Food for the Creative Soul

I spent the last long weekend following a publicised Art Trail; visiting local Artists in their Studios, Galleries or their own homes and it was so inspiring to see the great variety and styles of art being produced. Apart from visiting the artists within 5 miles or so with daughter Annie, I went further afield with Julie, who is also an artist, into the mountainous areas of Snowdonia, where we've both lived at different times, so Sunday became a nostalgia trip as well, pointing out to my little great-grand-daughter the places where her mother grew up!

We visited Eleanor Brooks, a remarkable lady Artist in her eighties who still teaches at the local college. She lives in a very old stone cottage up a track by a tumbling stream where Julie lived one winter with her very young daughter. They were used to living this way in draughty rooms with ancient ill-fitting doors and open fires and amazingly, it hasn't changed! I was thrilled to realise that her late husband Jeremy Brooks was the author of a book I enjoyed reading recently called 'Jampot Smith'; an evocative recollection of a boy growing up in Llandudno in the War years. (Actually, Mark was given the book by a friend we visited in Leeds in the summer, who was originally from Llandudno and I think Mark took it with him to read on his journey.)

We'd taken very little food with us as we expected to get at least a nourishing snack along the way, but the Cafe at Cnicht only had cakes and drinks, while the Pub at Llanfrothen had stopped serving lunch by the time we got there and we ended up gorging on fish and chips in Beddgelert late in the afternoon, which smelt and tasted good, but gave us all a slightly sick feeling afterwards. After that there was no time to visit the two artisits in Waunfawr, where I used to live, as I was tired and wanted to get home before dark... and it's getting dark earlier every day now!

Unfortunately my camera battery ran out on Saturday while enjoying a day at a Forest Festival on Anglesey where Julie was entertaining the kids with art and play. She's great with children! So I took loads of pics there, especially as it was held in Newborough Forest, right by the sea, which is just such a beautiful and remote location. (Well, quite remote for this country, although less than 40 miles from here.) So I've been much inspired and shaken out of my recent lethargy to write this and attempt some art of my own.
I'll post pics later

I Can See Too Clearly Now!

It's two days since an operation on one eye to correct a cataract restored my sight and the world is clear and bright once more! In fact, I have to wear sunglasses when I go out now. Now the eye has adjusted and I can't believe how much I've been missing as the other eye still looks through a lens darkly!

Now I can see too clearly... every pore, line and wrinkle... aarghhhh!

Modern surgery is indeed amazing and while it wasn't exactly painful, it was certainly not comfortable. However, the experience was interesting, as I was fully awake. I couldn't actually see what was happening as fluid was flooding the eye so it felt like I was looking up at a bright light from the bottom of a well through almost psychedelically coloured swirling liquid.

So one down and one to go! But that will have to wait as I've booked a flight to VietNam for November, so off I go again! Life is great, isn't it!

Pushing the limits

I was watching a TV programme about an American 'Bird-man'. (No, not the birdman of Alcatraz!) This young guy has gone from Base-jumping... that's jumping off high places and pulling a chute at the last moment to land safely... to jumping out of a helicopter to 'fly' down the Eiger! He wears a specially designed suit with weblike panels that stretch between the legs and join the arms to the body, giving him greater air resistance and the ability to manouevre like a gliding bird. That's more amazing than skydiving because his aim is to stay as close to his 'base' as possible; a building, cliff, or mountain!

I do love to hear of people who stretch the limits and dare to do what others don't even dream of. My favourite books from the age of seven were tales of adventure and exploration. However, blazing a trail through the wilderness or hacking a way through the jungle is not for me, although I do favour the narrow path that leads over a mountain pass or follows the bend of a river, the road less travelled, rather than taking the broad easy route that takes one away from more exciting terrain.

I'm more of a follower, looking for the old ways that have been tried and tested but disregarded by those who want the journey of life to be easy and stress free. I want the freedom of the 'Bird-man'; to fly close to the hard reality of life while enjoying every heart-beating moment!

Quality rather than quantity

The debate on euthanasia rolls on and on, while people desperate to end their own suffering or that of a loved one, wait for a definitive ruling in agony. Can one help to end a life with the very best intentions, or not? You wouldn't let a dog linger on unnecessarily, would you? Not an easy subject, as the Law Lords are only too well aware, that could open a loophole for unscrupulous relatives to relieve themselves of a burden and cash in the inheritance. Not that fear of the law has ever stopped such people using foul play to achieve their own ends anyway, if they thought they could get away with it!

Looking after old people with dementia, not to mention debilitating and/or terminal illness has made me very aware of the quality of life. Do I really want to live on when my mind and body are aching to leave this mortal coil behind? No thank you very much! When I'm really past it (not yet awhile) please DO NOT rush me to hospital and hook me up to machines that would keep me alive artificially. I must stress here that I know hospitals do a wonderful job in rescusitating and repairing those who are not yet ready for the knackers yard!

Actually, I don't really want to get into this debate, except to say that to my mind, it's the QUALITY of life that matters, rather than the quantity. However long one is destined to live, the most important thing is to make it as enjoyable as possible by aiming to value each moment of every day. If this seems somewhat ambitious, maybe that's because you're not used to thinking this way, or think perhaps that would be selfish! Anyway, it's something to think about, isn't it!