Today’s Blog (Feat. Alizarin Crimson)

Here is a sketch of my girl Olivia, or Liv, which I did on Sunday morning. The sun was streaming in through the window and she was all lit up. She was patient for about ten minutes, so I had to be very fast. I was pleased with the sketch but then my cough was considerably softened as the shafts of sunlight went on to light up cobwebs and dust everywhere. Most unsporting on a Sunday, but once seen they could not be unseen, and the next half hour was spent pushing the hoover around. This all took place in one room; it was a particularly bright shaft of sunlight.

I have a great number of sketches to make for my upcoming book, An Urban Sketcher’s Galway, which is to be published early next year. I have to submit the finished manuscript in February. And so, on Saturday, I took the kids to town, promptly sending them off to amuse themselves so that I could sketch. They are very obliging, especially if I cross their palms with silver, which I did. I sat and drew McCambridge’s delicatessen. I love McCambridge’s: my favourite things to buy there are artichoke hearts, coconut porridge scones and Hazel Mountain chocolate, but I suspect I could chomp my way through the entire inventory and find many more favourites. And that’s before you venture upstairs to the restaurant. Needless to say I have sketched there many times, but you’ll have to wait till the book comes out to see what it’s like up there. (Spoiler alert: very nice.)

I have recently become acquainted with a very nice lady who is an expert in wine, and she lives in Bordeaux. Marcel, my husband, is well acquainted with Bordeaux, and says it’s really lovely. So I am planning a workshop there, to take place next October. We will sketch in watercolour in vineyards, and allées, and passages, and then we will sample wine from different vineyards each afternoon. I can’t wait and I only started planning it today…

Giveaway – No Catch, Honest, Dad

I phoned my dad the other day – Aldi had a couple of new bread flours in, and my father is a great man for making home-baked bread. It’s an interest we share, and we frequently swap recipes. After we chatted about malted flakes in this new bread flour, cracked wheat grain that I overpaid for but don’t regret and the potential quality of the rise, I thought he’d be a good candidate to tell about the giveaway on my website.
“You know we charge for some of my articles, right Dad?” I said.
“No,” (laughs.)
“Well, I do. And you can pay in cryptocurrency…”
“What?”
“Cryptocurrency. Marcel is dead into it. It’s a really easy way to make micropayments online.”
“I -”
I cut across him. “And we’re doing a giveaway on my website of tokens to access articles on my website,” I continued. “We were given them by the guys who created the system. To get more people into the habit. It’s a free gift. All you have to do is comment on my website to get 50 actual tokens. Will you do it?” I figured if my dad could do it, anyone could.
“Anyone in their right mind will stay away from cryptocurrency,” said my father.
“Dad…” I said. “You don’t pay in crypto. You pay in regular money but it gets converted to crypto. Except this is a giveaway, so it’s free. You don’t pay at all.”
“I wouldn’t trust that,” said Dad.
“But it’s FREE. What part of FREE do you not understand? Just write a comment, will you? I want to see if you find it easy.”
He said there must be a catch, and I was tempted to remind him that I am his daughter, and the chance of me trying to trick him were probably small.
Eventually he said he would write a comment but I’ll believe it when I see it. Meanwhile, he’s already bought the flour, which was a trip to the shops, whereas commenting on my blog would be poking the keyboard a bit in his comfy living room. Oh well.

He’ll love the bread.

(If you would like to give it a try, please go here )