Welcome to this week's blog, featuring many wonderful artistic creations, several of which I have had a hand in.  I think this creative exuberance is a result of me and Mr Cooper having enjoyed a short 'two centre' break. This has left me feeling mentally refreshed, although perhaps a little jaded in the physical refreshment stakes.
 In order to secure the free time for an extra long weekend, I had to work in the kitchen for two consecutive days.  'Big deal', I hear some of you hard-workers out there cry.  Well it is, and it isn't, of course.  It gets it over and done with, but a 15 hour day away from home, twelve of which are spent hard at work at the sinks,  means getting home at midnight still buzzing , then having to unwind and then try to sleep to be up again at 6 for a repeat performance.  Especially demanding for those of us best described as 'young at heart!'
On the day before departure, I was found in my afternoon break in the Coffee Lab in Stockbridge https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g503843-d12229457-Reviews-Coffee_Lab-Stockbridge_Hampshire_England.html having a chat with Sam over a necessary pick-me-up of a large mocha with a peanut butter brownie to share.  As I am so at the cutting edge of sharing visual images, I am sure you can appreciate this photo which is showing Sam having taken a photo of me having taken a photo.  He is 'sending it on' in many wonderful ways, with distortions and sound no less, and I am just adding mine to my blog.  

Me and Mr Cooper were setting off on Thursday morning for a long weekend in Suffolk, via a stop-over in Canvey Island.  I was looking forward to this, as it was part of my quest to visit the strange outposts on the coastlines of the UK, and Mr Cooper was my reluctant partner.  He thought Canvey Island would prove to be 'not very nice,' or something like that, so I treated us both to a night's stay in the only hotel there, 'The Oysterfleet'.  http://www.oysterfleethotel.com/
We arrived at around three, checked in, and set off to explore.

Here is an image that brings together a lot of the elements we found there, in this atmospheric view of the virtually empty fun-fair....

....and here is Mr Cooper bravely smiling whilst managing to look more startled than happy.
When I first met Mr Cooper I had to camp with him a lot in Mendip, in a field with a disgusting toilet shed and no washing facilities.  Now, he no longer camps, and avidly reads 'trip advisor' and hence wanted to avoid 'the Oyster Fleet', (and Canvey Island, I have to add) as someone on Trip Advisor had found cobwebs in their room!  When did that pioneering spirit evaporate from his life?

We wandered around the fair for a little while, admiring some of the rides.  Here is a photo especially for Sam, and for other fans of the early Mighty Boosh.  We all know what to do when you find a swan, don't we, fellow fanatics?  Right on it!*

We left the seafront and the fair, and passed the welcoming large fly sculpture on our return to the hotel.  The staff were the friendliest and most helpful of anywhere I have stayed before, and we spent a bizarrely enjoyable night there.  We dined in the posh restaurant (posh for Canvey Island) and I was able to whet my appetite for dinner in a most unusual way.  We had a pre-dinner drink in the busy bar, and when I popped to the loo, I found the dinner menu framed and feature inside the cubicle, on the back of the loo door.  Not only did I return to Mr Cooper refreshed, but I amazed him by already knowing the menu!

The next day we sped to Suffolk, to spend  three nights with our friends Susie and Werner in Saxstead.  Mr Cooper was feeling happier about this, for they have a very lovely and clean home, and he had brought his slippers with him. We were there primarily to help prepare for a large luncheon party on the Sunday, but managed to include a quick visit to Walberswick, which was well worth a visit, being extremely picturesque. You will have to imagine that as the only photo I took from there was of this pair of sunglasses I bought for Juliette, from one of the many truly tempting gift shops.
We also enjoyed a brief visit to Framlingham, again another lovely place, where gifts were also purchased, this time for Sam and his lovely girlfriend Molly, but you will just have to take my word for all that and feast your eyes on pink flamingos and the faded glories of Canvey Island for your visual entertainments from our travels.

On Monday we left early to head towards Winchester, as it was Trinity's summer art exhibition, and I was to be wearing an artistic headpiece made by one of the group.  I was also wearing my 'flying picnic' outfit, as the starting point for a major part of this exhibition had been the theme of food.
Although the traffic was heavy, and accidents abounded, we got there in time to help set-up.
Here is the garden totem pole, which has been constructed to also be an insect hotel.  I think the Minion looks brilliant, and not just because I helped to create that section! (Well, just a bit.)

The food prepared really reflected the theme, with the emphasis on fruit.  Look closely at this brilliant fruit basket, and notice the banana that is in fact a yellow dolphin.

Nestled to the right of the pineapple, in amongst the leaves, are lots of edible ladybirds.  When all was prepared, we looked at the tables laden with food and thought there was far too much, but at the end of our very successful and well supported exhibition we were clearing away just empty plates.

During the exhibition I had become a walking artwork, my crowning glory being a mainly knitted fascinator.  One of the women's group had made 3 items of headgear which symbolised how women are viewed and treated by some men.  The first hat was a jaunty number, but on closer inspection was 'a piece of meat'.  The creator of the three was sporting an eyecatching fascinator, which was a beautifully knitted but extremely phallic banana, and here I am showing off my 'nice pear!'

And here I am again still sporting a nice pear, but also giving a glimpse of my 'flying picnic outfit.  It also looks like I am showing what happens to the size of your bum if you eat too many picnic components on a regular basis!

Leaving exhibitions behind, and also my behind behind, and visiting now my productive shed.  In my last blog I was happy to show you the idea for my first significant illustration for the Green Donkey cookery book.

And here, after many productive hours, kindly assisted by Radio 4, I am happy to show you an almost completed image.  I have been having fun with paint and collage, and now need only to add a couple of flying blackbird pie-funnels (what else?) as well as some green donkeys to change my vibrant pink walls into an amazing wallpaper design.
Hopefully this will be completed and on view in my next blog, if there has been enough artistic time for me to include the above.  I have been getting up stupid early at the weekends too, to put in sufficient 'shed time'.

I hope you have an enjoyable weekend where you are able to do the things you enjoy, and only have to get up 'stupid early' if you really want to.  If the sun shines, why not have a picnic?  But just remember, eat responsibly, and aim to exercise at least three times a week.  One exercise could be walking to your local, another strenuous arm exercise I enjoy is opening a bottle of champagne!
Have fun and be kind to yourself and others.
Looking forward to seeing you all again soon.

* This will mean nothing if you did not watch The Mighty Boosh, so don't worry.