Monday 15 April 2013

Gold medal in the family

1 I've mislaid my middle-distance glasses, dammit.  They're probably in this room, maybe in the kitchen, but that's less help than you'd think.

2 I went to a fabulous lecture this morning, given by Maggi Hambling and illustrated with loads of her portraits.  Hugely impressed.  I hadn't realised that she's the sister of someone I know, who arranged for her to come.

3 I'm feeling some clarification about the timing of my retirement as a school governor.  Carrying on as normal for a while yet, though.  It'll be twenty-five years in September, but for several of those years I governed two schools.

4 Meetings went on until 3 o'clock, when I was finally able to have some lunch.  I made a salad of cherry tomatoes, avocado and Roquefort cheese and ate it with oatcakes and a glass of red wine.  It was a very nice Bordeaux and reminds me again to drink better wine all the time.  I mean whenever I drink it, of course, not that I'll drink all the time.  Obv.

5 Squiffany entered a gymnastics competition yesterday and won her class.  Woo hoo!

Update - I've found my glasses under the armchair.  That's a relief, the computer is just at the wrong distance nowadays.

13 comments:

dinahmow said...

I'd love to see Hambling's Scallop!
Well, I'd have loved to get some of the Britten concerts, but...

Z said...

It's only 45 minutes from here, Di, maybe we could go to Aldeburgh while you're here, depending on how long you're all staying.

I'm looking forward to Peter Grimes in June at Snape Maltings.

Zig said...

I'd like to drink good wine all the time

Z said...

The trick is to drink less, so that you spend the same ... unfortunately.

Unknown said...

When we first moved here Maggi Hambling's father, Harry Hambling lived quite near us, and as he was a very sociable old boy we got to know him quite well. And, as you probably spotted last year, we have one of her paintings in St. Mary's. And Ann tells me that she is opening our Art Exhibition on Friday evening. We've got an invitation to it, but as we shan't be able to attend, would you like it? We could leave it on the door for you.

Z said...

That's really kind, Mike - what time is it?

Unknown said...

Hello Z and Russell. It's at St. Mary's Church at 8p.m. on Friday, 19th April. Please let us know if you can make it. Shan't be able to meet up, I'm afraid, but you'll know several people there, I think, including Maggi.

allotmentqueen said...

I had a winning daughter yesterday too. I like that scallop.

Unknown said...

My Dad drinks a wine called "The Forefather", a Malbec Shiraz.

Roses said...

Good to hear your exit plans are coming to fruition.

I'm beginning to rely on my reading glasses quite a lot now. Why couldn't I just have longer arms? Honestly!

Congrats to Squiffany!

Z said...

I do too, AQ - I was never sure why it was so controversial. Hooray for daughters!

Thanks, Roses. I don't need reading glasses as such - I can't see with the ones you buy over the counter - but there's a distance that's wrong with a contact lens or without, nowadays.

nick said...

I wear glasses all the time, so luckily I never have to hunt for them. My mum loses her glasses about every ten minutes.

I love Maggi Hambling's paintings, especially her wave pictures. Not so keen on the portraits - I think they rather uglify her subjects.

Z said...

I normally wear a single contact lens, Nick, so that I have short sight in one eye and long sight in the other, but it's where they meet in the middle that lets me down nowadays.

I hadn't expected to like the portraits as much as I did, but seeing them and hearing her talk about them has won me round completely.