Friends

I have been spending time this weekend gone, with some old and dear friends, one of which i have known longer than anyone outside my own family. It got me to thinking about friendship and what it is all about. Friends are not easily come by and far to easy to lose, and over the years, many people have come and gone. Friendships, like plants, often need to be maintained, and it is so easy to forget to keep in touch. Yes it takes two to tango as the saying goes, but our lives are busy and it is simple to find excuses as to why we have failed to maintain contact.

I have never been good at keeping in contact with people by remote means. I was never a writer of letters when that was all there was, and the telephone is anathema to me. I always preferred face to face contact and without that, my own grasp on friendship seems to wither somewhat.

That doesn't mean that I ever forget anyone that has been important to me. I still have fond and lasting memories and feelings for so many people that I no longer see or hear from. Their voices are still in my head as are their faces clearly visible to me. They, however have moved on to pastures new and i have done the same. To go the distance really does require something special and that is something to be proud of and something to hold onto.

Some friends come and go very quickly when it becomes obvious that their lives can never really be entwined. An i guess that is where the real crux lies. In order to be real friends, there has to be a way of making sure that each lives at least in part, within the life of the other. It is about sharing and confiding, it is about loyalty and trust and it is about making sacrifices and giving to the other as well as receiving what they have to offer.

In a couple of weeks, by sheer coincidence, three of my oldest friends are descending within a two week window. Two of them will be here at the same time while the other is coming down the following week. They all know each other and none of us has met since we left school all those years ago. Then we were the closest of friends and did everything together. Well not quite everything - there were girls too! We have all moved on so much in all those years and I look forward to seeing them all, though it is with some trepidation that I do. We are not the same, we can never be. We lost touch, and probably for a reason, and so when we link up again, it will not be as close buddies but as strangers who once met on a train and who all got off at different stops.

For those who consider me a friend, thank you for being there and if i have neglected you in any way, then I am sorry. I do not do these things on purpose and I recognise this as a major flaw in a very flawed person. I hope that one day I may be forgiven

Ars gratia artis

I have a friend who insists that I am an artist.
I never ever considered myself to be so for any number of reasons, and today i thought I'd say a few words about that.

I have heard many definitions of "Art" and i guess that my current favourites are, and in no particular order, "An Artist is one who knows where to draw the line." "Art is what you can get away with." and "Art is the ability to move people."

Now let me examine those three statements critically. I never know where to draw the line. Oh I can draw lines and make the occasional pretty picture, but those images that I produce bear no resemblance to anything in particular, and to me are random doodles that emerge from somewhere deep inside my troubled brain.

Do I get away with my work? Well maybe i do. Some people, the very few who have ever seen my stuff, say that they like it. But friends always say that. That is what friends are for, to boost your ego and give you confidence in yourself.

Moving people?? now there is a serious issue. I have heard it argued that if something can produce an emotional response of any kind then it can be called art! Well i make no claims to have ever produced an emotional response in anyone from any painting that I have ever produced. Some paintings and sculptures that I have seen make me angry, so I guess that makes them valid. One such painter is Mark Rothko. Now i know that this is a very subjective viewpoint, but I have seen a number of Rothko paintings in the flesh and frankly, to me they are just large canvases covered in blocks of colour that are not even well painted. I have seen others standing in awe in front of Rothko's works and I just find it amazing that so many people are conned by what they have been told is good art.

I enjoy the paintings of many artists, ranging from Leonardo and Botticelli, to the Pre Rapahelites, Dali, Magritte and many others. I can see the skills and the brilliance of the pictures that they paint, but to say that they move me emotionally would be stretching a point. Maybe it is a fault in me, and maybe that is why I always fail to produce on canvas what I see in my head, but I cannot get emotional about a painting.

What does touch me deeply however is music, and I am very subject to the minor key particularly. Music has the power to lift my spirits to amazing heights, and also to take me into the depths of despair. To me the ultimate art has to be Opera, where so many "arts" are brought together into a package that stimulates our senses and probes every aspect of our emotions.

