I love Truro

I love living in Truro, there always seems to be something of interest going on.


Yesterday it was raining so I didn't get into town.


Today the sun is out and it is a beautiful day.


So I went for a walk into town, it seems quite busy, I guess the sun has brought people out.


When I was walking back through the Piazza (Lemon Quay) there were these contrasting events going on:

There was a group of people meditating (I assume), others sitting watching (it was quite like watching paint dry). There were children enjoying themselves on the roundabout, and others wearing themselves out running around inside big coloured balls.

Chaos and stillness co-existing!

It was lovely, I took a few moments to roll a cigarette and smoke it while I was looking on. Fabulous!

My New Desk

I don’t know if you have a desk, whether you sit at one at work, or if you have your computer on one at home. Or both. I don’t know if your desk is special to you. Some people get very attached to their desks. Because it is the place where they feel creative, or comfortable. I found this poem on the internet written by someone who feels the same about their desk as I do:

Ode to my Desk

By

Tatiana Vasileva

My old desk, at which I write

An old and faithful friend.

Just like a mule, that bears its load

And doesn't bow or bend.

Sometimes at night, when I can't sleep

And find I need express


The feelings in my heart, so deep,

It gives me happiness.

Just seeing my familiar things,

Pens, papers, books and such,

Creates ideas and I try

To say what means so much.

There is a feel of magic here

Beside this desk of wood.

What stories lie within its drawers?

To tell you if it could!

I used a desk for the last 30 years of my working life. I also used one at home when I got my first computer. I have sat at many different desks over the years. Some I have liked and some I could never get used to.

I have looked for the perfect desk, but never really found it. I had a near-perfect desk that was precious to me, it was given to me by a close friend, but I had to leave it behind.

Over the last few years, at home, I have had one of those metal computer tables, but was never happy with it.

When we moved to Cornwall we had the opportunity to try and find the perfect desk for iMac to sit on. We searched for weeks but could not find one that I was happy with. So, I gave up looking and settled for one from the Argos catalogue. It has been OK. It is sturdy, solid, and functional. It has done its job.

But, a few weeks ago, while visiting a friends house, I went into their back garden to have a cigarette, as usual. There, in the garden, I saw an old wooden table, on its side, with a bin sitting on its legs. It was wood wormed, and had some splits on the top. To me, though, it had potential.

I had seen this tallboy in a local shop (the decoration is called Decoupage) and thought maybe I could do the same with the old table:

  

I asked my friend what he was going to do with it, he told me he was going to break it up and take it to the dump. So I asked if I could have, he said he would be glad to get rid of it. So that was that. I collected the table and set about converting into me new desk.

So we looked up how to do Decoupage on the internet, bought some paint, varnish, glue, and decoupage paper, and the set about the transformation.

I forgot to take a picture of the table in its 'raw' state, but here are a couple of pictures of it when I first began to work on it. I had already sanded it down and repaired to top:

It took two coats of under coat/primer and three coats of black gloss.

Then Davina and I had to lay out the paper in the design we wanted:

Then we had to stick the paper on and give it five coats of polyurethane varnish:

 So then I bought a new knob for the drawer and fitted it, but when it was fitted I didn't like it:

 So today I bought a new knob, and here is the finished desk. In position and ready to go:

It's probably an acquired taste, but, I think it is beautiful and perfect for me and the iMac.

So a big thank you to my friends Mickey and Pat for giving me their old table. I hope we have created a thing of beauty that they would be pleased with.

Fatness to Fitness - Help Needed

Gentleman (62)

Not Working

Needs to get fit

Living in Truro

Competent in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel etc)

ECDL

Sage 50 Level 1

Would like to work a few hours a week in return for a couple of weekly sessions in a gym with a personal trainer.

If you have any suggestions please email:

mrprclark@gmail.com

Dhol Drums lift you out of the doldrums!

I met someone today (Johnny Kalsi) that I must have met about 15 years ago, although we did not remember each other; we know that we were probably in the same place, at the same time.

Around 15 years ago I used to help a friend run a boys club in Hounslow, and we would occasionally invite the Dhol Foundation to come and entertain the lads and their families.

Today I went to St Austell because I had heard the Dhol Foundation were running some drum workshops in the town, and were also taking part in a parade.

The foundation is run by Johnny Kalsi, who also plays in ‘The Imagined Village’, whom we saw at the St Ives Festival year:

I took the opportunity to join in a workshop and have a go at the drums. I was probably oldest person trying it out, most of the others appeared to be between 2 & 12years old, but I’ve got to the stage where I don’t mind making a bit of a fool of myself.

One member of the foundation gave me what he called a ‘Mum & Dad’ training session, but I was useless at it so I gave up after a couple of minutes.

 The lad who is 3rd from the right is the one who tried to teach me.

After that I watched them perform in the town square. Here is a very short video of the performance:

And here is a better video of them performing:

Then I took the opportunity to talk to Johnny, who told me about all the things he is currently involved in.

Johnny Kalsi

By now it was time for the parade. So I followed the group as they joined with the  NoFit State Circus, who along with the Dhol Foundation will be in residence at The Eden Project during August this year. Some local children with colourful umbrellas also took part in the parade.

Here are a few pictures of the parade:

 During the parade I was asked by one of the officials if I was a journalist, maybe because I was stalking them carrying my man bag and shiny camera. Unfortunately I had to tell her I was not a journalist, but I was pleased to be asked the question.

It was a fabulous afternoon, I really enjoyed it.

Hearing the Dhol drums never fails to cheer me up.

Is it Art?

We went to St Ives last Sunday:

It was a beautiful day, the weather was fantastic

We went specifically to visit Tate St Ives. We had never been to the gallery before. Some friends had visited there and were not impressed, because they did not think the exhibits were ‘Art’.

I have quite eclectic views, so I thought I would probably enjoy the visit. But, I thought the Tate would have a permanent exhibition (because I am used to Tate Britain, in London), but it doesn’t. At St Ives the exhibits change fairly often.

This is the outside of the Tate:

There were works on display by Margaret Mellis, Naum Gabo, and others (if you click on the artists name it will take you the their websites and you can see examples of their works). We enjoyed looking at their work, but the best bit was when became part of the art ourselves:

First we came across Half the Air in a Given Space an iconic work by Martin Creed, which sees the spectacular sea-facing galleries filled with hundreds of balloons:

The idea is that you can walk through the balloons, we did, and even I was buried. It is quite disconcerting and can be a bit claustrophobic, But, it was a very good experience.

We then came to a large room, which, back in May this year, had four plain white walls. The work is being created by visitors, as you enter the room you invited to choose a place on the wall where your height is recorded as well as your name and the date of you visit:

Can you find Me? Look for : -Peter, 3.7.11

Can you find Davina? Look for : -Davina, 3.7.11

So we are now immortalised in a work of art (although I am sure the walls will be scrubbed clean at the end of the exhibition).

Is it art, well Wikipedia defines art as:

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items (often with symbolic significance) in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, andintellect. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, photography, sculpture, and paintings. The meaning of art is explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics, and even disciplines such as history and psychology analyze its relationship with humans and generations.

and

Britannica Online defines art as "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others." By this definition of the word, artistic works have existed for almost as long as humankind: from early pre-historic art to contemporary art; however, some theories restrict the concept to modern Western societies.^[8] The first and broadest sense of art is the one that has remained closest to the older Latin meaning, which roughly translates to "skill" or "craft." A few examples where this meaning proves very broad include artifact, artificial, artifice, medical arts, and military arts. However, there are many other colloquial uses of the word, all with some relation to its etymology. 

So, is it Art? Of course it is.