When I started to write this blog, it was to be about all the art happenings that were stopping me from writing the Green Donkey Cookery book.  This year it feels as if I need to write an additional blog to explain about all the things that are stopping me from actually writing a blog, which are in turn stopping me from writing my cookery book.
Well, here I am now, hands poised above the keyboard, a couple of fingers a little tender from when I had gathered stinging nettles earlier, to make an infusion with which to add  to my evening G and T.
 A couple of my fingers have slight puncture wounds, from gathering the blackberries that flow from our neighbours gardens, over into our own.  And lots of my fingers are painted green, because I am poised at the keyboard because I now have a two hour window of opportunity between applying the first and second coat of paint to the kitchen walls.  Are you beginning to get the picture?

Lets go back a month or so, and look at the larger things that have taken up a chunk of my time, such as a two week holiday in Corsica, and then then the smaller but also very important things, such as recent artworks, and travels to Scotland.

So lets start in Corsica, in Calvi, to be precise.

There were many things that were great about Calvi, the first being that it was only 10 minutes away from the airport.  The second was that our small apartment was lovely, and in a gorgeous garden setting.  Calvi town was not too big, with lovely waterfront restaurants plus a wonderful old town behind them, with The Citadel overlooking the town and the bay.
Here is a view from halfway up The Citadel, with part of the port area just in front, then the huge sandy beach following the coastline round.
The huge sandy beach was one of the reasons we had decided to visit Calvi.

When you enter The Citadel, you are climbing up narrow windy streets, with lots of really old dwellings on either side, before you come to the top to find the cathedral.  This photo is showing you very little of all that, but is what is called an 'arty shot'.  And, at the end of the day, that is what I am.

And here I am now after wandering through the waterfront restaurants, and pausing to enjoy a pint of chilled beer, before taking another 'arty shot'.
 Could it be that I am an artist who also likes the odd drink?

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But I think this one is my favourite, a view from our favourite beach-side restaurant, looking out over the bay.  Don't you just love those orange umbrellas?

We had a lovely two weeks in Calvi, waking up late each day then enjoying breakfast in bed, before ambling out to also enjoy a day on the beach.  Our only decisions to make were a) where to make our camp, b) where and when to eat and c) how many times do we float/snorkel in the warm sea?
Then in the evening it was a) where to eat and b) where to sit back and enjoy a drink or two in the warm evening, watching the world go by.

Another amazing thing about where we stayed was that we gained a cat for the holiday, who we called Stripey.  She appeared the first evening when we returned from our evening out, and came in with us and sat in front of the fridge.  So each night we made sure we had some Stripey food ready, and placed bets as to where she would emerge from, when we neared the apartment.  Sometimes she was up the tree, or under a car, and sometimes, sitting on the doorstep.  Sometimes she came before we went out and enjoyed some hors d'ouvres, then returned when we did to tuck into the main course.
 It was lovely to have loving cat company every night, as after her food, she settled down to spend an hour or two on my knee, purring happily.

We really enjoyed lots of things about Corsica, and Calvi in particular.  The weather was great and the food was amazing, and we would have loved to have stayed longer than two weeks.
When we got back to the UK our holiday wasn't over as we took Mum over to Portishead, to stay a few days with Mark and his family.
We tried something that I had wanted to for ages, and that was paddle-boarding.  Not as easy as it looks, although I did manage to stand up, seconds before enjoying a cooling dip in the tidal swimming pool and boating lake in Clevedon.

Having viewed the photos of me on the paddle-board, I decided that a year of very little exercise, apart from walking, was taking its toll, and having decided to launch into a dynamic fitness regime in September, we returned to Selsey where we both launched ourselves into a wartime recipe of
sausage-stuffed baked potatoes.  We did have them with a large amount of runner beans, as we returned to find we had a very large amount of runner beans in our garden.
 Perhaps next year I won't plant all the beans in the packet.....  but I will make this meal again!

In between gathering beans and harvesting courgettes, as soon as I returned it was to create two works of art for two very different exhibitions, with only a fortnight in which to do so.  The first exhibition was for Trinity, where friends, families and a few dignitaries had been invited to see what the art groups had been up to, since our exhibition at Tate Modern.  The work I created was made to show just how quickly someones home life can change from being very comfortable to extremely precarious.  I think a lot of people go through life without realising this, and sadly some people go through life without caring about this, either.

