How exciting...

OK Which idiot invited the Doctor to the Daleks Office party?

... it's been watching the Olympics! Not only because watching fine young athletes compete is pleasant on the eye, or because most of the medals New Zealand has won so far has been won while sitting down (equestrian, cycling, rowing...), or because we are currently scoring higher on the medals table than our arch sporting rivals the Australians but mostly because every time the Olympic TV coverage breaks for some advertising they tell us that the latest series of Doctor Who is going to be showing soon! The Wizitch personnel are all confirmed Whovians and I personally have loved Dr. Who ever since I read the first book (Doctor Who and the Daleks) when I was a kid. I can still remember how cool it was that, in the first chapter, the Doctor had matches that never went out. Now that's what I call style!
It was that simple idea - everlasting matches - that triggered my life long love for everything and anything Science Fiction (with the possible exception of that irritating kid with the equally irritating fluffy robot dog in the original series of Battlestar Galactica and of course Jar Jar Binks).


Speaking of style and excitement an unusual thing occurred the other day when Witchy and I were picking up some groceries from New Brighton village. As we crossed the car-parking lot we stopped to chat briefly with an attractive young lady who was just getting out of her 4x4. This in itself is not unusual in New Brighton which, for me anyway, rates as perhaps the chattiest and friendliest place I've ever been to. What was odd though is this young lady asked me if she could photograph me! In the 55 years I've spent so far in this incarnation this has never happened to me before.
Of course (in the interests of art) I agreed and she proceeded to take a nice picture of me with her iPhone. It was only after we had said goodbye that I began to wonder why she wanted my photograph? I suspect it was something to do with my style - I was wearing black and white basket canvas ball boots, faded black denim jeans supported by navy blue braces with white stars on them, a black roll-neck skivvy, my round Harry Potter/Gandhi glasses and my black Bowler hat - oh and I had my black walking stick with me too.
Witchy says the look I had was 'dapper' - which according to the Urban Dictionary means "A compliment made to someone who looks incredibly smart, sexy and stylish". Yeah Baby! I can live with that!

Perhaps the young lady wanted my photo to illustrate to her husband how one can be 'dapper' - after all New Zealand men are generally renowned for not dressing all that well on average. My chief fear however is that she wanted the photo in order to show her husband how NOT to dress! I guess I'll never know!

Southern Sunset

This 'oil painting' image started it's life as a photograph I took from our back yard several years ago. I've run it through a series of filters and effects firstly in The GIMP - one of my most favourite pieces of software - and secondly in Picasa. I only wish I could paint with real oils this well!!

Once among the trees

This image, also from several years ago, was made entirely with software - in this case with 3d landscaping software Vue Studio. Anyone following my art will soon discover that Vue is one of the software packages I use most often in my art. I'm particularly fond of this picture as it reminds me of a very special Easter I once spent in the fabulous New Forest near Southampton in southern England.
This was in the late '70's when I was on the first of my trips back to Britain and I was taking the holiday weekend to drive about and see some of the south coastal areas. We spent the Saturday night sleeping in the car and were awoken very early by the scuffling of many squirrels in the undergrowth. It was a postcard perfect spring morning and we seemed to have the entire forest pretty much to ourselves for about four hours as the morning mists cleared. Driving slowly around the area we were lucky enough to see not only some herds of wild deer and groups of New Forest ponies but also a fox and a very brief glimpse of a badger. And lots of squirrels.
This was a truly magical moment and even now 34 years later I can still recall the sense of timelessness and serenity and solitude of that sunlit and golden misty morning. For me it was a 'one in a lifetime' event that touched me deeply and holds a special fond spot in my memories.