesterday morning he was painting symbols, animals and birds on to a large cardboard tube. Apparently he’d accidentally dropped the tube that morning and so liked the resonance that he decided to make it into a drum. I watched him as he added swirls of colour – orange, yellow, brown, black and ochre – to the tube. By the time I left it was just about complete – he intended to play it at a gig he was appearing in that very evening!

Eileen brought Jack’s ashes back from Singapore over the weekend as she planned to hold a memorial service in Lymington in Hampshire on Wednesday afternoon. Arriving there, after a brief stop for lunch at the Rose and Crown in Brockenhust, the first person I saw on the high street was Brian Hoyle and his wife Pam. (Brian, John Hagley and I had, in the 60’s, formed the Creative Circle in Singapore – its awards ceremony now the biggest annual event for advertisers in Singapore). Eileen had organised the service for Jack at St, Thomas’s Church. So many old friends from Asia were there. Even though it was a very sad occasion - Jack’s spirit was everywhere – it was so nice to meet up again. Later in the evening Eileen organised a small dinner for the family to which I was invited. Here we are waiting for our table to be ready.

The past few days have been spent working on a miniature commission and getting ready for Christmas. Every year my neighbour, Guy Hart, paints a charming watercolour of a German snow scene and asks me to print off 50 or so copies for him. So I did that yesterday – and made a number of copies of my 2012 calendar. I make one every year and give copies to the family and a couple of friends. I used photographs I’d taken of places I visited during the year, putting them in order of seasons. If you’d like to see them here they are.

I mentioned the other week that I made a drawing of my second cousin, Derek, for the family to give to Joyce, his wife, for Christmas. (Derek died recently). They picked it up the other day. I’d had it framed with a nice oval double mount and a small gold frame, andhis son, Clive, said it would be OK to show it on my blog.

My sister-in-law, Val, had a bit of a problem on Friday night. When she arrived home she couldn’t open any of the doors to her house as all the keys were still in the locks on the inside. It was about 11 pm and none of the three ’24 hour’ locksmiths answered their phones. Wish she’d thought of ringing me or one of her children. But luckily her sun-lounge door was open so she could at least sleep there for the night (but said it was very cold). In the morning a locksmith came to let her in (I’m in the wrong business as it cost her £90 for one minute’s work!)

Now it’s back to wrapping more presents, modelling and painting Spitfires and generally being busy.

Wildlife in the Cotswolds

2011-11-27T13:08:00.000Z

This is the sight that greeted me when I visited the Cotswold Wildlife Park near Burford yesterday. The wind blew hard and I wished I’d brought a coat with me. They have a large walled garden there, which houses a great variety of animals and birds. I especially liked this amorous couple (or maybe more than two) who seem to be having a group cuddle.

In the same part of the garden I came across a little collection of lemurs, also cuddling together against the cold wind.

Well worth a visit – here are a few more pics of some of the wildlife

After a look around the biggest Garden Centre I’ve ever seen, in Burford – I called in to see my old friend Joanne Dalston in Bampton. She had a surprise for me. A couple of weeks ago while rummaging through an antique shop (I think that was where it was) she came across an old Huntley and Palmers Christmas biscuit tin, and somehow thought it might be one of mine. She was right – I’d designed this tin way back in my apprentice days and remember it well. I painted it in 1955 just before I did my National Service. Here it is

What else has been happening? Friday was the day of my Colonoscopy at the Berkshire Independent Hospital in Reading. I must admit I wasn’t particularly looking forward to the procedure - or the preparation leading up to it, but in fact needn’t have worried at all because all I remember is chatting to Mr Farouk, the surgeon, about Spitfires, and nothing else until the nurse helped me off the bed. “When is it going to be done?” I asked. “It already has.” she replied. So that half-an-hour has completely disappeared from my life, as I have no recollection at all of what happened. Mr Farouk told me afterwards that he’d removed a small piece for analysis but nothing to be worried about.

Talking of Spitfires, I’m getting on well with my big painting and now look forward to receiving a picture of an aerial view of Henley, which will form the background, and if I can fit it in, the winding river Thames as it passes under Henley Bridge. My original idea of painting a naked lady on the fuselage similar to the one on the American Boeing Flying Fortress, Sally B, after a visit to Duxford, has elicited a few comments – mainly whether wartime Spitfire pilots would find it objectionable. Any comments anyone? (Although I have seen a photograph of a wartime Spitfire with what looks like Donald Duck on the fuselage). Anyway I’ll be leaving a space in that area for the time being. Joceline, however, is excitingly planning on 1940’s makeup.(Not that it will be that apparent on a face less than half an inch in height). And thank you RG9 for your helpful comments . Still on Spitfires, my balsawood model is coming on well, although it’s pretty tricky in parts.

One of my clients came over the other morning to see the miniature I painted of her first child. She’s pleased with it and brought the other boy to be photographed in readiness for his miniature, which must be finished before Christmas. I’ll start that next week.

Now it’s back to packing and parcelling up Christmas presents – 45 so far! I have too many nephews and nieces - and great nephews and great nieces.

A Brush with Royalty

2011-11-17T14:33:00.000Z

My young friend and I took a comfortable ride to Windsor by taxi yesterday evening rather than battle our way from the car park with a big easel. It was the evening of the big dinner where the Duke of Edinburgh was retiring from his position as Chairman of the Prince Philip Trust. The initial reception was held in several rooms – Ours seemed to be populated by a galaxy of Mayors. (What is the collective noun for mayors and ex-Mayors – surely not a ‘Stable’ as one of them suggested). At least ten Mayors of Windsor were there. Soon Prince Philip arrived and chatted to several of us for a while before we proceeded to the magnificent dining room where over 200 of us were due to have dinner. And what a spectacular feast it was. Six courses served so efficiently and speedily. We were on the nearest table to the top table – right next to where my painting was displayed (covered by it’s blue and gold cover). Here it is - partly obscured by the cover before it left my home.

The guests on our table included Lady Joanna Palmer - my friend from many years ago when her husband was the Constable Governor of Windsor Castle, one of the Windsor Mayors and the Headmaster of Eton College. When it became time for my speech, after a very flattering introduction by Trustee Kevin McGarry MVO, I must admit a little frog had decided to lodge itself in my throat, but I’m told all went well. Here are a couple of pictures taken at the time – a bit blurry I’m afraid

I did a silly thing the other day. When I arrived home with the Duke’s painting, after having the cover made, I took it upstairs to my flat, leaving the rear door of my car open. When I came down I got into the car closed the door and panicked because the steering wheel had disappeared! Yes, I w,as sitting on the back seat.

What have I been doing the rest of the week? Mainly drawing a pencil portrait of my second cousin, Derek, as a surprise present for his widow, Joyce. I took it to the frame maker in Reading this morning, together with the painting of Shirley, the saxophone player, which I also am having framed

About this time every year, Sarah Booth puts on a big display of her beautiful hand-made jewellery. This year she booked the Thames Room at Phyllis Court, so I popped in there in on Wednesday morning. It seemed I was the ‘token male’, but I bought seven or eight great Christmas presents while there.

My friends Joanna Dalston and her daughter Nicola – visiting from the USA – came over for lunch at Val’s on Thursday, and On Friday, Mollie, Jackie and Tony Hobbs invited us to dinner in the Orangery at Phyllis Court.

Sunday was another brilliant and sunny day so I helped my young friend clear all the leaves from her lawns and became the anchorman at the bottom of her ladder while she cut away all the stray fronds from the Virginia creeper that had entwined itself around her house.
The autumn leaves are really hanging on this year in the mild weather. Here are a couple of scenes in the woods at Nettlebed on the outskirts of Henley.

Now I’m going to get back to the big painting I’ve just started of a Spitfire flying over Henley, and this evening, after a game of ‘Colours’ at the snooker club, I might put in an hour or so doing a bit more to my model Spitfire.

Preparations

2011-11-10T11:04:00.000Z

Normally I’m quite happy giving a presentation, or making a short speech, but trying to prepare for one I have to make next week will not be so easy. In front of 200 guests I have, on behalf of The Prince Philip Trust Fund for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, to give a speech to His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh at a dinner, prior to presenting him with my painting. The painting will be covered with a blue drape and edged with gold braid and mounted on an easel near to the Duke of Edinburgh at the top table. I was originally going to have a pair of curtains made with a draw-string for the reveal, but as I’m a bit clumsy I daren’t risk bringing the whole thing down on the Royal Head! (My friend Felicity is making the cover right now). It’s bound to be a very special evening, as it will mark the retirement of The Duke of Edinburgh from the chairmanship of the Trust, and the painting will be a gift from the Trustees and former Trustees. I’ve even bought a new dinner jacket - and my young friend is practising how to curtsy!

Today I should be going to the hospital for my Colonoscopy, but unfortunately the surgeon has had to postpone the procedure for a fortnight. Grrr!

The Miniature Society of Florida has just informed me that my painting of Jade has won First Prize for Portraits at their forthcoming annual exhibition. As the MASF exhibition is the largest in the world for miniatures, and usually attracts well over 1,000 entries, I’m very pleased to have won this award.

On a very grey day last Sunday we took a look around Cliveden. Now in the care of the National Trust, Cliveden was the scene of the Profumo Scandal in 1963. The swimming pool where Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies frolicked with Eugene Ivanov, Stephen Ward, and the others, is not open to visitors, but we had a nice walk around the extensive gardens. This is the famous photograph of Christine Keeler that titillated the country at the time.

And more currently, here’s a couple of photographs I took in the gardens.

As the clocks have gone back and the evenings are getting darker I’ve started to make my model Spitfire. Apart from stabbing my thumb and dropping blood over the balsa wood, I’m beginning to get the hang of it now. It’s a delicate operation and I just know that sooner or later I’ll mess it up, but so far so good.

I’m not very good when it comes to domestic matters, so apart from the kitchen sink problem on the day of my birthday party, my spare bathroom hasn’t been working for some weeks. It’s been so difficult to find a plumber – they are like gold dust! But finally, when I was in despair of ever getting it fixed, Felicity came to the rescue by recommending the man she uses. Hooray! Paul, together with a mate came over on Monday and spent all day putting a new cistern in (very tricky considering the tiny little space they had to work in) and a new shower unit. So I’m happy again.

Another week to go and I’ll have finished my painting of the lady playing her saxophone, but in the meantime did I ever show you the pencil drawing I made of my youngest great-niece, Kate? It’s about 15 inches high – I gave it to Val, her grandmother, as a present.

To end today’s blog - here I am on a garden ‘Titanic’ as ‘King of the World!

Blocked!

2011-11-01T17:39:00.000Z

I’d spent most of Friday preparing a big dinner for my birthday celebrations the following evening. Nine very good friends were coming over. But I made a big mistake in the afternoon, by trying to put parsnip peelings down the waste disposal unit in my kitchen. It blocked the sink completely! (I know nothing about plumbing so rang the Oracle – Paul Daniels - who was one of my dinner guests). When he and Debbie arrived they were armed with a suction pump sort of thing. However, despite many attempts at unblocking the water-filled sink, we were unsuccessful. No matter - although the kitchen became a bit of a mess, the party went really well. Rolf sang a song or two. (That man can remember all the words of hundreds and hundreds of songs, limericks and music hall ditties – and all the verses), and Paul and Debbie gave a hilarious duet.

Amongst the other guests were Val, Jane and Brian, Rolf and Alwen, and my young friend – who gave me the birthday present I’ve been hankering after for quite a while – a balsa-wood scale model of a Spitfire aircraft.

The wingspan is about 2 feet wide and I expect it will take me a few months to make, I’m sure. (My YF doesn’t think I’ll get as far as the final painting and camouflage stage so I now have to prove her wrong!).

The following morning I was faced with a mountain of washing up and clearing up to do. Luckily I didn’t turn the dishwasher on overnight as when I did so in the morning all the water bubbled up back into the sink, which took nearly a dozen trips to the bathroom with a bucket to empty the water away. Later in the morning my neighbour, Guy Hart, came to the rescue with a great big suction pump, which, after an hour or so, finally did the trick. Hooray!

My young friend came over later in the morning and as Sunday was my actual birthday, took me out for the day. We went to the Savill Garden in Windsor Great Park for lunch and a wander round the lovely gardens.

As we strolled around in a kaleidoscope of vibrant colours the interconnecting gardens blended seamlessly with one another, especially as we approached the maple wood, dazzling us with the many shades of red, orange, and yellow. Here are some of them.

In the temperate house we came across this magnificent mountain of pumpkins – what a great display.

On Monday it was Debbie’s birthday so I popped along for a morning coffee. Her mum and dad - Babs and Pat - were there too. Not all Magicians make rabbits appear from a top hat, but Paul does. His white rabbits are beautiful. Here they are playing about on the couch in the lounge. The colourful cylinder may not look big enough for both of them, but they easily move over each other when burrowing in from either side.

I read a story in the newspaper this morning, which amused me. A convicted killer, serving a life sentence in Wakefield jail has been granted the right to have a sex-changer operation on the NHS. Robert Page, now known as ‘Emma’ is at the pre-op stage of becoming a woman. He has grown breasts, as a result of £200 a month hormone treatment at taxpayers’ expense, and is allowed to wear skirts and blouses and shower alone to protect his/her modesty. But the bit that amused me was this sentence: ‘When he is subjected to a full body search, two female officers search the top half and two male officers search down below’.

