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?'

Well, I could start this year's blog with Happy Christmas (as was my initial intention) then move swiftly on to Happy New Year (second intention, when the first had failed)  then onto Easter Greetings, Beltane blessings, and so on.  Enough, I thought.  Just sit down and write before we go the whole circle and I really am writing Happy Christmas 2019!
So, what have I been up to?  I have been doing lots and lots, but of the sort of stuff that has hindered me from doing any creative things, let alone the creative things that are stopping me from writing a cookery book!
Let's whizz through the events of the past 6 months, and then hopefully I will move onto writing a weekly/fortnightly update of my hopefully increasingly creative life.

Christmas came and went, bringing with it a lot of 'stuff' such as shopping,cooking, hosting, cleaning, wrapping, the usual December madness.  This year, me and Mr Cooper spent the actual day on our own with the only 'visitors' being presents and a roast turkey.  A first for us both, but a surprisingly pleasant one.
Boxing day was spent with my sons and Molly, requiring another festive feast and also two deserts, one supplied by Molly, and one made by me from a 1930's recipe book.  Molly's was delicious but had suffered a visual impact from a too close fitting lid to the box, and mine was curious to look at, as well as to taste.  It was well worth the experiment, and tasted more or less as you would expect from a recipe whose list of ingredients included cocoa, two squares of chocolate, milk, and a packet of strawberry jelly.

Rachael, Ben and Henry arrived the next day for the 3rd festive feast and another round of crackers and presents, then when they departed, we settled back to eat and drink our way through the next few days until New Year's Eve.  This is never my best night of the year, but it was very happily spent in the company of Nathan and Kerry, plus his parents.  As Mr Cooper's New Year's resolution was to cut back on the drinking, he decided it would be a good idea to make up for the dry days to come.
Here is Mr Cooper looking decidedly thoughtful after midnight.

The next day we returned home and John went to bed for a couple of days as he had a skiing trip looming on the horizon, and was anxious to be recovered for that.  I spent the next few days very much out of bed and armed with a spade and an axe. I did not take the axe into the bedroom, however, but used it to remove a huge tree root from the side of our drive.
 This felt very therapeutic for me, as I was just gearing up to spending a week on my own, with painting the hallway as my objective.

Well I think we both became happier during that week.  Mr Cooper seemed to be happy and relaxed, and I don't think all those glasses in front of him were his.
I spent every free hour I had painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork, then starting to add colour to the staircase, as can be seen below.

After another month, we repeated the process, with Mr Cooper going off to enjoy his second week on the slopes.....

......and  I was left working to finish adding colour to the hallway.  I won't say that I had a very enjoyable week, but I am now enjoying the results on a daily basis.

Looking back, that was a fairly creative part of the year, as our free time began to be eroded by other necessary activities.  Also, I was still without a replacement shed, and it is hard to be creative at the dining table to a background noise of bargain hunt and chortling (well, it is for me, at any rate)
Mr Cooper was sympathetic to my plight, and once said 'I'll go out and leave you to it'.  Forty minutes later he was surprised that I was surprised to see him back quite so soon.

One resumed activity was getting into longer and more frequent walks, as we are walking the South Downs Way again this year, from the 7th to the 15th June.
Here I am during one of our favourite walks, seated at the foot of what has become one of my most favourite trees.  In fact, I have seen the tree twice in the past week, as we have less than three weeks now till the walk begins!

As the year progressed, things looked more hopeful for me, as we ordered a replacement shed and then booked Charlie to construct it, and Bradley to 'electrify' it.  They were both confident that the job would be done by the start of the Art Trail in May.  I had elected to be part of this in the previous November, and now it looked like I would actually have a venue for it!
The sky joined in with my celebrations!

Here is the shed being delivered one early spring day.  It was placed at the front of the house, where it remained for three weeks, as we waited for Charlie to find a slot between his work commitments, and his second house in France.

I don't know whether you already knew, but Ali from Trinity, who runs the art groups there, got in touch and invited me to join them with a collaborative project between Trinity and The Winchester School of Art, which would culminate with us exhibiting at the Tate Modern.  This was all very exciting, as you can imagine, and I began work on my 'Itinerant Object' for the exhibition.
As my shed was still flat-packed, most of my artwork was done during a very lovely Tuesday morning art group that I had joined in January, where you are free to develop your own creations in a friendly and supportive group.

Here it is, all proper and everything!

