Everything Is Nice

Yesterday morning I got a text from my friend Rowena recommending a gig at The Mothers Ruin that same night. Well it’s a been a few weeks since I’ve been to a gig, I haven’t seen Row in a while and frankly I don’t leave the house enough these days, so that evening after a rather fine mid-week roast lamb dinner cooked by yours truly, I left the cocoon and headed towards Ruin, so to speak.

The Mothers Ruin is only a small venue but I’ve seen some really good gigs there previously including Demon’s Claws and The Lovely Eggs. The band that Row recommended to me was Schnauser who I hadn’t seen play live before but I knew them from when I was on the radio. I liked what they had sent me then a lot and played a few tracks on the show and I'd wanted to see them live for some time. Here are Schnauser in moody black and white, there’s John on drums, Alan on his recently purchased 12 string electric guitar and Holly on bass.

They did a good set and lived up to the promise of the demo CD. Bristol gig going legend Big Jeff was in attendance, of course, and he nailed it as ever when he described Schnauser as sounding like a mix of Super Fury Animals and Ben Folds with a touch of Pavement. Big Jeff is very good at pointing out the bands that other bands resemble, mostly because is knows so many bands and has seen a lot of them play live. And of course he danced all the way through their set. Big Jeff will dance to anything. I’ve seen him at a lot of gigs; he’s always at the front and he always dances. Here he is at last night’s gig with Rowena snapping away at Schnauser.

Big Jeff’s fame has spread beyond Bristol and he now enjoys a nationwide reputation with a lot of visiting bands getting to know him from his pole position in the mosh pit and his idiosyncratic dancing style. By itself this may not get him noticed but he’s at least 6 feet tall with a mane of curly blond hair and one of those faces that wouldn’t look out of place in a Sergio Leone Western. If they were ever to erect a statue of Blackbeard in Bristol, and I think they should, then Big Jeff would be the ideal model for this city’s most infamous son. He may look slightly scary but he's a sweet guy and he really knows his music. He's pretty good performing music too, I shall never forget his solo Manic F performance, quite brilliant and very impressive. Jeff has also appeared in an episode of "Skins", performed on stage with Kid Carpet at a number of gigs and festivals, featured in Venue Magazine's top 100 Bristol people, and if you Google "Big Jeff Bristol" he crops up on Google Images.

After the gig I chatted with Big Jeff, Row and Schnauser and ended up giving a lift home to most of them. So a good night out, a top band enjoyed, I caught up with Rowena and Big Jeff and it got me out of the house. As Marc Riley would say, job’s a good ‘un.

Suggested listening: "Kittyhawk" by Santa Dog.

The Folk Art Of Cactus County #17

Having pointed out in the last couple of blogs that the images in my work don’t always have meaning, here’s one that does. It’s called “The Truth Of Atheism Burns As Bright As The Surface Of The Sun”. The green stars reference the fact that all the elements of the natural world are born in stars; these elements are only released into the universe on the death of a star, hence the skull, which here is made of fire, like the sun. Blimey, plenty of meaning there then.

When I started this picture it was meant to be another red, white and black painting but after completing the border I got the idea of doing a skull made of fire, so threw out the original idea and just went for it. It’s acrylic on canvas, 36cm x 45cm. This might be the last painting I post for a while as I start the new day job next week.

The Folk Art Of Cactus County #16

I’ve been working on a lot of small pictures lately so it is good to have a bigger painting completed for a change. This piece is 51cm x 40cm, acrylic on canvas and is called “Stars and Shields” for want of a better title. Once again, best not to look too deeply for meaning just enjoy the rhythm of the piece. My intention is that for each painting there is a short written work to go with it; not quite sure what I’m going to write to go with this one though. Anyway, here it is, I hope you like it.

Also, I’ve just discovered that there was a short silent Western made in 1912 called “The Cactus County Lawyer” staring an actor called George Gebhardt. More recently, there appears to be a stage musical called “Trouble In Cactus County” (if you follow this link then click on 'past shows' then click on 'Trouble In Cactus County' you can read a synopsis of the show plus there's a photo from it) written by Ken Starcevic with songs by Simon D'Souza. One of the characters is called Carlotta Del Rio, which is quite brilliant. I think both Ms Del Rio and Mr Gebhardt may find themselves named checked in a future written piece to accompany a painting by way of a tribute.

