Here we go again

I'm not really sure where the past week has seeped away to. The weekend was spent in Bury St Edmunds with my family, to celebrate my substantial achievement of staying alive for this long. There were lovely presents, very tasty food and 2 cakes!

Monday I tried Nick's walk idea. My back was stiff after all the driving and eating, so rather than try to do aerobic exercise I decided to walk to ease everything. I packed a daysack with some water, a salad, a packet of hulahoops and my mobile phone and set out. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. I headed down to the disused railway track and went the opposite direction from the way I knew. It's a glorious path. A river of natural beauty threading through Rugby. Soon I was out beyond the suburban spread and into the countryside. I got to the end of the usable railway and met a road, consulted Google maps and decided to turn right and right again to avoid retracing my steps. Unfortunately after another half mile my sandals, which had been perfectly comfortable tramping around Cadiz and Gibraltar, decided today they would give me blisters! There was no way I was walking 3 miles back with blistering sandals (I sound like something out of TinTin :-) ), so I chose to cut down onto the conveniently placed canal towpath and walk barefoot on the grass. The only downside was this at least doubled the overall distance of the walk. 9 miles and a couple of hours later I was hobbling back through the streets of Rugby with extremely dirty feet. I had to bear the sandals for the last half mile as the tarmac was burning hot. All in all it was a great walk. Walking barefoot is strangely comforting (with the exception of the occasional stray thorn or stone) and something I will do again, but possibly not over such a distance. With boots and supplies, the route would be excellent. There are even a couple of pubs on the way that, had I not forgotten my wallet, would have been perfect for a mid-walk half. Lesson learnt! Next time be more prepared.

Wednesday was the second instalment of my jewellery workshop and this time I had 6 children, 3 boys and 3 girls. We were doing macrame knotting to make bracelets and keyrings. The concentrated incredibly hard and there was a good deal of friendly banter. I had decided to head in to Leicester city centre afterwards to do some busking, seeing as I had already driven to the outskirts. I have tried busking in Leicester once before and gave it up as a bad job, something I'd put down to the cold, grey weather. This time it was a glorious sunny day but still the shoppers were completely indifferent to my playing, on the whole. For some reason Coventry is a far better place to busk. I think it's possibly because the centre is more enclosed so the sound doesn't disperse so quickly. But people also seem friendlier somehow.

Today was supposed to be spent with my best friend, Lyn, drinking coffee and eating up birthday cake but plans had to be abandoned because eldest daughter is unwell again. She has some mystery illness which began back in late February with a stomach bug. Ever since she has been unable to eat anything dairy and possibly wheat as well. She was put back on to wheat by the doctor so she could be tested for coeliac disease. The test came back negative but she's started being sick and lethargic again, and I could swear her asthma is worse too. It seems to point to a wheat intolerance but there's no obvious test that will tell us definitively one way or another. She is nearly 14 and I am loath to restrict her diet unnecessarily, but she is missing school and doesn't want to fall behind. She'll be doing GCSEs in 2 years! But equally if I take her off wheat again and she gets better it could simply be a coincidence. She's miserable and I hate seeing her like that, but is it better to leave her on the wheat and see if she gets better regardless? The reaction is so delayed it's hard to make any link. She gets better from the sickness because she doesn't eat anything so before she was yo-yo-ing from well to sick every few days. We can't get to see a doctor for nearly 2 weeks, and then it will be a check-up and possible referral for more tests which will be another couple of weeks and then the wait for the results. Poor girl!

I am still drawing. I'll post pictures tomorrow as this was rather long!

Pick 'n' Mix

People have often used the word eclectic about me and my life, and it's not often that I take a step back to see what they mean. But the last few days probably give a good snapshot of what I'm talking about.

