Last day of the year in 2015 (Thank God)

Well here we are, facing the last day of the year again. New Years Eve! It's always a bit scary; the thing is, it always feel like you have to have a great time on New Years Eve or it doesn't bode well for the coming year. This year has been so bad, I don't want to celebrate, I want it to pass painlessly so we can glide smoothly into 2016. At the very best, I want to spend the time quietly with my children, maybe a meal out or a takeaway meal. I'd like to watch Jules Holland on the television in his annual hootenanny, large drink in hand.

So what are the highlights and lowlights of this year. Definitely more lowlights in 2015.

So I'll deal with them first.

Lowlights

My much loved mum passed away

My Uncle George (mum's oldest brother) passed away.

My Uncle Ronnie (mum's youngest brother) passed away.

I've piled on weight

My masters dissertation has come to a standstill

I've hardly done any paining 

Am feeling sluggish and unwell.

Miss my mum and my uncles

Highlights

I acquired some keyboards and have taken up piano again (which I love)

Have started to sing again

Have started to improve a bit on the guitar

Have met some nice people

Had a holiday in Rhodes with the girls

Got an IPad

Got  a variety of musical equipment

Started a local arts group 

There's so much to think about for 2016, so many projects that I need to complete. 

Finish my masters degree

Sort out domestic affairs

Complete some business ideas

Expand arts group

Paint more

Write more

Improve musical skills

Improve my YouTube channels and blogs

Socialise more

Get away more

And the usual .......... Lose weight and get fitter :-)

So wish me luck. And I wish you all a Happy New Year and only great things for us all in 2016

Far From the Madding Crowd

I was really looking forward to this film, and certainly wasn't disappointed! The word I would use to describe it, if I had to use only one, would be enchanting.

The rather gorgeous Gabriel Oak, was well cast, although perhaps a bit more handsome than the 'original oak' was meant to be; comparisons with the tree in Sherwood Forrest are intentional as Gabriel is as solid and incongruent with nature, as the ancient oak itself. Sergeant Troy, played by Tom Sturridge seemed far less appealing in comparison with Matthias Schoenaert's Oak, a conceited and irresponsible boy, no less; unfortunately, unlike the book, far less handsome than Gabriel. Bathesheba, played by Carey Mullighan, was not as heart stoppingly beautiful as Julie Christie in this role, but perhaps delivered a more convincing performance as the feisty Miss Everdene. The best performance in the film however, is that of Mr Boldwood, played by Michael Sheen. The sensitive and heart wrenching portrayal of the shy, sincere man, misled by Bathsheba's joke Valentine card, is perhaps the best performance of the film. Michael Sheen lends an element of sheer pathos to this adaptation, in his unrelenting devotion to Bathsheba.

The cinematography has to be mentioned; the Stunning west countryside is as much a part of the film as the cast. A criticism, which is probably a natural consequence of fitting a book into the relatively small time frame of a film, is that there is much omitted from this production. It is never really explained, for example, that Bathsheba saves Gabriel's life, which serves to put there relationship on an equal footing. 

All in all, an exquisite film.

Truly delicious!

The Theory of Everything

I've been hearing good things about The History of Everything, so really had to see if for myself while it was still on he big screen. And I wasn't disappointed. It was a delight of a film!  Starting from the opening scenes of a 1950s Cambridge, a young and charmingly gauche Stephen Hawkins begins a hesitant romance with the pretty, quietly religious Jane. But it is obvious, inspite of his burgeoning feelings for sweet Jane, that Stephens real passion  is for his work,   Not long into their romance and Stephen's research for his PHd study, he begins to develop some worrying symptoms. Upon medical investigations, Hawkins is revealed to have Motor Neurone Disease, a neurological disorder that brings with it a prognosis of gradual physical decline resulting in death within two years. After a period of shock and depression, Jane convinces him that her feelings for him are those of love and that they will make the most if their remaining time together. We see the marriage of the young couple on one hand,  and also Stephen's  return to his doctoral studies with vigour.

Time passes, and Stephen's  thesis is completed, just before his health takes a serious turn for the worst. In spite of this, Hawkins manages to father two children and continue to produce groundbreaking work, before the eventual deterioration of this marriage, which sees Jane seek comfort in the affections of another man. However, Jane's loyalty to Stephen, renders her unable to leave him, so her affair is brought to an end, only to resume when sometime later Hawkins departs for New York, with formidable nurse.

This remarkable film is beautifully acted by all concerned, but Eddie Redmayne's portrayal of Stephen Hawkins is ultimately rewarded by his amazing accolade at the 2015 Oscars.

