SE1 Bathroom Mysteries..........

Looking at my guests toothmug with his brush standing in it, I could not help wondering why it was half full of water, then looked in the loo to see a 1p coin glinting up from the water. Was this some kind of statement about the purpose of the loo, I wondered? Dear me. Since I have had a rather nasty cold with an irritating chest infection my life has closed in around me a bit. I spent yesterday in bed, trying to think of ways to raise money. I then remembered a huge canteen of silver, which I fished out. I think the scrap value may be around £1000, which when added to my gold scrap would raise around 4-5k. I am quite impressed that my past spendthrift habits may provide a source of cash if needed. If not needed, then I shall ask Nibby to take the gold and have it melted into either one enormous, or two or three less enormous bangles. That way I will still have the possibility of raising dosh for the future. Of course, if I could raise some money from artwork that would be even better, but though I have sold stuff, it is slow and hard work. I definitely need a Saatchi type to buy all the stuff I have already done, which would help a lot. Oh well... Feeling a bit better today and I shall venture out to the shops. The bug will take a few more days to subside, and my next guest is due on the Tuesday after Easter Monday. I am hoping Dorothy may come over on Sunday, and my guest leaves on Saturday. I suspect I have been very lucky so far in my guests: a distinct contrast to my experience with the lodger. After that experience I had started to wonder if I was a bit difficult, but my confidence has increased with each guest, and I am always trying to think of ways to improve the place, which may require money I don't have, but who knows what may happen? I have put the Airbnb professional snaps onto my Facebook, but can't put them here. They make the place look much bigger and better, the clue being when I looked at a mirror, which was much shorter and wider than in reality, and then realised they were using an incredibly wide angled lens. I just hope people won't be disappointed when they arrive.

Girls' Day Out

Had a fab day out with Romy last week: went to Egham on the train and Romy met me in a rather snazzy sports car which was a recent purchase. Dashed back to Romy's cute cottage before leaping back in the car again to partake of a very elegant coffee and fabulous cookie at a wonderful country house hotel called Great Fosters. This reminded me of some of the places we stayed in when working, and is a fabulous Tudor mansion with a fascinating history of visits and events put on for Royalty, Hollywood Royalty, etc. Superb place. We then sallied forth to Buratta's for lunch, where we both purchased a few items. Fortunately I had to come back on the train which prevented any further or larger purchases. Great lunch of bangers and mash, after which we visited a modern hotel by the river which promised to be a great place in the summer with a riverside terrace and huge picture windows. Then we dashed off to Egham and visited a couple of charity shops. I found rather a pretty little bag, a black and white top and a black jacket. As we arrived back at the car park, totally laden, Romy suddently realised the car keys were missing. Fortunately she had left them in the loo at Tesco, so all was well. I am a bit dim about cars and just saw the name 'Boxster' on the back. Apparently it is a rather good Porsche - so used to seeing red Porsches that this rather subtle version did not ring a bell with me. Dorothy tells me it is a very good car. I have to say the acceleration was noticeably good. I could get used to this kind of thing. That was Friday and on Saturday went to St. Pancras with Luke's Drink & Draw. Francesca and I did a little drawing in a station cafe, before the others met to go off to find a Pret. We were far too cold and after purchasing a couple of cheap sketchbooks in Paperchase, we went home. Madeleine came round for lunch on Sunday. We had a roast chicken with roast potatoes and roast vegetables supplemented by some Brussels sprouts. For pud we had a giant strawberry with banana cake and millionaire's shortcake ice cream from Marks. Nicos popped in for a while in the afternoon. He seems to spend his time travelling all over the place and plans to drive down to Plymouth for Easter weekend with four other guys. We pointed out that they might have difficulty finding somewhere to stay but he did not seem worried. A call from Dorothy revealed a rather problematic tax debt, so I am trying to find a way of making a lot of money quickly. Tricky. If I could sell the flat in Barcelona that might solve the problem, but I can't imagine finding a buyer. Oh well. The registration for the Urban Sketchers symposium in Barcelona started at 1pm yesterday, with the expected problems of a hopeless booking procedure. This was eventually sorted out and I managed to pay for an earlybird booking which cost just under £240. A couple of hours later, booking closed due to an unexpected demand for tickets. Not really surprising when you think that Urban Sketchers are all over the world, and increasing all the time, and I had been horrified to discover there were only 120 places. At least I managed to get mine, which is just as well, having booked flights etc. Yesterday I was feeling a bit ill with a nasty dry cough which developed into a vile cough and headache with fever last night. My throat had the familiar feeling of being full of razor blades and my chest crackled horribly all night. Dear me. I also had a very tiresome enquiry for my Airbnb room from someone who pestered me with 13 emails. Finally I withdrew my approval for her to stay as I decided she had been so difficult already that I would be totally against her by the time she arrived, and she wanted to book for a whole month. It is one thing having really nice people like my current guest staying for a month, but if I do have someone difficult I would prefer it to be only for a few days. Or not at all.

