My good friend Saddharaja came to stay with us mid June. I've known him for well over thirty five years, and understands me better than most folk. We had a very relaxing enjoyable time together, sharing news, tales of old acquaintances and plans for the future. He has a very positive, encouraging, cheerfilled disposition, and it does rub off on you. Both of us had a week or so afterwards of feeling our mood was more uplifted, optimistic and confident than we have been for a while. It is one effect of feeling you are really being met and understood. Mostly with the people we know and interact with here in North Norfolk, one is made more aware of the limitations to good communication.
This blog Cornocopia, occasionally hits a new height in terms of its reach. I've had in the past, increased flurries of interest from France and from the US. Where for a brief time the blog gets thousands of views a week rather than a month. At the moment the blog appears to be Big In Singapore. Garnering viewing rates of 500+ per day, which ti me feels freaky. Apart from a mild increase in viewing of one particular blog post, it appears to be uniformly spread across the entire history of the blog.
What I suspect may be happening based on previous flurries of interest, is that the blog is being shared within a group and that group then trawls across it. How big that contact group is, or whether it escapes that group into a wider pool dictates quite how long any particular wave of interest lasts. The Singapore wave, is however, lasting a lot longer than previous ones and at its height last week reached 900 hits in one day.
As previous peaks in interest have had their moment then everything quietens down to what I consider more normal, in and around 1500 hits a month, I am prepared for the same to happen here. The number is dropping now week on week from 500 a day, to 300-400, to 100-200 this week. It is interesting how caught up in what today's figure is I can find myself becoming, so there is some self identification going on here. That aside, I think I can allow myself a brief moment of chuffness.
And so, onto that most significant date of - 66 on 26/06/23, I have arrived at being pensionable. Yes, I am now eligible to collect it. Officially, at least, on the retirement bench. Though this is of course not what is really happening whilst Cottonwood Home is still in existence. What will happen in the longer term? We know not yet.
I am though, now the proud owner of a Bus Pass and gave myself an inaugural run on my birthday, with a mornings trip five miles away to Cromer. There is an art collective in Cromer that has taken on running a gallery on the promenade in a modernist seaside building. This is their second summer season, and so far the exhibitions we've seen have all been good. Not one wishy washy watercolour landscape or hare rampant sculpture to be seen, thankfully.
This week's exhibition was excellent, I caught it on its last day, and the artist Marion Piper, was present. She made the work specificly to fill the length of the ArtSpace gallery. With sixty acrylic and gouache paintings with common elements, but each one differently composed. Her working method had a grid, a range of lines, curves and limited pallete. It took her four months to complete, and she found the limitations of the method meant she had to be more inventive in response to it. It reminded me a little of Sol Le Witt's working method. Though perhaps not so strenuous in the boundaries it set.
The Sunday before my birthday, as a celebratory treat, we drove down to Southwold for the day. A favourite alternative seaside place to visit. But do it only when the season has finished, or in this case before it gets into full swing.
We tend to do the same list of things whenever we go - walk up and down the main street looking in our favourite shops - visiting The Cornish Bakery for coffee and a favourite cake they make - perusing Lift for funky stationery or home ware - looking round The Craft Co gallery - buying a beach lunch to eat on the front from the superb Deli - Olives. And on this occasion purchasing a couple of books and replenishing my sock drawer.
In our back garden we have a bird feeder. Most of the year it hangs there not attracting much bird attention. When the new seasons fledglings first take to wing we then get besieged. They particularly like strips of fat with meal worms in them. At its height we get eight or nine thin birds which we then proceed to fatten up. This year its been mostly blue tits, and a group of grey green birds which we've variously dubbed European Siskin, Willow Warbler and have now settled with little real certainty on Chiff Chaff's. One morning recently two chiff chaff's were hopping about on the top of the iron framework of the bird feeder, just checking and rechecking the garden 360 degrees over and over. Now, chiff chaffs seem jittery birds at the best of times, but this was unusual. Then I noticed, partially hidden behind the lavender was a neighbours tabby cat, nonchalantly sat there inspecting and cleaning its paws and giving the impression of paying no heed to the bird feeder at all. I cleared the mischievous little blighter off.
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