We took a day off last weekend. No work, no study, etc and went to feed the ducks on Ray Mill Island (not for the whole day, there’s only so long you can spend distributing bread to waterfowl). Was great to get away from technology and swearing for a bit, I showed Karen how to get the geese to come and take bread out of your hand (they are a lot less threatening when you are offering food) and we saw some baby geese and moorhens. Only slightly marred when we sat down with ice cream and someone’s dog came and crapped right in front of us. Lovely. Here are some pictures. (Promise to post something that isn’t just a bunch of pictures soon).

Quick photo catchup. Accidentally have a mix of slightly dark/gothic looking pics and assorted spring pics (not really a surprise). We took a trip to West Wycombe with Emily and Katie during which everything seemed to be unnecessarily expensive, £5 each to walk round the park, £5 each to go in the caves (we didn’t bother), couple of quid each to climb the church tower (we didn’t bother).

Recent favourites:

Noisy Tits in the garden

House by All Saints Cemetery in Maidenhead. Up for sale, very tempting.

Somewhere in Shiplake

In the woods…

Karen, Emily and Katie posing for their Indie-rock album cover (by the Temple of Venus in West Wycombe park)

In lieu of actually writing anything, here’s a quick roundup of recent(ish) photos…

Knowl Hill in the Snow:

Braving the wastelands of Knowl Hill in the snow:

Katie – Rescuer of abandoned Christmas Ornaments

Ed’s favourite ride

Full set of Knowl Hill Snow expedition photos.

Avebury:

Quick visit to Avebury for lunch with Dad and Jan.

Full set of Avebury photos.

Wargrave Commission, Maidenhead in the Snow

More shots of Maidenhead in the snow.

A short while before Christmas the lovely people at Boville’s in Maidenhead organised Art on the Street, being a two day art market aimed at local artists, with the benefit of sponsorship it only cost £25 for a pitch for two days meaning it was accessible for everyone and just off the main shopping centre in Maidenhead so that people actually turned up to look at and buy the art.

There was a pleasing selection of art on show. I’d expected nothing but still life and landscapes, not that I have anything against still life or landscapes, it’s just good to see a little diversity. We hung around with Jen and Neil for a bit, bemoaned the timing of the market (too close to Christmas, I’d already spent all my cash), bought a couple of prints then sodded off home. Really enjoyed it and looking forward to the next one.

More that a little pissed off with myself for having not got my shit together enough to have taken part. Another year has gone by where I’ve prioritised other people’s projects over my own and let work get in the way in the most horrific and unacceptable manner. I have been taking steps in the right direction, hopefully I’ll have got myself sorted enough that I might have enough finished material for the next market (May). I have a couple of sketchbooks full of ideas but nothing concrete yet. It was good to see that both Jen and Neil had created a load of really brilliant work alongside their day-jobs, with the right mindset I may get something finished. Had a chat with Scott and Emma today about maybe sharing a pitch at the next one, should give me a bit of motivation.

So, thanks to Boville’s for injecting a bit of art and culture into our otherwise fairly dismal town, and if I fail to get enough material together for a future event I’ll just have to go on an axe wielding rampage through the town instead.

Some links of interest:

• Jen’s art blog
• Neil’s art blog
• Buy Neil and Jen’s art here
• Harriet’s art
• A. Boville Wright
• Art on the Street

More photos here.