Legs [# 18]
Firstly, apologies for the long break since my last proper posting. I haven't any particular reason for not writing, but I've been quite busy and I don't like to just stick any old rubbish on my blog (I have extremely high standards!) so I wait til there's time to write and something to update you on. Hope that's ok with you, dear blog-watcher. However, I shall try and keep my updates regularly to the 3-4 week timescale so as not to dissappoint both of my readers!OK - news: I've moved rooms in my house. We needed someone to take a vacant room and the winning candidate
needed lots of space so he took my old room and now I'm in a smaller, cheaper and sunnier room. I like it more but now I'm personalising my space - living out of a backpack for a few months is a bit dull and so I feel the need to decorate. My boss was chucking out some handmade paper so I salvaged it and made myself a lampshade.I made the cordage with rough raffia using techniques picked up from the legendary Ray Mears (my guru). At least it's more attractive than the pressed steel article that was there before, it looked like something out of Stalag Luft III.I've also bought a couple of stretched canvases and so I'm doing some large oil paintings for my room.
I'll post them on my blog when they're done.
The new guy in the house, Paul is an interesting bloke - he's 22 and owns a restaurant! He'd lived in our house for about 4 weeks before I even met him because he gets back from the restaurant after midnight and gets up at midday!
A couple of weeks ago I drove up to New Plymouth for my boss's wedding. I drove up with Alan (the groom), Sean (best man) and Vanessa (his wife). My job (apart from chauffeur) was to take the wedding photos.
Alan and Marguerite (my boss) at their wedding.
Good for them - after all :
“Loneliness is the first thing which God's eye named, not good.”
(John Milton).
I havn't travelled far since I've been in the country this time (when I was here 7 years ago I travelled extensively) and I was looking forward to going back to this part of the country. I hadn't been to New Plymouth before, but I'd gone to the area and climbed Mount Taranki. Back in 1998 I hitched near to the volcano and climbed it by myself, I stood on the the little peak, known as the Shark Tooth, and had a magnificent view of the whole area, right over to the central island volcanoes, Raupehu and Ngauruhoe 50 miles away.Good for them - after all :
“Loneliness is the first thing which God's eye named, not good.”
(John Milton).
Mount Taranki which I climbed as a grotty backpacker back in 1999.
You can see the 'Shark Tooth' which I stood on right at the summit.
You can see the 'Shark Tooth' which I stood on right at the summit.
It seems that cricket is playing a big part in my life at the moment. Obviously I'm suffering through the Ashes series, but we also play cricket in our living room and I play at my club. Despite all this practice and study, it may surprise you that I'm actually not very good. People ask what I do - bat or bowl? but I have to answer - 'neither'. I field enthusiastically though, it's what I do best - scampering around like a border collie. I'm one of the oldest members of the club but I seem to have the most energy - must be all the juice I drink. I did get asked to bowl at a game recently though, and it was quite funny. I bowled 3 overs and took 3 wickets! I think I also had about a dozen wides and no-balls though! I think the batsmen were so confused with what I was doing they never knew what would happen next! It was pure comedy. My team mates were enjoying it though and I was getting encouragement like - 'come on col, give him another widow-maker' or 'here he comes again, the Butcher of Buckinghamshire'. (Sorry if you aren't interested in cricket - I promise not to talk too much about it in my blog - it's just that, that was such a good story it was worth including. It really was a very funny story for cricket lovers!).
I've been encouraged by a few people since I started my blog and I'm thinking that in 2007 I'd like to write and illustrate a children's book, I think I care enough about detail to make it worth a bash. Whether I have the skills is another question. And I work at a 'self'-publishers so I think it would be silly if I didn't try and come up with my own offering. Time to start writing down some of my crazy dreams for inspiration!
I was a bit unsure what to do for Christmas and New Year but fortunately I was invited to some friends and had an excellent day.
My sister very kindly sent me a package to open which I kept for Christmas Day, but it was a bit embarrassing because I was the last minute guest and I had all this exciting stuff to open infront of everyone - they all had to wait for me to finish before we could eat! We ate well. Among the interesting things we ate was beer steamed barbecued chicken! What you do is open a can of beer, drink a bit (but not too much) then insert the open can up the chicken's erm, behind, then kind of prop it up on the barbecue so the beer steams through the poor chicken. It's really moist and tasty with a crispy skin.
Excited little me!
Mike and his home smoked salmon.Also for Christmas I was kindly given some money which I put towards buying a new pair of running shoes, something I've been wanting to do for months, however the cost of them here is exactly the same as in England, but my earnings are a fraction of UK earnings so it takes a much bigger wedge. Now I've joined a gym too and when it opens in the New Year I'll be straight there. I absolutely can't wait. It'll take me a while to get back to 3 and a half hour marathon fitness again, but I'm on my way!
For New Year one of my flatmates invited me to tag along to a party he was going to - last minute and spontaneous, we had a great time.
Oh, and the other thing I've done is built a letterbox! Pippa, a lady at work has a good friend whose letterbox was falling apart, it was very efficient at collecting water and soaking her mail so Pippa asked if I'd build a new one. I made it out of reclaimed materials and fixed it firmly in concrete. Hopefully it'll last a good while.
For New Year one of my flatmates invited me to tag along to a party he was going to - last minute and spontaneous, we had a great time.
Mat, his girlfriend - Kat, me and a large Cuban cigar.
(I'm sure you can work out which is which!)
(I'm sure you can work out which is which!)
Oh, and the other thing I've done is built a letterbox! Pippa, a lady at work has a good friend whose letterbox was falling apart, it was very efficient at collecting water and soaking her mail so Pippa asked if I'd build a new one. I made it out of reclaimed materials and fixed it firmly in concrete. Hopefully it'll last a good while.
Old and new, courtesy of Colin Pells Junk Design and Reclaimed Materials Manufacturing.Week 4 : 'Turned to custard'
A possibly overused New Zealand expression. - If something goes a bit wrong - it has turned to custard.
Possibly originated from a description of very poor weather. - Rain so thick it's no longer water - but like custard!
posted by col @ 7:32 pm
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