I spent a couple of months working to produce a block jigsaw based on objects that I had found in different gardens, when I had moved house.  I actually completed it on the morning of the handover day, then saw it a week later in situ at the Tate Modern.  Here is both me and the jigsaw in situ in the Tate Exchange Gallery, on Friday 5th April.

We had all travelled up that morning on the train from Winchester (thank you George, for my lift to the station, and thank you the Lucy from the Three Cups, Stockbridge, for the cut price room on Thursday night.  This meant that after a day and night working at the sinks, I slept just over the road from my workplace, and was very kindly dropped off in Winchester the next morning, saving me from a night of very little sleep and a frightfully early start, if I had returned home.)

As well as providing our own objects for display, during the day we were create, amongst other things, wearable cardboard clothes which we went on the wear and display around The Tate, to highlight the importance of art in society, and in particular, how it helps people who experience homelessness, and mental health issues.
Here I am, creating-away,

And here I am again, as part of a very long hat creation, just before we were released upon the general public.
Mr Cooper came up to join me later, as we were stopping over, but missed the actual cardboard parade.  We had decided to make the most of being at the Tate by going on to see two exhibitions there at six, and then going to the theatre the following day.
A word of warning here.....if you are ever involved in complicated group travel, then a creative workshop and then being part of a procession, coupled with the actual excitement of actually being part of an event at The Tate, do not ever think that then seeing a couple of excellent exhibitions later that same day is a good idea.

We first saw 'Pierre Bonnard : The Colour of Memory', which was absolutely exquisite, but also a very large exhibition.  This was swiftly followed by an exhibition of the works of Dorothea Tanning, which was stunning.  And we were pretty stunned by the end of all that.  So out for a meal and then to bed, ready for the matinee performance 'Home, I'm Darling.', at the Duke of York's theatre.
As it was a play very much inspired by life in the fifties, I thought that I would dress to fit the part.  When we got inside, it was to find that the only other people who had dressed to fit the part were actually on the stage.  I had put lipstick on, and everything. (By everything, I mean seamed stockings and fifties underwear.)  It was a very good play, and not at all how we thought it would be. There was an excellent twist, and a happy conclusion.

After so much razzmatazz, it was good to get back to a more sleepy Selsey, and especially good as the shed construction was now firmly underway, hurrah!

In no time at all, we had a completed shed, all ready for Bradley to add lights and heating to.  Yes, actual, effective heating!  I mean business this time!

Whilst Charlie was constructing and then Bradley wiring, I spent my time between providing drinks, and creating our first flower bed.  Here it is, all planted and everything.  It may not look much now, but the view will be very different in three years time.  We might even have replace some more fence by then, too.

Then Charlie and Bradley left, and it was back to painting, but of the functional kind.  Inside, three coats of Danish Oil, to the walls and ceiling, and  five coats of satin varnish to the floor.  Outside, two coats of wood preservative, Antique Pine, then two coats of primer followed by two coats of Satinwood exterior to the doors and windows.

 This I finished the Wednesday before the Art Trail started,  which left me with Wednesday evening and  Friday to add all the furniture plus the artworks!
This is what it all looked like in the end, and when the South Downs walk is completed, this is where I will be found, unless at Trinity (Mondays afternoons)  Art Group (Tuesday mornings) Yoga (Tuesday evenings), working for money (Thursdays, 7am - midnight.)  Plus all those hours happily spent creating delicious meals for Mr Cooper.

The view inside from right to left,

And from left to right.

And from the doorway.

Anyway, I must leave you all now, as I have to finish planting out some Sweet Williams before going to a one-act play in East Wittering.  I will be sadly on my own as Mr Cooper has a rehearsal with the Shanty Singers*, before their debut in East Wittering on Sunday.  Hopefully not too late tonight, as we are joining in with the twelve mile Selsey Tramway walk tomorrow.
Now, why have I been moaning about my lack of time for creativity?
Just before I go, remember that although there are always things that need doing, there are also things that you need to do, just for yourself.  So don't fill that glass too full, for a spillage and mess will certainly occur.  Fill your glass carefully, mixing what needs to be done for those around you, and also just for you too.  Create an exciting cocktail, making sure you are including all the different elements of your life.  Add alcohol too, if you prefer.
I am looking forward very much  to seeing you all again soon.

* My son John thinks that the action of Mr Cooper voluntarily joining a Sea Shanty singing group is enough to get him committed, and I would be able to visit him once a week. Tempting.