…but celebrations on hold The picture which heads this little post shows a painting I did of my wife Dido’s mews house in Paddington, in the heart of London – the first home we shared at the outset of our thirty-two years together – and our current home, here on Finca Carmel. The contrast inContinue reading “30 YEARS ON…”
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THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS…
…DRAWN DARKLY Another year passes, another Hanukkah arrives. For those unfamiliar with the story of the festival, I explain quite a lot about it here, in last year’s post. The reason it held a particular attraction to me as a child was – apart from the delicious foods, fun rituals and of course, the presentsContinue reading “THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS…”
DRAWING LIGHT AND SHADE…
and the dramatic potential of the humble pencil… My recent post on line drawing was so well received that I thought I would follow it up with this look at a set of my more studied drawings from 1996. The images here will be familiar to some, as they form the basis of one ofContinue reading “DRAWING LIGHT AND SHADE…”
HANNAH – ten years gone
and her dignified death As I pressed the “Publish” button for this post, exactly ten years ago to the day, the hour and the minute, my mother Hannah died. Knowing the exact moment of a loved-one’s death well before it happens is a dubious privilege, which until very recently in human history was the soleContinue reading “HANNAH – ten years gone”
AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO MAKING THE ULTIMATE BEER-NUT…
…for beer nuts (and others) ALMONDS FRIED IN OLIVE OIL WITH SEA-SALT We grow three types of almond here on our finca in southern Spain, including the indigenous (earthy) “fina” , the (scented, sweet) “desmayo” (similar to the Californian nut, and what is typically seen on the shelves of north European and British supermarkets andContinue reading “AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO MAKING THE ULTIMATE BEER-NUT…”
YEARNING FOR THE TUBE…
…and a nostalgia for drab normality A fact of the current restrictions upon our normal lives is at once curious, obvious and virtually universal; that being the loss of, and consequent longing for, normal, boring, and even tedious everyday experience. Missing erstwhile unremarkable pleasures of life, like going to the pub, restaurants and concerts isContinue reading “YEARNING FOR THE TUBE…”
A birthday surprise for Dido
a PICTORIAL celebration of my WIFE DIDO’S sixtieth birthday* 2020 is a particularly auspicious year for my wife Dido and I, for, not only do we both turn 60 this year, on New Year’s Eve we will have been married for 30 years. As a rule, we don’t pay too much attention to birthdays orContinue reading “A birthday surprise for Dido”
Three different “daddies” for the daddy-less child…
My “first career”, MODELLING rubber products and other things… In an earlier post I wrote about my wife Dido’s work as a model during her time in the ballet. What may be much more surprising for many of my readers and followers, is that I too had a brief career in front of the HasselbladsContinue reading “Three different “daddies” for the daddy-less child…”
DREAM-IN’SPIRE-ATION
OXFORD VIEWED from my IPHONE One of the silver linings to our current regime of semi-internment is our daily walk around our local park, and our subsequent reacquaintance with one of world’s genuinely iconic (a much overused and abused term) urban views. Fortunately for us, our local green space is South Park (no relation toContinue reading “DREAM-IN’SPIRE-ATION”
SMOKING OVER THE SMOKED SALMON, DURING THE BLITZ…
…and getting things in proportion Since the coronavirus crisis has taken hold, like the editors of The Archers*, I’ve been agonising over whether or not I should keep this a virus-free zone? Then, as often happens to me when planning these pieces, I was distracted / motivated by something unexpected. In this case I wasContinue reading “SMOKING OVER THE SMOKED SALMON, DURING THE BLITZ…”