The Folk Art Of Cactus County #15

Here’s the latest from Cactus County. First up a piece called “Three Red Stars”. I’ve been working on this for ages but I think it’s finally done now. Don’t ask me what it’s about. I recently heard a quote from Samuel Beckett (the playwright not the time travelling scientist from “Quantum Leap”) where he advised a director of one of his plays “Don’t think about meaning, think about rhythm” and that certainly applies here. Actually, now I think about it that pretty much goes for all my work. Whatever. Unfortunately, this photo doesn’t really capture the colours correctly, the blue is darker and there is silver around the little white stars in the red circle. Acrylic on canvas, 40cm x 30cm.

Next up "Calavera With Small Bird" which is acrylic on wood rather than canvas, 24.5cm x 28cm. This is one of my favourites. I think for once I managed to paint the skull I wanted. They don’t usually turn out quite like I plan but this one is pretty close.

Now a couple of small pictures in metal frames. I got the frames from a charity shop and they kind of suggested the paintings that needed to be in them. Here are the results.

And finally for the moment another deer painting "Deer Licking A Daisy" and is acrylic on wood, 13cm x 15cm. I must have a go at painting a whole deer not just its head but that’s a painting for another time. I hope there’s something here you like, check out my Flickr site, you may find something you like there, if not here.

Uncomic Relief

So after nine weeks of waiting I still hadn’t been told the results of my MRI scan. This is two weeks after I made a series of phone calls to get them at which time I was told I should hear by a further week to ten days but that frankly seven weeks was too long to wait and apologies were given.

Ten days came and went so after two full weeks I got back on the phone and left a couple more messages – it was of course too much to ask that the phone would be answered by a human being but I half expected that anyway. This did the trick and the neurologist’s sectary called me back and gave me the excellent news that the scans were normal. This was a massive relief I can tell you. So all this talk of tumours was totally bogus and had me worrying for nothing. Gee thanks.

That was yesterday. Today I had the complaints people at the hospital finally replying to the message I left them on the phone yesterday, again full of apologies and additionally telling me they were sorry for not getting back to me before now. Yes, I was right to be upset that I had to wait nine weeks to get the results. If I wanted to make an official complaint then that may go towards investigating what had happened and hopefully new procedures would be put in place so it didn’t happen again. What? I’ve got to make an official complaint to get that to happen? Yes. So you already know that you have a serious problem but you won’t do anything about it till I make the complaint official? Yes. You can’t just look into it now? No.

So let’s see if I’ve got this right. The only way I got my results was for me to make a series of phone calls at my own expense after having to wait, on what we are all agreed is, an unacceptable time, during which I’ve been worried sick. Now for you to make sure this doesn’t happen again, it’s down to me, again. Have I got that right? Yes.

At this point I’m afraid the stress of the whole nine weeks since the MRI and the four weeks prior to this when my GP, sorry, former GP, had put the wind up me by talking about tumours in the first place, well, it all got to me and I had a bit of a go at the woman from complaints. No, I wasn’t going to do anything else, as far as I was concerned they already knew all the facts and should look into it without my further involvement. What if my results hadn’t been normal? What if that two months delay was the difference between life and death? Why should it be up to me to do more when they themselves could just find out which idiot or what poor procedure was responsible? No, I’m not prepared to put myself out anymore. I’ll leave it for some other poor sod to have his results delayed two months and let his grieving relatives make the complaint instead. Like I said, I lost it a bit.

Having checked online, it looks like the complaints procedure is a bit involved, so I just left a comment on the BRI website comments page instead. I know that such comments are ignored by the NHS as there was a programme about it on Radio 4 recently but I feel like I’ve got something out of my system, if not what is ailing me in the first place.

This all started with my homeopathic dispensing GP and his less than encouraging initial diagnosis. I’ve now discovered another GP’s surgery close to my home, so I’m going to change my GP. I would now like to point you in the direction of my friend Tessa’s recent blog which is definitely worth a read.

I have an appointment with another neurologist next month. Hopefully, this one will have some ideas about what’s wrong with my foot that don’t include me being at deaths door. We’ll see but for now I’m feeling very relieved. I can start listening to long playing records again and not stick to reading just short stories.

Suggested listening: "Slowly But Surely" by Holly Golightly

House Of Cards

The quest to fill the house with more crap continues a pace with some rather fine acquisitions of space themed playing cards and some old random cigarette cards. At least they don’t take up much room. We’ll start with the old random cigarette cards.

As you see they are pretty random. The intention is to use individual cards in various collages with other odds and ends but I think they look pretty good all together like this. I’ll end up doing something with them though, it just needs a bit of thought. That’s one of the things I’ve discovered about making art is that there is an awful lot of thinking involved. I can stare at a piece I’m working on for ages thinking about the next step. It may seem like I’m just throwing paint at a canvas sometime but honestly, I do have to think about it. Anyway, with these cards I also got this lot...

