I think the problem is Terry that I tend to do everything too fast. I seem incapable of taking my time with anything, and that's why these things happen. If I could learn to slow down a little rather than do everything quickly as if my life depended on it I'd be fine. But I'd much prefer suicide doors to avoid the inevitable, as I've come to accept that I'm made the way I'm made.





Yes that's why I really wanted to retain the visor, I've also noticed it doubles as a decent wind deflector.
When I rebuilt the seats I noticed that not every hole had a rubber in them, and that many of the rubbers were perished. I'm 6ft, and 15 stone, so I decided to beef up the seat to better contend with the weight.

I added all new rubbers and put extra ones in where they were missing before, but that has resulted in a very firm seat which sits me high up. When driving I now need to stoop slightly to see out the windscreen which, over a long journey makes an old shoulder injury that I have scream with pain. I'm thinking of removing some of the seat base rubbers to allow me to sink further down into the seat, that extra inch or so might then prevent the tendency to stoop, which in turn will hopefully stop the 'burning knife stuck in my shoulder' sensation.

The rare reclining seats help with actually seeing through the windscreen rather than admiring the roof rail.

Old Nail has a mishap with his eeeves-su-lerraunt kecks revealing a smart pair of Calv's trolleys underneath.

Something very similar happened to me, with my outer garments having only the word 'Prim' left intact whilst my undies boasted the logo 'ark'

Since my last post I've ripped yet another pair of pants.

Either my backside has grown out of all proportion without my noticing or something's going on here, either way it's getting real old, not to mention expensive. I'm now calculating distance travelled in MPP (miles per pair) and it's working out as dear as the petrol.

The last few days I've been wrestling with an unpalatable fact - I was growing tired of driving 2cv's. It started a few weeks ago when I saw a modern car advertised for sale, a real beauty it was too, but it was the price that shocked me... £2995 ono. I drove away wondering how on earth all that much car could be had for the price of a flimsy old Citroen?

With that in mind over the next few days I started to pick up on, or nit-pick perhaps, all the things that irritate me about the 2cv. The trouser ripping thing is just one, then there's the doors opening out at the top at anything over 70mph, the ability to rust overnight, the hot coil syndrome, the prospect of paying over a hundred quid a tyre, etc. etc. I felt the time had perhaps finally come, as ten years of 2cv's have left a lot of fond memories so maybe it was time to move on?

I was still feeling this way this afternoon when I visited my parents, and during the visit we had discussed some pretty serious and heavy business, by the time my visit was over my mood was pretty much apocalyptic. Getting into the car for the journey home on what was perhaps the first sunny day up here since June, I was careful not to rip yet another pair of jeans, and as it was sunny I opened the vent flap.

I aimed the car back towards home which means driving off west and into the sun, the fly and dirt spattered windscreen soon became opaque with the action of the low sun's light, so I pressed the washer button to squirt my newly poured in screen wash onto the windscreen, followed by a few flips of the wipers to clear my view. By this time I was travelling along the long dual carriageway that passes outside the Reebok stadium, home of the Bolton wanderers.

Less than a minute later and I was on the motorway heading home. I had caught sight of something which seemed little more than a glint of light around eye level to one side but as I turned my head it was gone. With the sun streaming in and my sun visor removed due to giving me neck ache I was struggling a little to see just what it was that kept catching my eye, and then I saw it.... bubbles!

Did you ever have one of those things when you were a kid? Y'know, a circular plastic thing that you dip in washing up liquid and blow through to create bubbles? Well when I put the 'Concentrated' screen wash in I had put plenty in, and having run down my windscreen it had then been forced through the open vent by the force of forward motion, and then onto the fly mesh which had acted just as those bubble making things do. So here I was driving down the queens highway in a car that was increasingly full of small, rainbow coloured bubbles.

I smiled when I realised what had happened, only to think that here again was an example of how ridiculous these cars were, but as ever more bubbles filled the cab I laughed, it was like something off a Spielberg film, I had to open the window to let bubbles out, but they didn't go out they just swirled around and burst, and I remember thinking "I just wish the Police would stop me now!" I was trying to think up a reasonable excuse to give to them if they did, while at the same time wondering what it would possibly read on my charge sheet?