To end this blog on a sad note – one of my best and oldest friends, Jack Bygrave, died of cancer on Friday in Singapore. We’ve known each other for over 50 years. I first met Jack when we both worked in Hong Kong in the sixties, and then later when he married his wife Eileen and moved to Bangkok where I was living. We seemed to follow each other around, because when I moved to Singapore in the seventies, they arrived there too. Jack was a wonderful man – full of humour and so alive. He’ll be sorely missed by Eileen, his children, and his many friends around the world. This is a picture of Jack and Eileen I took last year at the Kranji War Memorial in Singapore.

The Royal Flueologist

2011-10-25T18:57:00.000+01:00

Last Friday evening I went to a very special dinner at the invitation of Michael Skinner. The Windsor, Eton & District Royal Warrant Holders Association were holding their Annual Dinner at The Guildhall in Windsor.

Amongst the 100 guests were many holders of this rather special Warrant. The President, who made a very witty and amusing speech, is in fact the Queen’s Chimney Sweep. With tongue in cheek, I’m sure, he styles himself as ‘The Flueologist'.

The Guildhall was designed by Sir Thomas Fitz in 1687, but because he died before it was finished, Sir Christopher Wren oversaw the completion two years later. The building has an open ground floor supported on columns and arches of Portland stone where a corn market was held. However the four columns in the middle of he Guildhall are purely decorative as the town burghers demanded extra supporting pillars for safety reasons, despite Wren’s assurances that none were needed. Although these were installed Wren had the last laugh as he left a gap at the top (described by Chris Ginnett, one of the speakers at the dinner as being ‘the width of a Cumberland sausage’). I took this rather grainy picture of the columns as we left at the end of the evening.

While relating this story Chris Ginnett said that at the end of his speech he would ask all of the assembled company to stand on our chairs and at the word of command to all jump to the floor (We were directly over the non-supporting pillars). This, he said would result in one of three things. 1. Nothing would happen. 2. The floor would shake a bit. Or 3. We’d all go crashing down to the ground! He also said that the room we were dining in could support 100 people, and as we were 102 on that evening he hoped the other two were thin people. We didn’t chance it so remained seated. It was a lovely evening, with very amusing speeches, great food and for me a great pleasure to be surrounded by so many beautiful portraits of Royalty past and present. During the pre-dinner reception I met several men wearing their Malaya GSMedals, so having had mine in my top pocket, I joined these old soldiers and sported my own.

As we were leaving I suggested to Michael that I’d really like to paint a portrait of the ‘Royal Flueologist’ in his working gear - in other words with a battered black top hat set at a jaunty angle and smudges of soot on his face.
With so many interesting and talented people at the dinner, ranging form the Queen’s Vet to Her Majesty’s Groom, I also suggested that a dinner where everyone wore ‘the clothes of their trade, would be such a wonderful and colourful affair.

I finished my sepia painting of Jane wearing a black lace blouse the other day. Hopefully, together with the large pencil drawing of Rolf Harris and probably an oil or large watercolour I have in mind, by next spring I’ll have my three pictures ready for submission to the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition in London.

It’s always lovely to meet old friends you haven’t seen in a while, so it was great to pick up Val and drive over to Joanne’s in the Cotswolds on Sunday for a sumptuous lunch where Ben Salter and Katinka were already there. Ben is an old friend from boyhood days. He joined the RAF and became the purser on the Queen’s flight for many years. While based in Singapore in the seventies a tragedy befell them and they were wonderfully looked after by Joanne and Chris Dalston – Chris being the CO and Wing Commander there at the time. Katinka has recently arrived back from the USA to be with Ben, so we had a really good time reliving some of the very happy times we all had together.

The Wentworh Wooden Jigsaw Company has just, this week, launched their Christmas selection. Amongst them is the painting I did several years ago of ‘Cobwebs in the Barn’. The original painting depicted an old barn belonging to my friend, Sue Webb. She remarked at the time that she, her family and ancestors had lived in the seventeen century cottage next to the barn for many years and she’d never before noticed the little snow-covered cottage seen through the barn windows. (I told her later that, using artist’s licence, I’d made it up!) If you are interested in getting a copy of the jigsaw puzzle, here's a link.

The Massacre of the Innocents

2011-10-18T15:42:00.000+01:00

My young friend and I went to a very interesting lecture and dinner at Phyllis Court Club last Tuesday evening. Siobhan Clarke and Jacquie Clemson were talking about paintings in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, and art in the Tudor period. Most fascinating was the description of Pieter Bruegel’s ‘Massacre of the Innocents’ where we saw x-ray pictures showing how all the dead or captured children had been over painted to resemble animals or other objects.

Amongst several other portraits from the period we were also shown Van Dyck’s triple portrait of King Charles Ist. Painted in three aspects, it was intended to be used as the basis for a sculptured head.

What a good evening that was as both lecturers knew their subjects well. The meal was very nice too.

The weekend dawned bright and gloriously sunny and as I had planned to visit my old friend Vic Granger and his wife Christine in Norfolk for a couple of days, I decided to spend a few hours at Duxford on Friday as it was on the way. Duxford, in Cambridgeshire, is a branch of The Imperial War Museum and during its 40 years as an operational RAF station was home to thousands of young servicemen and women. There’s so much to see there with its world-renowned collection of aircraft and vehicles, and as they were preparing for the big air show on Sunday I saw a lot of the practice flights and aeronautics. The Spitfire is my favourite plane, and Duxford owns several.(I’m hoping to make a three-foot wooden model of a Spitfire this winter).

One of the large hangars contains the iconic Concorde 101, another favourite of mine. Sadly I never flew with it but on this occasion went on board.

Wandering around the many hangars I took photographs of several of the marvellous aircraft and the wartime control room. Here’s just a few:

During the war my mother used to take us to her bedroom window from time to time where we saw a VI rocket, or Doodlebug as we called them, on its way to bomb London. They have a couple at Duxford. Here’s one on its launch pad.

One of the largest and most famous aircraft to operate from Duxford is the Boeing B17 Flying Fortress, Sally B, star of the film Memphis Belle.

As you can see this stunning aircraft has a rather saucy (well I expect it was when it was painted) picture of a naked lady adorning the fuselage.

Later this year I’m intending to paint my own version of Sally B but depicting the charms of my very favourite model, Joceline.

Soon after I arrived at Vic and Christine’s home I pottered down the lane to see old Joe. Joe owns a very rustic farm full of turkeys, ducks, chickens and nine dogs. He also has a number of large Shire horses. When he called them by name they all came ambling towards the barn.

Joe ploughs his fields sitting behind four of these magnificent beasts and often gives demonstrations. However six months ago he became a victim of his own machinery. He offered a young lad the chance to sit with him while he worked a field with the horses. It seems that when they stopped to unhitch the team one of them suddenly pulled back, catapulting Joe off his seat. He tried to grab the reigns, but the young lad (no fault of his) had left them dangling over the other side, and not where Joe always leaves them when they unhitch. Consequently Joe was dragged under this evil looking piece of equipment as the horses moved forward.

His leg snapped at the thigh and his arm was almost torn off. But after many weeks in hospital and a number of skin grafts Joe recovered. Here he is now.

Unfortunately it was the left arm which was mutilated – the arm that Joe paints with. Joe is an artist too. He paints what he knows best – horses. This is a print from one of his paintings. The reflection from a studio light doesn’t help, but you can see what a good artist he is. I’m amazed at his method. He paints in oils and when he starts a picture has no real idea of what the end result will be. He just invents the layout as he goes along.

On Saturday Vic, Christine and I visited Blickling Hall.

In the fifteenth century Blickling Hall was in the possession of Sir John Fastoff of Caister who made his fortune in The Hundred Years War. Later it was bought by the Boleyn family. Born at Blickling Hall, the couple’s most famous child Anne Boleyn married King Henry the Eighth in 1533. The marriage only lasted three years and she was beheaded in 1536 by a single swift stroke administered by an expert swordsman brought over from Calais rather than by the usual blunter method.

In Blickling there is a long gallery where, I was told, the ladies would promenade most days for hours on end. This was their exercise it seems. If it was sunny they wouldn’t venture out of doors for fear of getting a tan (which would class them as peasants or outdoor workers) and if it was raining the rain would ruin their expensive clothing. So they endlessly promenaded, looking up at the Jacobean ceiling for inspiration as they deciphered the many and various carvings above their heads.

On Sunday we went to Holkham Beach. Voted the Best British Beach this year, it was also memorably the setting for the ending of the film ‘Shakespeare in Love’.

It is vast and stretches for miles. We walked for nearly an hour and took Vic’s whippets, Cleo and Tilly, out for a run. Here’s Cleo

What a wonderful beach to go for a horse ride. I drove home later in the afternoon, and as Vic had shown me a better route, I avoided most of the M25 roadworks.

Tally Ho!

2011-10-11T18:26:00.000+01:00

The other day I heard a clattering of hooves in the distance and as it got louder I looked out of my window to see a marvellous old stage coach go past, fully loaded with passengers and pulled by four horses. In the hope there would be more I grabbed my camera and just managed to take this picture as the second and last coach went past. What a lovely sight – wish I’d been one of the passengers. It reminded me of a scene from ‘The Pickwick Papers’. I can just see myself as Mr Pickwick going off for a ride around the country.

I enlarged my website the other day, by adding a page devoted to pencil drawings and including another one featuring Trompe L’Oeil paintings. Also there are one or two other additions. If you are interested click on the words "pencil drawings" and "Trompe L'Oeil" above to see the pages.

Rolf Harris is currently exhibiting new paintings at the Clarendon Gallery in Dover Street, London. I was invited to the private view there on Saturday afternoon. Jilly came with me and we were lucky to find a single parking space within a few yards of the gallery. But instead of having to put coins into the meter you had to dial a number and pay by credit card. What a rigmarole that was! Because of the noise of the traffic going past I could only intermittently hear what was being said at the other end - partly a real person and sometimes to a recorded voice. After I’d entered the car registration number and the meter’s numbered location I had to enter my credit card number, expiry date and all sorts of other information. Eventually I think they had what they wanted, but have no idea whether I really completed the transaction. So I wait either a hefty bill on my credit card, or a fine for not paying the parking charge for the two hours we were there. I’m sure it’s really very simple – but not for me on that particular occasion. The exhibition was really good however – after a half hour wait in the cold till it officially opened. When it was my turn to go in it seems they hadn’t included my name on the official list so a big black-suited guy complete with earpiece refused to let me enter the gallery. But I managed to persuade him that I was a mate of Rolf’s and he finally let me in. Here’s a picture I took recently of Rolf in his studio painting one of the pictures on display.

Yesterday I was in London again – this time to attend the opening of The Royal Society of Miniaturists Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries. In addition to displaying what was, in my opinion, one of our very best shows, a special loan exhibition of Royal Portrait Miniatures was mounted. We were very privileged as these miniatures included a watercolour miniature portrait of Henry VIII by Lucas Horenbout painted in 1544.

Horenbout (or Hornebolte) was the father of the art of miniature painting and is credited with producing the first portrait miniature as an independent work of art. Previously the miniaturists art had been confined to making portraits that were integral to manuscript documents. Altogether there were about 35 miniatures on display, many framed by glittering surrounds of diamonds.

The RMS’s Gold Memorial Bowl is the highest award that can be won by a miniature painter. Each year a replica is also given to the winner to keep. The 22carat gold bowl itself was destined this year to be returned to the bank immediately after the private view because with the rapid recent rise in the value of gold it is now worth a staggering amount. Those of us who have been recipients of this award in the past can appreciate that our silver-gilt replicas have tripled in value. (Not that anyone would ever consider selling them!). Here is jeweller and talented sculptor Paul Eaton and his daughter together with the gold bowl and its replica.

There are now eleven awards given out each year by the society. Amongst them is my ‘Mundy Sovereign Portrait Award’ for the best portrait in the exhibition, in my opinion. This award was inaugurated in 1984 – one year before the gold bowl was inaugurated.

This year I gave it to Iain Gardniner for his splendid miniature ‘Reflection from the Portrait Restaurant’. It’s so good to see such excellent work done by younger artists. Here is Iain having been presented with his award by Dr Stephen Lloyd FSA who opened the exhibition.

The other day my young friend invited me to the 60^th birthday party for one of her colleagues to be held at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley on Friday evening.. “You won’t know anyone there” she said. Nevertheless I was happy to go along and got there at the appointed hour. No one else seemed to have arrived so I wandered into the Thames Room where the party was to be held and saw just three people standing in the corner. As I approached them, the youngest of the trio – a very tall girl – cried out “It’s Bill!” It turned out that Joceline – for it was she – was the daughter of the guest of honour. Joceline was worried that she’d know no one at the party and here was I, who’d know her for nearly three years - Joceline being the girl I’d painted many times. When the rest of the party arrived my young friend (who’d met Joceline in the past but had no idea she was the daughter of her colleague) was astounded. Incidentally here is the large drawing I made of Joceline recently.