"British star Eddie Redmayne was overcome with emotion as he was named Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his performance as Professor Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything"

Merry Christmas for 2014

The Walking Dead; Carol and Daryl (Season 5, Episode 6) CONSUMED.

Episodes: season 5

"No Sanctuary"

"Strangers"

"Four Walls and a Roof"

"Slabtown"

"Self-Help"

"Consumed"

"Crossed" 

"Coda"

This is proving to be one of the greatest seasons on The Walking Dead. The inclusion of the 'leg eating' scene in 'Strangers' is one of the most disturbing scenes in the series and has been the subject of much black humour and Bob jokes bouncing round the social networking sites. However, probably the most genuinely moving episode is 'Consumed' the episode focusing upon Carol And Daryl.

The last two episodes, 'Slabtown' and 'Self-Help' have been decent enough episodes, but most viewers have been waiting for a return to the storyline about core characters, namely an explanation of what happened to Carol after she was taken in the white van at the end of Slabtown. There were some complaints about the lack of action and 'gore' in 'Consume' but to my mind, it was good to learn a bit more about two of the most popular characters in TWD. Neither Carol or Daryl are the most garrulous of people, but somehow their silences are companionable rather than uncomfortable.

The development of a deep friendship between Carol and Daryl is somehow more moving than had these two characters embarked on a romantic liaison. There is without a doubt a connection between these two, and perhaps a sort of love, but it does not seem to be a passionate love. It leaves the unanswered question of Daryl's sexuality; although perhaps the most overtly masculine of all the characters, is Daryl gay, straight or asexual? 

Whatever Daryl's sexual orientation, he is without doubt my favourite TWD character, followed closely by Carol; the two of them together are the perfect combination, two damaged characters who are strong together. 

Some of the poignant moments of the episode, include Carol noticing Daryl picking up the book about surviving abuse; she takes it in silently and without comment. He knows she has seen but it isn't an issue for either of them. It was also good to learn a little more about Carol after she split from the group over the body burning incident in the prison; it was sad, yet  somehow comforting to learn that Carol sobbed and struggled with loneliness after her expulsion from the group. I always felt that Rick was too hard in his decision to expel her.

The issue of the zombies wriggling and struggling to get out of their sleeping bags was puzzling to say the least; It appears they had all been shot whilst sleeping. But why? Was it looters, a government plot? It was a pathetic sight to see those frantic corpses, slain and robbed of their humanity while they slept, a micro story within the greater plot. The pair's encounter with Noah highlighted the fact that in spite of their toughness, they have not lost feelings of compassion. First Daryl prevents Carol from shooting Noah; later when they encounter Noah again, it is Carol who entreats Daryl not to kill the hapless Boy as he is trapped beneath the wooden bookcase. Just as he is about to be savaged by a hungry walker, Daryl's crossbow shoots out to piece the skull of the zombie, saving Noah by the skin of is teeth.

It did however, seem quite implausible that the street smart Daryl and Carol, would get into the van that was toppling precariously over a bridge. And that the van would land on the relative safety of it's four wheels. But the last and perhaps greatest quandary of the episode, is the nature of the strange hospital. In the last scenes, Carol is smashed into by the white van. As Daryl goes to try to help her, Noah indicates that the hospital would be the best place to help save Carol and that later on, they can rescue both her and Beth. Daryl's face is a mask of pain and chagrin as he returns to the church without either Beth or Carol. So, the question is, does the hospital deliberately hurt people so they can save and then enslave the unlucky victims? They seek to only save people who are not too strong and are unlikely to fight back. It seems they have made a mistake with Carol.

All in all, this has to be one of my favourite episodes in what is probably the best series, after the initial one. Sad to think there is only two episodes to go before the long wait until the next season.

My first commissioned painting framed and hung

Framed and hung, my first commissioned painting hung on a wall, designed to accompany the uplifting quotation.

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass

Its about learning to dance in the 

Rain"

Some of my recent paintings

Remembrance day

Remembrance Sunday is always a poignant day in our family, as in many others around the globe. Having lost my own father through a tragic incident in the Armed Forces, we chose to think about him and the man he would have become, on this day. Although I can't actually remember him, being only 9 months of age when he was killed at the age of 23, my family like to attend the Remembrance service at our local church and lay a small cross along side the numerous wreaths outside of the church. I would like to think that everyone will spare at least a few minutes to think about those poor souls who lost their lives in the service of our country.

                We will remember them.

