thirty one years today

I have heard it said that a man in love can fly

Townes van Zandt - To live's to fly

Blaze Foley - If I could only fly

Jackie Leven - Fly

31

Whaddya got there? 

A fly to fish with.  Whadda you got?

A fish to fly with

Q Krew

Hi there

A couple of weeks ago I popped in and bought some cans of spray paint.  I explained I was doing a street art project with Team Q, a group of young adults with learning disabilities who attend day services at QE2 Activity Centre at Bursledon.  You might remember I said that local artist Cr2em was coming along to show us how to do it properly.  You said to let you know how it went.

It went great.

You know a picture is worth a thousand words so here’s a bundle of photos from the day so you can see for yourself!

   

   

So there you go.  Great paints, really vibrant colours and they went on and on – which was just as well!  Cr2em worked brilliantly with Team Q, helping them to get the most out of the session.  Everyone had a lot of fun, Team Q learned some new skills and Jade got a pair of psychedelic wellies.

Till next time

Phil 

manager 

QE2 ActivityCentre

providing activity opportunities for people with additional needs

registered UK charity 

Paradise Hawaiian style

Aloha kakahiaka

Hana Hou!

A`ole pilikia

 

 Ko Aloha Makamae E Ipo

 Mahalo nui loa

Ka Honi Mai Me Ke Aloha

A hui hou kakou

Tipping point

one of these is a painting

another was painted

one of them means something

another is a bad pun

that's all

Tokyo Storm Warning

 Tokyo Bar, 54 Crew, Southampton

Tokyo Bar, 54 Crew, Southampton

  Tokyo Bar, 54 Crew, Southampton

 after Warhol, near Tokyo Bar, Southampton

 after Warhol, near Tokyo Bar, Southampton

Have a nice day, Southampton

 Ragged Priest, I am the law, Southampton

For artists only

There's a sadness

hidden in that pretty face

a sadness all her own

Mary Ann, Prom Queen, Tickleford High School 1979

I wish you wouldn't say that

I see the shore line

I see the white caps

nice weather down there

you can't see it

till it's finished

Pure joy wins out again

Q Krew

Six weeks ago I thought the world could end.  I wouldn't have cared.  The most heartbreaking thing had happened and nothing mattered anymore.  That's why The Corn Poppy took a break.  Writing a blog while my daughter was arranging the funeral of her baby did not seem the right thing to do.

But life goes on. As the picture above shows. There's still songs to be sung, pictures to be painted. Pure joy wins out again and makes it easy as Julian Cope once said.

During the week of the funeral I was working with a disabled child. He had a learning disability and a physical disability and a can-do attitude.  He didn't know it but he was my inspiration that week. He reminded me that setbacks only set us back as far as we let them.

A few weeks earlier I had been writing a story, a story for the baby.  It involved a Giraffe and his journey through life.

Some of it ended up on www.TheCornPoppy.com .  One bit went like this:

"Hmmmm" said Giraffe.  "I choose, I choose . . . life, sunrise to start the day, sunset to end it, sunshine to warm the days, clouds and breeze and rain to cool them, forests and fields, wild and wide open spaces to run in, trees to shelter under, leaves to eat, sandwiches to enjoy, streams to drink from, rivers to stand tall by, mountains to look up to, grass to look down on, airplanes to be amazed by, silence to treasure, bird song to listen to, my own song to sing, spring and summer, autumn and winter, day and night, dawn and twilight.  It's a gift."

I'm gonna take my own advice.  Make a choice.  Choose life.  And like Sherlock Holmes returning from the Reichenbach Falls - The Corn Poppy is back.

If you want to do something for me, do this.  Little Aubrey Rosa (for that was her name) wasn't on earth long enough to make a difference. You'd think.  But in her shortest of short times she not only broke hearts: she generated so much love.  Do something in her memory.  Perform a kindness and do it in Aubrey Rosa's name.  Let me know how it goes.  Thanks.