JULY 2024

Tuesday 1.7.24

Quite a lot of things to catch up on having been away.

Wednesday 2.7.24

In the afternoon Edward and Alyson come. They have been friends for very many years. Edward was managing director of the Racecourse but is now Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, representing the King in the County. He’s also chaired a huge number of charitable trusts and organisations They have come to collect Tea With The Bear as they are having thier house done up. I am so hugely touched. They have always been huge supporters and encouraged through the years. When I tell Edward that one of the other paintings went to Estonia to the colletion of Dr Margus Laidre who has commented that he and Tiina now have twenty of my works and that perhaps it is time for anther exhibition in Estonia based on their collection, Edward points out that he knows one of Estonia’s greatest artists, the composer Arvo Part who I know that Margus knows as he has sent me a CD of his work. Edward tells me that when was chair of Cheltenham International Music Festival he drove Arvo Part aound when he was performing at it and that Meurig Bowen the then director used to speak with Arvo in German, not realising that he spoke perfect English and even had a house in Essex.

Thursday 3.7.24

We had Dr David Wilson staying overnight. He is the great nephew of Dr. Edward Wilson the polar explorer on Scott’s last voyage to the Antarctic. He was also an artist. David has come to Cheltenham from Folkestone for AGM of the  Friends of The Wilson, Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, where I have to give the welcoming speech, including to any dignataries like the Mayor and new CEO of the Cheltenham Trust and Patrons. I am very touched that they still want me to remain in place as President after so many years. I also make reference to one of the current exhibition which I had heard recommended on one of Radio 4’s cultural programmes and also make reference to Chelteham Open Studios and say how pleased I was that The Wilson were part of it. Thanking Lisa and my thank you to the Friends and their Trustees who organise a wonderful programme of events, talks and trips but who raise the all important moneys that help the Museum survive and without which most museums and cultural institutions would not survive. The money enables the museum to apply for match funding from many charitable bodies and trusts.

So we invited people to a supper afterwards who had also been to the Antarctic like our friend Martin Kiszko the composer who wrote the music for David Attenborough’s Battle of the Sexes; David Sproxton co founder of AardmanAnimations (and his wife Sue who works for Bristol City Museum) Doug Allen the multi award winning underwater cameraman who David Attenborough called the best cameraman in the world and another writer Anne Strathie who has written books on Shackleton and the Polar photographer Ponting. We were the only ones who hadn’t been but we learned a lot! We also had Sue and Andy, he having spent the first six years of his life growing up on a boat that his grandfather had converted from a naval torpedo boat into a house boat. So not surprising he became a pilot. Sue, although she studied art then went into the RAF using he photographic skills interpretively working in Iraq as a photo reconnaisance becomming a wing commander and being awarded an MBE. But she did remember that she spent three nights sleeping on Shackelton’s Discovery during her training which qualified her rather more than us. But it was a wonderful evening including David Sproxton telling me how he had sat in on an operation being performed by a friend who is a surgeon in Bristol on a boy about 8 who had epilepsy so severely that it hugely affected the qualityof his daily life. The impact of so many seizures has hugely deteriorating effects on human organs, thus the life expectancy of a child like that would be not much more than twenty one years. The surgeon removed a very small piece of the little boy’s brain in a long and difficult operation during which three different anaesthetists had to work in shifts but the same surgeon continued until he had completed the operation by which time he was quite exhausted but so pleased when he noticed when the little boy regained consciousness that he reconised his mother;s voice. The risk and responsibility were so great but he was hugely succesful as the child did not suffer any more epiletic fits. What a miracle of human achievement. David also mentioned  as an aside that the Grand Appeal has raised ninety million pounds for the Bristol children’s hospital, likewise that is the most enormous achievement and shows such commitment on Wallace & Gromit’s part.  Doug too regaled us with amazing stories of his underwater photography. He didn’t set out to be an underwater camera man, he was a diver who was encouraged by David Attenborough. He gave us a book ‘Freeze Frame’ of his extraordinary breathtakingly sublime photographs, often intimate scenes of polar bears responding to one another. Not only has he been to the Antarctic to photograph the penguins, whales and submarines but also to the Arctic where the beautiful white bears fish to survive. He’s so very modest and it is truly humbling to have David, one of the founders of Aardman sitting to my left and Doug sitting to my right. I was already in awe of Dr David Wilson and his great uncle Dr Edward Wilson the self sarificing doctor from Cheltenham who worked with TB patients in the slums of London where he contracted the illness himself from which he had only just recovered when he went on Captain Scott’s last expedition to the South Pole where sadly they all perished. But his legend and legacy live on, being part of our history and through David’s books and the magnificent collection of his watercolours, writing, equipment and even the fur suit he wore in the collection of The Wilson, Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum. We also had dear friend Martin Kiszko also from Bristol who had instigated the trip to the Antarctic with David Sproxton, Nick Park and others. Whilst on the boat he wrote an Antarctic Anthem ‘Sea Star’ and he gave all the guests a CD of it. He also passed round his diary illustrated with beautiful small drawing he did whist there. Our lovely friend Anne Strathie, Scottish but living in Cheltenham has also joined us as she has written books on Shackelton, ‘Birdy’ Bowers and Ponting the Polar photographer and of course has also bee there herself. Very knowledgeable, she adds greatly to the coversation. I am surprised to discover that she and Doug have already met at one of Cheltenham’s Festivals. Sue proxton is very interesting as she has worked for Bristol City Museum for many years and is now cataloguing which she does on a voluntary basis two days a week as like Cheltenham they are very short of staff and funds, which is a national diemma in all the arts institutions and mueums.

