" I Say . . .

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I WISH EVERYONE ALL THE LOVE AND LUCK FOR 2007!!!!

Love Emy xxxxxxxxxxxx

Gothic Cornwall

Ok so I've just switched to the new blogger version. It took me a while as I couldn't remember my google account information - but I did and here I am and I really can't see a difference - yet.

I really don't have any news of such. Christmas was lovely and as it took so long to come it was soon over in a blink of an eye. As is always the case. And now 2006 is drawing to a close and every year I shed a tear or two in it's wake.

So a few links today - always something to fall back on:

Last night I had a dream of Reverend Hawker of Morwenstow in Cornwall, born in 1803. He was an eccentric and used to bring a pig with him to his services. He was the one who created the Harvest festival and his parish was perched on the cliffs over looking the mighty Atlantic where he built a little hut called 'Hawker's Hut' and used to sit there on wild windy evenings watching out for any ships getting into difficulty and if so he would call for help. Click here to read about him. Now, in my dream, it was a wild, bleak day and I was standing in the graveyard for some reason counting the graves when I felt someone standing behind me. He didn't need to tell me who he was because I knew and he seemed to know my name too and he took me round all of the graves telling me stories of each and every one. Unfortunately the wind was so loud and the rain lashing against my face that I couldn't understand most of the words he said and any I did I have forgotten. Why I was there I'm not sure - although I've been there in real life on many occassions and it's gothic and very beautiful, but I haven't been for many years. Also I suppose it could be because for my Dad's Birthday my Mum and I are planning something secret (so don't tell anyone . . .) The vicarage in which Hawker built for himself now does bed and breakfast and Morwenstow, as my Dad has often said, feels like his spiritual home, so I'm planning to book a few nights there (it's all the way in May so I'm still planning) and who knows? The ghost of Hawker may still haunt his old dwelling.

In the news today - 'Housework can help you beat breast cancer, women told' Right, here we go, I'm sure it's true but why only breast cancer? Well it's only a ploy to get women exercising more - it's not only the housework that helps, it's all types of exercise - housework just get women's attention and in this day and age I get angry over that, the little women staying at home to cook and clean when the man goes out and makes a living. Bullshit now. I'm not going to take this any further.

Right, enough of that, I'm off!

I will be back to normal soon.

Emy xxx

Where Is Christmas?

Is it me? Or is Christmas taking a hell of a long time to come? I suppose having done and finished the shopping for it so early didn't help - also the Christmas tree has been up for 10 days now and still no sign of Christmas. And I unlike many of my friends, love Christmas but frankly I'm getting bored now, and the stress is beginning to show as I've had bad headaches and haven't been able to sleep at nights - or that I'm so tired and I sleep in the same position the whole night (as I did last night) and wake up stiff! My Mum at this moment is making her Christmas Ice cream and icing her cake. My Dad is off visiting his Mum in the home and I'm wandering around the house feeling bored.

Over the last 5 days or so England has been comsumed in fog. So much so that Heathrow was in a crisis, thousands of people going away for Christmas, stranded at the airport and because of this there has been no planes going over. Usually there's around 40 every hour right over our house, but the air has been silent and clean - fresher and the little tv downstairs is working perfectly as before the pictures were awful however much moving of the aerial and maybe it was the planes causing the problem. But now they're back - there's one coming over now - and the picture is rubbish again. It's cold and dull today - I haven't seen the sun in days.

So one of my famous catch ups with photos:

Our Christmas Tree

Note the paintings!

Canterbury High Street - note the French students with rucksacks!

River Stour flowing through Canterbury

And looking in the opposite direction

The Canterbury Tales pub . . .

Marlowe theatre looking a little worse for wear

. . . And lots of love from Canterbury

Mary's Art Deco party

Myself and old school friend Priya

Least someone made an effort - JP & me

All the HTC girls together - HTC, our closed down school

Myself & Mary - her Mulled wine knocked your socks off and her Sherry Trifle blew your head off - but it was still very nice and I definitely was not sober when I left!

I met Andy last week and that's the scarf I bought him for Christmas

The leaning tower of Big Ben - no that's just my camera skills lol!

The National gallery

Tree and carol singers at Trafalgar Square

Fountain with Houses of Parliment behind

That's all folks.

If I don't get to post before Christmas then I hope you all have a lovely time and drink and eat way too much! I certainly will!

Emy xxx

This is Just Too Cute

That's all of my cuteness today folks!