And as 'text' and 'communication' were two of the ideas behind the exhibition, it seemed apt to add
one of my screen prints which is very much about both of those, entitled 'And You're So Well Read'.
The exhibition went very well, with a steady stream of visitors, tea and cakes, and music provided by a local (and very good) ukulele band called The Shedettes.

Then two days later, it was the annual art exhibition in Selsey, run by Arts Dream Selsey.
It was touch and go as to whether my latest painting entitled 'Seagull by the Sea' would be part of the exhibition as it was only completed the day before the start of the exhibition.  Sadly I wasn't able to see the exhibition for as soon as I had dropped my paintings off, it was time to start my journey to Glasgow, to help my brother Simon who was hosting the UK Singlespeed Championships 2019. 
www.facebook.com/Singlespeed-UK-Championships...

Mr Cooper did attend the exhibition, and took a picture of my 'Blackbird' series, which were also part of the exhibition.  Hopefully next year I will be in Selsey at the time of the exhibition, not only to visit, but to help with the stewarding.  https://www.facebook.com/artsdreamselsey
 But this year I did have a lot of fun helping with a bike race instead.

My son John was coming with me to help too, so Wednesday found me driving from Selsey to Andover to pick up John and his tent, then onwards to Peterborough to spend the night with Mum.  Thursday found us back in the car but this time it was 'destination Glasgow', where we were to spend the night with Si, Nik and Lu, before we all set off for the race destination at Comrie Croft in Perthshire.  http://www.comriecroft.com/  
If you are a fan of both mountain biking and camping, then Comrie Croft is the place to be.  If you like the bike bit but would prefer glamping, excellent facilities and a fantastic cafe, then Comrie Croft is also the place to be.

When we all got there, plus Olivia and Jon, some of us set out with Simon to visit Glen Turret, the oldest Scottish distillery, to collect some prizes they had kindly donated.  Glen Turret was absolutely charming and very small, but you will have to imagine all that for the only photo I took there was of a wonderful sculpture that they had outside Glen Turret.  If you enlarge the image, the spot of red on the cow's back hoof is in fact a beautiful ladybird.

As I do spend much of my day as an artist working alone, it was great to be helping at this event....I had to do so much talking, hurrah!  On Friday it was to spend a couple of hours 'meeting and greeting' the arrivals, and telling them where to camp and sign in. It was lovely to meet again two of Simon's  Uni friends.  I hadn't seen Tim since Simon's 40th birthday party, but I usually see Michael every couple of years or so.
On Saturday morning it was good to spend another couple of hours signing people in, handing out 'goody bags' and information, to be followed by a four hour stint as a race marshall.
Here I am with fellow marshall Tim, one of Si's Uni friends.  As well as doing our job properly, there was lots of time to catch up, with much laughter.  Here we are at the end of our duties, standing just before the campsite,

And below is the campsite.  The building with the grass roof on the right had a large firepit for cooking on. And from this building we enjoyed Dhal, grilled paneer and flatbreads on Friday night (thanks Olivia and Jon, delicious) and a hog roast on Saturday which again was delicious.
The yurt to the left had the stage for the Saturday band, and the brown gazebo in front of it was a most important structure, the beer tent!
There is one thing I have found out about Singlespeed cyclists, racing like that makes them very thirsty indeed and on Saturday night I went to bed earlier than most, at 2.30am.

Then on Sunday, after packing things away, it was to reverse the journey, arriving back in Selsey on Tuesday.  And after sampling much Motorway Service Station food, I agreed with son John that MacDonald's were far better than Burger King, though neither were my foods of choice.

Sadly I knew that shortly after I returned from Scotland, me and Mr Cooper had a funeral to attend.  The last funeral I had attended was of one of my aunties, who had died, after an extremely full life, at the age of 98.  We really did feel that we were celebrating her past life.
I had known David Carson since working at St Luke's school in Southsea in 1998 and he and his partner Sue became good friends of both myself and Mr Cooper.  We enjoyed many varied jaunts together from dining out in Southsea to theatre visits, and Mr Cooper and David walked regularly together until the end of April this year.
It was with great sadness that we learnt how seriously ill David was, and four months later we were all joined in celebrating his full, but all too short life.

