Here I am contemplating a week that has involved too much washing up, almost too much walking,
and lots of birthday cards, birthday messages and presents. (Notice I don't say too many, just in case you decide to economise in that direction, next year!)
 Thank you so much for the cards, the messages and the presents.

It has been a while since you have seen my window next to the sinks, where I spend two days a week, helping to fund my life as an artist.  Last week at the sinks got a little hectic at times, but was not without its compensations.  Here is a birthday bunch of flowers from all the chefs, pictured in juxtaposition with a speckled banana and the necessary plunger.  Thanks chefs, that was a lovely start to my celebrations.

Another good thing to happen last Thursday was having to pause from scrubbing the pans every so often, to do something far more rewarding.......create Halloween designs for Juliette to carve.  I wish I could have joined in the carving too, but I had to spend my work time washing the pots as fast as I could, to enable the chefs to keep feeding the hoards who decided Thursday lunch was the time to eat.

Some time ago, I decided that I would like to spend my birthday walking the Seven Sisters again.  Then, after a night in Eastbourne, walking back to our car on the last piece of the South Downs Way we had yet to complete, the inland section between Alfriston and Eastbourne.
I don't know whether it is because I live in Nutbourne, next to Southbourne, and just down the road from Westbourne that I am finding Eastbourne rather fascinating.  This is the second time we have stayed there in a year, and I am looking forward to staying there again, perhaps combined with a trip to the theatre, and not another trip over the Seven Sisters!

Well, let's start at the beginning.  Our first stop on my birthday was at The York House Hotel in Eastbourne, where we left our case.  http://www.bw-yorkhouse.co.uk/  As we had to set out that morning at 7am, I had packed all my gifts to unwrap later.  As a result, the case was far heavier for a night's stay than when we had packed it for a week in Corfu!  The receptionist almost managed to not look too startled as they dragged it behind their desk.  Then onto a charming little village called Litlington where we left the car, and picked up the South Downs Way

Here is proof that we were there, not bad going really for 10 o'clock on a Friday morning!
Luckily this is not a close-up, so you can't see the increasing lines on my ageing face.  You can see a white horse behind me, but no white hairs!  (Courtesy of Jimmy and Billy at Garbo's, Southsea)

We climbed steadily up until we reached the river Cuckmere, where we exchanged the word 'steadily' for 'steeply'.  There is a saying 'no gain without pain' which springs to mind.  The views that you see all the time on this walk are incredible, as are the steepness of the ascents and descents.

It has been really hard not to add all the photos I took during our walk.  On the one below I love how the 2 walkers really help to show the sheer scale of this beautiful stretch of coast.  Don't take my word for it, grab your boots and see for yourself.  But do take water and snacks.

One benefit of being on our own, and not part of the South Downs annual walk was that there were far less people around.  When we reached the Birling Gap this time, it was not over-populated.  Not only were we able to visit the loo without queuing, but we also enjoyed beer and crisps and a welcome sit down, outside in the sunshine.
 At this point, I was still glad that we were doing this walk.

And then we had to leave these comforts behind.  When you leave the Birling Gap, you start what is really a rather hard slog to Eastbourne.  A steep, well-populated climb to Belle Tout, then the crowds really thin out.  Most return to their cars, leaving the hardy few to carry on to Eastbourne.
Of course there are still some amazing view to see, I love the Beachy Head lighthouse at the bottom of the cliffs, but after having walked the Seven Sisters, we were very excited to see Eastbourne on the horizon, and even more excited to reach the Pavilion Cafe for another welcome drink, tea!
Normal tea for me, and green in a glass for Mr Cooper ( he is developing refined tastes in his sixties) 

The worst part of the day was walking along the front for two miles, to our hotel.  Two miles!  This was when I had ceased to be glad that we were doing this walk!
When we reached it, we were pleased that we had opted for a dinner, bed and breakfast package.
 Mr Cooper removed his boots and flatly refused to leave the hotel till the next morning.  I removed my boots and proceeded to open cards and gifts, then spent a happy hour or two reading whilst drinking Prosecco (thanks Juliette and Colin) and stuffing down Champagne truffles (thanks again, you two!)


What a difference a day makes.....
Yesterday we were having lunch in the sunshine, and here we are now, somewhere on our return walk, unable to see for more than a few feet.  Here is Mr Cooper making sure we are heading into the thick fog in the right direction.

After a couple of hours, the fog lifted, and when we entered Jevington (another charming village) we could actually see, which was handy.  This was a plaque on one of the houses there. 
The only thing that was puzzling to me was if it was created in 1972, why had it taken me so long to discover it? (1990)
Anyway, it quite rightly deserves its blue plaque.  And it is no bad store to have a couple of tins of condensed milk on your shelves, already boiled and ready to go.