E xxx

My 200th Post : Christmas is Here

Well, it's definitely Christmas now, as we went to The Salvation Army's Carol Service at St Martin-in-the-fields Church in Trafalgar Square (we went there for the first time last year and enjoyed it so much that we vowed to go again - and we did!). We sang 4 carols and I haven't sung properly like that for . . . well . . . since last years service! We sang my favourite carol - 'Once in Royal David's City' it always gives me shivers down my spine! Afterwards we went to the National Gallery for tea, a look round the shops, I say shops because there are 3 in the gallery, all the same, but sometimes one sells different things from the others, like different christmas decorations and postcards. We also managed to look at a few paintings as well then we made our way back through the pouring rain, past the Salvation army brass band playing carols on the steps of St Martins and to Charring Cross, and for once we got a train immediately!

A few leaves hanging onto the trees in Shirley's garden

That big grey cloud at Bluewater on the morning of the North London tornado

Although the sun came after 30 minutes of the downpour

Trinny and Susana at their book signing in John Lewis - presenter of 'What Not To Wear' (obviously never taken the advice for themselves!!!!)

Bluewater has had the same Christmas decorations outside for almost 5 years!!!

Although they look lovely at night - but someone didn't check if they were all still working!

Beautiful though

But new decorations inside

The Carol concert - 10 mins after this and it was packed to bursting point

Love the chandeliers!!!

Trafalgar Square

The National Gallery (as it says!)

St Martin-in-the-Fields, right next to the gallery

Not much has been happening. Although very sad, shocking news. My Kindergarten teacher, her son was drowned in a boating accident in August and we only just found out through her sister (who was my teacher too in year 6) in a letter in her Christmas cards. Him and two other friends were on their way to the Regatta in Dartmouth when a P&O ferry ran them down, the boat sank and they drowned. All the bodies have washed up and now so has the boat. It was such a shock as his mother used to talk about him in class when I was 6 - I still remember - and I might have met him once although he was 10 years older then me. Please, if anyone reads this and is Christian in any way, spare a thought and prayer for them and their families.

Emy xxx

Congratulations to My Dad!!!!!

But first, Erm, I'm a bit afraid with this new blogger version - I haven't clicked on it yet, only because I don't know my google account information - has anyone done it yet? What's it like?

Anyway, yes, congratulations to my Dad, he has now become 'one of us' and has bought a MacPowerbook - well, we all chipped in a bit and I bought him iwork which looks far superior to Microsoft, is it? This brand spanking new laptop replaces his ancient 25 year old Toshiba which is on it's final legs and still uses one of the first operating systems - Word Perfect. We haven't set it up yet, as we were in Bluewater all day yesterday Christmas shopping and have been so stiff and sore today that setting up a new laptop sounded too exhausting, regardless if it was an Apple or not. We bought it in the Apple shop - one of the last customers of the day - the shop was shutting at 10 - we got there at 9:50, my mum and I filled up on wine from dinner and a little worse for wear - and so I was more forward then usual and fired off a dozen questions to the poor unsuspecting sales assisstant - or Mac Genius's as they're called unfortunately destroying that fact wearing silly little santa hats! Anyway, this guy was so enthusiastic about it all and wanted to show us everything - but I was worried about the time, it was 10:15 when we finally bought it and as we left I couldn't wipe the grin off my face, my Dad has now joined the masses, grown up (lol) and moved with the times and I am to be the one who's going to teach him!

I managed to do 90% of my Christmas shopping yesterday (still need to go to Canterbury and Covent Garden) but most of it's done. Yes, this is a chesse supreme sandwich blog today! Well, kind of, as I still can't believe a tornado hit North West London yesterday - the BBC pages for that and Times Online to read the stories. Practically a whole road was taken out. Really frightening it happening so close to home. I think we saw the cloud yesterday, because as soon as we got into John Lewis the heavens opened and there was a mighty flash and bang of thunder and it poured. People were watching the storm from inside the cafe, mesmorised. My spelling is awful tonight, I really do apologise - I must do something about it.

My gran as usual is on her way out. I think it might be it this time. While she was at Kings hospital a few months back, being 92 (now 93) old and frail and ill she has caught the famous hospital bug - MRSA - which is appparently rife at Kings and she is now slowly wasting away in her bed, with not much to comfort her and no memory of her family who come and see her. She just looks at us blankley and falls asleep again. It's a really sad state of affairs and of course there is no cure and how long she is going to survive, I can not tell you. Though I can see us attending her furneral either before or straight after Christmas. Grim I know, sorry.

And on that sad note - I'm really hungover still - I must go and collaspe in a heap somewhere.

Emy xxx

Help Me . . . Which Way Round?

Hello folks - I need your advice on a painting. As always some paintings look better a different way up to what they were painted and this painting is just that.

So here are the 4 different ways and please vote on the comment box:

Which Way? 1 - the way it was painted. Medium used Oil and mixed media and on canvas:



2.