My thoughts and love are very much with his partner and soul-mate Sue, and all their children at this very sad time.  It was a pleasure and an honour to have been a part of their lives together.

Nobody knows what is lurking just around the corner.  It may be something wonderful, or something that will bring sadness.  With this in mind, don't dismiss the present moment by being 'too busy'.
Find some time to share good things with partners, friends and family.
And above all, try to be what David was throughout his life, and that was kind.

In the last blog, Mr Cooper endured, then enjoyed, an organised walk.  In this one, we both embark on an organised cycle ride, parts of which were very enjoyable.
We set off from Selsey, cycling along a new cycle path to Pagham nature reserve, which was our main reason for joining this ride.  One good thing was that we were definitely two of the younger riders.  One bad thing was that our destination was the Brick Kiln Garden Centre for lunch.
Now the majority of the 'no longer young' cyclists had electric bikes, so we arrived there earlier than expected at 11.30 only to find that we were too late for breakfast and too early for lunch.  There was other food available, the couple behind Mr Cooper were tucking into a huge Knickerbocker glory each, something we didn't quite fancy just then.  So just beer and crisps then.

The next day really suited us both.  It was the Selsey Gardens Open Day, so I set off at 10am on my bicycle, and Mr Cooper didn't.  This is me returning after seeing 5 fantastic gardens, in order to offload my two echiums that had cost me 50p each!  If you know your echiums, you will understand just how chuffed I was!

 

Not only did I see 16 fantastic gardens and speak to so many interesting people, I also met a blue crocodile, ate ice-cream, and bought two Rosemary plants for £1.  Such a good day.

By this time, Mr Cooper had emerged from bed ready for his appearance with the Shanty Singers in one of the gardens.  Here they all are, getting their songs in order.

They were in good voice and very well received, helping also to raise money for the First Responders.  They put a lot into each performance, as you can see from this photo of them all, nearing the end of the performance.  Being so talented comes at a price!

After all that excitement, it was nearly time for me and Mr Cooper to walk the South Downs Way in
 9 days.  Now, I didn't take as many photos as I usually do, but here they are, along with a brief description of the experience.

Day One, Seven Sisters to Alfriston.  Wet start, but dry by the time we got to the Birling Gap.
I was pleased to recognise Kidney Vetch growing alongside Armeria.

I love the Seven sisters, especially the cliffs that remind me of a huge Topic bar, without the nuts.

Day Two, Alfriston to Newmarket.  It was so windy that some people were blown over, and when you lifted a leg from the ground it was blown sideways. Some people gave up totally,  and took the train home when we reached a small station.  No photos today.

Day Three.  Really pleasant weather and walking, I have no idea why I didn't take a photo.

Day Four.  Forty minutes of walking in the dry, then the remaining 10 miles in persistent rain.  By the time we stopped for lunch, I was soaked to the skin.  Here is Mr Cooper with his umbrella, trudging.

Day Five.  No major problems with the weather.

Day Six.  Not my favourite day, but we got to the end just as the heavens opened, result!

Day Seven.  A wet morning which turned into an almost dry afternoon.  As with each day there were stunning views, and I did capture one of them.

Day Eight.  Nearing the end now, this is the view from Old Winchester Hill, before we descend into Exton and the wonderful 'Shoe' pub, hurrah!

 

Day Nine.  A little challenging on the weather-front, but here is Mr Cooper looking happy as he realises that we are within sight of Winchester, so soon it will all be over!

Now there is one thing that you can't be when walking in challenging weather conditions, and that is glamorous.  Here I am at the end of it all, looking so much like a mad rambler that Mr Cooper had started to call me 'Rambling Syd Rumpo' a Kenneth Williams character from 'Round the Horn.'
I don't think that was a compliment.

