I might bring this blog back to life for our round-the-world trip with Mary and Frank (pictured above during one of their less active moments! in Venice earlier this year) I should have blogged that; it was a great holiday with lots of really good friends. Anyway there won't be much time for sitting around on this next holiday; it's going to be pretty hectic with fourteen separate stops in New Zealand alone during the three weeks we'll be there.

There will be heavy competition from Facebook but I might manage to put a few postings and pics on here .. Just for me if nobody else is bothered!

Unearthed very old works of "art"

It's been ages.
Here are a few drawings and paintings which I found while looking for stuff to put in our newly acquired studio (formerly known as "Alison's room") The studio will double up as a guest bedroom so don't worry you travellers, there will always be somewhere to put your head down whenever the need arises. (you'll just be surrounded by (mainly ancient) works of "art."
Any comments about this new content will be cautiously received and duly noted and will also be appreciated.
Hunting out old stuff will help to give us both inspiration and help us make use of the studio. Although the basics have been done (decorating; new flooring; new blind on order and new double Z bed installed etc.) we still have to furnish it with things that will suite its function.



This is in the middle of Derry .. a nice wee cottage



This is a Scottish shepherd with his wee dug trying to keep up!
2000 or soon after

Inspired by a photo in National Geographic. I didn't date it ! I think it's late eighties

Penny

Penny

Can't remember ..I think it might be Ginger

Daddy (Gilfeather) Papa 1969

Dave's (Linney) house in France ..in various stages

A wee but an' ben Argyleshire

Italy (well a very small bit of it) painted in situe 1998

This canal painting I did for Mary Best ..she bought it for Martin's 60th ...' not saying when!!

More of Dave's laundry

Somewhere near Droitwich ..viewed from the canal.

Love-in-a-mist seed pods 1991

A wee hoverfly 1991

Drawn in Italy
1991

Italy 1991

Italy 1991

Ali blowing her trumpet (her own trumpet!)

Italy 1991

Wee boy Greetin' ....I think circa late sixties or early seventies (drawn that is ..he's not old ...well he might be now I suppose)

Penny 1991

Somewhere in Ireland when it was just about to tip it down! 2000?

Brockhampton house ..it's a black and white building usually but they were refurbishing it at the time I did this painting. Dave linney bought this with two others ..don't have pictures of the other two. 2002 blurred photo cause it pre-dates digital camera!

Art

Just managed a few sketches while out there in Puerto Escondido.

Dolphins

This will probably be the last post from Mexico ...where did all that time go!? We got another boat today again just the four of us ...we don't share!! ..this time out into the Pacific about six miles or so where we saw first one dolphin then another then they were popping up all over the place. There were probably over a hundred maybe several hundreds in a school(?) that seemed to spread for more than a mile wide. Photographic evidence is minimal, though I did get lots of pictures of waves under which the dolphins had just disappeared!! You'll just have to believe me. We also saw turtles and numerous birds of different kinds .. one standing on a turtle's back hitchin' a ride! In a short time we four will go to down to one of our favourite restaurants on the beach and watch the sun set and have a meal and a few coctails to round off what has been just an amazing experience. Most of the success of this holiday has been down to the local knowledge picked up by Ali and Ed over this last year, but also to their ability to put up with us oldies ..they have hardly let us out of their site! just BRILLIANT !! THANK YOU ALI and ED. XXXXXXXXX

The Lagoon

We went on the boat pictured (just the four of us again) several miles down a lagoon to where it joins the sea. On the way we were treated to a wide variety of mainly bird wildlife some of which I managed to catch on camera. Among others we saw black vultures, ospreys, egrets, herons of various types, pelicans,(don't they look silly perching in trees with webbed feet!) frigate birds, terns and pink spoon-bills.We reached the sea just in time to watch a glorious sun-set while drinking our complimentary beers, then back up the lagoon in the dark where we were witness to an amazing phenomenon of phosphorescent plankton ..for the first time in my life I climbed over the side of a perfectly good boat and got into the water to better witness this magical display .Yike! I just could NOT be the only one not to.