3 ( a friend liked this way round):



4



Now I don't care if you don't like the painting, just which way is better and to help you gain an insight into it's size, it's: 24inchs x 30inchs or 61cm x 76cm,

Thanks for all your help! (that's if you do help - lol)

Emy xxx

5 Things That Have Really Annoyed Me Today:

1. Yet another morning waking up and finding to my disgust that I'm not in Devon.

2. I haven't been sleeping so well of late and last night was one of those times and just when I was beginning to full into a peaceful slumber the planes started coming over - and they sounded so much louder as the wind had picked up. So end of my sleep. Wouldn't get this in Devon.

3. Sex. Everywhere I've been to, read or seen on TV has mentioned sex. God, I'm even reading a book on the subject 'Girl with a man track mind' and I looked up her blog too. Heck.

4. Since returning from the West I've been trying to title my new paintings. I did around 30 and narrowed the best ones (not being modest) to 23. And can I get past the 3rd one? No, of course I can't. I'm just not very good at titling and I hate to leave them 'Untitled' that's just been done too much in the past and they need to go on my website pronto. Double heck.

5. So finally this afternoon I read a little and then fell asleep still clutching the book only to be woken up by my Dad asking me from the stairs if I wanted some avocado 15 minutes later! Not happy.

So that was my day and now it's even worse because of the darn football on tonight which my folks watch - all the time, every match, regardless what channel and regardless who's playing!

I hope to have slept well by tomorrow and a lot happier!

Emy xxx

No It Didn't Work

Although it did for last night in the small hours - the rain and wind battering against the cottage, I did raise a little bit of fury but it all died down in the morning.

So we left at 10:30am, good journey, but very exhausting and we're home now and have just had a home delivery chinese take away, wine, chocolate eclairs, coffee and single malt whiskey so am a little drunk now and very tired, so this is a short one to say we're home safely and the broadband works too!

London.

I do love it.

It's good to have the best of both worlds.

But I prefer the Devon world.

Gah as Tucker would say.

See you all soon when I've recovered.

Emy xxx

DEVIL WITHIN . . . & Goodbye to the West

Ok, last night in Devon and the first time I'm typing this post on broadband - which didn't work for 4 days and 4 days worth of calls to the BT technical support in . . . India! Every single person I spoke to was Indian and many times I disn't understand their accent. It was a nightmare. It was only our wonderful techncian Graham Allen who put it right - the phone line hasn't been right since the lightening and yesterday the god's were smiling down on me and it started working. Thank God. But a shame as I'm off back to London tomorrow and won't enjoy the peace of mind and pleasure of Broadband in Devon - of course I have it in London but then that goes without saying!

We've definitely had a busy 4 weeks in the West which is noted by the lack of posts I've done. We've seen all our friends, been to a few of the places we had earmarked to go to and enjoyed the beastly weather (beastly? Yes, a wonderful word and should make a come back in the English language). It's definitetly a lot colder tonight, winter has come at last.

So pictures from the last few days:

Grey skies - the same sight for the last 2 weeks

Our yard and my wooden studio after a brisk shower

Anvil clouds from the bathroom window

The crops in the field this time are Oilseed Rape - so will be bright yellow in Spring

David taking the cut branches away from under the tree!

Sunset at Barnstable with palm trees

Possibly the worst Art Deco building in the country in Barnstable

My last walk today across the field - and the first time I had seen the sun for days

My beautiful pine trees

When the gorse is in season so is kissing!

Note the storm clouds

Classic winter scene and what is on my desk top right now

Red & gold & green & blue & white & yellow . . .

I'm going to miss the full moon!!!!!

Picture perfect - the pine and the moon

I don't want to leave . . .

Please can I stay . . .

Intense blue

Mmmmmm, the cottage needs a paint!

The best place on earth

And 'our' beautiful pine

That old gate picture

Our friend David told my Dad to night that the weather is turning bad. Gusts of up to 80mph are meant to be hitting the region over night and if that's the case then we may have to go back on Monday. . . .

Right, I conjure up hell and high water, battering gales and lashing rain . . . All the wicked colours, dark reds and dark blues, slate grey and flashing yellows and pinks - I want the trees swaying, the hedges groaning, the telegraph wires howling - I don't want to go tomorrow, I want another day in my paradise - So COME WIND, COME RAIN, COME ALL - let the wind hit the land, let the rain flood the fields - LET IT ALL COME, ALL HELL, ALL EVIL, ALL MADNESS, LET IT RIP THE WEST APART - and let me stay one extra day . . . Yeah, like heck it will, I wish I had magic powers sometimes . . . ! (my devil within)

Oh flip - back to London, London for Christmas, oh and Happy December everyone, this year has gone too fast. London for shopping, London for a Christmas tree, London for Waitrose shopping, London for all joys & Christmas cheer, London for carol singing . . . No woodburner, no freshly picked holly in the wood, no beautiful skies and crisp, misty mornings, no wide open spaces and no peace and quiet. No nothing . . . All I want to shout is: I'm NOT a Londonner, GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!! See you all soon.

Emy xxx