Thursday, May 28, 2015

FEATURE 131 ~ Nigella Talks Dirty

Well, all I can say is she's been asking for this for some time. Her particular liking for flirty innuendo and extravagant use of language is something of a gift.


Tuesday, May 12, 2015

DIARY 132 ~ Cousin's Day

For the last few years we've been having an annual gathering of all my cousins with their respective wives and husbands. They are generally quite good natured affairs with a lot of banter, teasing and boisterousness. I enjoy these days, but I do get quite tired of  the noisy garrulousness. I wouldn't say we are a close family, but we sort of rub along well with each other as long as we stick to the light hearted end of conversation. If anything else emerges it becomes quite obvious that I come from a completely different if not alien world to them  Jnanasalin was away on a solitary retreat this year so missed all of this.



This time we met at Haddon Hall in Derbyshire. It's literally just up the road from the better known Chatsworth House. It's a uniquely preserved Medieval/Tudor house, complete with an intact Kitchen of the period, it was abandoned by its owners in the 18th century when they inherited Bolsover Castle, the Hall started being restored by them in the 20th century. It is quite an evocative and fabulous place to walk around.






























Monday, May 04, 2015

FEATURE 130 ~ Mini Mansions- "Heart of Glass"

DIARY 131 - Responding to whatever happens positively

It's been my first Post-Windhorse week, which has been a week quite full-on with work. At the end of this I've been feeling a bit flat in energy and emotion. I've not slept well most of the week, but I do have a sense that leaving Windhorse, and seeing photos of the emptiness of the office and warehouse this week, has further fed the underground stream of emotions that there's not yet been the time for me to process amongst all this busy -ness.

The empty former Windhorse Warehouse

















I've got a casual cleaning job just around the corner from Abbey House. It came about because the owner put a postcard through Abbey House's doorway asking if anyone was interested in taking it on. It's in a place called Casey's Yard which consists of three holiday flats. I've been doing occasional work for them during the last month of working at Windhorse. There's a possibility of them asking me to take over supervising the bookings, maintenance,cleaning and setting up. But as yet this has only been suggested and the details of how this would work in time and money has to be clarified. The hourly rate is good, but how much work there is per week is variable. Its also likely to change according to the season, we are coming up to high season so there will be plenty to do until September. Out of high season it probably will be more unreliable financially.

A flat in Casey's Yard















I've also taken on two days part-time work at a framing business run by Lester Robinson from my Mitra Study group. I'm familiar with taking orders from working in various Art Shops over the years, though this is the first time I'll be involved in actually making frames. My first week has been really rather enjoyable, lots of FAB machines that chop, punch and cut stuff up, that I'm gradually becoming more proficient in using. I'm not yet ready to be let loose on an actual customer's order, but soon perhaps. Financially these two days do provide a regular and steadier source of income.

The framing business I'm working for





















I only want to earn enough to cover my basic expenditure, leaving, hopefully, enough spare time to make and develop stuff to sell on a website Jnanasalin and I are going to start soon.. For a few months I can accommodate a short fall in this income, whilst these other jobs work themselves into some sort recognisable pattern financially. If I'm still not earning enough then I'll need to look for further part time work. Previously I've been looking for and applying for jobs on-line, though so far its been the things that have come my way unbidden which appear to have been a more fruitful job source. There is something I like about this, of conditions throwing up opportunities and me responding to whatever happens positively. Instead of what most of us usually do, which is to try directing reality to give us what we think we would like or want to do.