the art of robin jacques

Well, you certainly live and learn (or at least l do, until my memory plays up).  I never knew until today that Hattie Jacques,  from Hancock's Half Hour and Sykes, (amongst other things) had a brother called Robin Jacques, who was an illustrator.  Not just an illustrator, a damn fine one at that.  Here are some of his works, and there is more about him (and the works) here.
Damn! - I wish l could draw (or even stipple).

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obama and his four more years

Christ on a bike, l was hoping Barack Obama was going to get back in, and thought it would be close, but you can never be too sure about trusting the public, either here in dear old Blighty, or over in the good ol' US of A.  I was woken at 4.44am this morning, and as l couldn't get back to sleep, l caught the early result on TV.  An excellent (although tiring) start to the day.   All Hail to the Chief.
Now if we could just sort out the bloody coalition that we are stuck with....

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cotton wool in the ear

One of the many joys in life is sticking a cotton bud in your ear and having a good root around.  That is until the stinking cotton comes off the plastic part, and becomes trapped in your ear, which is what happened with this piece of cotton.  I obviously managed to retrieve it in the end, but believe me, it took some getting out.  Will it stop me repeating the actions that caused it to become stuck?  Of course not.  If anything, l now consider it a challenge,  a battle of wills between myself and the cotton buds.  There's only going to be one loser....

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the building work behind the arc

It's all going to be a lot different around the Colburn and Catterick area by The Arc, as building work has now started on a load of new houses.  Where all the people are going to work is a puzzle to me, but maybe this might encourage someone to re-open The Colburn Lodge, as that is not far from the (soon to be built) houses.  I'll put up more photographs as it develops.

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a quiet night at jt's

After sitting around watching TV on Saturday, l managed to persuade the FPO to hit the White Shops for a drink, as we had already been drinking wine, had run out, and it was only 7.30pm.  We called in at The Wine Bar first, where there was about 3 other people drinking in there.  Nothing that unusual, but on stepping into to J.T's (just around the corner), we thought there must be a football match on the big screen, as it was heaving.  We had only gone and forgotten it was a late Halloween do, so it was  a pretty fun night, mainly talking to Michael and watching the FPO fall over dancing.  She is certainly a classy act once she's had a few ales.  A fun night for all of the family.

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david beckham, russell brand and the unidentified fans

The Americans and there knowledge of football.  Here's 'soccer player'  David Beckham with Russell Brand and some 'unidentified' fans.  Just a shame that the person on the right of the photograph is actually a professional football player himself, Robbie Keane, who has only played for Tottenham Hotspur, Dirty Leeds, Liverpool and Celtic (amongst others) as well as being the captain of the Republic of Ireland team.  You would think Reuters would do some checking.

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racism flags at chelsea v manchester united

A couple of superb banners at the Chelsea v Manchester United game last night.  Stand up to racism indeed.

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the new york subway after hurricane sandy

I caught the end of a hurricane the very first time l went to New York (while sleeping rough), but it was nowhere as devastating as Hurricane Sandy has been.  I know there has been a lot of damage, it will cost a fortune to sort out, people have died etc, but l would have loved to have been there when it hit.  It's not exactly an experience you can have anytime you want.
More about the aftermath of the storm in New York is here.

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tom gauld cartoons

As l only get a Sunday newspaper at home, and we get 'The Daily Mirror' at work, l have not read The Guardian newspaper for many years.  I was therefore unaware until quite recently (until the death of Ray Bradbury) of cartoonist's Tom Gauld's work for the paper.  I like it a lot.
His book 'Goliath' is available from Amazon here, and his webpage is here.  There you will find plenty more cartoons to peruse, and he is adding to the collection all of the time.  Top man.

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jimmy fallon does bob dylan - trick or treat

Jimmy Fallon is superb at doing musical piss takes, and as a Halloween suggestion from an audience member, he performs 'Trick or Treat' as Bob Dylan.
He sounds better than Dylan nowadays, and in fact, l have just had a brainwave while typing this.
What he should do (or someone else with the same skills) is re-record Dylan's last few albums, but using Dylan's vocal stylings from the late 1960's or early 1970's.
I'd buy them, as some of the songs are still really good, but it's the vocals that let them down.  Not a new complaint as far as Dylan goes, but the voice now is so far removed from his earlier work, that it might as well be a different person.

Here's a repeat post of Fallon performing as Jim Morrison, doing 'Reading Rainbows'.  It's better than The Doors themselves (not really).




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the here heres listening trumpets

This is a pretty cool idea.  They are extra large listening trumpets so that you can hear the wondrous natural sounds of nature all around you (and blow your tiny mind maaaaaaaaaan). Ever wanted to hear the fart of a worm or the plop of a pigeon?  Then you my friend, are in luck.
These are at Kedleston Hall, Derby and more information about the project (Here Heres) is here.

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the rich loving santa

How very true.  Santa does indeed, give more to rich kids than the poor.
Signed digital prints are available by the artist here.

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skeleton found in the base of a tree

One of the less known effects of Hurricane Sandy.  It has uprooted a tree in New Haven, and underneath the tree, a skeleton was discovered, attached and entangled in the vines.  There is a belief that it may in fact be two skeletons, but it is being investigated at the moment.  There is more on the story in The New Haven Independent.  An excellent gory tale for Halloween.

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paintings with the people removed

Leonardo da Vinci 'The Last Supper' 1495-1498

Sandro Botticelli 'Annunciation' 1489-1490

Fra Angelico 'The Annunciation' 1450

Ever wondered what a painting would look like if the figures were removed?  Wonder no more, as here are some famous examples by the Hungarian art student Hajdu Bence.
Some more examples are here.

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