Tony

 

If you are lucky enough to have Covid, or some other horrible illness, you might have made time to watch a late afternoon repeat programme on BBC2 called 'The World's Most Extraordinary Homes'.

The programme is presented by the dream team of Comedienne Caroline Quentin and Architect Piers Taylor, and introduces us to some of the world's most amazing modern homes. Mostly they really ARE 'amazing'.

Watching the programme reminded me of a very short conversation I once had.

I have a very good friend who used to design such things. He worked in Dubai, and was responsible for some of their most iconic buildings; I'm sure you've seen pictures of them. This is Tony with me below when we were still both art students. I'm the good-looking one on the left!

I asked him.....

"How many of your designs end-up looking exactly how you'd first imagined them, before you put pencil to back of envelope?"

"All of them"! he replied.

I'd been expecting him to say "None". How wrong I was!

UDI for England.

 

With a new SNP First Minister, Humza Yousaf, replacing Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland, the horny old question of Independence continues to raise its very ugly head North of the border. Scottish Labour Party leader Anas Sarwar isn't happy with Yousaf and his 'breakaway' credentials, and wants a pukka general election. They're never happy up there. 

In Northern Ireland the security alert level has recently been raised to 'severe', as the Catholic terrorists plan more attacks to further their aim of quitting the Union.

So that just leaves the Welsh, whose 'second-home burning' has been on hold for a while. But we should probably expect more soon.

It has always been said in England that the other members of the Union hate us in proportion to how much the English donate to their economies. We give most per capita to the Irish, so they hate us the most, and try to kill us. Second comes Scotland, who hate us just a little less; and show that mostly by just throwing insults. And finally the least per capita (still a huge amount) goes to the Welsh, who just hate us 'a bit'.

N Ireland, Scotland, and Wales all have their own national parliaments. England doesn't, so lets put things right.

To solve all these feelings of unpleasantness, I suggest that England now declares UDI (Universal Declaration of Independence), and leaves the other three members of the Union to go it alone as a triad. They obviously think they know how to do things better than the English, so let's give them the opportunity to prove themselves right!

They could control their own finances with their own central banks, money, etc. They could raise their own taxes. Run their own health, education, and social security systems. And devise their own systems for law and order. All English owned businesses would return home, and each country could start again from scratch to suit their needs.

Of course, without the financial help from Westminster they would probably fall-flat on their faces at the first hurdle, but if that's what they want, they should not be deprived.

England, on the other hand would return Westminster to being an ENGLISH parliament, and without the huge expense of the troublesome trio, could only go from strength to strength.

Mister Chairman; I PROPOSE THE MOTION!

Mrs Pins, three ways.

I'm sure you've noticed that restaurants are now serving everything 'three ways'. Pork three ways, Lamb three ways, Chicken three ways. There's no stopping them.

So, here's Mrs Pins three ways. Mrs P is my daughter, Tenpin's, bear. She was a present from my mother. This below is her in original form, with her two offspring; looking slightly tattered these days. As is traditional with most Teddy Bears, she seems always to have had just one eye.

Mrs Pins has appeared in several of my paintings; this one (below) being with Tenpin for her first ever portrait. The painting contained three of her favourite things, the background material, her jumper with the stripes on the shoulders, and of course Mrs Pins herself.

She has also appeared in several still-life paintings. I've used her when teaching; using her to demonstrate certain techniques to students. This one below was painted whilst lecturing out in The Caribbean, and stayed out there for several decades, until it was brought back to France and returned to me. How nice was that!

I'm not certain, but I think Mrs Pins has appeared in more of my paintings than any other static object. She must be more 'painterly' than all other bears, etc.

 

Claude François - Comme D'habitude

Mention the popular song 'My Way' and people immediately think of Frank Sinatra and Paul Anka.

In fact the song is French and was written by Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude Francois. Claude Francois was a huge star in France.

This is the original 1967 version sung by Claude Francois himself. The original title was 'Comme d'habitude' (as usual). It was a huge hit, and in this video it has subtitles in Spanish.

Poor 'Cloclo' died whilst standing in his bath and trying to level a wonky wall mounted light fitting. He was electrocuted.

Surprise surprise.

 

When God chose Chanctonbury Ring in Sussex to be the epicentre of The Garden of Eden; He/She knew a thing or two about a perfect location. 

Yesterday's Sunday Times (the country's most trusted newspaper) has just revealed the very best place to live in the UK. Of course it came as no surprise to those of who live here that this was in East Sussex

East Sussex is one of those places that rarely rings its own praises. We don't have many things named after the county, because there is no need to claim that our things are the best; we leave that to others. 

OK, we might have a very unpopular Prince and his pushy wife, who continue to use the 'Sussex' name, but otherwise we sit back in the knowledge that we live in a place that is 'happy in its own skin'.

Only places that are 'frankly' a bit iffy need to tell you how wonderful they are. We don't have a famous pudding, a hot pot, jacket, or cream teas; we just have contented residents, the best climate in the UK, and a pleasant coastline. London is just 60 mins away, and France about the same.

So, is there a 'down-side' to living in East Sussex? Well sadly, yes, there is. As it's well known for being civilised relaxed and enjoyable, it does attract people who come from places that are far less so. Combine the warmth of the sun with a free weekend, and half of London descends on us.

In case you're wondering where The Sunday Times perfect place to live can be found, it's called Wadhurst. That's it in the illustration (above). A very pleasant village.

In their survey of The South-East, Brighton only came 2nd (after Chichester). We don't mind that too much; we don't want the place to become totally over-run.

Tree Planting.

I am quite well known for being a keen amateur Tree Planter. Give me a square metre or two of un-used land and I'll have a fruit tree on it as fast as you can say Orange Pippin.

So, I was very pleased to see, yesterday, that the church elders have been Tree Planting. There is one new tree in the Peace Garden, and another five or six in the Churchyard itself. It's not easy to tell what type of trees they are at this time of year; and sadly they have no labels.

However, I suspect that they are mostly Elms. The Churchyard is known for it's survival Elms, and maybe a few more 'treated' ones will ensure their continuation.

On the other side of the church, down by Wykeham Terrace, is this Yew tree; a very classic tree for ancient graveyards. At first I thought it was a Christmas Tree (which would have been nice), but it's too far from the church to be used as such.

Had there been a poll amongst us locals as to what trees should be planted, I would have gone for a Victoria Plum. Wouldn't it be nice in early Autumn to pop down to the graveyard, pick a few Plums, and enjoy a lovely Plum Tatin for supper. 

Sadly they don't see things as I do.

 

A Reminder.

A timely reminder to respect our wildlife.

Don't trim your hedges between mid March and the end of July. Birds, small Mammals, and other wild creatures are busy making nests and raising families. Your tidiness can wait until they're done. The world needs their input.