Mr Turner

As a big fan of the work of JMW Turner, I had awaited the release of Mike Leigh's latest  film, Mr. Turner, with great anticipation. It wasn't a disappointment; Timothy Spall's portrayal of Turner was inspired, but somehow I left the cinema feeling a little deflated. If this film was true to life, Turner seemed to be an unusual and uncompromising character, but also, sadly, a rather unpleasant one. The frequent growling, bear -like sounds that Spall produced were strangely endearing; What was not so endearing was Turner's apparent cavalier treatment of women. It left me wondering why his house-keeper Hannah, although in all probability in love with Mr. Billy, allowed him to abuse her in a fashion that was tantamount to rape. And why did Turner compassionately write off the dept to his fellow artist, but did nothing to help Hannah with her increasingly disfiguring skin condition. He did thankfully seem to truly love his Margate landlady, Mrs Booth and we see a more sensitive side of Turner. Yet in spite of Turner's terse and insular manner which was occasionally sprinkled with flashes of his extrovert and gregarious side, we get glimpses of the intelligent and single minded attitude that contributed to his developing into one of Britain's greatest artists. 

I  had to wonder however, why the film, which was set around 1928 onwards, was began in Turner's middle age, leaving much of his earlier life unexplained. It has to be wondered why he deserted his two daughters and their mother? What had happened with his own mother to make him and his father turn against her? Perhaps this could have gone some way to explain his frequent misogynistic behaviour towards woman. 

On a more positive note, the film itself is a work of art; beautifully filmed, it is a pleasure to see some of Turner's greatest works viewed by the artist as he formulates the idea of a potential painting in his mind. The greatest scene though, has to be the Varnishing Scene at the Royal Academy. The paintings packed tight from walls  to ceiling, we see the artists add their finishing touches to paintings as Turner strides cheerfully through the gallery loudly greeting each artist. We see a Turner's frenzied spitting on his work as he paints at a rapid pace; His mocking treatment of fellow artist John Constable marks the known rivalry between the two artists. His more vulnerable side is shown by the devastation upon the death of his much loved father and at a later point when the disparaging remarks from Queen Victoria cause his work to fall from public favour. 

The incredible performance by Timothy Spall, who spent two years learning to paint in preparation for this role, imbibes the character of Turner with the air of a classic Dickensian character. His performance was admirably matched by Dorothy Atkinson as his housekeeper, Marion Bailey as Mrs Booth and Paul Jesson as the elder Mr Turner. 

I'm a (very) mature student!!

A long time has passed yet again since my last blog post. Yet again,  life and general busyness has overtaken me. Last year, feeling a bit down and kind of like my life was spiralling away from me, I decided on the spare of the moment to apply to do a Masters degree in Art History. There are times when I just get random ideas in my head, and I decide to act on them, and this was one of these times. So, I decided on an MA in Art History and Curating at a local university; that was almost a year ago now, and as a part-timer, I'm just about to embark on the second year of the course.

Today, I've just handed in my latest assignment, a portfolio based on the work experience module I finished last month in the decorative arts department. Phew!! I sweated blood and tears over this one. How glad am I to finally get it in. But now with my renewed interest and knowledge in art and art history, I hope to feature a lot more about this in my blog, assuming anyone is interested.

So far on my MA course (in case anyone is interested in doing this course in the future) I've studied;-
Issues in Modern Art
Contemporary Curating
Work Placement and associated Portfolio.

This coming academic year, which starts next week I think, I will be doing
Museum Studies
Dissertation. (I've yet to decide what to do my dissertation on.)

Well I cant say it's been easy, but it has been stimulating. I'm a firm believer if you don't use it you lose it, especially when talking about the grey matter. Fingers crossed I get a decent mark for this latest assignment. Here's hoping!

Street scene in acrylics

Zumba

I think the time has come to get back to zumba. My twice weekly regime came to an abrupt end when one of my classes stopped (the one I preferred as well)

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The Desiderata

I have published the Desiderata before, but it is so beautiful, I feel the urge to publish it again. Please read..............................

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story. 

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

2012 in a nutshell

This will probably be my last blog of the year, although haven’t managed to blog as much as I should have in 2012. So I thought I’d look back over the year, which on the whole, has been a good one.

One of the saddest things though, has been the deterioration of my mother who is 82. Although still independent (luckily I live next door) she is unfortunately getting more forgetful. Not just forgetful in a general way – people say, I’m like that too – but they’re not really. She asks the same questions constantly, can’t remember characters of her favourite TV programmes, or even what channel they’re on, can’t seem to remember how to cook the meals she’s always been so good at. The doctors at our GP surgery are generally very unhelpful, and as she refuses to acknowledge a problem there is very little I can do. It’s all very frustrating.