Friday - book club: eating cake, drinking red wine and chatting (very occasionally about the book, which some of us may have read)
Saturday - 'cello practise; drawing practise; Rubyfruit Lesbian disco at Revolution in Leicester. The beauty of the lesbian disco is ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY DANCES ... regardless. It's an extraordinary thing to witness, and a really enjoyable atmosphere despite the occasional well-meaning friend trying to set me up!
Sunday - Rigging lights in Rugby Theatre which involved climbing a fully extended 3-section ladder up goodness knows how many feet holding a medium sized lantern (as those in the trade call them) and attaching it to a scaffolding pole; then went back to Leicester to see Avengers Assemble with friends. If you love your superheros, GO AND SEE THIS FILM. It was sooo funny and loads of great action.
Monday - Orthodontist trip with Meg, coffee and natter with a friend
Tuesday - Ryton Organic Gardens with my sketch book. If you're in the UK Midlands and haven't been, it's an absolute oasis of garden loveliness. Nothing too formal, but lots of great ideas for normal gardens and gardeners. Oh, and a fab restaurant and cafe too.
Wednesday - Jewellery making workshop for children, lunch date (!), Rubyfruit Pool Tournament - which nobody was expecting me to last beyond the first round (mostly because I'd told everyone how terrible I am at pool), and I ended up in the final and down to the last 2 balls! Now they're claiming I'm a hustler.
Thursday - Craft day with my best friend and her daughters.

In between all of this I have been practising the first movement of the Brahms E Minor 'cello sonata, Bruck Kol Nidrei, some Bach, Beethoven, Popper and other classical works.

And today, Friday, is my birthday. Both girls stayed last night so I was treated to presents in bed and a bacon and egg bap cooked by Rachel.

A creative day

For lots of people Saturday is the first day of the weekend and consists of supermarkets, shopping centres, ferrying children around to sport/music/dance etc.. But when you're unemployed, it's not that different from any other day of the week. Yet somehow it feels different. No idea why. Just that habitual imprint of "weekendness" I suppose.

So I've tried to make the most of this Saturday. I got my 'cello out and did some long-overdue practise: something technical, something unfamiliar and something familiar. I think it's a pattern I'll try and stick to. I remember I had a minus1 recording of Brahms' E minor Sonata, well the 1st movement, anyway. So I stuck it on the ipod dock and played my way through it. I'd forgotten how passionate this movement is. How deliberate every single note is. Even with my practise mute on I suspect most of my neighbours were "treated" to an impromptu concert!

Next I got my pencil and paper out again and resumed the Klein Studios drawing classes. I have progressed through lesson 8b now and have a technical still life composition thingy. Apparently I can't draw ovals level, but other than that I'm fairly happy with it for now, although the photograph could be clearer:

Didn't see that coming!

On Monday I got "the 'phone call" - the one every TeachFirst participant waits for, the one telling you where you are going to be teaching in September. This 'phone call was going to clear up all those things that couldn't yet be resolved like where I was going to live. Except that my 'phone call wasn't what I was expecting. Instead of "Hey Mary, we'd love you to go and teach music in such-and-such a school in Coventry/Leamington/Rugby ..." it was "We have to reduce our music places from 6 to 2, and so we offering you the opportunity to teach your other degree subject ... RE!!" ... ... ... I was, you could say, underwhelmed.

Now, I know that RE is an interesting and important subject, especially in today's global society and schools of mixed ethnicities. But it's just not what I was looking forward to teaching. I tried. Tried to convince myself it would be good, I would be a fantastic RE teacher, my pupils would love and respect me, we might even occasionally have "fun". But I just couldn't. Then I reasoned with myself "this is a guaranteed job for 2 whole years! You could buy a house, get a dog, grow vegetables, have the children in their own bedroom." Somehow I just couldn't get beyond the "but it's RE" moment.

I've um'ed and er'ed. I've drunk gin. I've bored my friends. I've spoken to RE teachers.
And then this morning I remembered. When I originally applied to TeachFirst I had absolutely no expectation of being successful. It's an incredibly tough programme to get on. And I had already worked out that if I didn't get on I would do my PGCE in the usual way, getting a student load and the funding I'm entitled to and it would be fine. So that's what I've done. My application to Birmingham City University is winging its way across the ether and now I just have to wait to be (hopefully) asked to attend an interview.

So, it means I have to live in my little flat for another year, not get a dog for another year, look out onto a car park for another year and live off my ex for another year. But at the end of it I will be in control of where I apply to teach and I will be teaching the subject I actually want to.

And they all lived happily ever after ... well, until the next major twist in the road anyway.