Sir Blogalot

2011-10-04T18:50:00.000+01:00

If you remember, the other week I wrote about the little girl of three or four (now aged forty-seven and living in Australia) who remembered me drawing her mother Caroline all those years ago. Well since then we have been in email correspondence, and she’s invested me with a new title ‘Sir Blogalot’! And she sent me a copy of the actual drawing I made at the time. I’m amazed she still had it – but here it is:

We’ve certainly been blessed with wonderful weather over the last week – and the glorious sunshine exactly coincided with Henley's Fifth Literary Festival. The organisers pulled out all the stops this year to make the festival easily the best ever. And the various venues scattered around Henley were enhanced by the addition of Bix Manor

I went there last Wednesday morning to hear Colin Thubron - the famous travel writer - talk about his latest book ‘Mountain Pilgrimage’. The mountain in the title of the book is the solitary peak Kailas in Tibet. To both Buddhists and Hindus it is the most mystic heart of the world and an ancient site of pilgrimage. I sat outside in the courtyard before the talk started where tea, coffee and delicious homemade cakes were served. There are so many really good authors to choose from during the festival that it’s only possible to see just a few of them.

The following day I was scheduled to introduce Vince Hill at Le Parisien – a very smart French Restaurant here in Henley. Vince was talking about his book - ‘Another Hill to Climb’.

As my painting of Vince adorned the cover of the book I needed to lug a big easel, and the painting itself to the venue, and must admit that when I struggled to pack both the easel and painting back into my car after the talk in the searing sunshine I felt quite whacked out, so had a nice cooling glass of Chablis in the restaurant and decided to give Shelia Steafel’s talk I’d booked to attend in the afternoon, a miss. Instead I spent a few more hours painting my current picture of a saxophonist. Here’s the progress of part of it so far:

In the evening the Festival put on a special reception at the Hotel Du Vin. There I met numerous friends, including my great niece, Becky. Becky had been selected for a three-week internship by the Festival organisers, and I was constantly told what a great job she was doing.

Having a real interest in the Titanic story I was really looking forward to Frances Wilson’s talk on Friday morning about her book ‘How to Survive the Titanic'

It was certainly a thrilling talk, as Ismay, the owner of the Titanic, had been vilified by almost everyone for leaving the sinking ship when hundreds of others drowned. But Frances Wilson had so thoroughly researched the events at the time, that the reader (and I’m well into it now) can appreciate the many sides to this particular story. I’d booked to go straight from this talk to board ‘The Hibernia’ for a one hour cruise down the river, while listening to four professional actors reading poetry with the theme ‘Laughter and a few Tears’. As I boarded the ship I was assured by the captain that there were no icebergs looming in the distance!

It was another scorching day as we approached Henley Bridge and passed the Grandstand Pavilion (another of the Festival venues) at Phyllis Court.

Saturday dawned brightly and this time my young friend joined me to see Arlene Phillips give her talk about dance at the Kenton Theatre in the morning. Three dance groups gave performances on the stage. I remember Arlene Phillips when she was the director and choreographer of Hot Gossip in the sixties , and more recently as one of the four judges on the TV programme ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ (until the BBC exercised their stupid ageism policy).
After the show we walked up the Market Square in the middle of the town to enjoy a refreshing drink in the brilliant sunshine before going back to the Kenton for (to me) the highlight of the week – Pam Ayres. Pam Ayres makes me laugh as soon as she opens her mouth. Whether she’s reciting one of her poems or just talking about her life I find her whole demeanour incredibly funny. A signed copy of her book ‘The Necessary Aptitude’ may possibly become a much looked forward to birthday present later this month, if I’m lucky.

With weather like this we decided to take my dinghy ‘Marsh Midget’ out for a trip later in the afternoon, but instead of rowing we attached the electric motor to the stern. Quietly ambling upstream for a few miles we had the best time on the river this year. A boat full of yobs drunkenly weaving along in their little metal boat very nearly crashed into us at one stage, but after I’d let loose a torrent of swear words, they managed to veer away in the nick of time. The whole afternoon was idyllic, but I wish I could work out how to steer the boat without sitting half turned round clutching the extension pole. (I’m sure RG9 could come up with the answer). We’d never been so far in the dinghy and I was wondering whether the battery charge would last the trip. (It cut out about 20 feet from my landing stage as we returned home, so my young friend could practise her paddling skills – we’d taken a paddle and two oars with us – just in case).

Here’s a couple of the pictures she took that afternoon.

To round the week off, my cousin Paul and his wife Jo came over to Henley on Sunday morning and together with Val we went to Phyllis Court to see Lucy Worsley give a talk in the ballroom about her book 'If Walls Could Talk'. Lucy Worsley is the chief Curator of several historical Royal Palaces, including The Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace, and is currently presenting a series of programmes on TV. She gave a great talk – so knowledgeable and funny. At one stage she showed a picture of herself at the Tower of London dressed in Royal robes – and with the Queen’s crown on her head! We all had lunch in the dining room before Paul and Jo set off for a holiday in Suffolk. My young friend then joined Val and me to see the last event of the Festival – Robert Hardman – at the Kenton theatre. Whew! That’s enough Literary Festival for another year.

We ended the day by sitting by the river at Phyllis Court sipping ginger beers and watching the green, gold, red and yellow trees in the distance slowly change colour as the sun made its way down to the horizon.

The Toussaint Miniatures

2011-09-27T20:20:00.000+01:00

From time to time I get commissions that are a little out of the ordinary. A case in point occurred a couple of months ago. The New York Historical Society – a very prestigious organisation – approached me with a request – would I paint a facsimile of one of their miniature portraits dating from the mid 1700’s? Apparently they will be mounting two exhibitions at one time. I was very happy to oblige. It is always a challenge to reproduce another artist’s work as; of course, every artist has his own unique style. This, therefore, is my facsimile of Augustin Brunais’s miniature portrait of Dominique Francois Toussaint L’Ouverture - painted in 1797.

This commission was followed by two more – these by a different artist – Anthony Meucci, who had painted miniature portraits of Mr and Mrs Pierre Toussaint in 1825. It was extremely difficult to match the colours and styles exactly (including the blemishes), bearing in mind that initially I was only given computer images via email. But eventually good colour images were sent by mail so I was able to make exact facsimiles. Here are my two paintings: (all three have just been given permission by the curator of the New York to be shown here on my blog)

Currently I’m working on a large watercolour painting of a raven-haired lady playing the saxophone. I’m really enjoying painting the contrasts between the shine and reflections of the sax with her face and the clothes and jewellery she’s wearing.

Last week Jane celebrated her birthday so five of us went to the French Horn in Sonning for lunch. It’s a great restaurant (Last week Michael Winner – well-known for his culinary expertise – championed the restaurant’s marvellous bread and butter pudding). It was a glorious day and the autumn tints were spectacular. Here are Jane, Brian, Norma and Jack standing outside in the sunshine,

It’s been a pretty good week for sunshine and I rowed down the river last Friday evening, stopping just past the bridge to have tea with John and Kate Hutchinson. That’s one of the nice things about the river – popping in to see riparian living friends from time to time. On Saturday afternoon my young friend and I took ‘Marsh Mundy ‘ out for a trip up to Hambleden lock. Hardly anything on the river that day. But as we returned to my mooring I suddenly found the steering had stuck! All I could do was to reverse quickly, which positioned the boat near enough to grab the upright, while I switched off the engine. After tying up I wondered whether weed had wrapped itself around the propeller so raised the propeller arm. No weed was evident, but the arm wouldn’t go down again! Yesterday Ivan, the boatman, came over and managed a temporary fix, but it means that sometime this week the boat will have to be craned out of the water for a proper repair – and to see what is wrong with the steering.

Last Thursday evening we went to see Paul’s show in Camberley. Giving ourselves plenty of time – I even cooked dinner early – we aimed to be there about half an hour before the show, but at only three miles from the venue we became stuck in a long traffic jam on the A30, which made us frustratingly 20 minutes late. Both Paul’s son Martin and Debbie were performing magic too. Paul and Debbie really do work hard – they’ve only just returned from a month long stay at the Edinburgh Festival, and now here they are on a 39 performance tour travelling the length and breadth of the country.

Saturday evening was the Hennerton Backwater ‘Bash’ in the Grandstand at Phyllis Court. A really good time was had by all. It has become a tradition to have a ‘frog’ race where we all have to partake by holding on to a large cut-out frog and by wiggling the attached string, aim to reach the other side of the room first. I got to the semi-finals but failed in the finals. David, who was sitting at our table won. (I’m not sure I would have wanted to keep the trophy - it's a bit ugly - for one year anyway!)

I did a stupid thing the other day. Henley’s Literary Festival starts tomorrow and I have booked tickets for about eight of the events over the next few days. It goes on till Sunday. My sister-in-law, Val, rang me on Friday evening to ask why I hadn’t been to the Alan Tichmarsh event at the River and Rowing Museum which she’d just come back from. ‘Because it’s next Friday’ I said. I’d got it wrong, as apparently his event was an addition prior to the start of the Festival. I felt a complete fool, and was sorry to deprive my young friend as well because we both had tickets. Never mind, I’ll be there tomorrow, and on Thursday will be introducing Vince Hill at Le Parisienne when he’ll be talking about his life and book ‘Another Hill to Climb’.

Sunday afternoon I decided to visit a few of my haunts from my childhood days, so we drove over to find the two lakes - Kingsmere and Queensmere near Finchampstead. Both seemed to have disappeared. (I rang a friend who lived nearby who told me that both were now part of big private estates). I remember clearly seeing cars being driven over the ice covered Kingsmere in the hard winter of 1947, and Queensmere was the lake I launched the twin- seater kayak I’d made in 1954. Never mind, we found a lake called Heathpool, which we walked around. My young friend took this picture of one of the swans with her new (big zoom) camera.

On the way home we called into Joel Park in Wokingham – the scene of my defeat by the (girl) leader of the Rose Street gang when I was a boy. It was Joel Park that I mapped, again as an impecunious boy, and sold copies – all drawn by hand – for threepence each.

An Island Retreat

2011-09-20T17:54:00.000+01:00

Henley was staging an ‘ultra-triathlon’ last Sunday with many road closures scheduled from 6am till late into the evening. Competitors were to complete a 3.8 km swim, a 180km cycle ride and a 42km run, which meant that many properties would be cut off from dozens of roads. A phone number was given out to enable motorcycle marshals to be despatched to escort trapped homeowners to their destinations – and then only if important journeys were contemplated.

Given that the road by my flat was very likely to be closed for most of the day, my young friend and I decided to avoid any problems by spending the time in the Isle of Wight. I’d last visited it as a boy and my friend had never been there. So on Saturday morning we headed south. Before catching the afternoon ferry we stopped at Mottisfont in Hampshire. Originally an Augustinian priory in the 12th century, it was converted into a private house after the dissolution of the monasteries. For more than 800 years people have lived and worked on the Mottisfont estate, sheltered in the valley of the river Test. Anglers have been coming to Mottisfont for generations.

We wandered through the house and eventually came across the cellarium. This dates from the early 13th century and is the most complete part of the mediaeval monastic building to survive.

In 1934, Gilbert Russell, a merchant banker, whose much younger wife was a society hostess and patron of the arts, bought the house and breathed new life into the place. Among Maud Russell’s many friends invited to stay at Mottisfont were Ian Fleming and Rex Whistler. We visited the ‘Rex Whistler Room’ and I must say I was spellbound by his amazing trompe l’oeil murals painted in a light- hearted gothic style. Most impressive was this marvelous trompe l’oeil alcove.

While Maud Russell was away for the weekend Rex Whistler decided to embellish his paintings and at the same time tease her about her hatred of bonfires (the butler would be sent to put them out). You can see how Whistler’s ermine-draped urn is puffing out clouds of smoke as it sits in the alcove surrounded by objects signifying Maud Russell’s interests, including books and a lute. You need to see the actual painting to appreciate the effect. (Sadly this work was Rex Whistler’s last and finest piece before he was killed on active service in France during the Second World War).

In another room we came across a whole table devoted to iced cakes. (And we didn’t eat any of them!)

On to Lymington where we caught the ferry that afternoon to Yarmouth in the Isle of Wight

After a very windy visit to the Needles

…where I was too lazy to attempt the steep 40 minute walk to and from the Old Battery as it was howling a gale – we made our way to a very comfortable B&B near Yarmouth where we stayed the night.

The following morning we decided to visit Osborne – the estate bought by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1845 as an escape from court life in London and Windsor.

The rooms are full of exquisite works of art. (The only things I didn’t much like were little marble sculptures depicting the limbs of many of Queen Victoria’s babies). She used Osborne for more than 50 years, and entertained visiting ministers, foreign royalty, and her own extensive family there. We weren’t allowed to take photographs inside the house but the tour was quite thorough in true Victorian style. Stepping outside the house we wandered around the garden – again beautifully maintained.

A twenty-minute walk in the grounds led us to the Swiss Cottage garden. In one of the thatched- roof huts was a collection of little wheelbarrows and pulling carts – all marked in gold initials of the various Royal owners. Prince Albert gave the children a plot of ground in the garden where he or she could grow soft fruits and vegetables to sell at commercial rates to Prince Albert as a practical exercise in market gardening. The gardens were left as the children had them until 1905, when they were given over to flowers. This is a view of the Swiss Cottage from the garden

Further on we came across Queen Victoria’s bathing machine. This photograph of the bathing machine shows some of the original stone rails brought from the beach. Behind it you can see the Alberta deckhouse. It came from the royal steam yacht Alberta – a tender to the Royal yacht Victoria and Albert. (This deckhouse spent many years as a garden shed in Portsmouth until rescued by the Navy and given to Osborne in the 1970’s)

Next stop, the Butterfly Farm on the east of the island. It was like stepping into a tropical garden as we entered the aviary (or whatever it’s called). A number of really beautiful, large blue butterflies fluttering around greeted us. I wondered why we never saw one at rest, until my young friend pointed out that when settled they showed a completely different pattern from the other side of the wings. Like this

I tried gentle blowing on one of them to see if she would reveal her blue underside but she was having none of that and fluttered off again, but a very large white butterfly brushed my head as it went by. My young friend said it was trying to mate with my white hair! This green and black butterfly appears to have lost one of its appendages but the white one looks perfect to me.