At It Again

Actually spent ages doing a sketch of a corner of the sitting room. I replaced the TV with a fan, a present from Romy, as the TV looked a bit crap there. Anyway it is all a bit wonky, and even more wonky in this snap, but never mind. Had some prints done which look better than the original. Oh well. This morning I shot off, wearing my grey wig, much admired. It had become rather chilly again, so it kept my head warm which was a bonus. Anyway I had a coffee with my friend, then purchased lots of stuff from Tesco, though they were delivering the heavy stuff later, but when looking for my clubcard discovered that this, along with my keys, had been left at home. Texted Dorothy who was in meetings all day, panicked a bit and then rang my cleaner, who actually came over with the keys and we had a coffee before she departed. Must not do that again. Shared a snap of Nibby blowing her whistle at the protest in Macclesfield. She looks very good I think. Quite the revolutionary. Purchased another jasmine and a couple of mini daffs, which look quite sweet. I put the hyacinths in the garden, where I hope they will blossom again next year. There is a worrying encroachment of bamboo which is now only just outside my fence. I am wondering whether to lob a hand grenade so it falls just over the fence, but where to purchase such a thing? It might shock the bamboo into considering its position, literally. Maybe. We shall see. At least there are lots of small birds twittering away among the leaves there. Kooky is still being very picky about food. I am thinking of purchasing some hairball remedy, in case he has a large hairball, since he has been dry vomiting a bit recently. I need to pay large sums of money on Monday to try and assure my place at the Urban Sketcher symposium. Horrified to hear they only have 120 places. If I don't get a ticket I suppose I can hang around where they are doing workshops and sketch and pick things up, as well as getting a bit of sketching done anyway. We shall see.

Double Vision

or something made me put two sketches on the last post. Oh well. I ventured out through cold and driving rain to the Brasserie Toulouse Lautrec jam session last night. I left really early, only to discover a couple sitting at my usual table dammit. It was good to see people again, but my efforts were distinctly sketchy. Anyway this morning met my pal David for coffee, and wore my grey wig. He was very enthusiastic about this and said he rather fancied me in it, but that I should wear it at all times. Dear me. Anyway things are a bit quiet this week. At least I have had the loo seat finished, which took ages and confirmed my decision to call the plumber. On Friday I am due at Romy's in Egham, Saturday is Luke's Drink & Draw at St. Pancras, and Madeleine will come over on Sunday. Anyway here's the rather dodgy sketches I did at Toulouse Lautrec:

Silver Sue of Southwark SE1

just went completely batty and bought a grey wig - if you can't have grey hair at 71 - just buy it! Anyway I think it looks quite good, but would rather like a white bob too. Maybe I can find one of these somewhere. Did a bit of sketching at St. Martin in the Fields crypt cafe on Friday, where we were joined by a tiny French child who was seriously sketching with us. We may sketch at Gaby's Deli just up the Charing Cross Road later. This is threatened as the owner wants to get rid of his properties and have more chains like Costa. Seems that Gaby's was a favourite of my ex, and it has been there since the mid sixties. All the actors have been up in arms and doing gigs there to raise publicity. I suggested that a bunch of artists sketching and posting their sketches on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter etc. might help here. Seems that Nibby had a good march in Macclesfield yesterday where they are protesting about the same kind of thing, trying to preserve the independent little shops and studios there. We're all at it. Admitted most of mine is of an armchair nature through the internet, but right on, say I! On the domestic front, my new polisher is very useful, I have purchased more garden plants, some new and smart frying pans and a new pet feeder for the Kookster, who remains capricious and picky about his food. I wish I did. Met Dorothy in Borough Market, and after purchasing all the sensible fruit he made a beeline for the chocolate stall where we purchased lots of chocs and proceeded to eat these with a cuppa at his place. We agonised about the cost of repairing his expensive shoes, going skiing, etc etc before parting company. He may well be skiing over Easter now so I shall refrain from making a huge effort for this. My current guest is leaving on Easter Saturday so I have purchased some mini hot cross buns from M & S which I stuck in the freezer. Due to go to Romy's next Friday (third time lucky with our attempted arrangements? we shall see). Meanwhile tomorrow, my plumber is due to come and attempt to change the loo seat (WHAT a palaver). If he remembers to come so I may text him. Today is Paddy's day and the pub on the corner is opening for the weekend for the first time, including Sunday lunch, so I may well partake of this. We shall see.

