No, not strange Halloween goings-on in France – just a drainage specialist who had been expected all day and finally rocked up in pitch dark to sort out a septic tank. He seemed to see nothing unusual in this, and his Heath Robinson machine attracted a few neighbours so it was quite a jolly party in the end.
Not convinced I’ll manage the whole Blogvember month (I know, I’m a whole month late before I’ve even begun…)
Autumn not too far advanced here yet, and glorious warm sun still!
Brighton Pride, in August!
In all the years I have lived here I have only once seen the procession, because we spend as much of the summer as possible in France. As it happens, that particular weekend is also the closest I have ever come to attending a festival, which you may think is rather tame. I do remember the crazy colourfulness of the parade though – and the good humour. I am told that the spirit of Brighton Pride is now endangered for all the usual reasons – uncontrollable crowds, transport and parking issues, the cost of clearing up staggering amounts of litter, the inevitable commercialisation….It is true that the impact on residents, especially in the St. James’s Street Kemp Town area, has to be deplored. They are understandably protesting against the conditions imposed on them for over three days when the council authorities close public streets to enable the event organisers to make money by charging for entrance tickets.I have no idea what deal the council have got into over this, but as well as putting up with the mess and late (all?) night loud noise, residents in a very wide zone (25 densely populated streets) are required to register for wristbands, which they must then collect from a box office, with id and proofs of residency. They then have to wear them – just to access their own homes if they dare to step outside! The standard issue is 4 wristbands per household – so don’t even think about inviting any of your own visitors for three days…Apparently many residents just can’t stand this weekend and so are effectively driven away to stay elsewhere. No wonder they feel nostalgic for the old-style friendly (free) Pride street parties of not so long ago….
I will restrict my own Pride ‘commercial opportunity’ to something much less controversial. I have made precisely three crazy Pride items for my Etsy shop. Not in themselves exactly low-key, but definitely not intrusive.
The second image shows the early stages of a painting that became very important to us – no way of knowing how it would have ended up.
Grateful we have other creatures though.
And so much more! Some of the paintings make special cards (but PLEASE do not use them for this…)
This post is a little indulgent. It will be of great interest to some of us – but I appreciate that won’t be the case for everyone. I wanted to do it though – and I don’t promise it will be the last!
I have been making lots this winter – great fun! I have even produced kits. And on Etsy they sell – to the USA and to Europe. But not so much here, in the UK. This I really don’t understand. Cowls (neck warmers, snoods in the States) are warm, super practical (stuff one in your pocket, plus no tails to get in the way, especially good for outdoor sports). They are also obviously less expensive than the time consuming hand made traditional long scarf. So why are they not catching on? Are we just being a bit slow?
Grateful for any suggestions!
Goodbye to all that…
A lot of work (and definitely not looking forward to getting it all back in the roof) but plenty of fun stuff in between!
Hope you all managed some peaceful time – Christmas is certainly still magic for me.
And, of course, Happy New Year!
SpinningStreak 