It says on the back that they are “fortune telling” cards which obviously is just nonsense but they are rather nice drawings don’t you think? They’re the same size as the other cigarette cards so quite small. Again, I was thinking of using them as part of a collage and I’ll let Mrs Kitsch have some if she wants to use them too.

I particularly like these ones above. Now let’s take a look at some of the space playing cards I got.

This is just a few of them. They’re from the Heritage series on space exploration and I like the fact that it’s pretty much up to date with drawings of the International Space Station, Spaceship One and ESA’s Planck & Herschel space observatories along with the usual space race suspects. It probably comes as no surprise to hear that I have another set of different space playing cards specifically on the race to the moon, so I thought I’d include a few pictures of them here as well.

As you see, I keep them in a display wallet where they have now been joined by the new set of cards I’ve just bought. No they are not for playing cards with, are you mad?

There was a bit of space (no pun intended) at the end of the wallet so I filled it up with some other cards (above) that Mrs Kitsch got me a while back. I think they must come from some sort of game. They look pretty old and I like them a lot. Space is ace.

T Plus 21

Yesterday (Sat 15th May) Mrs Kitsch and I celebrated twenty one years of being a couple. Not for us the regulation trip up the aisle, we did things our own way and just decided to live together and haven’t regretted it for a moment. We did do a sort of wedding thing after being together fifteen years during a holiday in Las Vegas but that’s a blog for another time.

Anyway, to celebrate our twenty one years of unwedded bliss we exchanged gifts, and here’s the fantastic presents I received (she must really love me).

What you are looking at here is “The First Book Of Space Travel”; “The Letters Of Pliny The Younger”; “Encounter With Tiber” written by Buzz Aldrin; and a set of Apollo postcards.

“The First Book Of Space Travel” is an American book published in 1953 before the space race had really begun and well before men were sealed into capsules and sent aloft. It’s obviously a children’s book but has some charming illustrations as you can see...

Quite brilliant. I’m gaining quite a collection of early space books as well as those relating more directly to the Apollo period. I like their optimism and expectation; it’s a shame things didn’t work out like they thought. I’d be writing this from my spaceship on the moon if they had. Regular readers of this blog may recall that as well as a thing for space, I’m also quite keen on things Roman and have been after a book of Pliny the Younger’s letters for a while now. What’s that all about then?

I was watching a documentary on TV about the destruction of Pompeii some years ago in which they mentioned that in one of Pliny’s letters he gives his own eye witness account of seeing the eruption of mount Vesuvius. In it he describes a pyroclastic flow, possibly the first description of such an event. In fact, if I recall the documentary accurately, they said that his description was regarded as exaggeration until pyroclastic flows had been studied in modern times and everything he wrote about was then vindicated. I’ve had it in mind to read that description ever since but not really got round to it. Recently I decided it was time to get hold of a copy of Plinys letters and find out more not just about the volcano but also about Pliny. It’s one of those names you hear of but don’t know anything about who he was. I could have bought a new copy of the book but wanted to get it second hand. However, despite a rather extensive search I’ve not come across a copy. Mrs Kitsch did though and I’m chuffed with it.

Another thing I’m always on the lookout for are space race postcards. I haven’t seen many, it’s not the sort of thing that turns up in charity shops, you have to go to specialist postcard fairs for them, and even I’m not that sad yet, or E-bay, which is where Mrs Kitsch found these top quality items.

Fantastic. But I’ve saved the best till last.

This book “Encounter With Tiber” written by Buzz Aldrin and John Barnes, is a science fiction novel. I knew Aldrin had written one, in fact he and Barnes have written a couple, the other one is called “The Return”. It’s another of the many, many space books on my “to get/read” list so I was chuffed when I opened the package and saw what it was. Nice one Mrs Kitsch. But then, as I was thumbing through it, what did I see but...

Oh yes. It is a signed copy!!! A book written AND SIGNED by a man who went to the moon. THE MOON! I was actually speechless when I saw this. I couldn’t manage to say any real words, I just made noises. I’m still a bit stunned and extremely pleased. Is it any wonder I love this woman as much as I do? I hope she liked my meagre offerings. The thing is, and forgive my sentimentality here, the best present is the fact that she still loves me after twenty one years. I’m a very fortunate man.

A Sight For Saw Eyes

We’ve started doing jig-saws. I was thinking it was another sign of getting old but then I remembered that Laurel and Hardy film “Me And My Pal” the one where everyone gets drawn into doing the jig-saw at the cost of Oliver’s wedding. There’s something addictive about them whatever age you are. I think that the humble jig-saw taps into something fundamental, possibly even primal, within us.