However, after a visit to the toilets in the Guildhall, I emerged ready for the reception, with my hair loose, mascara applied, and wearing a frock.  Mr Cooper changed into a colourful shirt, and we were one of the first into the reception.  As we sat at a table for ten, we noticed others filling rapidly whilst ours remained empty.  Then people had no choice but to sit with us, as the room filled.  About half an hour into the 'do', one of the women on our table said' I know who you are now.....'  'Oh' said I anxiously, wondering which hostelry she had seen me slumped in.  But no, she had just realised that she dimly recognised me from the walk!  The transformation from Sid Rumpo to Sue Hofman must indeed have been great!

Mr Cooper's days are now getting to be busier, as he is learning to sing some harmonies with the Shanty Men.  Last week found them all singing outside the Methodist church, with a publicity photo-shoot to follow, with me as the photographer (Thanks Ashley, I really couldn't have done this without you!)  Now I knew that they had to change some lyrics to be more 'appropriate' for the venue (Rollicky bollicky became rollicky frollicky) but when I got there, a little late I have to add, I was surprised to see them all supping from their tankards.  That's early, thought I!  Well, the methodists had certainly pre-empted any leanings towards drunkenness (It's a good job they didn't come with us to the photo shoot, and what happened next!!) by providing tea or water for the singers to sup.
Lucky them!

The reason why I had arrived late was that, in order to be ready with my camera, I had taken some photos in the garden to check on my exposures, but then accidentally pressed a button which altered the function of the camera, in that it no longer took pictures!  After an internet trawl and a panicky half hour, I managed to put right the wrong, and cycle in haste to the Methodist church.
Then afterwards, to the beach for the publicity shots....

And after that, to The Lifeboat, for some publicity drinks, where we all got to know each other a little better.  And after an hour or two, a few of us got to know each other a lot better.

Now life in Selsey is not spent largely in the garden of The Lifeboat Inn.  Quite a lot of it is spent in my own garden where I am working hard to create beds on one side of the garden.  Mr Cooper has created his own bed in the garden too, for whenever the sun is shining, he is found lying down on the grass, clad only in skimpy swimwear.  Luckily, our back garden is very private.
I won't show you any photos of the sun-worshipping Mr Cooper, but I will include one of my now-planted vegetable border, with Marigolds beginning to bloom in the border.

And here is the flower garden, with almost everything blooming, including the Viper's Bugloss.
Would I have been excited about that when I was in my twenties?  Well probably, as I was then working as a full-time gardener!

'What about your art?'  I hear you cry.  I must admit that creating a garden does take up a lot of my time.  Painting the house has ceased for a while (as has hoovering it, cleaning and dusting in general) but I have continued to create lino-cuts.  Here is my seaside seagull.  If you like this, I have several to sell.  Why not buy two and give one to a friend?  My next lino-cut is all ready to print, all I need to do now is to leave garden of the Lifeboat Inn and enter my super-duper shed.  Tough decisions.

I hope you are enjoying the summer, wherever you are, and are able to spend some time out of doors whenever you can.  Not only is sitting in the sun very good for us, topping up our vitamin D levels, but spending time outdoors chatting to our friends and family is very good for us too.
You don't have to have a glass of chilled wine in your hands, you can always take the Methodist's approach, either is fine.
But when the sun is shining, whenever you can, grab a friend, or a book, and make the most of it.
Have fun and see you again soon.

Ps.  Yes I know, drink responsibly and apply sun-cream.  Blah blah blah.

We all have our own little ways, and our likes and dislikes.  One of Mr Cooper's is a real aversion to having anything to do with a rambling group.  Although Mr Cooper loves to walk in the countryside, most often with his mates and sometimes with me, he has an irrational dislike of 'ramblers' as such.  If we pull up to our starting point only to find a group of walkers all prepared to set off and walk in the countryside (just like we are going to do) he gets very cross and swears a lot.  So you can imagine his face when I came home with the brochure below.  I was very excited, but then I am also thinking of joining a rambling club.

 When I looked inside the pamphlet I found 3 activities that I wanted to do, and we actually ended up doing two of them together, and the third in different ways.  There were also a few events that neither of us wanted to do, including 'Walk like a Roman' (1.5 miles) and 'Snorkelling Lesson', sadly limited to 6 places.  Anyway, what did we actually choose to do?

The first activity was to 'Trek the Selsey Tramway' 12 miles, 6 hours.  This has to be an organised ramble!  I am sure there was some initial swearing and crossness when I booked it, but here is
 Mr Cooper, smiling at the start of our sunny Selsey Tramway Trek.