Friday 4.7.25

Today Katherine is coming to the studio to collect the hand coloured wood engraving of the Angel, Tiger & Dove that she bought at my recent Open Studio in aid of the Great Western Air Ambulance. We chat for some time about her beautiful fifteen year old daughter who has a type of autism that finds it very hard to cope with expectations. Obviously a clever girl but finds it hard to go out and hasn’t been to school for two years. They are going on holiday to the South of France tomorrow, the first holiday for three years so she’s hoping her daughter will be able to cope.

Start Lion painting as my sponsorship of the National Star College’s small lion for the Lions at Large project the trail  which starts on the 11th July. This little painting will go into the window of The Paragon Gallery where my painted three dimensional lion will be exhibited throughout the summer as part of the trail.

Saturday 5.7.25

Just before Martin, Shona and Maya arrive I recive a ‘phone call from Sam who was ‘phoning to say thank you for my very prompt payment for the twelve frames he had made in three batches of four. He says he has a gift for me and would I be around if he brought it over and I say yes, either in the house or the studio. I’m just crossing the Lane with Martin, Shona and Maya who have just arrived when I see a vehicle pull up and a young man jump out carrying what looks from a distance like a frame. As he draws near it is a large frame about twenty five inches tall with a decohedran top and a three sided long piece whose sides narrow towards where they meet the top. It’s a very ambitious shape and totally unlike anything he has made for me before, everything else has been rectangular.  I’m really rather taken aback by his kindness and initiative so give him a hug as a thank you.

Martin and Shona have come with their beautiful daughter Maya, who I haven’t seen since she was sixteen when she accompanied me for the day when I went to judge a schools’ art competition where she was very helpful and later we went up to the National Star College. We look around the studio and discuss particularly the big painting of Al’d’riyah which she said she liked. They have actually come to collect Homage to the wonderful Mr Lear which they purchased from my exhibition at the Portland particularly as when a girl, Maya had with a friend correographed and danced to the poem The Owl & the Pussycat and won a prize.   I had wondered, since Shona said it was particularly meaningful to them about the story behind it. Afterwards we go over to the house and have tea before they go off to agarden party. As they leave Martin reminds me about the Mayor’s charity appeal when he takes on that role next year. and I call out “I’m up for that” knowing that which ever causes he chooses will be good ones.

Sunday 6.7.25

First day with nothing really happening so decide to spend it catching up with the last eight months of diary! which I had written intermittently but still had to add to and edit so that Richard could then load it onto the website. Worked on it until 2am taking it up to the end of May

Monday 7.7.25

As well as writing my ‘thank you’ letters, I manage to check edit and write in a little extra for June which Richard kindly adds to that he loaded up last night.