We carried on round the island, enjoying an ever- changing undulating landscape – even seeing a red squirrel – well I didn’t, but my companion did. Luckily the grey squirrel hasn’t reached the Isle of Wight yet.

The Dinosaur World attraction was a little disappointing but at least they had a lot of real dinosaur bones as well as the gaudy models. As we parked the car a lady gave us her tickets, as it seems her young son was frightened and they didn’t get past the first exhibit. This one is real however.

So our day ended with a visit to a photographic studio at Freshwater. I was particularly interested as they were holding an extensive exhibition of the inspired Victorian photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron, who lived on the Isle of Wight. We were hoping to buy a little glass jar full of multi-coloured sands from the island, but by the time we reached the only place that sold them (the Needles) we were too late as the shop had closed. We’d booked the evening ferry back to the mainland so had time to enjoy an early fish dinner at the Blue Crab restaurant in Falmouth before we drove on board under the arch of this rainbow.

The Swimmer

2011-09-13T14:29:00.001+01:00

David Walliams, the actor and comedian, swam the length of the river Thames over the past week, from Lechlade to his final destination yesterday evening by the Houses of Parliament in London. I happened to be on the river last Friday so saw him when he got to Hambleden. His 140-mile swim raised over one million pounds for the Sport Relief charity. You’ve got to admire him after ploughing through effluent, gulping bacteria and battling disgruntled swans. Here he is at Henley (this picture taken by my young friend).

Purely by chance I happened to be on the river that day as Tony Hobbs, owner of the Umpire launch ‘Enchantress’ had invited Val, Mollie (just arrived from New Zealand) and me for a trip up to Marlow. The launch will celebrate its one-hundredth year in 2012 so Tony and his wife Jackie are planning a big celebration – probably on Temple Island in Henley. Here’s Tony at the helm.

After mooring by the towpath in Marlow we enjoyed a nice picnic, and I went to buy cakes in Burgers on the corner of the high street. Burgers is one of the last truly English cake-shops – they make fabulous strawberry tarts and a whole variety of meringues. I spotted this sign on a large Dutch barge moored near the bridge.

On the way back to Henley we kept a lookout for David Walliams and just as we reached Hambleden lock there he was climbing back into the river. I thought I’d got a good picture of him until Val pointed out that David was wearing a white cap. It was his support man in the red cap that I’d photographed.

And here is one of the yellow canoes that accompanied him all the way. The whole day was a real treat - Tony and Jackie being the perfect hosts.

On Saturday we picked up Val and made our way to the Henley Show. This year it was held at Greenlands Farm in Hambleden. I always enjoy this day as there is so much to see and do. Something for everyone. As I am a member of the Henley & District Agricultural Association I’d booked a ringside position for my car so we could watch all the events in ring one from a good vantage point.
I think this lady is in love with ‘Thing’

This cow seems to be having a good time too,

And here’s a selection showing some of the sights at the show. We missed the sheep racing.

I haven’t skived off work lately but am still halfway through a large pencil drawing which is taking much longer than I expected it to.

Yesterday evening I called over to see Vince Hill. Vince is taking part in the Henley Literary Festival at the end of the month with his new autobiography ‘Another Hill to Climb’. As I will be introducing him at Le Parisienne in Henley on the 29th of this month I’d written a short 3-minute piece, which we went over before dinner.

I occasionally receive a letter, email or text quite out of the blue. Last week I read an old army pal’s account of the time we happened to spend together on the troopship ‘Dunera’ and subsequent trials in a transit camp. But just yesterday I received an email from Australia from someone I last saw when she was about three or four years old. I’ll reproduce it here because it’s so charming:

Hi, I don’t know if you remember me but I never forgot you.
My name is Michelle and many years ago – 40 or more – you went out with my mother Carolyn Chapman.
I hope I was a good child, but I have the feeling I was probably a pain in the ass.
Anyway I’ve been looking at your insanely good paintings, especially your silver goblet paintings young and old.
When I was about 3 or 4, I remember watching you do a portrait of my mother I know I was being an annoying shit.
I kept wanting attention but was also watching you scribble about on the sketchpad and slowly my mother’s face appearing on the piece of paper.
It shut me up and I watched in awe coz I didn’t know pencils could do that.
I still have that drawing and want to thank you for that experience it was a peak experience for me and ever since that day I pushed myself to do really good drawings.I grew up to work in animation for several years, sold some of my pictures. I work with dogs now, my other passion, and I love to draw them. I’m 47 years old, married no kids. Mum lives in far north Queensland with her husband jean Pierre. I live in Sydney.
Anyway I don’t expect a reply from you – just wanted to thank you for the inspiration and to tell you that you are such a great artist.
All my love
Michelle

Isn’t that a lovely email? (especially the bit about 'didn't know pencils could do that') Of course I replied, and asked if she could send me a copy of my drawing as it would be great to se it after all these years. And yes I do remember Michelle – she was always attached to Carolyn’s hip.

Spoiled by the Weather

2011-09-08T14:28:00.001+01:00

In 1963 I visited Venice, courtesy of the Singapore Government, to select ‘smalti’ or glass mosaic pieces, for the construction of a large mural I’d designed to be erected at the (then) Singapore Airport. While in Venice I bought a couple of dozen bags of smalti with the aim of making my own mosaic when I returned to Asia. This I did a year or two later when I went to live in Bangkok. It was of a pair of Thai dancers. It eventually adorned the centre of a teakwood coffee table I had made. Unfortunately the large mosaic was much too big to fit into my relatively small flat when I returned to live in England. So for the past 30 years it’s been residing on the floor of one of my outside balconies. Big mistake, as over the years, being exposed to the ravages of our weather, and at times left covered in snow, some of the pieces have deteriorated - especially the lighter colours. My reason for mentioning this is to ask if anyone out there in cyberspace knows how to resurrect glass to bring the mosaic back to its former glory. I fear, however that the damage is too far-gone, but anyway this is how it looks today.

And these close-ups show the sort of deterioration – even on the brighter colours, which are nearly as bright as they were 40 years ago. Any suggestions, folks?

The season has almost finished as far as boating and the river is concerned. We have to snatch those sunny days to take advantage. On Saturday I went to the ‘Regatta for the Disabled’. Held in the grounds of Phyllis Court, all sorts of watery activities took place. This boat, sometimes used on Royal visits to Henley, is called ‘Royal Thamesis’.

The main event of the day was Dragon Boat Racing. As the races were open to anyone, as well as the disabled, I was hoping to collect a crew together, but asked around a bit too late. Here’s one of the boats and a close-up of the dragon prow.

You can hear the drumming in this little video of one of the races,

We took a trip down the river later in the afternoon, passing this lone black swan on the way.

Although on Sunday morning it rained most of the time I still intended to go the Greys Village Fete in the afternoon. Luckily the rain stopped before two. Too late for the Marlow Town Band to perform, as they were afraid of getting their instruments wet. Lots of stalls were open when we arrived at the fete. Here are the ladies who make cakes.

And this brave man is having wet sponges thrown at him.

I had a go on the rowing machine. Luckily only ten pulls at a time as it was set at maximum resistance. I didn’t beat the record.

Also, as usual, I tried everything, from the raffle, coconut shy, throwing a ball through a clown’s mouth, removing nails from a board, tombola, (where I won a measly can of pop), to the golf game.

A Fair Swap

2011-08-30T13:17:00.001+01:00

A number of years ago my dentist recommended I have a gold tooth fitted in the back of my mouth. After enquiring about the considerable cost difference between National Health and Private Patients gold teeth it seemed the quality of gold was the main influence in price. So I suggested I supply a gold sovereign (costing about £50 then), which, being 22 carat gold, is better even than Private gold. Robin, my dentist, had never had this sort of request before. Nevertheless I ended up with a superior tooth and paid just National Health price for the dental work involved. ( I was even given change in the form of a small nugget – which unfortunately I’ve lost). Time went on and a couple of years ago I had the gold tooth removed and returned to me. Here it is

But now the time has come to turn it back into a sovereign. Each year I give a prize at the Royal Miniature Painters exhibition in London for the Best Portrait . It's called The Mundy Sovereign Award and is in the form of a gold sovereign mounted on to a framed and calligraphed certificate. However the price of gold has escalated so rapidly in the past year (cost today is £285) that I hope my tooth will go a long way towards buying a sovereign in a swap.

Two very good American friends of mine – Wes and Rachelle Siegrist – are wonderful miniature artists. We meet up each time I go to America to attend the Miniature Artists of Florida Annual Exhibition. (Rachelle also writes a great blog, which includes photographs of their latest work). We last met up in January this year. The other day I decided to paint a miniature of Rachelle – she has such a serene disposition and compelling eyes. Here is the result. I’m hoping it will be accepted for exhibition in the MASF Exhibition in January.

I did a silly thing on Sunday afternoon. Visiting friends who’s garden backs on to the Hennerton Backwater and wanting to row the short distance across to the island at the bottom of their property, I was assured by Tony that his little work dinghy was quite stable. I’m used to jumping in and out of my dinghy – which is not that stable ( and why Trevor, the boatman, fell out of it earlier this year’ sinking the dinghy on the way!) so stepped on to the stern of his boat. My big mistake was to choose the very squashy cushion to step on as it immediately wrapped itself around my legs and caused me to fall headlong into the dinghy! I avoided capsizing it by a couple of inches but landed on my face, crushing my glasses in the process. Tony said my fall looked to be in slow motion, but I was shaken, and a bit stirred. All ended OK with a slightly bruised face and hand, and of course a pair of strangely distorted specs. Nevertheless I still managed to take a few nice photographs of their beautiful garden – after a refreshing and recuperative glass of wine.

Talking of beautiful gardens, on Saturday evening I was invited to Brian and Jane’s house for a small dinner party to celebrate a significant milestone in Brian’s journey through life. Here’s a little glimpse of a corner of their garden

And here are the other guests, with the birthday boy hogging the limelight. You can just see their dog, Ollie, sprawled out at his feet. Lovely evening. We dined in their conservatory and Brian cooked the lamb on his new barbecue.

Last Wednesday I drove into London to see my old friend Katie Boyle and her sister Margherita who was visiting from Geneva. Although Katie is confined to her home now she is looking really good and has a very caring group of people there to look after her.
Rolf has a new wooden clinker built dinghy. At the moment it’s submerged in the river as it’s been out of the water for a long time and a good dousing for a week or so will let the timbers swell. I don’t want him falling in the river – he’s working on so many paintings right now and when I called in on Saturday morning he had three big oil paintings drying on the AGA.
A client picked up the two drawings I’d made of his grandchildren the other day. I always try to paint or draw children as soon as I can because they change appearance so quickly. Normally within the month if they are drawings, or a bit longer if they are paintings.
It will soon be time to send off my entries to the USA for the upcoming MASF show. I am allowed to enter four miniatures. In the past I’ve always sent four portraits but this year have decided to submit just two (including the one of Rachelle) plus a miniature of flamingos ,and this small 3-inch by 2-inch painting of a snow scene by the river in Henley.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

2011-08-22T13:08:00.000+01:00

After collecting my two paintings on Saturday morning which had been on exhibition at the Llewellyn Alexander Gallery in London (where they told me that my pencil drawing entitled ‘Le Derriere de Joceline’ attracted many admirers, and had it been named ‘Pippa’s Bottom’ it could have sold many times over!) my young friend and I threaded our way through innumerable road-works and heavy traffic back over the river to the Park Lane underground car park. We were hoping to meet a friendly guy who calls himself ‘Eveready’ in view of the fact that he is always there ready to drive us anywhere in central London. But he was nowhere to be seen, so after a long walk through a menacing tunnel we eventually emerged at Marble Arch to be confronted by an unexpected shower of rain. It got heavier so I ducked into a shop in Oxford Street to buy (yet another) umbrella. By the time we had walked the length of Oxford Street to the Palladium I discovered that a hole in my shoe had landed me with a completely wet foot!

I soon forgot about it when the show started. We both really enjoyed it – especially the marvellous sets and magical effects. As the original film ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was the very first I ever saw as a child, the music brought back many happy memories.

After the show we hired a modern day rickshaw to take us to Covent Garden where I‘d booked a table at Sarastro’s Restaurant for an early dinner. Weaving our way through the London traffic on a busy Saturday afternoon was not exactly a tranquil experience, but it was great fun. At least it was for us – not sure about the energetic cyclist. My young friend was in for quite a surprise when we arrived at the restaurant.

As you can see the whole place is lavishly over decorated (and if any of my readers ever go there pay a trip to the loos – you ‘ll be very surprised by the décor). A bevy of rather large Hungarian musicians entertained us during our meal.

