The train

A long, long time ago, I can't remember when exactly, but I think it was the early seventies....I caught a train into Sydney. Actually, I did that more times than I can remember, but this time it was different. It was still one of the old 'red rattlers' that had no safety features whatsoever. People used to stand in the open doorways as it picked up speed between stations. I know I often did. Then there were those old, dark green, vinyl seats which years later were eventually replaced, because handfulls of socially challenged individuals from a younger generation preferred slashing, rather than sitting, on them.
I made this trip alone, so I was very likely on my way to the Australian Museum near Hyde Park all the way from Macquarie Fields, for the grand return fare of 5c. I say alone, but in fact I was joined by an elderly man, somewhere around Strathfield perhaps. Like many of his generation, he was open and conversational from the outset and I must have looked like someone who wanted company for the remainder of the trip.
But the truth is, I didn't.
Nevertheless I didn't change seats either, so the old man began telling me how much Sydney had changed since he was my age.
He told me of the Harbour, lit up like a Christmas tree with all the coloured lights on the ferrys and boats, of the young couples out on the town for the dancing, of the popularity of the boxing on a Saturday night, when crowds would turn out and a good time could be had for less than a shilling. He had been in the ring himself as I recall and had known a few of the big names in boxing back then. They were all gentlemen he said and he was proud to have been in their company. After naming them, he asked me if I had heard of them. When I said I hadn't, he told me I certainly would one day. If I had though, I wouldn't have known, because I forgot most of what he told me within minutes of getting off at Central Station.
It's now one of my many regrets.
Here was an eyewitness account of Sydney in the '20s and '30s, recalling things he had experienced, not just imagined from a grainy black and white photo. He remembered the sounds, the colours, the smells, the people.....many of whom had long since passed from living memory.
And I, just as you might expect from a 14 year old, couldn't see the value of genuinely listening, or asking questions......
Now I'm 51 and I would give anything to be back in that carriage on a hazy Summer's morning, heading into Sydney.

Think'n

I just realised. Most of the time, I consider myself to be reasonably normal and well adjusted. It's only when I turn my attention to arty things I've done, or attempted to do, I get all gloomy and depressed. Soooooo..... what's THAT all about? Why are we overly critical of ourselves, our abilities? As I said to an old friend recently, in art, the very thing that drives us can, if unchecked, hold us back. But I won't let it stop me.....not this time. I'll bide my time just a little while longer....watch tv....grab a beer.....

Th' Wedd'n

Karen and I were honoured to have been invited to Jamie and Tracy's wedding in Inverness, held at the Waterfront Hotel along Ness Bank a few weeks ago. It was another opportunity to wear the kilt and show off my swagger, which I hope in good faith, did not cause too much ill feeling among those given to a more delicate disposition.

The West

We took a drive out to Plockton the other day, taking photo's of the Autumn colours, as you do.... ......and went out on Calum MacKenzie's seal boat, the Argus - www.calums-sealtrips.com It was great, not only because we were among the very few that went out, but also because there was a squall that came over from Skye, providing some fantastic, bleak, dark backdrops for the cormorants, seals and otters we spotted. On the way home we stopped at Eilean Donan (above) and waited until dusk for some shots of the castle under flood lights, then made our way east toward Loch Ness and home, stopping at the Invermoriston Arms for dinner along the way. It's days like this you realise - it's a wonderful life Clarence, ....it's a wonderful life.

The Laird

Well, this is me in October 2008. Yeh, you've probably seen worse. Or have I not yet posted the pictures of me from the early eighties?

The Vision Splendid

It has been some time since I last found myself looking at shapes and forms about me, breaking them down as brush strokes and lines in my mind. So I was surprised when in the middle of a meeting at work, I found myself staring at the random patterns of a peeled label on the side of a piece of computer hardware, which I gradually recognised as a favourite place of mine in the Highlands, above Inchnadamph, So, has getting back in touch with a few from college recently been enough to steer me back to the canvas? If so, maybe I should have looked for them ages ago. Time will tell.

The Internet and Old friends

I was just randomly punching keys and visiting various internet pages when a familiar name appeared in my peripheral vision. Peripheral vision is the work of the rods, nerve cells located largely outside the macula (the center) of the retina. The rods are also responsible for night vision and low-light vision but are insensitive to colour.
But I digress........
Many years ago, in a different century in fact, I went to Art College in Tamworth, NSW. There were several highly talented individuals within our class and one of them was Charmaine, whose name I saw on the internet. So, now I'm searching for others I knew and one or two more have emerged, like Michelle and Kaye.
I'm delighted to see they are still painting and staying active, but at the same time it has shocked me into the realisation that I walked away from something I loved through a desperate lack of confidence - that monkey on my back that has stolen every banana I've ever been offered.
So now I'm miserable, but at the same time, inspired by these individuals, whom I miss.

Say what?

I am my own life and I take full responsibility. But seriously..... I really need to lose some weight

You are here

When the past has stepped aside for the present and the future is already elbowing that out of the way, where am I?
Probably where I wanted to be all along, but with absolutely no idea how I got here.....