It was a very informative ramble, we didn't rush, and we lunched in a very atmospheric place, the graveyard of Sidlesham church.  I managed, quite by accident, to take a very atmospheric photo
with my phone, of the bench where we enjoyed our 'Tramway Snacks'.  It looks very much as if we were sharing our luncheon spot with ghosts of former ramblers.

Although the main aim of the walk was to follow the route of the old tramway where possible, and become familiar with the footpaths to Chichester, we saw lots of interesting things, and lots of wildlife as we strolled along tracks and footpaths, including what was luckily an incredibly friendly blue octopus which was wandering around the golf course.  Hopefully his aim was to chuck any off-course golf balls into 'the rough'! (You can gather from this that I am not a fan of golf!)

Then we ended up at the canal basin in Chichester after our twelve mile trek on a hot and sunny day.  Now, I do think that learning in the open air, especially on a sunny day, makes you rather thirsty.  When we reached our destination, almost everyone made their way to the cafe apart from 5 of us who had obviously learnt a lot more than the rest.  We made our way to the adjacent pub, where we had a couple of pints and a right good laugh in the sun, before catching the bus back to Selsey.

The next two activities will appear at a later date, but just to whet your appetite..... you have 'Cycle from Selsey to Brick Kiln Garden Centre and Return' to look forward to (I know Mr Cooper certainly did!) and then 'Selsey Open Gardens', which we approached in our different ways.  Me, as a garden enthusiast on a bicycle, and Mr Cooper as a Shanty Singer.

A week prior to Mr Cooper's appearance in a beautiful garden, the Shanty Singers had their debut appearance in East Wittering.  I had had my debut appearance in East Wittering on the Friday evening, where I went to a very moving and thought-provoking play about Dementia, which was presented in East Wittering library.

 Mr Cooper was to have seen it with me, but the Shanty Singers had a last minute rehearsal, and I went there alone. However, we met up afterwards to enjoy a drink in The Lifeboat, but it was a little disconcerting to find, when walking home, an elderly gentleman on the corner of our road, wearing a dressing gown and slippers.  I said 'Are you alright?' as Mr Cooper said 'Hello Alf'.  It was our neighbour but three standing in the road waiting for an ambulance.  Luckily all ended up well, and nobody on that occassion was either suffering from dementia, or had escaped from the cast of the play.

Back to the Selsey Shanty Singers as they prepare for their debut outing.
The photo below might look a strange setting for their first performance, but they were singing as part of East Wittering's festivities, but had to move further down the (closed to traffic) High Street, to escape the noise from the Funfair.

Here they are, just warming up,

And here they are a song or two later, really getting into the swing of things.  At this stage.
Mr Cooper has sadly been forced to put his tankard down and take up the tambourine instead.

Happily, here he is now, re-united with his tankard.
They all sang very well, and a good audience gathered to hear them too.
 I must say, all this singing makes them terribly thirsty. After that, I had to drive Mr Cooper to a nearby pub, for a restorative pint or two, with his Shanty Chums.

Let's leave those Shantymen enjoying some beer in their own tankards, and visit something very important to me.  My garden!
Last time I proudly showed you all my completed first bed, and now, here is the second, featuring the 'Jaffa hole'.  When we had the fence replaced, I asked them to add a 'hedgehog hole' to one of the panels.  And when I got to know one of my garden neighbours better, it was to find that one of her cats, Jaffa, an elderly boy, regularly uses our garden.  So the hole was made a little larger, to allow Jaffa easy access.  Since then, he has written off (aided by Muffin from two doors down) one of my catmint plants, and they are now working to eat and flatten a second plant.  As yet, they have not discovered the third I have in reserve.

Here is Jaffa having a well-earned bask after rolling around on my plants for an hour or two.  Looking more closely at where he is lying, he is also probably responsible for the total collapse of my young rhubarb plant.

