Admire the Scenery!

I was on holiday in Taormina, Sicily, when I took this photograph. This is a group of Americans, a tour party from a Cruise Ship. I know this because after I took the shot I moved around and sat behind them.

The group on the right was from New York, I found this by listening in to their conversation though this isn’t hard, you guys from New York can be, how you say? LOUD.

They were in revolt with their Tour Guide, not seeing the point of having to trail all around this beautiful Amphitheater, when they could just sit in the middle and admire the scenery.

As the rest of their party went down and then to the side and then up and then down I heard them laughing, my wife said that they were similar to me, grumpy!

I’ve done a lot of running this year, this way, that way, up there, down here.

It’s taken a while but I’m finally learning to sit still and admire the scenery.

 

Words, don’t come easy!

You go away for what seems like a few minutes and before you know it, months have passed by.

Okay so here’s a brief summary of where I’m at and what I’m doing at the moment.

I’ve started on the Yoga again in an attempt to get some structure into my life, much stretching is involved. Much stretching and gasping for air I should say, just a little every day. This is my third week or rather it’s my twenty-first consecutive day.

I can do one exercise brilliantly on my left side and then I’m virtually useless on my right side, another exercise and it’s the other way around.

When I have kept this up for a year I promise to post some pictures but not before.

Talking of pictures, I spent quite a lot of time in the Summer playing around with Pixels, this time instead of absolute abstracts I sort of left the image intact, you can see what I mean below.

First up, this is a football team photo, Liverpool FC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there’s a picture  from the Hudson which I took myself.

 

 

 

I’ll be making changes to my website in the coming days so keep checking there to see what I’m up to?

Also, I’m one of those people who has always wanted to write a book but has never gotten round to doing it, until now.

I signed up to National November Writing Month or NANOWRIMO for short, the plan is to write 50,000 words in the month of November, like I say that’s the plan. The good news is that I’m on target to hit 25,000 words tomorrow which is half way stage.

Don’t ask me what the book’s about, it’s changing by the minute, I guess It started out as a fly on the wall story closely linked to yours truly. Since that time however there’s been a murder, people with guns, some sexual dilly dallying and now the central character has been bashed on the head and kidnapped.

There’s not much more to my life at the moment unless I include that we’re getting a dog, a laboradoodle to be precise. We’re calling her Skye, she comes to live with us when she’s eight weeks old, here’s a sneak preview for you.

 

 

 

 

 

That’s about it for the moment, if you need me you know where to find me, in the meantime thanks so much for following.

This is me http://ow.ly/73g9x and this i

This is me http://ow.ly/73g9x and this is what I do http://ow.ly/73gd2

Stuff of mine, simple really…. http://

Stuff of mine, simple really…. http://ow.ly/6ZfPu

Christmas!

Have you started to see Christmas related products in the shops yet? Does it get you down? It’s already fast approaching and it doesn’t seem so long since we were here this time last year, that’ll be Christmas!

I’ve had four foreign trips this year, starting with New Year in New York..

What can I say, you either love it or you hate it, I’m in the former group.

The New Year came and went, me in my new career, this thing that I do, working for myself that kind of thing. When my Wife suggested we have a short break in Spain I jumped at the chance, one week in Malaga, during which time it rained and rained, not on the day I photographed this magnificent life-size galleon I might add.

August came and off I went to Cavtat in Croatia, really hot here, too hot, could it be too hot?

A week ago although now it seems longer  I ended up In Malta…

I also spent some time at Shrewsbury Folk Festival along the way, sold a few pictures, went to a few concerts, did this that and the other and started to read the stories featuring Dave Robicheaux written by James Lee Burke.

Now Christmas is around the corner and I’m a year older, I think that now is the time to make better plans, set some goals and make sure the next twelve months have something to show other than a few holiday snaps.

Jumble

Today I attended an appointment at Hospital, to be honest I was dreading it, I thought it might be some bad news, I was wrong, so I wrote this poem, of sorts… I’ve called it ‘Jumble’ because what goes through your head, thoughts etc at times like this, well it’s just a jumble, hard to make any sense of it until it does just that, makes sense!

The sound of rain dancing on the window pane woke me this morning, fast ‘patter pat patter’ noises on the other side of the bedroom curtain where the window met the world.

The bedroom was dark except for a chink of light from an outside street lamp that managed to press itself through the sides of the curtain, it flickered off and then on again. This simple pattern observed by few less others wake in houses near with the ‘patter pat patter’ noise tormenting their window. An orchestral symphony of noise as would grace a John Cage Concert stage, and the light flicks off and on.

The moment between sleep and consciousness gives rise to a ‘moment’ suspended in time and space. Who am I? in subterranean sleep or waking and breaking through the dullness clean and true. I don’t recall the waking thought except to say that it made me feel as though the weight of the world was resting on me.

The sun did not show itself and if it did I do not remember it, the rain continued though more restrained and there I sat and waited my turn in corridors of blue and grey with the smell of burnt toast invading my nostrils.

Others like me had come to hear whether the weight of the world would crush us down, we didn’t speak to one another nor compare notes. The carpet held our eyes, of course I made jokes to my wife, whispering ‘rubbish’ to her ears.

A woman unknown to me sat opposite, she had gone before and called indeed with heavy brow sat motionless to my left, concern, anguish, fear painted across her face. The door opened and beckoning arm in her direction pointed, firmly shut with poorly finished paint work for me to gaze upon.

This fairytale of life behind that door was read, tests and trials and specialists spoke and gave their decisions for my anonymous friend to deal the next card and the next and the next.

Re born I would say, face lit up that way, a thousand creases and heavy heart lifted by just the message that had been written. I saw in her my face reflected with my heavy heart ready and waiting to joke and jest! What chance my news is better than that?

Beyond the door no special secret, no fabulous machine it was just a bed.  Many questions a man from Poland asked, his skill not mine to ascertain whether the future ‘patter pat patter’ noises would see me smile, turn over and go back to sleep.  Or would I wake with the weight of the world on my head?

I’m working more and more in pixelation

I’m working more and more in pixelation, simple clean lines, check Altered Images on the site http://ow.ly/6Sv4a

Contemplating offfering much smaller pri

Contemplating offfering much smaller prints, lower cost, what do you think?

New pieces being added this week, check

New pieces being added this week, check it out but tell me also your thoughts? http://www.conalart.com

Get this, using my picture, it’s on the

Get this, using my picture, it’s on their cover http://ow.ly/6nukC Pretty cool of them I say, but then I would… well done @RedShiftRadioUK