From the Print Fair - 2

ickledot was also impressed with this print by Brigitte Williams, on display at the Catherine Hodgkinson stand. As I recall, each line had a name written at the end; her influences, I think. It's called White Sun. Of course, these reproduced images do not give a true impression of the original.

From the Print Fair

ickledot remembers first seeing the work of David Bromley at the Print Fair (see below) last year The Rebecca Hossack gallery shows his stuff and they had a stand again this year. ickledot was almost tempted to buy one of his small prints. Still thinking about it actually. Bromley is an artist working in Australia. His inspiration is 1950s children's books and comics.

Humph

Been listening to the tributes on the Today programme this morning. Like millions of other people, ickledot feels a sense of sadness he's gone. It's a strange, some might say selfish sadness though. I never met him. Didn't even go to a concert. But he was one of those characters who, if you listen to the radio at all, is a part of your life. Someone you take for granted. And it is rather sad to think that a person whose programmes you've enjoyed for a quarter century or more is no longer going to be around.

ickledot in London

ickledot was on a jaunt yesterday, to London. An excellent day that went like clockwork from a train point of view: Bingley - Leeds - London King's Cross and back again, all in the day. Destination was the London Print Fair at the Royal Academy. Some great work on display but ickledot and chums agreed not perhaps quite as good as last year. Prices have gone up. Unfortunately no pics were taken by the three of us.

Weird goings-on at the pool

ickledot is by no means the best swimmer in the world but a length of the 25m pool at Greens gym can usually be managed in a respectable time. So it was strange today to find on my last length I was suddenly moving very slowly, going backwards even. I was forced to stand up and immediately experienced difficulty in doing so.

Little did I realise that the instructor of the class going on in two other lanes had directed her charges to walk briskly along the length of the bath in one direction. Amazingly, this caused something of a whirlpool effect, hence my difficulties.

It was the talk of the hot-tub, I can tell you.

Madmen - What's That All About?

I continue to persevere with this series, mainly because it was hyped so much as the one that America was going wild over and was written by the creator of the Sopranos. It certainly looked wonderful in the first episode. Clearly a huge amount of dosh has been spent getting the look of an early sixties ad agency just right. Trouble is, after half a dozen or so episodes, nothing in particular has happened. Over and again we have been reminded that ad men in those days drank and smoked a lot, treated women abominably and almost without exception cheated on their wives while maintaining an air of supreme respectability.

Maybe the Americans needed a strong reminder that their so called golden Eisenhower era was not as idyllic as they remembered, but for me it's a bit of a yawn.

Bronte Blues Club - Another Epic Night

Witnessing the Mojo Buford Band at the bronte blues club last night, ickledot experienced a whole range of emotions, the principal one being amazement. How could such an ickle club in a tiny space, barely a year old, provide entertainment of such an epic, stunning standard? There we were, perched on some lonely wuthering height in the Pennines, and yet the soundtrack was from a venue of vaster proportions.
From the opening chords of Tommy Allen's Fender (ickledot is no guitar spotter - the internet thing can be so useful), we all knew we were in for an historic evening. He and the rest of Mojo's band, Chris Lomas and Doug McMinn, were at the top of their game and Mojo himself was wonderful.
In an age when youth and celebrity reign over all it was so refreshing to witness a collaboration which spanned the decades so effortlessly, yielding such joyful results.
Another hit for bronteblues. Congratulations to all concerned.

Domestic Bliss? Nearing completion

Finished off the slideshow today. It looked ok off the projector although one of the pics was the wrong way round. This was due to me flipping it for a text panel and then forgetting to switch it back for the slides. God job I was there as the printer reported that the text on the panels was printing characters other than the intended ones. Luckily I was able to sort it, I think so anyway.

Good food in West Yorkshire

Not too long before the chicken was cooked tonight (free range, of course), my friend Tim telephoned. A fine chap is he and it was good to hear from him. As well as working a full shift on the chalk face of education, being a film buff of some renown, he also runs an excellent website detailing where all the best food can in West Yorkshire can be found. No mean task, I can tell you.