When we reached Litlington, it was to find that the Eastbourne marathon was taking place, and the runners had completed 16 miles by the time they arrived there.  We made tracks to the wonderful pub there, the Plough and Harrow.  https://www.ploughandharrowlitlington.co.uk/  There we were joined by several runners after my own heart.  As we sat there supping, many runners were buying pints and packets of crisps, to fortify themselves for the final 10 miles.  Perhaps I could do this marathon stuff, I thought.  Perhaps I had better keep on practising my pint drinking and crisp eating first, then attempt the running bit when that part is perfected.

Perhaps seeing the Banoffi Pie inspired me to make a rare pudding myself.  Rare in two ways.
 I hardly ever make a dessert unless we are entertaining (well, we are usually entertaining, but I mean when we have guests round) and the pudding I intended to make was from a very old recipe, and required a little leap of faith when you read the ingredients
What can I say but the Marmalade Cheese Pudding was a triumph, and will definitely be part of the Green Donkey Cookbook (You know, the one I am supposed to be writing.)
Thank you Aunty Sally, for providing the recipe.  I include it below, for all you fellow adventurous cooks out there.  If you try it, you will realise that it is definitely a recipe where the end result is greater than the sum of its parts.

Well, that is my birthday over for another year.  Next year I will be living in another house and a slightly different location.  But hopefully somewhere where we are able to pop over to Eastbourne for a bit of variety.
 Do make sure you are getting enough variety in your week, especially now the clocks have changed.  Perhaps try something new, as long as it is legal, of course.  I am going to my second spinning class in half an hour, which is providing variety in quite an extreme way.*
Why don't you do something more pleasurable, like baking?
 Fun to do and delicious to eat.......and to share.
Happy sharing in the week ahead, and I look forward to seeing you all soon.
 I leave you here with a treasured recipe, to share with you, and for you to also share. 
(Frank, in the recipe, is my uncle Frank; who is married to my Mum's youngest sister Sally.

A 7" pastry flan case works a treat.  I crisped the meringue for 10 minutes in the oven.
*Sadly spinning on a bike, not spinning with wool.

This week there is a mixture of scenic views and sunny smiles, plus a touch of culture.  

Also, a spectacular array of empty bottles.  Well, we have been on holiday! 

Two weeks ago I was visiting the West Dean 'Apple Event', which was a tad short on actual apples.

I found this photo shortly afterwards of John and Sam 'enjoying' the Chili Weekend at West Dean, many years ago.  I think it was on John's 12th or 13th birthday, and I was determined to take a picture of the two of them smiling together.

Not an easy undertaking....first they didn't even want to share the same bench.  Anyway, they responded to the instructions 'Just act like you like each other!' 

Returning to year 2016, on Friday 7th October, Mr Cooper and myself got up to pack our suitcases, and then the car, ready to set off for Gatwick, looking forward to a week away in Corfu.  We had an evening flight, landing around 11pm, then onto a minibus to our hotel next to the sea, the Coral Beach Hotel, in Roda Village.
After an hour driving through the darkness, we saw our first fantastic sight in Corfu....the bar was still open!

It wasn't until the next morning we realised how wonderful our surroundings were, and that Albania
was just over the water.  The sun was shining and we set out to find a place to lunch, one with squid on the menu.  We decided not to eat at the first place we found, as they had taken the idea of a 'table with a sea view' a little too literally!

 We did find a most beautiful Greek Taverna, all arty and blue inside, with naive paintings of fish.
It wasn't at all bad from the outside, either.

Mr Cooper and I had decided that we should keep our lunches light and healthy, and our evening meals too.  So I ordered grilled squid and salad, to following my welcome cool beer.  The waiter suggested that a Corfian speciality might fit the bill for Mr Cooper, so he ordered a spicy stew of rock salmon with chips.  Why not have a few grilled sardines to share first?
 Oh well, why not, we are on holiday. Better order a bottle of retsina, too!
The sardines were delicious!

After a couple of days of sunshine and squid, with the occasional tentacle of grilled octopus to ring the changes, the sun disappeared as rain took over.  At first just slightly, then torrentially.
We were now having to lunch behind a plastic curtain, which was spattered with rain droplets.
We kept our spirits up, however, particularly when I was introduced to another way to enjoy retsina whilst on Corfu.  Drink it with Sprite.........Wow!

After a couple of stormy days Mr cooper and I were glad to get out and about again, and we decided to turn right when leaving the hotel, and walk to the top right hand side of the island.
On the way we noticed that after the storms, some of the stones had migrated from the beach to form  a  decorative element on the beach umbrellas.

