An exciting day

Yesterday was an exciting day for me…. my birthday!  Yes, another one.  They do seem to come round more quickly each year, don’t they?

It was a grey and dull day but that didn’t detract from my day!  As a treat we were to go to London to see a show called the Jersey Boys which I had long wanted to see.

We got ready to go out and had decided to take the bus to the rail station.  Waiting at the bus stop with about 8 minutes to go we noticed an Interlink van driving out of our road.  Hubby realised that a parcel he had been waiting for might have been attempting a delivery.  As soon as the van came towards us at the bus stop he flagged it down.  The driver expecting a hold up by a couple of wrinklies looked quizzically as my husband explained.  Yes, the package was onboard so it was signed for and duly handed over.  Right!  A quick sprint to the house and I’ll be back, according to  Hubby.  There was to be just enough time before the arrival of the bus.  I waited thinking that if I could just see my husband coming out of our road I would be able to delay the bus long enough for him to catch up.  The clock ticked, and ticked.  At last!  Around the corner he rushed just in time to arrive at the bus stop simultaneously as the bus!  Unbeknown to me as he was locking the front door a ParcelPost van drew up wanting to deliver a box of flowers for me!  Quickly they were accepted, placed in the hall, door locked and then the rush to return to me at the bus stop.

Once at the station we bought our rail tickets to travel by train to Victoria from where we were to continue our journey to Leicester Square by Underground.  Since we were early we decided to have a drink and a spot of lunch.  How civilized!

Now the time was coming to enter the Prince Edward Theatre.   We were to be sitting in the grand circle.  Settling down we waiting in anticipation for the lights to dim and the production to begin. By the way, we sat in two of the red seat pictured in the picture on the right!

The musical show of Jersey Boys is based on the electrifying true life story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. With spectacular performances of their hits, follow the rollercoaster journey of a group of working class boys from the streets of New Jersey, who worked their way to the heights of international pop stardom.  The show featured many memorable hits, including: Beggin’, Oh What a night, Can’t take my eyes off you, Sherry, Walk like a man, Bye bye baby and Baby, big girls don’t cry to name but a small selection of songs preformed.  Follow this link to read about the story of the Four Seasons http://www.jerseyboyslondon.com/jerseyboys_behindthemusic.asp  You can even get a taster of the music as well as some clips from the actual show! 

Actually, one of the scariest thoughts was that here we were clapping and singing our hearts out to music from over 40, yes, 40 years ago!!!  Gulp!  It was especially hard when I looked around me at some of the audience and fully realised, here were all the wrinklies….mmmmm.

We had thought about having a drink and a meal to round off the evening but decided just on a drink, travelling back home to invite our daughter over for a take away pizza with some bubbly!  A wonderful end to a brilliant day.

What were the flowers and who were they from?  Beautiful cream roses with purple irises and some lilies in between from one of the boys, wasn’t that kind?  Who loves ya baby!!!?

Nearly the end of the month and....

Yes, it is nearly the end of the month and the 30/30 challenge is nearing its end!

Di's 30/30 challenge has quite a number of us participating.  Each of us setting ourselves different targets which we hoped to achieve during the month of October.

My goals were:

1. To create an encaustic painting to enter into a competition on ArtScuttlebut.com  Here is my entry entitled Celestial Magic.  It has been created using pigmented beeswax which was then hot air blown.  To enhance the painting I used my trustworthy iron, hot stylus and tissues.

The painting has been created on canvas as a support and is painted around the sides, top and bottom so is immediately ready to hang.

When you view the painting from the sides you can see the whole subject which makes it rather fun!

 

 

2.  My next goal was to continue using the Wii sports.  This I have done using it to play tennis which is a game I love.  In addition DH and I have taken many walks through local parks to enjoy the beautiful foliage at this time of year.

3. My third goal was to create something every week and this week I have had my encaustic paints out again.  This time to create a painting using one of England's oldest monuments, namely, Stonehenge.  Each year during the summer solstice the druids come from far and wide to celebrate the season. 

This particular painting evolved from a greetings card I was trying to create for my DH whose birthday is on Saturday.  He loves the wax art so I began and the first picture that emerged was this one of  a landscape scene.  I wasn't too happy with it so carried on and then Stonehenge was born! 

 

 

 

 

So you can see the different processes and how a painting can evolve from card to canvas.

All these paintings are created by me but under my 'other' personality!  On a Whimsey where I only have encaustic art.

In addition I have managed to keep up my new blog A Precious Memory where I have written some of my father's memoirs of a dark period in his life.

And so, my friends, I feel that I have managed to acquit myself reasonably well by 'just' keeping up with my self set goals.  Now with Christmas just around the corner there are plenty more challenges.  Thank you, Di, for making us get up and get on with things.  It is always easier if someone goads you into being more productive.

Happy Birthday to a very special English Bear!

Well, who would have thought it? Paddington Bear is 50 years young today!

Fifty years ago today, on 13 October 1958 "A Bear Called Paddington" was first published. Paddington Bear was created by an English author called Michael Bond.

Michael Bond recalls in his own words how Paddington first came into being:
"I bought a small toy bear on Christmas Eve 1956. I saw it left on a shelf in a London store and felt sorry for it. I took it home as a present for my wife Brenda and named it Paddington as we were living near Paddington Station at the time. I wrote some stories about the bear, more for fun than with the idea of having them published. After ten days I found that I had a book on my hands. It wasn’t written specifically for children, but I think I put into it the kind things I liked reading about when I was young."

Michael Bond sent the book to his agent who liked it and after sending to to several publishers it was eventually accepted by William Collins & Sons (now Harper Collins). The publishers commissioned an illustrator, Peggy Fortnum, and the very first Paddington book "A Bear Called Paddington" was published on 13 October 1958. Michael had been working for the BBC as a cameraman but once he realised he needed to spend more time on his books he retired in 1965.

Of Paddington himself Michael Bond says:
"The great advantage of having a bear as a central character is that he can combine the innocence of a child with the sophistication of an adult. Paddington is not the sort of bear that would ever go to the moon - he has his paws too firmly on the ground for that. He gets involved in everyday situations. He has a strong sense of right and wrong and doesn't take kindly to the red tape bureaucracy of the sillier rules and regulations with which we humans surround ourselves. As a bear he gets away with things. Paddington is humanised, but he couldn't possibly be 'human'. It just wouldn't work."

These famous books have now sold more than 35 million copies worldwide and been translated into around 40 languages!

To celebrate, Paddington Bear will be taking a tour of London in a black cab. His journey will take him from the Adlwych, Trafalgar Square, London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Natural History Museum and finishing up at Paddington Station (by Paddington’s famous statue). What a trip! Everyone is encouraged to join in the fun, spot him and take a picture so that it can be entered into a competition.

Needless to say, there is a special book being issued for this wonderful occasion called 'A Bear Called Paddington: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Gift Edition'

For further information do go to the official Paddington Bear web site where you will find loads more information about books and CDs that are being issued in celebration!

Now where was that jar of marmalade?