We travelled to London again yesterday. I had to be there early in the morning as it was the selection day for the Royal Society of Miniaturists. Nearly one thousand miniatures had been submitted this year, which we eventually whittled down to about six hundred for final exhibition in October. There were several good portraits for me to select the recipient of 'The Mundy Sovereign Award' from. (Worth a lot more now with the dramatic rise in the value of gold). Incidentally the exhibition this year will be enhanced by a special addition. Richard Chadwick, a leading historian and researcher of antique portrait miniatures, will be curating an exhibition of a collection of Royal Portrait Miniatures, some of which have never before been seen in public. They include a striking image of King Charles 1 by John Hoskins and one of Queen Victoria, commissioned by the Queen herself for presentation to the explorer, Sir Henry Morton Stanley.

It being a lovely sunny evening we decided on our return from London to pick up Val and take her to the Swan at Streatley for a supper alfresco by the river. You can see how balmy the evening was by the sight of this little launch gliding towards the hotel moorings at the open air restaurant.

‘Red sky at night - shepherds delight’ goes the old saying. So this view from our table towards the decorated barge as the evening shadows fall and the reflection of the red wisps of the sky above hints of a nice day today. Hope so as I’m due to bowl in the handicap second round this evening (which I won’t win as I’m due to play one of the best county players).

My working week saw the completion of the second in a pair of drawings of a client’s grandchildren. I also started a new miniature portrait for the upcoming exhibition in Florida. And I heard last week that I’ve been awarded the Stewart Bailey Award at the Society of Limners 2011 Exhibition for my portrait of the comedian, Jimmy Tarbuck. The award itself is an engraved glass goblet.

Those Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer

2011-08-14T11:45:00.000+01:00

This was the venue last Saturday of the Wargrave and Shiplake regatta. Always a popular event, it lasts for two days, ending on Saturday evening with a spectacular firework display. We arrived there a bit late in the afternoon to find all the lanes leading up to the river at Shiplake full of cars so decided to park at the end of the line. This proved to be over a mile away from the riverbank. One of the events exclusive (unless I’m corrected by RG9) to this regatta is something called ‘Dongling’. I don’t know where this word came from but there is a resort near Yangshuo in China which may have something to do with it. Anyway here are a couple of donglers racing each other down the Thames.

I have some good news – after last week’s scan and subsequent blood test I had an appointment with the oncologist on Monday afternoon to be given the results. Hooray! All the cancer has cleared from my body. What a relief – especially as, before I knew the prognosis, and thinking positively, booked a holiday in the Far East for next January (with no possibility of getting the money back if I was unable to go). The scan did show a little scarring at the point in my inside where the colon was re-joined after the initial cancerous growth was removed, which will mean a colonoscopy in a couple of weeks. But no cancer. My state of mind in coming away from the surgery was quite the opposite of what it was on the way there.

You know the story about waiting ages for a bus to come along, only to find that eventually three come at once! Well this has happened to me in the form of self-portraits. Having not done any for over thirty years you may have seen the one I put on the blog a few weeks ago, and then the two silver cup portrait reflections. Well now I’ve made a miniature, which I’ll submit next weekend in London to the Royal Society’s annual exhibition. Here it is. (And it will be the last ever).

Nothing much has happened since I last wrote a blog. My young friend and I took a trip the other evening down river on ‘Marsh Mundy’ to Phyllis Court to have dinner. I played in a ‘Colours ‘ snooker match there the other evening, called in to see Rolf harris and looked at his latest paintings on Saturday morning, and went bowling on Monday. Last Sunday we drove over to Bampton to see Joanne. She made a lovely lunch for us all.

On the work front I drew a pencil portrait - one of a pair of commissions – and made this little miniature of a Balinese dancer to enter in the RMS next Sunday.

G'day

2011-08-04T12:39:00.001+01:00

“G’day” is the title of this larger than life-size pencil portrait of Rolf Harris I finished the other day. (Sorry my photo of it is a bit blurred and on the dark side). Measuring almost 30 inches in height it was fun to do. I seem to be going through a phase of pencil drawings lately – and will be starting on another couple of commissioned pencil portraits of children next week.

Every year, after the razzmatazz of the Henley Royal Regatta and the Music Festival, we locals are able to enjoy our own lovely little regatta. It’s called the Henley Town and Visitors' Regatta. ( The first University Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge was held on the Henley reach in 1829, and the success of this led up to the setting up of a regatta which subsequently became known as The Henley Royal Regatta when his Royal Highness Prince Albert became the first Royal patron.)
Developed from the Henley Rowing Club Boat Races, which started in the late 1850’s, its name changed to the Henley Town Regatta in 1887 and the word Visitor was later added to show that the Regatta had been opened to clubs not based in Henley. Following the success of multi-lane racing on the Henley reach at the 1948 Olympic Games, the regatta now offers three abreast racing in all events. (That’s enough history. ed.)
My young friend and I spent a pleasant few hours at the regatta last Saturday, after an early morning visit to the Royal Berkshire Hospital for me to have a chest and pelvic scan. Now that I’m a Regatta ‘subscriber’ it meant that we could hobnob in the President’s tent. Liz Hodgkin has just become this year’s President, and here’s a photo of Richard, her husband, with their little grand daughter.

We had a trip down river to the start on one of the Umpire launches where we followed a coxed four race. Here are a couple of the launches ready to leave, followed by a our view of the race..

And this is one of the more interesting boats we saw on our way – it’s a steam driven canoe.

Later in the afternoon we drove over to Hurley to visit the annual fete, bit it was a bit too crowded for our liking. We did have a couple of ice creams and watched the Sandhurst band for a short while.

The Olde Bell at Hurley is one of the oldest coaching inns in England and was built in 1135 as a guesthouse.

On Tuesday Debbie and Paul invited us to dinner at the Villa Marina – my favourite restaurant where we had a lovely evening. They are both appearing at the Edinburgh Festival now and will be there for the entire month of August. I nearly always have the same meal at the Villa Marina as they do the most delightful sea prawns and their pepper steak is to die for - not literally! It’s also one of the few restaurants to bring round a sumptuous sweet trolley. I think many other restaurants have abandoned this practice – probably because of ‘elf and safety rules.

Apropos to nothing, I was reading the other day about Roman Abramovich’s new yacht - The Eclipse. It sounds pretty stupendous with its 70 staff, missile defence system, armour plating and bulletproof windows. Luckily he’s a very rich man as it costs about £50 million a year to run! The occupants have the option of making a James Bond style escape if things get a bit hairy on board by entering the boat’s own submarine that can dive to a depth of 150ft. Privacy is also ensured as it’s fitted with an ‘anti-paparazzi shield’ that fires a laser beam of light at cameras to ruin photographs. If any of my readers would like to hire it the cost is £175,000 a day. And if you need to fill the fuel tank it will cost a further £400,000!
It will soon be time to send off the four miniatures I am allowed to enter in the Miniature Artists of Florida annual exhibition. Normally I send my latest portraits, but his year I’m thinking of ringing the changes and including a couple of other subjects within my four. To that end I painted this miniature of flamingos last week.

Most of my time lately has been spent painting, drawing and boating – especially boating as the weather has been hot and sunny. On Sunday, together with Val we visited cousin Paul and Jo in Great Shefford. Another cousin, David was there too. Paul took us around some of the fields to see their livestock – especially a young bull, which wouldn’t leave its place in the shade. But here is Paul with one of his horses.

That’s it for today. I’d better get back to my desk.

Then and Now

2011-07-22T11:59:00.002+01:00

In 1974 when I was living in Singapore I placed a little silver cup on my table and painted what I saw in the reflections. Here it is.

I was 38 at the time and was only able to paint during the rare weekend when I wasn’t travelling in Asia. Recently I unearthed the painting – it’s less than 4 inches wide – and decided to update the image by painting a companion piece. Many years have gone by, my hair has turned white and I now paint full time. You might be interested in the result. The first was painted on watercolour board and the latest – completed just last week – is painted on vellum.

Much of what I’ve been doing over the past week or so has involved boats. The new cover I had made for my wooden dinghy was too big – rain collected in it, so it had to be altered. Yesterday it was retuned, but unfortunately was now too small! So back to the drawing board as it has to be made all over again.

Last weekend the rain pelted down all morning, but by afternoon the clouds cleared and I made my way to the Thames Traditional Boat Rally along Fawley meadows.

Amongst the many attractions along the river was a ‘boat jumble’ where I bought a really noisy hoooter. This is for my big boat as the fitted one doesn’t work any more.

Great to see Raymond Baxter’s Dunkirk boat L’Orage beautifully restored by its new owner, John Calvert. There were over a dozen Dunkirk boats moored there for the weekend. Here are some of them.

Later in the evening I returned to the site with a friend to see the illuminated procession of boats. Also there was a large collection of old bicycles. Amongst them were several ‘Penny-farthings’ Here they are getting ready for an illuminated cycle ride

They were a bit too fast for my camera, but I like the artistic effect of this shot.

Soon afterwards a small procession of boats glided past in the darkness. Again the images are distorted, but interesting for all that.

To complete this week’s boating activities, on Wednesday the Swanuppers reached Henley. Originating in the 12th Century, when the Crown declared ownership of all the swans on the Thames, representatives of the Crown and the Vintners and Dyers Livery Companies make their way upstream in traditional rowing skiffs to corral and mark the new signets. They started on Monday at Sunbury Lock and will reach Abingdon today (Friday). In the past, nicks were made in the signets' beaks to identify which family they belong to – Queens, Vintners or Dyers – but nowadays their feet are ringed with individual numbers. I joined Nigel, the lock keeper at Marsh Lock, his mother, Arthur and a few other friends for wine and Pimms to await their arrival. Here they are coming into the lock.

Only two pairs of swans with three signets each were found on the Henley reach this year. Sadly a total of 180 mute swans died on the Thames between Reading and Windsor last year from a common duck virus. However David Barber, the Queen’s Swan marker (below) said things would be rectified over time.

I took a little video of the Swanuppers as they left Marsh Lock. Hope this comes out.

Work and Play

2011-07-13T13:10:00.001+01:00

I really enjoy drawing in pencil. The feel of the graphite as it glides across the paper is almost sensual. When I start a portrait in this medium I sharpen about seven or eight pencils with densities ranging from 2H right through to 7B. This enables me to capture the smallest detail with the harder ones, and to render the darker areas with the softer pencils. Sometimes I use sepia but they are not made in such a variety of grades as graphite. I wish I could get hold of a really hard sepia pencil as I just love the colour.
Last week a client came to collect my latest commission – three approximately A4 size drawings of her stepchildren – a present for their father. I had them framed beautifully with a double oval cream mount and silver/gilt rectangular outside frame. Here they are – Dan, Josh and Abby.

The social season in Henley is still going strong, and last Thursday, accompanied by my young friend and Felicity, we all togged up in our evening finery to go to the Henley Music Festival. Held on the banks of the Thames in the area vacated by the previous week’s regatta, all sorts of activities are taking place as well as the main attraction. Tom Jones was appearing on Wednesday but the tickets had been sold out for that day. Soon after we got to the Festival we were offered a trip on ‘Consuta’.

This lovely umpire’s launch was built in 1898 and is 52 feet long. It’s the only surviving steam powered umpire’s launch in existence and can reach a speed of over 27 mph. We had a great time gliding along part of the regatta course. I sat right next to the engine so could really appreciate the almost whispering sound it made and the lovely smell of steam.

We sat outside to have a meal in one of the many restaurants there, and afterwards toured the attractions. Rolf was represented by the Henley Lemongrove Gallery with a very impressive array of recent paintings and limited edition prints, some of which had featured in the BBC Arena programme.
Here are a few of the sights.

And as you can see the river was full of every sort of craft you can imagine – including Henley’s own Dragon Boat.

Later in the evening as it got dark – and a bit chilly – a gigantic balloon took to the sky. Attached to it was an acrobat who performed a number of hair-raising balletic manoeuvres high above us.

She was accompanied by a really good musical firework display. This is one of the views across the river with boats and their reflections adding to the ambiance of the scene.

Now that I’m just about fully recovered I’m able to play bowls at full strength and competed in what is called the ‘Yardstick’ competition last Sunday morning. Any bowls that are not within one yard of the jack are removed. It’s a twelve-end contest and I was leading right up until the eleventh end, when my opponent suddenly surged ahead and beat me by one point. I’m playing again tomorrow in the second leg of the championship so hope to advance a little more then.

I popped over to a boatyard at Bourne End the other day to buy another set of oars and rowlocks for my dinghy. So on Saturday afternoon with two of us rowing we speedily made our way up to Phyllis Court and tarried awhile eating the ice creams we bought by the slipway and listening to an Abba tribute band rehearsing on the far bank for the concert that evening.

On Sunday the weather sparkled and steadily got hotter as the day progressed, so we took the big boat out for a trip to Hambleden and back. Here I am lazing in the back of the boat, which we moored at Phyllis Court.

Later in the evening we drove over to Streatley to have dinner at the Swan at Streatley. Such a beautiful balmy evening – we sat outside on the verandah and had fish and chips. This hotel also caters for functions on this barge moored right outside the hotel.

Finally, this is the miniature I finished last week. It’s of ‘Shining Bear’, which I mentioned in my last blog. The clothes and symbols he’s wearing for this portrait represent different indigenous tribes, the shirt being a copy of a Sioux holy man’s shirt. The feathers of a golden eagle on his shoulder were given to him for building a medicine wheel over the bird’s body and are very rare. The medicine wheel on his chest represents the four colours of man that make up the human race, and the ring on his finger is a Navajo design.