The accused was seen travelling in a westerly direction where we observed him to have only one hand on the steering wheel, the other was making pointing motions with the index finger....I believe he was bursting bubbles your honour"

Having left my parents feeling very gloomy, I got home a mere 30 mins later smiling. Yes the sight of a bubble filled car must have appeared ridiculous, but I like ridiculous, so in it's own way the car has made a timely intervention to ensure I continue to drive it.

Tomorrow I hope to get a couple of hours more work done on that painting, so I will post the progress in the evening.

old nail you should be a writer (and this is where i find out that you are any my suggestion is pointless)

i know the feeling you mean, you grow out of it, then something redicoulous like that happens and you just have to laugh!

I started out this morning with the painting still as we had left it a couple of weeks ago, so first of all I painted in that copper vessel. I've no idea what it is because I made it up, but it looks like a coal scuttle to me now so that's what we'll say it is.

Next job was to add a little straw to the basket on the roof, then some more here and there to give the random effect of what you might expect to find in a barn. I then began to indicate the beginnings of the dirt floor.

Quite often when I'm painting I try to bring the whole of the painting along at the same pace so that no one part is completely finished before the other, but by doing that I often go into 'automatic pilot', and just paint while I think of other things. I suppose there has been a little of that happening here, so to snap out of it I deliberately concentrate on one small area and pay more attention to it, that way I stay focused.



I started to paint in the paper-clip bumper bars at the front, along with the grille, and because it's important to do them accurately I had to pay attention.
I had wanted to add an engine, or some other part of a 2cv to the foreground as the large blank area on the lower right of the picture needed 'something', but to aid the composition I roughed in an old oil drum instead, although I may still add other objects as I go.



Taking stock of what I have so far I think it's time to better define the lights and darks, add texture to the rusty car, and move the painting along in the direction that I had originally envisaged. I said previously that broadly speaking paintings can be based on colour, or light. Lots of light and dark obliterates colour, and lots of colour tends to ruin the effect of strong light and dark, so by attempting to combine the two I'm constantly juggling my colours and tones to reach some sort of compromise.

I spend the next hour or so painting in the rusty texture on the car itself, making sure that the rust that will be hit by the shaft of sunlight is brighter and warmer than that which is in shadow. I'll alter it again later, refining as I go.
Again I painted in the dust and mildew on the windscreen, then where the light would pass through the windscreen and hit the inside of the passengers (or driver in France) window I added a little warm glow to show that the dirt is is covered in was lit up from behind.

While thinking about the light coming through the open window I thought about what else might come through there? Birds maybe? So drops of bird shit was also added to the 2cv windscreen and bonnet!

I'm having difficulty in photographing the painting after each session as all I get are the reflections from the wet paint, and by taking them out of the light the images are turning out quite dark. Below is a photo of the painting after this mornings sitting, the actual painting isn't that dark looking, but as you can see the texturing of the car is pretty much done, although there will be further refining of it to tone it down a little as I do tend to get carried away when painting flaky paint and rust! As you can see I redefined the oil can but there is still much to do to get the overall effect that I'm looking for.

This painting so far has taken around ten hours work, I expect that for the purpose of this blog another five or six will finish it. Compare that with the more usual eighty hours plus that they normally take to do and you will see why this is never going to be finished to my satisfaction, it will however look decent enough for the new owner to hang.

words cannot explain your talents sir

Back in the early 1990's I rode my motorbike over to York for a day out. It was summer, and there was the usual array of street entertainers dotted here and there. One chap was superb, I still remember his name - Ivor English he called himself. He was telling jokes, and juggling - while riding on a unicycle! Now that's talent!

I was so impressed that I went home, bought myself some juggling balls and taught myself to juggle, I never did get to try out a unicycle though.

Come to snetterton at the weekend, Aidan is bringing his unicycle, and I'd imagine the opportunities for hospitalisation will show themselves with haste.

Already begun im afraid. I had a go this weekend.

Seat wasnt fitted properly. Foot slipped off pedal, dragged my ankle down it and shaved skin, also crushed me balls.