After walking for a couple of hours,  we did indeed reach our destination, which was picture perfect.
There is Albania looking very beautiful and very close, on the horizon. 
I did manage to keep a rain-soaked dead sheep out of the image, the poor animal providing a stark contrast to its surroundings.

The days flew by, being filled as they were with such a sense of purpose.  For example, 'Where shall we wander to today?'  'Nearly finished this book now!'  'Where do you fancy eating tonight?' 'Would you pass the suntan lotion please' 'Are you sure you need another banana ice cream?' (The latter being a frequent comment from Mr Cooper to me, and the answer was always 'Yes, I'm on holiday!')

The Dolphin Taverna became our most favourite place to eat.  We ate by the beach in the daytime, nearly by the beach behind the plastic curtain in the rainy daytime, and inside at night. 
Here is Mr Cooper, waiting for his light, lunchtime snack (bread with garlic butter, beef cooked in red wine, and homemade chips) drinking his favourite aperitif, wearing a holiday T-shirt.

As I waited for my light snack, (garlic bread with tomato salad), I did my only artwork of the week.  Even then, I was so relaxed I initially spelt retsina wrong.
It is not only me who looks happy in this photo...my dinosaur necklace is positively glowing!

Our light lunch became less so, as Nikki* brought our food to us, together with a big brimming bowl filled with a hearty stew of leeks, tomatoes and sweet potatoes, the food she had cooked for herself and her family for lunch that day.
Thanks Nikki, totally delicious, but after that, sleep was the order of the day!  ( Or rather, the recovery time between our late lunch, and our final evening meal on Corfu.)

Refreshed by a couple of hours snoozing by the pool, without eating any banana ice cream,we made our way along the beach to visit our second most favourite place, the beautiful blue Taverna called Aphos, for our last evening meal.
We got there early to watch the sun go down in Corfu for the last time.  Well, for us this year, but there is always next year to look forward to.

Beautiful sunset, crispy courgette balls, grilled gilt-head bream, garlic butter and Mr Cooper.
 What more could I need for a perfect evening.  Retsina, of course!

And for our very last day, and our very last lunch by the  beach, we had to visit the Dolphin Taverna.
Mr Cooper sampled Corfian moussaka for the first time, and I ordered squid and salad for the 4th time. No huge bowls of stew were delivered with our order, but at the end, a huge and beautifully ripe Sharon fruit, from Nikki's garden.  I love these, but never eat them in England as they have to be so ripe they are positively bursting with flavour, as this one was.

It was so sad to leave Corfu, and all that we had enjoyed there.  Not only the sun, the sea, and the cuisine, but the friendliness.  We said goodbye to Nikki and Nikos with huge hugs and kisses, and left holding a bottle of red wine they gave us, to drink at Christmas.  We will, and we will raise a toast to Nikki, Nikos and Floyd. I might even sneak in some squid as a cheeky little pre-turkey starter.......

Back to England, and to pick up the reins of a lifestyle where work has its firm place.
To me, the word 'work'** means  time spent creating art, like what I do in my shed (and in the kitchen, the dining room and the sitting room, says Mr Cooper resignedly.....)

Here is an older art work having reached it's destination at Homerton College in Cambridge last weekend.
It was unwrapped on a very appropriate day, and here is my beautiful niece Rowan, halfway through unwrapping the Basking Shark, on her birthday!  Happy Birthday Rowan, and Happy Year Ahead!

Another creation is now fulfilling its function.  I knitted these garments for Henry, starting them when he had arrived in the world this Spring.  And here is Henry, now at 6 months old, looking absolutely gorgeous sporting autumn colours.  Time to get some more wool for the next creation.
You look wonderful Henry, lots of love from your Nana Sue.

There is also lots of artwork to make, three projects to be completed asap.  I love earning money through commissions, just not that good at starting them!
Here I am, the day after returning to Corfu, looking back at this year's significant art work, which was accepted for the Stride Exhibition at The Oxmarket, Chichester.

And I leave you now, looking forward to the work I have to do, and also to the big changes that me and Mr Cooper now have to make.  New house, new garden, new shed!
I hope you are able to look forward to changes in your life too, with excitement.  They always mean saying goodbye to something, which is sad.
 But there is always that most positive word to use to greet the future, hello!
Looking forward to greeting you all again, in a week or so's time.
See you then, take care, just off to make some changes!

*It also means doing other things to earn money, mainly washing up at The Greyhound, and cleaning for friends.
 Mr Cooper looks forward to the day when I clean our house!  Managing to avoid that, so far........