A Heinous Crime

2011-07-03T13:00:00.003+01:00

My second cousin, Jane, arrived from London on Thursday morning ready for the Henley Regatta. I’d planned for eight of us to go to Phyllis Court for the day, We drove to Wargrave about 11 am to pick up Debbie and Paul. Here we are all dressed up in our finery.

Paul and Debbie, although members of Phyllis Court, hadn’t received their badges, nevertheless we bypassed security at the entrance and wandered through the grounds and over the humpback bridge spanning the creek.

The lawns looked immaculate and we soon established ourselves at a table by the verandah. Debbie and Jane procured a large jug of Pimms (what else at Henley Regatta?) and we waited till the rest of the party - Dee, Bill, Jane and Brian – arrived. Unlike many of the summer social occasions in England these days Phyllis Court at Regatta time retains a real air of almost Edwardian elegance. The men wear jackets and ties, and all the ladies wear beautiful colourful hats.

Way back in April I’d endeavoured to be first in line to buy the tickets (I was second as it so happened) so after a while we made our way to the best table in the dining room.

Not only was the meal sumptuous, but the company was great. Laughter echoed around the table with Paul, as usual, reeling off a host of amusing stories. Everyone had a very happy time. We eventually made our way to the riverside – after all there was a regatta going on

On the way I wondered why Jane and I were given a few stony looks by some of the more elderly ladies as we strolled towards the water's edge. We soon found out the reason as no sooner had we taken our places than a black clad, heavily muscled security guard came up to Jane and (too loudly I thought) asked her to accompany him to the exit as she was ‘inappropriately attired!’. It was only then that I realised Jane was wearing culottes – a terrible crime in Phyllis Court at Regatta time. ( I must admit I had no idea that the long black semi-transparent dress she was wearing was divided as I am aware of the dress code on these occasions - and fully agree with it).

Not wanting to appear to be a criminal by following the guard as if to an awaiting hangman’s noose, we waited till he had retreated a little and discussed the situation. Dee came up with the solution by getting a taxi to her home and fitting Jane out with one of her dresses. (It showed a lot more thigh than the original dress, but was obviously more acceptable than a divided skirt).
Happily all’s well that ends well and here we are correctly dressed as we watched the races from our vantage point.

About 6pm I had to dash to off for half an hour or so as I’d been asked to officially open ‘The Heart of Henley Art Exhibition’ at St. Mary’s Church in the centre of the town. A number of the exhibits were by primary pupils of a local school and I was quite impressed with the imagination they showed in following the theme of ‘water’.

Back to Phyllis Court for drinks with a number of friends before calling it a day and going back home to watch the Murray/Nadal tennis match I’d recorded earlier.

On Friday I painted all morning - currently I’m working on an interesting miniature of a friend of mine called “Shining Bear”. Among his many talents Bear plays the didgeridoo with Rolf Harris at concerts. However the sunshine beckoned, so in mid-afternoon I downed brushes and tootled down to Phyllis Court once more, this time to meet Felicity and her father Martin.

Martin’s neighbour was there too, and she and Felicity had a great time trying on hats in a little stall set up by the river.

Earlier in the week I completed the remaining two miniatures of my great nieces. Here’s Annabel. She’s just seventeen…

And this is Genevieve, who’s almost sixteen…

Yesterday my young friend and I invited Val, and Sue and Tom Yonker over for supper prior to taking Marsh Mundy down the river to see the fireworks. Every year on the Saturday evening of the Regatta a firework display is put on by the town. The best vantage point is from the river itself. We started off just as the sun was setting

On the Berkshire side of the river the noise of all the many hospitality tents roared out at us all the way up to Temple Island. With the glare of lights and the thousands of people thronging the riverbank I was very pleased to be watching the revelry from my boat rather than being part of it. (Sign of age?) On our way back we saw Alan and Christina Tang gliding by in their very smart boat, so we invited them to tie up next to us when we found a place to moor. As the booms at the vantage point we chose were empty we endeavoured to throw the ropes around them – a very difficult task. But luckily a kind pair of Environment Agency boatmen in their launch stopped to help and we were soon safely attached to the booms to await the firework display. I’d brought a bottle of pink champagne but unfortunately it was corked, so reluctantly I had to pour the contents into the river. Never mind, we had plenty of Pimms and soft drinks and the Tangs offered us wine and cherries picked from their garden that morning. At about 10pm the fireworks started.

On the way back home in the dark I often wonder why there are rarely collisions as so many small boats don’t have lights, but the ambiance of the river at night, with hundreds of boats of all sizes is really exciting. We got home safely just after eleven. The end of another lovely day.

The Fifteenth Century Watermill

2011-06-24T13:06:00.001+01:00

We visited Mapledurham Watermill last Saturday afternoon. It’s the last working corn and gristmill on the River Thames. Currently an Archimedes Screw is being installed there, and when completed in September will power not only the mill but also several properties in the area – including Mapledurham House. As scaffolding is disfiguring the mill at present, instead of a photograph I’ll include this little scraperboard drawing I made many years ago.

Mapledurham Mill, built around 1440, was originally a two-storey thatched rectangular building with the waterwheel driving two pairs of stones. When the great plague of London in 1677 drove out the wealthy from London and the Royal Court moved to Abingdon, the millers of Mapledurham were ready and eager to profit from these new sources of business and the mill was extended, reroofed with tiles and a second waterwheel added. This is the wheel now in use.

Mostly made of oak, the paddles are made of elm, and apple-wood is the favourite for the teeth or any other cogwheels which are completely out of the reach of water. We were able to look around the inside of the mill and clambered up and down the wooden ladders to see the large stones, cogs, hoists and wheels .

After our tour of the mill we walked round the bend in the river – past this swan preening herself on the riverbank…

…and on to Mapledurham House. This Elizabethan stately home was built at the time of the Spanish Armada, and the picture shows the church in the foreground with the house itself seen through the trees on the right.

When I was a youth, Mapledurham House was derelict and I remember, back in the fifties, together with a friend, opening the creaky main door and spending an hour or so exploring the spooky interior. Now it has been completely restored and we toured around the house looking at some of the beautiful paintings and other artefacts. Incidentally the house and surrounding village were used for the filming of the 1976 film - ‘The Eagle Has Landed’.

Last Friday dawned dull and rainy. Pity because that was the evening that Henley’s Town and Visitors Regatta was holding its cocktail party to welcome the new President, Elizabeth Hodgkin. In the driving rain we boarded The New Orleans for a trip downriver, through Hambleden lock and on to Hurley.

Nearly 100 people were on board – many of them old friends, but apart from a short venture to the open upstairs deck clutching our umbrellas, we stayed in the cabin for most of the time. Still it was a very enjoyable evening – even though I managed to knock a glass full of white wine over my friend and another lady on our table! (I couldn’t really blame the motion of the boat). And to make matters worse, later in the evening I knocked the glass over a second time – and then a third - as I was demonstrating to the man next to me what an accident-prone person I was!

Last Saturday morning I called in to have breakfast with Rolf and Alwen. Their grandson Marlon was there. He’s just developed a real love of table tennis so challenged me to a game in the courtyard. I haven’t played for many years, but the old technique soon came back and at one stage I was leading 17 to 5. However Marlon – the comeback kid - played well, caught up and beat me 21 to 19.

On Sunday, together with Val and a friend, we drove over to Haddenham where we’d been invited to lunch with old friend Suzy and her husband Paul. Haddenham is classed as the best-kept village in Buckinghamshire. In the centre of the village is a large duck pond bordered by the church, several thatched cottages and, of course, lots of ducks.

The miniature portraits I sent to New York last week were very well received, but unfortunately two out of the three were returned for me to slightly darken as the references I was sent over the Internet showed up a little paler than they should have been. Anyway after receiving printed references I duly returned the corrected paintings yesterday and hopefully all will be OK now.

Apart from that I’m in the middle of painting three miniatures for the family. Years ago I decided to paint miniatures of two great nieces and one great nephew every year on their birthdays. Here’s the latest. It’s of Becky. She’s twenty years old.

On my last blog I mentioned Wentworth Wooden Jigsaws and The Carousel puzzle. Yesterday I was told that they are bringing out yet another of my paintings – ‘Raffles Remembered’ – next month. This painting illustrates about fifty items from the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore and is painted as a Trompe L’Oeil in watercolour.
Incidentally, if you want to see larger versions of any of the pictures on my blog, just click on the image.

The Creak of the Rowlocks

2011-06-13T11:09:00.001+01:00

Now that I’ve regained most of my strength the river beckons, so the other evening I took Marsh Midget down to Henley Bridge and back. Having had so little rain lately the river is quite low and on that particular evening the current was tranquil. Hardly anything moved so I just about had the river to myself.

I may look a bit stressed here but could have rowed for hours. Once you get into the rhythm it’s such a relaxing pastime. And being relatively silent (apart from a slight creak of my rowlocks from time to time) none of the coots, grebes, and ducks take much notice as they gaze back at you from their floating homes. The swans (who are convinced they own the river) occasionally swim right in front of the boat as if daring you to change course. But I never do, as I know by experience that they always dodge out of the way at the last minute.

Discarding the oars for the time being, last Saturday I decided to take the dinghy down the Hennerton Backwater, and as I wanted to face forward, rather than continuously look over my shoulder as I negotiated the many twists and turns of this delightful stream, I attached my little electric motor to the stern. After going through Marsh Lock, about three miles further on I threaded my way through a flotilla of moored boats till I reached the entrance to the backwater.

The height of the bridge is about three feet from the water so as you can imagine it takes a bit of manoeuvring to get through to the other side. It means lying almost flat in the boat, but as soon as you are clear and past the gardens of a few houses the peace of the backwater envelopes you. About half a mile downstream another bridge comes into view – higher than the first one.

And still further on, an even higher bridge.

I like bridges – those over rivers I mean. Before arriving at the other end of the backwater there’s just one more bridge to see. This one isn’t across the backwater but is in the garden of friends Tony and Gloria and is one of the features of their magnificent garden.

When I finally arrived back at Marsh Lock at least four 'lock-fulls' of boats of all sizes were queued up there. Because it was 1.45 pm the lock-keeper would still be off duty, and although the lock can now be operated easily by pushing a few buttons, I assumed the leading few boats were a bit lazy and had decided to wait for the lock keeper’s return from lunch. However it did finally open, and as I was in a tiny craft I just edged nearer to the front of the queue (probably to the disgust of some of the larger boats) and sneaked into a small space between a couple of canal barges.

Talking about the backwater, yesterday morning I joined the members of the Hennerton Backwater Association for their annual AGM and breakfast by the river. Simon and Geraldine hosted a sumptuous coffee and bacon, baps and sausage breakfast by the riverside in their garden. This is the 13th AGM – and the weather has been sunny every single time. Many people arrived by boat. Here are some of them.

It’s a really jolly occasion. During the winter an energetic bunch of members get together for ‘slash and burn’ sessions to keep the backwater clear. (The Environment Agency won’t do it!). An otter has been sighted nearby and one of the members had set up a camera with a time delay in the area that we think the otter frequents. Movement activates the camera, and we were shown some remarkable pictures of a magpie, fox, pheasant and even a young deer. But no otter. Here’s the view looking down towards the garden as the meeting ended.

Later a friend joined me and we drove to Goring where we went asparagus picking in the open fields at Hildred’s farm. The season’s nearly over but we found enough for our dinner and to give a few bunches to Val and the neighbours. On our way home we called in for lunch at The Lamb in Satwell. It was such a lovely day we sat outside in the sunshine to have our fish and chips.

On Wednesday evening Paul and Debbie invited Jilly and me to supper at their home followed by a very special performance of Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’. My education was sadly lacking and I don’t really appreciate Shakespeare, but I must say it was a glorious evening. Performed by the Wargrave Theatre Workshop in the open air in the grounds of Wargrave church we were lucky the weather stayed dry for the event. ‘Measure for Measure’ is a story of sex, sin and forgiveness and is billed as a template for much of modern society.. I didn’t take my camera, but managed to take this slightly shaky picture with my iPhone, which I think captures a bit of the atmosphere.

The actors were brilliant. As were the costumes. It was the first night and the performance was just about flawless. I certainly came away with a new appreciation of Shakespeare’s genius.

Don’t get the idea I haven’t been working much this week. I’ve made two pencil drawings of children for a client – one more to go – and finally completed a self-portrait. (Something I was coerced into doing I might add, as I’m not a great fan of my face!).
But here it is anyway. It’s not a miniature, and measures about 15 by 12 inches.

I went to see Robin Nagi, my dentist in Oxford, the other day for a regular check-up. Always a pleasure to have a chat (usually at breakneck speed) before he starts on my teeth. All seemed OK – apart from the need for more vigorous and prolonged brushing! However the main question of the day, as he pointed to a print of my Swanuppers painting which adorns the ceiling above the patient's chair, was ‘How many people are portrayed there?’ as another patient was very keen to know the answer. I checked when I got home – it’s 53.

Incidentally my ‘Carousel’ painting has just been made into a very nice wooden jigsaw by the Wentworth Wooden Jigsaw Company. It comes in three sizes – 250, 500 and 1,000 pieces. I’m halfway through the 500-piece version. These jigsaws feature what they call ‘whimsys’, and in this one you can find all sorts of fairground pieces from horses to balloons, candy floss, mini- carousels etc.

I’ll attach a link to the Wentworth Wooden Jigsaw Company, just in case anyone wants to order a puzzle. Click here.

