Fox on a Boat

Globe to Globe festival timeline I have not been updating this blog as often as I'd like to.. These last few weeks have been crazy busy - new job, exam preparation, writing and sending off coursework.. I sat my first exam today, one down, one to go. I am not sure about how well I did, only time will tell. However this does not mean I have more free time, as I now have to get prepared for the next one, which will be harder and for which I feel much more baffled. As well as college work, I now seem to be living at work, who delight in giving me long night shifts. I fear I shall turn into an owl soon - though this wouldn't be so bad if I had the eyesight to go with it, and I quite like owls - however I now have no more life, social or otherwise. I can't even socialise with myself any longer, something I greatly love doing.. I suppose it will take time before I get used to this change, and find a way of managing it all so I still get my much needed 'alone time'.. ...

Spring Blossom I've not written for too long. It's not necessarily that I have nothing to write about, it's just forming it on the page that can be difficult.. I can sometimes get really excited about certain things, but then I am unsure of how to phrase them , phrase the experience, the feelings that passed through me then.. Writing is perhaps easy, but writing well - Well, I suppose the same can be said for many things! Poetry, for example. Can you write a poem? Sure you can! Can you write a good poem? If not now, you probably will at some point, if you keep trying. That is what I tell myself, when I look at my poetry and feel talentless. In November, I mentioned I was participating in NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month, where the challenge is to write 50,000 words or more during November. I did write those 50,000 words, and hopefully it helped me somehow. This month I learnt about NaPoWriMo - National Poetry Writing Month , where the aim is to wri...

I saw a lovely oil painting of a cat the other day, it inspired me to try and paint some 'blocky cats'. I like them when they look simple. They are both watercolour paintings, but I am working on some acrylic ones, too. :) I plan to paint more often and will be adding paintings to my 'Block Cats' collection in the next weeks or so. :)

A little friend enjoying the pre-Spring sunshine I've been meaning to write a post sooner, but it never seems to quite happen... It's either half-baked ideas or none at all, or I somehow discover it's rather late and I've been occupied with classical music, looking at funny photos and writing to people. (Ok, I'm making it sound serious and excusable.. I may also spend time looking at LOLcats too..) But I also spend a great deal of time talking about how I'm going to write a blog post soon. And paint a picture, write more poetry, write my essays.. Well, you know how it goes, you talk about doing things instead of doing them. Or you actively procrastinate. A deadline coming up and you need to finish writing that essay? Now is a great time to start cleaning the house! A presentation to finish for class tomorrow? Let's sort out the clothes in colour piles. (OK, I don't really do that second one. Alright, maybe not the first one either, not the whole ho...

Coffee for a Concert, Oil on canvas The above picture is of an oil painting of mine, inspired by a lunchtime concert I went to on Friday 2nd March at Charlton House. (It is also my second attempt at oil painting!) In France, it is habitual to have coffee after eating lunch, hence the title. I have already written a post involving classical music , where I tried as best I could to explain, to some extent, how classical music makes me feel. This concert was slightly different in a few ways, though no less enjoyable. In my first blog post, I mentioned wanting to be a writer from a young age. Since then, it's come to my mind that, in a way, I have achieved my dream: I am a writer. I may not be published, I may not be known, but I write. It may not be what I expected as a young child, but it is just as significant. I write because I want to, not to get paid. It isn't always easy, and my unfrequent blog updates are a reflection of this, but I write. This is, as expected, linked to my...

“Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depth of your heart; confess to yourself you would have to die if you were forbidden to write.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke I feel as if I'm finally making headway towards certain goals. Yesterday evening I was informed of a new art showcasing website. I am already part of such a website, and quite like being there. It is a nice community, I've become familiar with a few people and receive feedback on my work. However it has grown enormously, so I thought it might help to be also part of a new, smaller website where I could get more views on my art. The new website is, at the moment, invite only. Luckily, I received an invite, and am now a member! I have not uploaded much as of yet, and need to sort a few things out, but soon enough I shall be sharing the link to my page. I'm quite happy about some responses I've been getting over here . I'm not always sure if my...

" Somewhere in a parallel universe, I have written a blog post about my amazing evening with Tom Hardy ." Today was fairly typical. I woke up early, spent the next thirty minutes grumbling about the noise downstairs and yelling at my cat to stop going in and out of my room and pushing the door wide open each time, only to get up 5 minutes after everyone had left and the house was silent. Not all of us have the luxury of deep sleep and staying in bed all day. Got dressed. Fed cat. Dragged myself to the station. And so the day crawled along. Sometime later, I had a little time to read the newspaper, and delightfully discovered that there was a film première tonight, Tom Hardy would be there, and if I cut out the ad and took it along, I could enter the VIP fan lounge! (Or something like that.) See, I'd already met Tom Hardy at the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy première, and soon after decided I quite liked him. This was confirmed when I watched TTSS, and again after watching Inc...