Monthly Archives: May 2024

I wanted to tell you about the Blue Tits

Mum passed away a couple of week’s ago. I keep wanting to tell her about stuff. So I wrote her a little poem, by way of an update.

I nearly rang you today, cos of the Blue Tits,
They are nesting in the box that Dad built,
I can hear the chicks cheaping, asking for food,
Their parents are never far away,
In and out of the box with grubs and insects,
Nature is wonderful.

I wish I could tell you about them, constantly on the go,
They work from dawn to dusk,
And get very cross,
When Gideon comes and stares at them,
He is really fascinated,
I know you like hearing about him.

I cleaned out the garage too,
And found a photo from when I eighteen,
All of us together in front of the fireplace,
With the dent in, where someone threw a vase,
Before we moved in,
Always makes me laugh, happy days.

I contacted Catherine in Japan, to let her know,
She said she has photos,
From when you were in Grenoble, learning French,
Like I did when I was 20,
Looking forward to the pictures,
Young Mum, full of life.

The garden is growing at a pace,
Weeds everywhere, of course,
I like weeds, some lovely flowers too,
And raspberries, wish I could give you some,
The Jasmine and Honeysuckle are going to be great,
Scents of summer, and peace.

Got to get back on my bike more,
I cleaned it today, all shiny,
Need to work off a few pounds, and get fit,
And maybe another cycle tour,
Maybe the coast again, or somewhere else,
For you Mum, you loved following my tours.

We are getting their Mum, sorting stuff,
But it would be a lot easier if we could ask questions,
You knew all the names,
We’ll make it work though,
That’s all for now, lots of love,
Will speak again soon.


Some photos Mum would like too.

King Charles the Destroyer?

A bit of an odd topic for me, but I was just so taken aback when I saw the new portrait of King Charles III today. I mean, what was he thinking? Did he really think it was a good idea?

King Charles by Jonathan Yeo
King Charles by Jonathan Yeo

The artist, Jonathan Yeo, claims it depicts the transformation, or metamorphosis of Charles from Prince to King, and his connection with nature because of the butterfly. Umm, alright, but not sure I’m getting that from it.

For me it’s depicts Charles ascending to a throne built on blood, fire and violence. Maybe not current violence, but definitely historical, an empire built on colonialism, subjugation, slavery and theft. Out of this fiery maelstrom comes King Charles, the conquering hero, with a butterfly on his shoulder for some reason. Is that like the butterfly chaos effect or something? Or is the butterfly a last remnant of nature, pleading with the monarch for sanctuary?

The portrait looks like something you’d see in the comic 2000AD, a kind of dystopian tyrant, or hero maybe. All very odd. A friend commented it reminded him of Ghostbusters 2, with the haunted portrait of Vigo the Carpathian. Sounds legit to me.

Ghostbusters 2 - haunted painting
Ghostbusters 2 – haunted painting

Who you gonna call?