The Hideaway in the Woods

2011-06-01T09:29:00.000+01:00

Last Thursday, enroute to the Hilliard Miniature Exhibition in Wells, we made a deviation through ever-smaller roads, then rough lanes, to reach our rendezvous – a gigantic saw-blade propped up against a gnarled and rustic tree,where in a short while we were met by Zelia looking like a true maiden of the forest in her flowing white robes.

After a very bumpy ride in her four by four we arrived at our final destination – a small wooden cabin tucked away at the end of a short and steep winding walk through dense undergrowth. We entered through the front door.

There Fergus, who lives alone in his amazing little house – most of which he has built himself - welcomed us with open arms. Once inside this cosiest of dwellings he explained that the lunch he had planned for us would have to be modified as his gas tank had run out just that morning.

Nevertheless, always the improviser, Fergus had a plan two. He’d cook on his little wood stove.

But what to cook, as the planned meal could not be properly cooked on the stove? However, Zelia had, by pure chance, been walking in the woods that morning and came upon this large (and she assured us) edible fungus.

This unlikely looking lunch is called ‘Chicken of the forest’. Here it is, together with my friend’s cooked portion, which she assured me tasted really nice. (Being a chicken of a different variety myself, I opted for scrambled eggs on toast).

Fergus is a very clever and resourceful man as well as being one of the kindest persons I know. Everywhere you turn in his house you see examples of his expertise with driftwood. Here you can see a fish made of driftwood - notice the fins are made from the blades of fish knives,

And this fearsome looking creature reminds me of a scene from a Harry Potter film. or maybe a prehistoric monster.

After lunch Fergus entertained us with tunes on his Northen Pipes. An acomplished player of the Scottish Bagpipes, we were pleased to listen to the more soothing sound of the northern version.

We talked about how the weather affected life in such a remote dwelling, whereby Fergus told us about the time he was marooned for a fortnight during the heavy snowfalls earlier this year. Luckily he had stocked up with food the day before the snow started as he became totally isolated. In his garden there sits a large white bath, and on the night of the winter solstice he lit a wood fire under it and kept filling the bath with snow until it melted into a steaming and enticing haven. Then he took off his clothes and lay in it for nearly two hours - just gazing up to the full moon. It must have been quite magical. Here are a couple more views of the inside of Fergus’s house, many of the items I’m sure will soon be fashioned into works of art.

Zelia, although still young, has led an interesting life. At the age of twenty she had a hankering to live in the Himalayas. When she arrived there she set up camp in the foothills of the mountains, but soon found that water wouldn’t reach boiling point above a certain altitude. So she and a companion she met on her travels existed on half cooked food for a long time. That is until she asked the women in a village nearby how they managed it. Easy, they said ‘we use pressure cookers’. That solved Zelia’s problem.

Eventually, after a few hours with this lovely couple, we reluctantly said goodbye to Fergus and Zelia and retraced our steps and continued on our journey to Wells.

Westward Ho!

2011-05-30T16:25:00.006+01:00

On the way to the west for a short holiday I stopped at Montacute House in Somerset. Built by Sir Edward Phelips in 1598 it’s a huge building and currently houses an exhibition of Tudor portraits on loan from the National Portrait Gallery in London. Here’s one of Queen Elizabeth 1^st.

After a tour of the house I found this magnificent and gigantic hedge bordering the gardens.

I was told the interesting bulbous shape of the hedge was due to large amounts of snow falling there a number of years ago, which caused the indents. When the snow melted it looked so interesting that they now trim it as it is.

After an overnight stay in St Austell the next stop was a visit to the Eden Project in Cornwall. It’s only ten years old, is dedicated to conservation and regeneration, has grown the largest rainforest in ‘captivity’, and has built three enormous Biomes and a Core, all utilising sustainable construction techniques.

Here are just a few photographs I took on my tour of the project. So much to see. We spent about three hours walking around - I especially liked the time spent in the tropical Biome and took scores of photographs. How about this gigantic bee?

On to St Mawes, on a very windy, cold, and rainy day. At St Mawes Castle I made the mistake of trying to shield my friend with an umbrella, which instantly folded inside out and broke!

We found refuge in a small restaurant on the seafront where I’m looking out to sea and waiting for the wind to drop a little.

Later, still cold but less windy, we drove to St. Just-in-Roseland to visit my favourite church in England. Founded in 550 AD it lists all the bishops from 1265 right up to the present day. It's surrounded by a semi-tropical garden and is bordered on one side by the Carrick Roads. Here’s just one of the wooden plaques inside the church, and a peep through the trees to a quiet and tranquil scene in the churchyard.

Wending our way through the narrow Cornish roads we paid a tea-time visit to friends John and Beverley in their beautiful house tucked inside a rhododendron decked lane near Truro. As I had arranged to take my great niece Becky out to dinner that evening in Falmouth, where she is at University, we decided to take the King Harry Ferry across the river from the Roseland peninsula.

Just before we departed we had a quick look around Smuggler’s cottage on the river Fal at Tolverne. Dating from the 15^th Century it was requisitioned during World War 11 and the road and beach built as an embarkation point for the D-Day landings.

While we waited for the ferry to make its way back to our side of the river I noticed this little boat tied up below us.

Up bright and early the next day we made the short journey from St. Austell to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. Twenty-one years ago these truly wonderful gardens were rediscovered after their demise and many years of total neglect from their heyday at the end of the nineteenth century. The devastating hurricane of 1990 should have consigned the Lost Gardens to a footnote in history. Instead the discovery of a tiny room buried under fallen masonry in one of the walled gardens was to unlock the secret of their demise. A motto, etched into the limestone walls in barely legible pencil still reads “Don’t come here to sleep or slumber” with the names of those who worked there signed under the date – August 1914. Now the obsession is to bring these once magnificent gardens back to life. And that is just what is happening. We wandered around the 200 acres of the estate for a couple of hours. Here are some of the views that caught my eye, starting with the head of a full-length reclining woodland figure called ‘The Mud Maid’.

Our little holiday continued with a look into the Shipwreck Museum in Charleston. It has the largest collection of shipwreck artefacts and treasures in the UK. Amongst its many treasures is a room devoted to memorabilia from the Titanic disaster in 1915. Here’s just one of the hoards of ‘treasure’ there.

I like trains – especially steam trains. So after a number of attempts to park at Bodmin Station, we finally made it and soon were ensconced in a 1950’s compartment on our way to Boscarne. Precisely on the second the Stationmaster waved his green flag and we were off on a 13 mile round trip, courtesy of the Bodmin and Wenford Railway Company.

Very good friends of mine live in a village called Bishopsteignton just north of Torquay in Devon, and that became the next port of call. We were to stay with Ian and Jane Stevens – old friends from my Singapore days - for a couple of days.

A couple of happy days were spent there with side trips to the seaside village of Salcombe and Dawlish. One evening we joined David and Joyce at their cliffside house in Torquay before having a lovely meal in a nearby restaurant. This is the view looking out to sea from their balcony.

On Thursday, on our way to Wells in Somerset, we drove through tree-lined ever narrowing countryside to visit Fergus in his hideaway in the woods a few miles south of Honiton – but more about that in my next blog.

Soon after our arrival in Wells, Sharran, a friend who lives with her husband Mike North (of Dragons Den and Olive Trail fame) picked us up for a home-cooked meal at their home in nearby Wookey Hole. Local strawberries picked that day and Shepherd’s Pie – my favourite meal!

The Hilliard Society of Miniaturists is currently holding its annual exhibition in Wells Town Hall. There, the following morning, being a member of the committee, I was due to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Society. Also to go to the lunch where it was great to meet so many old friends from the miniature world.. I'd arranged to stay overnight at the Canon Grange guesthouse.

The exhibition has another week to run and I urge anyone who lives nearby to pay a visit. There are many exquisite examples of miniature art – including a number of beautifully painted Russian lacquer boxes. Wells is the smallest city in England, but boasts one of the largest cathedrals in the land. So with this view across the green from the guesthouse, I’ll say goodbye for a while as I make my way home.

'Elf 'n' Safety Bigots

2011-05-15T14:51:00.001+01:00

If there’s one thing that really riles me it’s injustice. So I was incensed to read about Lymington Pier Stationmaster Ian Faletto last week. This man who has devoted three decades of his life, giving a truly dedicated service, has been sacked for removing a shopping trolley dumped by vandals on the railway line. Not only has he lost his job but has been stripped of his pension and his mortgage protection, which could lose him his home.
Mr Faletto has, over the years, won 25 awards, including ‘Most Improved Station’ and ‘Best Kept Station’ four years in a row. He’s spent his own money on carpets, heaters and flowers as well as handing out sweets and jigsaw puzzles to passengers. So what possible justification have the pathetic little jobsworths given for this totally unreasonable and unjustified action? Yes, you’ve guessed it – ‘Health and Safety’! In their pathetic reasoning the bosses of South West Trains decreed that his prompt action in removing the trolley warranted his sacking after 27 years of dutiful service.
Apparently, when Mr Faletto arrived at 8.30am and spotted the trolley, he immediately contacted the signalman to request the power to be turned off while he jumped onto the line in protective shoes to remove it. A week later, while trawling through CCTV footage, a district manager concluded that the power had not been switched off. Ian Faletto was then suspended and summarily sacked following a disciplinary hearing.
Most people would have thought that preventing a probable very serious accident would have earned praise. But no, not in these days of blind adherence to ‘Elf ‘n’ Safety’ rules by little Hitlers.

What’s happening in this country? Another incident caught my eye the other day, where a respected deputy head teacher was sacked after a 20 year career, without a stain on her character, for helping to carry a boy of 6 into school after he refused to leave the playground. Debbie Ellis was accused of ‘physical and emotional abuse’ even though his mother made no complaint. What would have happened if the boy had been allowed to stay in the playground on his own and strayed onto the main road, or worse, had been abducted by a stranger? No, this was not even considered by the governors who sacked her for ‘gross misconduct’. Incomprehensible isn’t it?
My Granddad, pictured here brandishing his walking stick would have really stirred things up as he, like me, hated unfairness in all its forms.

So what has been happening in my semi-rural life this past week? Although I don’t really think much of my face I’ve started on a self-portrait. Most artists attempt this sort of thing some time in their careers (I was commissioned by the leading American collector of miniatures some years ago to paint a miniature self-portrait. No-one saw it except the client, but as he died just a couple of months ago the portrait will now be displayed in the Cincinnati Museum of Art, I’m told.)

Here’s the start of the portrait – it’s in watercolour and will measure about 12 by 14 inches. I thought I’d start with the hands.

On Monday afternoon I had an appointment with the Oncologist in Reading. Happily he was very pleased with my progress and much to my amusement told me he had decided against chemotherapy, partly because I am a ‘Gentleman of a certain Vintage’ but also because chemotherapy would affect my hands to such a degree that I would no longer be able to paint with the delicacy and detail I currently employ – which would mean no more miniature portrait painting! So hopefully the next CT scan, scheduled in about 3 months time, will give a positive all-clear.

Although my computer contains about 160GB of hard disk space, my C: drive was fast running out with only 500MB remaining. My young friend suggested I buy a new internal 300 or 500GB hard drive and clone everything on my computer to it. “Couldn’t be done” said the expert at PC World. But my young friend is stubborn and never gives up until the problem is solved! So we bought a new 320GB disk online and, when it arrived the sight of her sitting on the floor with all the innards of my computer exposed to my simple unscientific gaze reminded me of a couple of incidents that Dave Champion, my Appliance Engineer friend, related some time ago.

He was called out by an American woman (an obvious DIY enthusiast) who said both her washing machine and dishwasher were not working and could he fix them. When Dave arrived she took him to her kitchen where, to his horror, she’d dismantled both machines and all the bits were mixed up with each other on the floor! (I’m not sure whether he managed to fix either machine.) Another time a man asked him whether he could claim a new washing machine as he’d forcibly opened his when it failed to open. When Dave arrived he laughed out loud as the man had tried a most unorthodox way of forcing the lid off his top-loading washing machine. He’d opened it up with a heavy-duty tin opener!

But back to my computer. After many hours of all sorts of strange things happening on the screen, from scanning to partitioning and many other incomprehensible sets of words and numbers, with the use of a natty CD called ‘Clonezilla’ I now have 320GB of extra space available.

On Saturday I visited Basildon Park. Situated between Pangbourne and Streatley, this very impressive Georgian mansion was rescued from ruin by Lord and Lady Iliffe in the mid-50’s when they restored the elegant interior and scoured the country salvaging 18^th Century architectural fixtures and fittings. One of the rooms is entirely filled with seashells in all manner of decoration.

(I once went to a 1940’s wartime party at Basildon Park where we all dressed in period clothes and uniforms. The New Glenn Miller Band played wartime songs and I made a 2-hour tape, complete with sirens and renditions of ‘We’ll Meet Again’ and ‘Run Rabbit Run’ etc.). Here are views of the dining room and one of the beautifully painted ceilings.

Recently recreated is an authentic 1950’s kitchen, complete with all the paraphernalia of the time.

The bowling season opened last week so on Monday evening I played my first game of the year. I’m convinced my woods have gained weight since I last used them – but maybe it’s because I haven’t quite regained my full strength.