On the positive side, I have been coming along very well with my painting and am learning new techniques all the time. My guitar playing is slowly improving and I did treat myself to a beautiful new Fender guitar this year. I have also decided to write a screen play (yes, very ambitious I know) and have begun drafting out the characters. This is something I have never done before and have decided to become more brave and ambitious in 2013. I have also made some good progress in my endeavour to lose weight and did in fact reduce by a stone, although I suspect a substantial amount has crept back on over the Christmas period.

I have also met someone this year who is already very important to me, and hopefully will remain part of my life. I am optimistic that things will work out between us.

My children are all doing well. Phil, my 21 year old son graduated from University in the summer. Although he has had trouble finding work, he has finally found something that isn’t ideal, but may tide him over until the right job comes along. Fingers crossed.

Ellie and Evie my 12 year old twin girls are both doing well. Both are now in year 8 of secondary school and getting good reports. Ellie has been working hard at her performing arts and as well as doing several shows this year, has been working in Pantomime at the Epstein Theatre (Cinderella). Ellie is also lively and popular. She has lots of friends and is a sensible, intelligent little girl, inspite of being dyslexic

Evie, who some of you will know, has DiGeorge Syndrome, a 22Q genetic deletion also know as VCFS. She has settled very well into secondary school, a wonderful special school, and is happy and confident there. She is also one of the more able students there and is kind and helpful towards her peers who are less able. Although I can’t say we haven’t had any issues this year, I do feel we are moving in the right direction.

So there we have it. Another year almost over and done with, but I am looking forward to the coming year with the renewed hope a fresh year always brings with it.

I wish you all a very happy New Year hope 2013 will bring some wonderful things for us all.

Are you having a good christmas?

So Christmas has been and gone yet again. In all honestly, this Christmas hasn't been a bad one. It becomes an increasing struggle to try to make sure the kids get decent presents and everyone has what they need. No easy feat as a single mum. But, I did manage it and everything  went off without any major hitch. My Mum, as usual, was ill over Christmas, the ever increasingly frequent UTI struck. Worrying of course!. Ellie has been in a Pantomime, which has also been quite problematic, as it has meant getting her there and back without the use of a car. But its been worth it and great experience for her. The Panto is the first one in the newly refurbished Epstein Theatre (formerly the Neptune) and is a production of Cinderella, starring Sonia, Philip Olivier, Nikki Graham and various other performers. It seems to be going well.I got some nice presents, which I will show you on my other Blog, which I use to review stuff and discuss Health and Beauty matters. I may also show them on my Youtube channel. Please feel free to look at both if you get the chance. http://violetvibrations.blogspot.co.uk/http://www.youtube.com/user/liverpoolboxingbabyAnd it just leaves me to wish you a Very Happy Christmas, and a wonderful New Year. I feel that 2013 is going to be a good one. All the Best XXX

A winter painting in acrylics

Poppies for remembrance

Autumn picture in acrylics

Bag in charity shop worth £350,000

I couldn't help smiling as I read about that guy, John Richards, from London, who bought an old Philip Treacy bag for £20 in an Oxfam shop. Now, as a person who couldn't spot a bargain in a charity shop if it hit her in the face, I wouldn't have even paid a tenner for that old bag.  However, it turned out to be a spectacular move for Mr. Richards, as the bag is estimated to be worth between £250,000 and £350,000! It seems there were only ever around ten of these bags made by the Irish designer, Philip Treacy, and they are considered a work of art. It was probably worth around £200 when first soldIt just goes to show, you never know what bargains you can unearth in charity shops. Unless you`re me!  I`d never have guessed that bag would be worth anything. What do I know hey!John Richards with the Philip Treacy bag

Think I`ve sorted it................

I was becoming increasingly worried about the guy I`d given the £100 to. There was no sign of him and when I tried to ring him, I was just getting through to his answering service. It was looking dodgier and dodgier by the minute.
When it was becoming apparent that no one was going to answer, I went round to speak to some of the neighbours who were also having work done by him and it seemed no one else of them could reach him eithe and had also given him money.

However, one neighbour, J, did know where to contact him and told him in no uncertain terms what was going to happen if he didn`t show up pronto! J reckons he`s not really a conman, just a bit of an idiot. 

So later on this afternoon, the mystery workman turned up very sheepish and we managed to get things settled . Phew!!!! I was really worried there for a bit.