Even a simple song can move me to tears. The other day, Holly sent me a song that she had recorded. She moves through the fair is an old traditional song, and like everything she does, she made it her own. I listened, spellbound by her interpretation, and although that song has no particular connotation, she brought tears to my eyes. That is art.

Liz

Today i visited my old friend Liz. We were neighbours until lifetime changes meant a move of house. I have kept in touch with her however because I like her a great deal and she is so interesting to talk to.
Liz was an Art Teacher and was born before World War 2, in times of strife and deprivation. She, like so many children at the time was taken away from home and sent to live with temporary parents to avoid the horrors of the blitz, and she always has interesting tales to tell. She has produced a wealth of work in her time and now lives alon in a big house full of fading treasures. The sad thing is that when she dies, it is likely that her work will be destroyed, and like her memories and experiences, they will vanish as if nothing was ever there.

I am photographing her work as well as i can in the poor light and hope to keep my own record, but I guess that when i go that will be the last.

I am posting some of her images today so that more can share in her work. She cannot even giver her stuff away as most of the paintings are too large for today's small houses. This is just a small tribute to a lovely lady that i am honoured to know.

A truly bigotted rant

One of the problems of holidays abroad is that one loses touch with what is going on in the world. That can be a blessing in some ways but frankly I always seem to take a while to get back into the routine of checking up on current events. After all if i fail to absorb what is going on, how can I possibly rant? Ok I know, I can rant about anything at all and need no triggers.

I had no idea for example that the two most dangerous men in the world had come together to celebrate the birthday of one of them. Now what the Pope could hope to gain from a visit to the Whitehouse is anyone's guess. Is the Vatican Bank trying to bail out the US economy? or is the Republican Party trying to regain the Catholic vote?

Mr Bush quoted St Augustine in greeting the Pope with the words "peace be with you".
He said the US was honoured that the Pope was spending his "special day" with Americans.
Mr Bush said the US was "fully modern but guided by ancient and eternal truths".
Mr Bush added: "In a world where some evoke the name of God to justify acts of terror and murder and hate, we need your message that God is love."
Such a message would "save man from falling prey to the teaching of fanaticism and terrorism," he said.


And so it goes on...... Is it just me or do those words seem empty and meaningless? After all George and Mr Pope both represent organisations that can be described as fanatical, and the Catholic church is no stranger to terrorism.

God is not love! God is Man's excuse to murder and torture and exterminate those whose politics are different. God is a way to salve consciences and a justification for acts of horrific cruelty. Both Bush and his new friend must know this, and the ancient truths that they refer to are the superstitions that have kept people repressed throughout history.

Bush and his buddies love wealth and so does the Vatican, the wealthiest organisation in the world. Wouldn't it be refreshing to hear the real truth for a change. They both depend on the poor, after all, it is only the poor that make the rest of us seem rich.

Well that should provoke a response -I await a visit from the Inquisition!

more of the same

holiday pics

I don't normally like to put holiday photos on here but what the heck- let's break out a little eh?

Awaydays

I just came back from a trip to the south of France. I won't bore you with details of the holiday, that would be like showing holiday photos to dinner guests, suffice it to say that it was a very long journey. i am not sure of the actual kilometrage but the drive from here to the very southerly tip is a journey and a half, and even on French roads it is hard going.

I am a Francophile I confess and love most things about being in France. There are some exceptions though, and I still find it hard to remember that in France on a Sunday, everything is closed. Between 2 and 4pm everyday, the people just vanish without a trace, and unless you want a restaurant meal, you might as well have a sleep, which is of course what the sensible French are probably doing.

It strikes me that France has so much going for it. They enjoy a lovely climate, have a huge landmass that is underpopulated and a wonderfully laid back attitude to the world and everything that goes on. They have a modern well equipped armed service, and yet, like the Canadians, keep a low profile when it comes to international affairs. It seems like the French, like to assess a situation for a long while over a glass or two of wine and then make sure that they join the winning side. How sensible is that?

Having said all that, I am glad to be back and hope to maintain my usual stream of drivel as soon as possible.