Glitter, clay and beads

Today has been a very creative day in the flat. Rachel was invited to a birthday party and wanted to make a special necklace and earrings for her friend, as well as a box to fit the make-up she had bought her. So out came the beads and the polymer clay as well as card for ... well, a card, and glitter, because what 12 year old girl's birthday card is complete without glitter?! Once the making began we all got the bug. Meg set to work on creating a baby dragon out of polymer clay and I put my mind to the task of coming up with suitable jewellery making projects for boys, in preparation for the course I'm running later this month.

All in all we have made earrings, a necklace, bracelets, boxes, a dragon, beads and beady people. Here's a selection of what I've produced. The first was just me fiddling with a some silver-plated copper wire. The rest are ideas for the course.

     

    

Well, that was a good idea while it lasted

Today was day 3 of C25K. The sun was shining, the birds were singing (probably ... don't actually remember) and Meg had decided to come running with me. So off we went to the park for a run. I got to the magic "you are half way" point and was feeling good. This time I was actually going to get fit. I was even considering entering the Leicester Race for Life with The Red Tent team. And then the shooting pain started in my hip. I limped home with Meg feeling decidedly cheesed off.

Ok, it's true I'd forgotten to put my SI support belt on, which was probably foolish. So while I lay on my front on the floor to realign everything I Googled "pelvic dysfunction aerobic exercise", and up came a whole host of sites offering wisdom of one sort or another. Basically no impact exercise is compatible with a wobbly pelvis. Walking is ok, swimming is ok and something called an "elliptical" might be ok too. And Nothing Else. Great!

iTunes *@!?*^!

My plan to play some WoW last night was fiendishly foiled ... well, I couldn't remember my password and the Blizzard site was down for maintenance so I couldn't request a new one. Instead I watched the last 2/3rds of The Day After Tomorrow, which was better than I was expecting.

So this morning I got myself ready for Week 1, Day 2 of C25K. Got my kit on, went to sort my playlist out and discovered my entire library was absent without leave from iTunes. Thankfully it was all still there on the hard drive. God only knows what foible iTunes was exhibiting, but there it was, 1 Frank Turner album and NOTHING ELSE. But I did an on the go playlist on my 'phone and headed out into the not-quite-drizzling morning. This time wasn't as horrendous as I was expecting, thankfully. My plan was to get back, shower, play a little WoW now my account was accessible again and then head out the the Three Horseshoes to be interviewed by Laurence Tilley for the Rugby Artists' Group newsletter! It was at that point I discovered that, not only had my music gone astray but ALL MY APPS AS WELL!! Needless to stay no foul, undead deviants were slain. Instead I frantically tried to put my 'phone back into it's well-loved state. Of course, all my Angry Birds scores have disappeared ... AGAIN!

However, such frustrations were mollified by a splendid lunchtime spent sipping beer, munching pub grub and being interviewed by Laurence. Had anyone told me a couple of years ago I would be interviewed for an artists' group newsletter I would probably have said something unrepeatable in an incredulous manner. But there I was. And a better lunchtime I haven't spent in a good long while. Excellent company. And yet again I am being persuaded to consider whether I really need to learn to draw if the art that inspires and fuels me is spontaneous, energetic and passionate. Hmmm, it's a good point. I suspect my drive is that I hate being told I can't do something. For some inexplicable reason I want to prove my art teachers of 25 years ago, wrong. What is that about?

Grit your teeth

Today has been grim. I set myself the goal of writing up as much of my School Orientation Experience (SOE) as possible. This is the latest bit of TeachFirst paperwork and is making my brain feel like it's gone through a shredder. The observation week was great, and I took all the necessary notes etc. etc.. But I'd forgotten just how painful I find writing up. I am definitely a practioner rather than a theorist. The act of committing my thoughts to written text is almost physically uncomfortable. I've looked for all sorts of distractions, have needed to get up and walk around, make a hot drink ... but it needed to be done. Sadly it's not finished, but I've done nearly half, so that's a good start.

As for the other stuff, well I found another online drawing course last night http://www.klinecreative.com/free-online-art-lessons.htm and I've made a start. The first couple of lessons have been simply about pencil control, so lots of drawing straight lines, but the bloke on the video is engaging and so far I'm enjoying it even if the practise is tedious. But I guess like anything "no pain, no gain". So as promised, here are my first, uninspiring exercises.  I'm sure it will get more interesting ...