Yesterday we paid a late visit to Newington Nurseries just the other side of Warborough. They are specialist orchid growers and have won many awards including gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show. Entering the scented and humid enclosure reminded me of the Botanic Gardens in Singapore. I’m quite fascinated by the incredible design of these flowers – especially when you really look into them. Maybe I’ll make a small Trompe l’Oeil painting of some of the more intricate blooms when I get the time.

The Sinking of Marsh Midget

2011-05-05T11:52:00.001+01:00

Trevor, the boat builder, having made a lovely job of repairing ‘Marsh Midget’ over the winter, asked if he could row it back to my landing stage from the boatyard half-a-mile up the river, so I delivered the oars and rowlocks and drove back to wait by my mooring for him to arrive. Not a drop of water in the boat – it was immaculate – as he arrived and I tied up the stern rope. But, as I asked Trevor to hand me an oar so I could pull the boat in, for some reason he moved to the point of the dinghy. Then, as if in slow motion, he rolled over and fell into the river taking the boat with him! It then quickly sank to the bottom! With water up to his chest and his feet stuck in 12 inches of mud Trevor managed to stagger to the point where I could help him clamber on to the landing stage. And as he salvaged his mobile phone, keys, spectacles and cigarettes from his pockets Marsh Mundy reappeared with just an inch showing above the waterline. Although soaking wet and a bit grimy from the debris surrounding the boat, Trevor was determined to save the situation by lying on the landing stage and bailing out the dinghy with a bucket.

Later, I returned from my flat where I’d been to get a dustpan so Trevor could get the last few drops of filthy water out, and found Trevor had disappeared! Then I heard a voice call out from beneath the landing stage. He’d fallen in again! Apparently the handle of the bucket had come apart causing him to overbalance. This time he was in deeper water, but after a Herculean effort he worked his way towards the bathing platform of my big boat where he climbed the ladder and emerged once again covered with river debris and with mud up to his knees.

All the time this was going on a pair of coots, who had decided this year to make their nest under my landing stage – rather than on the bathing platform as they did last year – remained relatively calm under the circumstances, apart from making a few tentative pecks at Trevor’s trousers. The female coot even remained sitting on her eggs the whole time.

On Friday afternoon, after watching the spectacular Royal Wedding for most of the day on television, with the day still bathed in warm sunshine, I decided it would be a good time to visit Greys Court. It was, as most people were probably still engrossed in local wedding celebrations. After a tour around the house I posed beside the oil painting I’d made several years ago of the owners of Greys Court - Sir Felix and Lady Brunner.

When Lady Brunner commissioned me to paint this double portrait, Sir Felix was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Which meant that the only reference I had of him for the painting was a small sepia passport style photograph. He was too ill to even see me, let alone pose for a picture. Together with a friend I posed Lady Brunner and did a rough colour sketch showing the layout I proposed, but realised I couldn’t do the finished painting well enough without a sight of Sir Felix himself. Fortuitously, a few weeks later Lady Brunner phoned to say that Sir Felix was well enough to meet me, but couldn’t be photographed. He was also frightened of strangers, so would I, she asked, pretend to be the gardener, the new butler, or the man from the National Trust! Knowing nothing about butlering, and only a little about gardening I chose the latter profession and was able to spend the fifteen or so minutes studying Sir Felix’s face and hands -enough to be able to eventually complete the final portrait.

The gardens of Greys Court are fabulous at this time of year – especially the wisterias.

Although I’m mainly working on a trio of important miniatures for the New York Historical Society right now, I did manage to finish this miniature the other day. It’s of an old mechanic and I hope to exhibit it at the MASF show in Florida next January.

Having got the last of the water out of my cruiser - ‘Marsh Mundy’ – apart from a small recurring leak in the storage compartment, my young friend and I took it out for a spin up to Wargrave and Shiplake on Saturday afternoon. The weather was perfect. We stopped for a while at Paul and Debbie’s house where Paul showed us his new white rabbits.

There are two of them, they have lovely blue eyes and will soon be amazing the Edinburgh Festival audience by popping out of – or disappearing from – Paul’s top hat. Currently they are housed in a splendid three-storey rabbit hutch.

Taking advantage of this prolonged spell of glorious weather, on Bank Holiday Monday I decided on a picnic by the creek – just past Temple Island and about a mile above Henley Bridge. But I hadn’t reckoned on the strong wind that day. With white horses rearing up all over the river I found it impossible to moor there as the boat was rapidly blown backwards. Nevertheless I eventually managed to moor on the other side of the river with the help of a kind chap on the towpath.

Maybe I’m destined to perambulate backwards on the river this year. I say this because, after fixing my electric motor to the back of the dinghy I attempted a short trip, but couldn’t manage to get out of the Mill Pool. The boat just wouldn’t do what I wanted it to and only seemed to go backwards!. Finally, exasperated, I tied it up and tried to find out what was wrong. The answer was that the engine had moved around the shaft and was stuck at a 45 degree angle. No wonder it was all over the place.

Talking of feeling foolish, yesterday I went to Toad Hall Garden Centre to buy a few plants and earthenware pots. Spying a really nice stone edifice with little animals carved around the base, I lifted the very heavy top part, which was only about two inches deep, and asked the owner of the garden centre, who just happened to be nearby, what type of plants would grow best in such a shallow pot. “That’s a bird bath, Sir,” he said with a wry smile, probably thinking to himself ‘silly old sod!’

Frolicking in the Easter Sunshine

2011-04-26T11:19:00.001+01:00

Today five little Canada Geese were born in our garden. They’ll be gone by the evening, but I managed to take a few photographs this morning. Gently nurtured by their mother the male goose kept guard – and hissed at anyone who came too near.

Luckily I was photographing two of my great nieces – Genevieve and Annabel – for their miniatures at the time so they had a chance to see the chicks, and as Genevieve’s ambition is to be a professional travel photographer, she took a whole lot of photographs

On Easter Sunday all the Mundy family gathered at Val’s for the day before going for lunch. This year we chose The Maltsters Arms as our venue. It’s an old pub just next to the church in Greys village. As the weather has remained hot and sunny throughout the weekend we could all sit outside at a long table.

And here’s Evie, chatting to her cousin Ellie.

After a really good lunch we drove the couple of miles back to Val’s, where we played ‘the money game’. Throughout the year I save up all my 5 and 1 pence pieces (due to inflation this year I added nine £2 coins and nine £1 coins to make it worth while) and scatter them around the garden (avoiding the flower and vegetable beds) for the children to find on the word ‘go’. It’s a game I started when I used to come home on leave from the Far East. Originally played for my nephews and niece, it has now become a family tradition for their nine children. The youngest, Kate, collected the most. Here she is with a daisy chain she made.

This time of year gives me the opportunity to take a picture of all the family together. I’m normally mot in it, but with the use of the timer on my camera, managed to sneak in this year. Mind you it took 4 attempts to achieve this, as the few seconds the camera gave me wasn’t enough time to race back to the group. But finally, with a superhuman sprint I managed it. So here we all are in dappled light under the apple tree with an array of fallen blossoms on the ground framing the photograph.

Tea in the garden on such a balmy day was a real treat. The boys went up the lane to play football in the field, while the girls stayed in the garden. Here are five of them – Kate, Ellie, Genevieve, Annabel and Charlotte.

Because spring has been so marvellous this year with wall to wall sunshine, all the flowers are blooming early - especially the bluebells. So on Wednesday last I walked through the woods at Greys Court where they were thick on the ground.

Over the years I’ve taken thousands of photographs on digital cameras, and they are all still stored on my computer – well over a quarter of a million! The other day I installed a programme called Picassa. Amongst its many applications it has a facility for face recognition. It somehow finds all the people I’ve photographed over the years and asks me to name them. Then it automatically plonks each face in its relevant folder – magic! It even recognised my face at 15 years old in black and white and added it to my own folder amongst the more grizzly older ones. It’s not finished scanning the files yet, but so far I see it’s found 186 Rolf Harris faces. Trouble is there are so many people who I recognize instantly but for the life of me can’t remember their names.

Talking of Rolf, I called in to see him and Alwen last Saturday morning. I’ve said it before but he is by far the most prolific artist I know. He’s working on about six paintings currently. Here he is against a fascinating willow tree in the garden.

Just to bore you one more time, this is my renovated dinghy finally ready for launching tomorrow. Cross your fingers it is totally watertight once more.

Yesterday evening Jane, Brian and I went up the river on my boat. Just past Leander Club we saw Jilly and Bob so stopped to pick them up. Tragically as Jilly clambered aboard she dropped her mobile phone into the river! It's now under 12 feet of water, and as the battery will probably last for another few days does anyone know of a diver in the Henley area? If so we know approximately where the phone is and while he's under the water we could ring it as it still works - or did last night.

Water,Water. Everywhere

2011-04-20T11:39:00.001+01:00

I haven’t been lucky with boats this year. Last Saturday, it being a lovely day, my young friend and I (she in combat gear) decided to give my big boat it’s first clean of the season. Armed with a variety of brushes, buckets and cleaning materials we undid the tonneau cover. All looked fine. That is until we looked into the engine compartment, where to our horror we found it was immersed in nearly two feet of water. The same, but not quite as deep, in the cabin and storage section. Two hours spent bailing hardly lowered the water, so after a perfunctorily clean I arranged for Ivan, the boatman, to collect ‘Marsh Mundy’ and take it down river to his workshop to pump out the water and see what damage had occurred. (We had already removed 5 large bin bags full of ruined clothing, chairs, barbecue sets, crockery etc and taken it to the tip). The water must have got in after the snow melted in the winter and possibly due to a leaky ‘Houdini Hatch’ directly over the cabin. Anyway the boat’s just been returned and hopefully if I leave the cover off for the next couple of days – and if this glorious weather lasts - it may start to dry, especially in the carpeted cabin.

Talking of glorious weather, this blossom in the lock-keepers garden echoes the whole countryside at the moment. On Sunday morning I visited friends who live on the Hennerton backwater. Over the years, from a completely bare site, they have made the most beautiful garden. This is a general view looking down towards the backwater.

In days gone by I imagine there must have been lavish riverside parties because this original bathing hut remains at the bottom of the garden and would have been used in the modest Edwardian times.

Just across the stream is an island, and at this time of year the Loddon lilies are at their best. They don’t last long but right now sprinkle the island everywhere.

Back in the garden I spied this gypsy caravan tucked away in a corner. (I must make use of this in a painting sometime).

More views of the garden. Don’t the blue pots contrast beautifully with the spring greenery? No doubt as summer approaches they’ll be filled with flowers.

As its ‘that’ time of year my painting schedule was interrupted last week by the need to spend 3 days compiling my tax affairs. What a bore! But at least it’s done early this year. My cleaning lady left me recently ‘to spend more time with her family’ I think, so I put an ad in our local paper – ‘The Henley Standard’. What a good little newspaper that is, because in response to just one tiny classified I’ve received over 25 replies. Times must be tough.

I called to see Paul and Debbie yesterday. Paul is recovering from the hernia operation he underwent a couple of days ago but is looking fit and well. It was lovely sitting on their verandah and watching the occasional boat glide by in the glistening sunshine. The pair of swans that annually build in their creek have almost completed their nest this year. Here’s the pen putting the finishing touches to it. Unfortunately one of the swans that regularly nest in our garden was found dead last week. The Swanline people who came to collect it said that it had been killed by a fox.

Hooray… my dinghy will be in the water next Wednesday – a bit late for Easter, but it has to be varnished a number of times before launching. This is how it was the other day with Trevor Green, who did all the work on it,

Spring Has Sprung

2011-04-13T11:28:00.005+01:00

What a beautiful spring we are having this year. As I write this I’m sitting on my balcony with the scent of roses wafting up from the garden, accompanied by the rushing sound of the sluices from the mill races in the middle of our lawn. From my vantage point I can see one of the two Canada geese that have nested here. Soon the chicks will be hatched and no doubt will litter the river banks much to the annoyance of the riparian occupants.

On Sunday, Val, my young friend and I drove over to visit Joanne and her daughter Nicola in Bampton. Nicola, who loves boats and rivers, will inherit my little wooden dinghy someday, but it will depend which of us decays more rapidly - me or Marsh Midget! It’s almost repaired, and hopefully will be ready to launch next week.

The weather was not only balmy on Sunday - it was the hottest day of the year to date. Not a cloud in the sky so we dined alfresco in Joanne’s garden.

Later, Nicola took us for a drive in deepest Cotswold country – Lechlade, the source of the Thames; Kelmscott, home of the designer and artist William Morris, and to Eastleach, scene of a murder earlier this month. Some of the hamlets we visited appeared not to have changed one iota over the centuries.

Saturday was a lovely day too. My young friend and I visited Beale Park near Pangbourne. A little train took us around the park and gardens. One of the aims of Beale Park is to care and conserve rare and endangered species, and to play an active role in many national and international programmes through breeding initiatives in the wild and in captivity. Here are a few of the animals and birds we saw.

And with hair windswept I'm having a go at 'pig-riding'

On the way home we stopped at Streatley. This lovely little town in Berkshire features The Swan, a very upmarket hotel and eatery.

This barge, moored nearby, caters for special parties. In days gone by I occasionally moored my boat next to the hotel overnight, and as long as we dined in the restaurant. had free use of their showers (nescessary with a boat with no shower facility).

Workwise this week I’ve started work on a variety of paintings and drawings. Here’s a small painting I’m planning to include in a book on Trompe L’Oeil painting I hope to complete in a year or two.