In May, me and Mr Cooper celebrate our two weddings.  The legal one, and the garden one, which was really our actual wedding.  This year we decided to go for a lovely long walk in the countryside, followed by a little something in The Pub With No Name.  We had a lovely walk, especially the super-romantic bit through the haunted wood.  In here, you had to make sure you weren't attacked by enormous stick insects,

Or captured by menacing trees.  Luckily we managed to avoid both hazards, and escaped intact to enjoy the delights of The Pub With No Name.  https://www.whitehorsepetersfield.co.uk

Although I have been careering around the countryside on my own, with Mr Cooper, or as part of an organised ramble, artwork has been undertaken too.  Three years ago, four of us enjoyed a weeks' walking based around Malham Cove. At the end of it, I said to Kevin, who organised it all, that I would create an artwork as a thank you present for him.
You just don't want to rush into these creative processes.

Having discovered the delights of the reduction linocut earlier this year, I started work on a linocut based on the view from the top of Malham Cove.  Now, doing an eight colour reduction print is not terribly straightforward.  I started off printing 16, to allow for mistakes along the way, and have ended up with, wait for it, four!  Here is one of them ready for its new home.  The other is to go to Werner, who was there too, and we will keep one, which allows just one for sale.  It sounds more like I have a litter of puppies than an edition of prints.  Anyway, if you are interested in the last one, both parents can be seen, and they are used to all sorts of different prints too.

At the start of this year, one reason why I had found it difficult to continue writing a regular blog was that I had reached a point where I had become very confused by my terribly technical (to me) camera.  So much so, that after a couple of trips back to the camera shop, where they had helped to removed or restore stuff that had appeared on the screen, I just put it into a cupboard, and had ceased to use it since last June.  I was talking about this to a photographer neighbour who came to see me on the Art Trail, and she turned into my fairy godmother neighbour.  'Be sad no more' she cried, as she sprinkled me with fairy dust.  'You need a day's workshop with Ashley Gardner, from Imber court....  And sure enough, I did.  His day's workshop was perfect and not only did I leave feeling happy and a lot more confident, I had all the printed information from the day too, with Ashley at the end of the email/phone if necessary.  But you do have to practice.

When I went to see Mum last time, she was very much looking forward to a trip to Boston.  As was Mr Cooper too, it being a very historically significant place. My younger brother Mark was also looking forward to us all going to Boston, as he wanted to have a telephone conversation with Mum which didn't include the words 'Did I tell you I'm going to Boston with Sue and John?'
So there was a lot riding on this trip, especially as it was my first outing with my camera after the day's workshop with Ashley.  https://www.imbercourtphototraining.co.uk/

I don't expect you to be as excited as I am, but here is a photo taken from inside the church, with no flash or tripod.  As well as loving my garden, and Mr Cooper too, of course, I do also love old choir stalls and their carvings, particularly misericords.
Here we have a photo where the second carving is a little out of focus (on purpose!)

And here the same two figures, both in focus this time.  This was tremendously exciting for me, but not as exciting as what I found when I ventured into the 'Magpies Nest' antiques emporium.

It was love at first sight!  how could I leave such an amazing rocking horse behind?  Another plus was that he was a bargain as well as being very characterful.  Here he is enjoying some fresh air when we got him safely back home to Selsey.

I put a lot of thought into his name, as I wanted a traditional horses name.  But a name like Dobbin did not suit him at all, with his long racing legs and his wide grin.  And then it came to me, in a flash!  (Flash was also in the short-list)  He had to be called Champion, because that is what he is!

 

Me and Mr Cooper are aiming to be, if not champions next week, but at least successful walkers, as once again we commit to walking the South Downs Way in 9 days.  This will be the second time for Mr Cooper and the fourth for me.  So what with that happening, and two more events from the "Selsey Walking And Outdoor Festival' as well, I bet you can't wait for my next blog.  And there is another linocut to show you too, very much Selsey inspired. 

Until then, I hope you have your own lucky find in the next couple of weeks.  Whether it is meeting someone who you feel will become a friend, or finding that certain something you had been looking everywhere for. 

 Or perhaps you too will find your own Champion when entering an Antiques Emporium.

Whatever it is, I hope it brings lots of happiness, both now and in the future, with it.

Until then, take care, have fun, and keep your eyes open for your own special Champion. 

Ps Mum now says to Mark on every phonecall,  

 'Did I tell you about when I went to Boston with Sue and John?'