And my other great discovery today was a whole set of YouTube videos exploring the traditional music of nearly 150 different countries! I've been needing to get my head around various world music traditions, as it is a big feature of the current GCSE and A Level Music syllabus but was hardly touched on when I was at school and university. For those of you who are interested, take a look at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA3A1D292BFB1B6DF. It has everything from Bavarian um pah pah music to the music of Myanmar and Tajikistan. Fab resource with some very nice photographs to go with it.

Tomorrow I have to steal myself for C25K day 2. I hope it's not going to be throwing it down in the morning. In the meantime, I'm off to escape in the magical World of Warcraft as my reward for being a good student today.

You win some ...

So today has been a mixture of success and failure.

I did do my first day of the C25K programme. I thought I was going to be sick, but I did do it. Plus I've found a couple of other Facebook friends who have both started today by some happenstance, so there's an incentive to keep going.

I did watch the first few parts of the Learn to Draw Portraits YouTube feed. But when I clicked on the link to download the exercises, it no longer works. Now I'm kicking myself because when I had first come across these wonderful tutorials several months ago, the website was up and running. Grrrr. A clear lesson in not putting off until tomorrow ...

But hey. On the plus side I went to a very interesting Rugby Artists' Group talk given by Katharine Barker. She started her career as a textiles restorer in the V&A after going to art college, but in recent years has moved to painting as well as studying for a BSc through the OU. Fascinating work exploring decay and change in textiles and pigments.

And most exciting of all, Bridget Aldridge was there and had brought with her my 40th birthday present from my parents! My first proper piece of original art - a ceramic torso sculpture. Stunning :-)

So, I need a Plan B for the drawing course. I'm sure there's plenty of other stuff on youtube, but Eclectic Art Asylum had a particularly interesting and engaging approach to drawing that I thought would work well for me. Tomorrow? I must do the academic work needed for my teacher training course, which is a series of observations and analyses on my placement week. It's not going to write itself ...

Free and single

Ok, just to clarify, that's "free" as in without cost because this Bank Holiday weekend got me thinking. What do you do when you're single and unemployed? Oh and the weather is determined to ruin any possibility of anything outdoors? It's a tricky one, but I figured I wasn't the only person on the planet to have pondered the question, so I turned to a good ol' Google search. It was quite an eye-opener! To start with there's a significant gender split.

No prizes for guessing the top male suggestion for having spare time on your *ahem* hands! Their lists seemed to be about earning money and not having to spend it on a date, hitting the gym, playing Xbox ... Whereas the female lists were about pampering yourself, meditating, turning your music up and dancing around your flat. Are we really so 2 dimensional?

But here is a list I've come up with:

• Do the C25K thing and actually feel fitter
• Get back in to my art journal
• learn to draw
• research world music for next September
• practise my 'cello
• find local art exhibitions (and actually go to them)
• play on the wii
• play WoW
• get making again.
• arrange craft days with friends
• go swimming (ok, not free but affordable)

There's probably more, but that'll do for now. Any suggestions always welcome :-)

Back to the drawing board

Those of you who know me, know that I love to create. I make jewellery, steampunk creations, paint stuff etc. etc. But I've never got comfortable with drawing. Friends tell me it's not important, and I guess they're right. But coming from a musical background I know that I play 'cello better because I learnt my scales.

I have occasionally done some representative stuff that I'm not too ashamed of, and drawing is one of those things I have been reliably informed anyone can learn ...

There's a really interesting youtube feed that I'm planning to use http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDE90A0B005052EFB so tomorrow I start. Expect to see my exercises and experiments soon :-)

So, the start of a new blog.

Why a blog? I find myself feeling aimless a lot of the time at the moment. I am living alone and not working yet, so my days are often too empty. Yet I have a long list of things I could do, want to do, ought to do, have to do. So this is a way of making myself accountable in some way, to spend my time more constructively.

My intention with this space is to share my journey. There will be pictures of the things I've made, reflections on the stuff I've learnt, requests for ideas and suggestions of stuff to do.

Feel free to hang out, comment, laugh, tell jokes ...