As we have now entered a season of mellow fruitfulness, son John and myself decided to visit the Apple Affair at West Dean, on Sunday.  It was our first visit to that particular event for many years.
It was also an accidental visit, as originally we were going to experience the 'Countryside Weekend' at Singleton,  http://www.wealddown.co.uk/events/autumn-countryside-show/ only to find when we arrived that we had got the wrong weekend!

We enjoyed quite a lot of the Apple Affair, but both decided that the 'apple content' of the event is significantly less than it used to be.

Therefore my photos of the event show significantly less apple images than they would have done.
I think our visit to the vegetable gardens and greenhouses was the highlight of the show.
Here is my favourite autumn flower, Nerine bowdenii, and one I have not yet managed to grow.
Perhaps in my next garden?

And here we are now inside the greenhouse, looking at some bizarre cucumbers.
 I think John is mentally converting them to be pickles in a jar.

After such a mellow start to a sunny Sunday, we returned home chilled and relaxed.  I made use of such a warm afternoon to complete a few 'workshop/shed' jobs, as it is now mighty cold out there when there is no sunshine.

The 'Basking Shark in Cornwall' was packaged carefully, ready to start its journey away from the sea and into Cambridge, where it will meet its new owner, my youngest niece Rowan.  If it hasn't already arrived today, it should be swimming in tomorrow.

I then completed the next section of my coat of arms, which I am designing and painting on Monday afternoons at Trinity in Winchester. http://trinitywinchester.org.uk/
My four most favourite black cats have now been given eyes.  They are, from left to right, Commander Cuddles, Thomas (deceased), Angela (deceased) and Lord Snooty.  Cuddles and Snootles are two beautiful kittens belonging to the oldest male Hofman.  Cuddles can often be found disappearing into the bin in search of food, and Snootles is an elegant purring machine. (Cuddles could soon be called 'El Tubbins', but not when Sam is around, as he is insistent they are called Cuddles and Snooty.)

Then I attached hangers to my ink drawing 'Naked And Surrounded By Life'.  I entered it for the Stride Open Art Competition, which is a yearly event at The Oxmarket, and it has been accepted.  Third time lucky for this picture this year!  http://oxmarket.com/stride-open-art-2016/

The exhibition runs from the to the 11th to the 23rd October . Sadly I will not be able to attend the Private View, as me and Mr Cooper will then be enjoying a lovely evening meal in sun-kissed Corfu.

Thinking of which, I must away to the library soon, to stock up on reading matter for when I am relaxing on the beach/by the pool.  I will obtain a Kindle for when I go to The Falklands, but until then, I do like that old fashioned building that is full of free books to borrow, and helpful people.

Last time I was there, I borrowed the book below, and was really pleased I had done so.

A very different take on a slice of life encompassing The Holocaust, surrounded also by an imagined outcome from such an horrific time in history.

Returning to a much different note, another commission has come my way, and one with a difference.

You may remember the one I completed for Nigel White and his Mission Tent.

Now Nigel and Jennifer have purchased a real poppet of a ledge wagon made for a preacher.
My next commission from them is to combine images of this beautiful wagon, their mission tent, plus a  tall neon cross, for  reasons that will slowly unfurl.

That one will have to wait its turn however, as my next significant artwork is a portrait of two lovely dogs, Millie and Bertie, plus flowers, crucifixes and Frieda Kahlo with her monkey.
Sadly Millie died early this week, a big loss to Jan, especially as she had lived for 21 years.
So a bright golden halo for such a sweetheart will also appear.
I am sure several of you already know them, and here they are for you all.
Millie is on the left, and Bertie the right.

I hope Millie has found a wonderful doggy heaven where she can eat all she wants, and run round with many four-legged friends.


But as I spend today packing for my week in Corfu with Mr Cooper, the only art work I will be taking with me will be far more light-hearted, as befits holiday-mode.  A sketch for another tattoo for a chef, featuring walking rabbits, gym, golf, and that other important element in the life of a chef, beer!

Well I might not see any walking rabbits when I am away, gym visits and golf I will totally ignore, but hopefully a cold beer in the warm sunshine will be on the cards.  Not too many, of course, or I might be seeing those walking rabbits!

We are not on holiday every day, but try to do a little something in the week to give you a 'holiday feel'.  If stuck for ideas, just put on your swimwear, sit in a warm bath clutching a colourful cocktail.  To make it more real, surround the bath by your friends on recliners, also clutching cocktails.  You can take it in turns to 'slip into the pool'.  (Or, just put on bright clothes and visit a cocktail bar!)

Looking forward to seeing you all on my return, hopefully a little more chilled and a little more tanned, plus a little more broke!  Try to emulate the first two qualities, and avoid the last one!

Till then, have fun!