snowy and sunny Southwark

but bloody cold and windy. Sketched a portrait demo at the Mall with Francesca and Artists & Illustrators on Sunday, but came back home soon as it was very cold. Later, Dorothy arrived bearing a huge smart bouquet from Borough Market and we dined at the Delaunay, which was very good indeed. A very satisfactory Mothers Day. Very exciting text messages from a friend on a rather enjoyable blind date, affording vicarious pleasure to this old bat. Yesterday I discovered a launderette in Walworth Road, so today left a pile of bedding there which I shall collect tomorrow. I thought it was rather expensive at £20, so I suspect a one-off, but at least I now know where to go to get things laundered. If they haven't lost them (and I hope they won't as one set is very expensive linen and the other is very expensive designer cotton) I shall collect tomorrow. Managed to use a couple of Gudrun bags to transport them in. Last night I did a bit of sketching at the Albert Arms at the Pubsci meeting where there was a most interesting talk on reconstructing how dinosaurs probably looked from examining a few old bones. Paleo Sam is an artist specialising in this kind of thing. Came home a bit knackered. This morning I discovered a huge pot had fallen over and broken in the garden. It had been knocked over by the wind. I spent quite a long time tidying up and planting a few of my wilting primroses. Must get some more pond weed. It seems to disappear fast from the larger pond, but the snails are making a good job of cleaning up all the fish poo in the small one. I had a moment of extreme extravagance and have purchased a lightweight floor polisher from Lakeland for £79. I hope to God it will do something for the kitchen floor. If not I may well put some lino on top of the black marble tiles. We shall see. I also took the unprecedented step of booking a ticked for the Oldie Literary Lunch, an excuse for authors to flog copies of their latest books. There are three speakers: Orlando Figes, Nicky Haslam and Posy Simmonds. The ticket was so much I doubt I will be able to afford to buy any books. Of course I am interested in Posy Simmonds whose drawings I admire. I have heard that Nicky Haslam is actually OK, and apparently the Figes book is very good according to reviews. I have also purchased a cheap secondhand paperback by the recently deceased Sylvia Smith. I had never heard of her until I read her obit in the Times yesterday and decided she sounded quite intriguing. Oh well, we shall see. Quite looking forward to sketching in the Crypt on Friday and off to Romy's new pad in Egham on Saturday. Such treats!

Knackered of SE1 - Part 2

The photographer took ages to snap my flat (just caught him here, in the kitchen), but I eventually escaped to Monmouth Street, where I devoured a few nordic snacks kindly provided at Gudrun's, before indulging in some retail therapy. Met a woman I had previously bumped into: a felter from Morley College. A very successful day. Yesterday I set forth for Canary Wharf and met Luke and the others. I decided it was far too cold for outside sketching so hid in a Pret and did a rather desultory sketch, later joined by the other sketchers who were freezing. I had noticed that the Jubilee line arrived at Stratford which I had wanted to visit, so abandoned sketching in favour of a trip to Westfields, where I found a very useful and cheap thin unlined dark parka for the spring, just heavy enough to be a little windproof and cover the ancient arms over sleeveless things. Fortunately I was wearing some of my Gudrun black and white purchases, so was able to see that it looked OK over these. Marks & Spencer is a most useful shop. On the return journey to Southwark, I had a sudden impulse to try the Emirates Airline, so leapt off at Greenwich North. Assessing (rightly, according to other travellers) that there was nothing much on the other side, I purchased a 360 degree round trip. I was a bit terrified at first, but the cable cars feel very secure and safe. The one unusual thing I did see was a man rising out of the water below on a huge jet of water coming out of a snakelike yellow cable. He would be in the water and suddenly rise straight out to quite a height. He seemed to keep his balance by holding out two kind of hoses pointing downwards from each hand. The whole thing was obviously quite skilled. According to a fellow passenger, this is a new craze. Quite spectacular. Worth the trip just to see that, but it is an easy, pleasant little trip. I may take a closer look at the O2 next time as I espied a Cafe Rouge next door. Arrived home in time to feed the Kookster. My guest came home much later after a shopping trip.