As a species, we’re constantly look for patterns in things, it’s how we learnt to hunt animals and find other food, avoid predators, figure out the seasons, work out a social order, all that kind of thing. This seeking for patterns is also responsible for getting a lot of superstitions and religions started, mistakenly seeing patterns where actually there aren’t any and filling in the gaps to make sense of it all. Unfortunately, some people are still doing exactly that today even at the expense of logic and rational thought. Anyway, before I go off on too much of a tangent...

Think about it, doing a jig-saw is about finding patterns, filling in the gaps, completing a picture to make sense of it. And once you get started not completing it just seems wrong and wrong at a very deep level. And then there’s that slight sense of anticlimax when the picture is completed. I think that’s because instead of a dead mammoth at our feet we’ve ended up with a picture of some kittens, or a ship, or a landscape, or maybe a dead mammoth if that’s what it’s a jig-saw of, but it’s not food to last the tribe a month. You know, I do think I might be on to something here.

Anyway, whatever it is, Mrs Kitsch and I have been doing a few jig-saws of late and here’s the latest one, another map, this time of the British Isles and Ireland. And only two pieces missing.

I didn’t take a picture of the jig-saw of two kittens we did last week but that’s all the excuse I need to do that one again. And while out charity shop shopping yesterday I bought another kitten jig-saw, this time larger and with even more kittens on it, so no doubt I’ll be blogging about that one at some time or another. And before you start judging us, think about how you spend your leisure time - or possibly time when you should be doing something useful - reading the letters page of the Radio Times, watching grown men kicking a ball about on the telly, sleeping on the couch during Question Time. That’s right, not feeling so superior now are we?

Farewell To The Pad Leader

With my attention focused on the bank holiday followed by the election, one piece of sad news that I’ve only just discovered is the death of Guenter Wendt on Monday 3rd May. Guenter Wendt worked at Kennedy Space Centre for 34 years and was in charge of operations at the top of the launch tower in what was known as the White Room. He was often the last person that the astronauts saw before they blasted off into space, shaking the astronauts by the hand and ensuring they were happy with everything before the hatch of the space capsule was sealed by his technicians.

Wendt was born and educated in Berlin, was a flight engineer flying with the Luftwaffe during WWII, becoming an American citizen in 1955 when he got a job with McDonnell Aircraft that led him to work in the space programme. Strict but good humoured, Wendt was popular with the astronauts who appreciated that his authoritarian management in the White Room was in their interest. The astronauts nick named him “Pad Führer” and would exchange joke gifts before a space flight; the Apollo 14 crew presented him with a WWII German military helmet before their flight to the moon.

He sounds like he was a great guy, someone who did his job to the best of his ability but also knew how to treat people. He was there practically from the start of the space race through Mercury, Gemini and Apollo and the story of mankind’s greatest achievement would be incomplete without his part in it being taken into account. He was 85 when he died and it appears he led a good and fulfilled life, which is probably the best any of us can hope for. I’m sorry to hear of his death but will drink a toast to his life at the next opportunity.

You can read more about Guenter here, here and here. His official website can be found here.

However, a much more detailed account of his critical involvement with the space programme can be found in his memoires "The Unbroken Chain", which he co wrote with Russell Still and is also on my must get list.

State Of The Art

Well it’s been just over seven weeks since my MRI scan and I’m still waiting for the results. I rang what I believed was the neurologist’s office last week and had to leave a message on an answer phone. They didn’t bother calling back, so today I thought I’d try again.

After speaking to a human being this time I was told he would chase it up but I could try ringing the neurologist’s secretary myself as that might speed things up. He gave me the number but when I rang of course it was an answer phone. However, she did call me back within an hour or so, apologised that nothing had been done and said she would chase it up. Could she not just give me the results over the phone? No, it looks like no-one has bothered to even look at the scan results. She suggested I make a complaint to the hospital as that might speed things up. Wouldn’t they just sort it out without my making a complaint, surely if no-one has bothered looking at my scans after all this time, wouldn’t I just jump to the front of the queue? Apparently not, apparently making a complaint is the best thing to do. She gave me a number which I rang and of course it was an answer machine.

So I’ve left a message saying I didn’t really want to complain, that all I want are my test results but that if I have to make a complaint to get them, then I was prepared to do that. So, I’m still waiting. I first went to the doctor about this in February and it’s now May. It’s a good job I’m not in a lot of pain.

On the plus side, and if I live long enough, l start my new job on June 1st getting gigs and events streamed over the internet. I’m not entirely sure of all my duties but it’s a three month trial and if I haven’t picked it up by that time there’s always selling the Big Issue to fall back on. Or I might be in intensive care by then.