Nathan rings. He’s back from Marseilles where they have been filming further up the coast on a yacht; he said it had been 42 degrees so worked in his swimming trunks and swam every hour or so. But quite tiring as no days off but it seems to have gone well. He has an interview for a film tomorrow morning. He said as it was low budget he had refused it at first but the director was so keen on both I Am Not A Witch and Harvest (which he thinks is now on release in some cinemas) that she persuaded him to read the script which is what he is going to do this evening.

I do a little more to the Lion though seem to be floundering around on him trying to achieve the right personae

Tuesday 8.7.25

Very hot again. Sit in the garden to have brunch but find it quite alarming to hear on the news that there is a huge fire raging near Marseilles where Nathan was working only three or four days ago. He had said how incredibly hot it was and that he worked in his swimming trunks and swam in the sea every hour to cool down. The Acropolis has been closed in Athens due to immense heat -there are also fires in Spain. This comes shortly after last week’s terrible floods in Texas where over a hundred people perished including lots of beautiful seven and eight year old girls at a holiday camp. When the river Guadolupe suddenly rose by twenty six feet. The shocking thing is that under the new government in the USA, climate change is looked on with suspicion

In the evening work on my small lion painting as my sponsorship for the National Star students having a small 3D lion to paint

Wednesday 9.7.25

Go to the National Star for an evening remembering the lovely Kathryn Rudd who was a brilliant principal of the College for several years but who sadly died at the age of fifty three of colon cancer. She set up a legacy trust fund to benefit her beloved Star College students.

Back home and I continue work on te little lion as they go out on their trail on Friday.

R starts reading Ulysees to me at night.

Thursday 10.7.25

Karen Organ sends me a photograph of the Star Colleg’s lion - he’s absolutely beautiful and is going to be displayed at the City Museum Gloucester on the trail.

Stay up late finishing  the lion painting that is my sponsorship for the National Star students

Friday 11.7.25

After I’ve showered I go into the studio to give a top coat of matt medium to the Lion, the Angel & the Dove and when it’s dry Richard puts tape over the fixings on the back a wire for hanging. We go into Cheltenham to the Paragon Gallery to see Ellie who we had sent a photograph of it to last night along with one to Karen Organ. It is exciting to see my lion dislayed there in Ellie’s window with a couple of Matisse litographs. Ellie is aways bright and encouraging and had actually given the gallery over to the sponsors reception earlier in the year, which was very kind and generous of her as she had to take all the paintings down so that they could blue tac images of all the lion designs onto the walls and it was obviusly a very successful event. where she said The Ivy donated nibbles and drinks. . It is wonderful how much goodwill people have towards the hospital charities. Interesting that whist we are in the gallery we can see people on the pavement stop and take photographs of Leon through the glass window.

Home to the studio and work on the frame on the Cat Duet for Helen.

Later at night we sit out n the garden to have our dinner by the light of the four candle lantern that my Mum had bought for me.

Saturday 12.7.25

I was recently approached by Martin D about painting a commission of a Resurection with the players in it being he himself, his parents and grandparents at Chrichill old churchyard. I realised I hadn’t replied to his last e mail but today a flurry of not one but four e mails come through in succession with photogrphs of his pqrents and grandparents. Interestingly I did a commission for him many years ago when his children were still small, in our garden with Nathan performing in his Punch & Judy booth that he made himself. The painting also incuded likenesses of their good friends and neighbours’ children too. He accepts my terms by return of e post and has requested a site meeting at Churchill old churchyard in August.

Continue on the paintings for Burford Festival exhibition with Helen. I think I’ve almost finished the Cat Duet but felt I needed a change so return to Ex Libris

Sunday 13.7.25

My upstairs studio gets very hot as the sun beams in through my large circular window. It’s glorious earlier in the year but in this heatwave it can become uncomfortable. I could of course be working in my studio across the Lane - I’m very fortunate to have a choice.

Yesterday planted many small begonias but today three larger red ones.