CCTV and litter louts

ickledot realises the use of CCTV cameras is in itself a controversial issue. Leaving that aside for a mo, it was interesting to note that in Friday's reports about them being used to spot litter louts and fly tippers, the emphasis was on punishment.
If a camera should capture a community minded citizen picking up a piece of litter, surely some kind of reward would be in order? A minor reduction in Council Tax? Gift vouchers? A roll of honour in the local paper?
ickledot thinks incentive works better than punishment every time!

A Night at the Bronte Blues Club

You don't need me to tell you the Bronte Blues Club is fast gaining a reputation for delivering Blues of the highest quality and last night was no exception. ickledot was proud to witness a performance from the excellent Doug MacLeod. A superb musician and singer, his set included much of his own material, particularly from his latest recording, The Utrecht Sessions. Most impressive though was his emphasis on performing for us in particular. As he said, his song list changes on a nightly basis, thus ensuring a fresh, unique feel for each venue.

The house band, BBC4 (1,2, 3?) were also in acoustic mood and in great form. Highlight for ickledot (bit of a creep and not necessarily a blues purist) was Jon Crossley's rendition of Randy Newman's 'Louisiana 1927'. Clearly enjoyed by all, the pre-main act chat melted away, so if any pin dropping had occurred, we'd have certainly heard it (well not really, cos Jon was playing, but you know what I mean).

A great night. Thanks to all concerned.

Simon Mayo in the Afternoons

Been doing a bit of driving in the afternoon recently and noticed that for a week or two Simon Mayo has been absent from the airwaves. His Radio 5 afternoon slot has been covered firstly by a chap called Phil and then this week by Gabby Logan. This led me to becoming concerned that perhaps he had left for pastures new. Maybe he has followed Jane Garvey to the lofty heights of Radio 4. PM? The Today Programme? He would certainly be capable of making such a switch as he is an excellent broadcaster, able to deal with a wide range of subjects and circumstances.

A quick look on the BBC website reveals that he has not left or switched after all, but if he had, would he be the first to move from poppy Radio 1 DJ through tabloid Radio 5 to broadsheet Radio 4?

Domestic Bliss? Further Progress

Been at the museum today. Text panels are now finished, in pdf form and ready on disk to go to the printers. The invitations have now been printed. they are basically an A5 version of the poster above with information on the other side. Returning next Tuesday to put a slideshow together.

Frankie Howerd and The Curse of Comedy

Tonight ickledot watched the last of four dramas on BBC4 named The Curse of Comedy. All were absorbing but for me the best was probably last week's piece about Hughie Green, starring Trevor Eve. His portrayal was superb, even though initially he seemed rather unlike Green. Perhaps also, as Green was not actually a comedian, there was no requirement for humour.

This was where, for me, the other three suffered. They weren't funny, at any point. Now I know what you're thinking. They were dramas, not comedies. True, but the writers and producers should have worked harder to make us laugh at some point so they could illustrate why these characters were so popular. Or were they assuming an audience of over 50s who could all remember the originals?

Domestic Bliss?

ickledot is currently working on text panels for the forthcoming Domestic Bliss? Exhibiton, to be held at the Industrial Museum, Bradford from April 19th onwards. A date which is getting perilously close!

Flickr badge added

Added a Flickr badge tonight. Not many photos on Flickr. Will put more on in the coming weeks. Should take about as long as an Olympic torch takes to get round london.

Getting my head round Rapidweaver

On Friday I downloaded Blocks for Rapidweaver. As with most software that promises the world and ease of use, it is not quite so simple. After a while of trying, I now have a home page with this blog in a Block. Think I am going to need a new theme or turn off the sidebar to get full use of these Blocks.

The Store With The Friendly Welcome

Recently, ickledot has been working on this highly successful exhibition at the Industrial Museum in Eccleshill Bradford. It celebrates the famous Busbys' Department Store. ickledot scanned and repaired images from the CH Wood archive and designed the huge window blinds, text panels and slideshows for the display.