Suggested listening: “Hope Is Important” by Idlewild

Vintage And Handmade

The lovely Mrs Kitsch had another vintage and handmade fair at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall this Saturday and obviously I attended in my capacity as driver and chief hauler of stock. To those new to the wonderful world of vintage and handmade, or V&H as I shall call it here, let me explain.

Vintage isn’t just antique, it has to be lovely and charming and more often than not very, very kitsch; ornaments, pictures, china, toys, books, clothes and fabric, a lot of fabric. It’s often items that you or your family used to have, or that remind you of things you had, as a child. Sometimes it’s that particular thing you used to look at with envious eyes; the toy in the toyshop; the little china dog on your Nan’s mantelpiece; the doll your next door neighbour had that your Mum wouldn’t get you (obviously, in my case the “doll” was Major Matt Mason’s arch enemy Scorpio but you don’t see Major Matt Mason or any of his colleague or indeed his arch enemy at V&H fairs unfortunately); so, it can be stuff you always wanted when you were younger but you never got. By its very nature vintage takes you back, quite often its items from the 1950’s, ‘60's and ‘70’s but people of our age now have to come to terms with the fact that vintage can sometimes mean things from the 1980's too, which comes as a bit of a shock at first. Anyway, that’s vintage but what about handmade?

You’ve probably seen those shops full of lovely things, nice little knick-knacks that you’d love to have but often can’t find an excuse to buy for yourself. So sometimes you and I, I’m not immune, venture into these shops looking for gifts for someone else. Sometimes end up buying a thing that you like, but not necessarily a thing that the giftee would like, so in effect it’s like buying a thing for yourself and keeping it at your friends house, which is fair enough as don’t friends sometimes do exactly the same? I think you’ll find they do. Well, the handmade side of V&H includes a lot of those kinds of items, often extremely well made and quite beautiful. They can range from simple craft items to works of art in their own right. There are a lot of talented women, and it is mostly women, out there doing really superb work.

The world of V&H combines the best of both of the above; lovingly selected vintage items sold alongside beautifully made things, all on the same table. If there is one word that sums up V&H for me it would be nice. Nice is something of an underrated concept. I like nice; a nice cup of tea; a nice cuddle; a nice time; yes, I like nice and V&H is nice; nice people with nice things for sale.

Mrs Kitsch (that's her lovely table above) and I used to do a lot of craft fairs, which I think is a very different scene to V&H. I’ve now attended a number of V&H fairs and often see something I would love to have or maybe I spot something that is particularly beautiful. Whereas, I’ve been to a lot of craft fairs where I haven’t seen one single item that interests me, so don’t make the mistake of thinking that V&H is like a craft fair, they are not the same.

As I said, it’s mostly women that do V&H and they’re also different to the craft crowd. Some of them are just a little a bit dotty it has to be said but frankly that’s not an unattractive quality in my book. Their wardrobe is also much better than the craft lot; lovely vintage dresses or things made from vintage fabric as opposed to the aged hippy look. This goes for the women that attend the fairs as much as the women who take part in them.

And because everything on everyone’s tables is so lovely (a fine example above being the pin cushions that Mrs Kitsch makes using tiny vintage ornaments), they all end up spending money on each other’s stalls, coming away from each fair with new things for the home, or materials for the next art project, or just something to sell on their own table next time. It’s recycling taken to a whole different level.

I love going to these events. I have to be very strong and not buy up loads of stuff myself, but you also meet such lovely people. One woman who had a table next to us was called Claire, she lives in Kent and she knows Billy Childish! Her son is best friends with his son. Apparently, Billy Childish does wear those World War 1 clothes most of the time. Brilliant. Then we sold this fantastic old jigsaw puzzle to a woman who works at the American Museum in Bath, a place Mrs Kitsch and I love to visit, so we chattered to her for a bit too. You might even see our jigsaw puzzle (a brilliant 1950’s map of North America with Canada highlighted in “empire red”) at the museum at some point in the future. How brilliant is that? Very, is the answer.

I’m not sure anyone makes much of a living from V&H fairs, even on a good day no one is going to get rich. Even doing a lot of fairs and having other outlets, like Etsy, especially in today’s economic climate. But then so many worthwhile things don’t make much or even any money, at least that’s my experience. And the V&H fairs are worthwhile, not just for the obviously pleasure that most of the participants get out of it, but also for the many people who attend them and purchase that something special, something you simply can’t get in a shop in the high street and certainly not in a shopping mall. They’re also an outlet and showcase for some very talented artists and creative types. So three good old fashioned cheers for the vintage and handmade fair.

Recommended blogs to find out more about V&H: vintageandhandmade.blogspot.com and kitschandcurious.blogspot.com