https://youtu.be/rFFqTtSIQMo?si=IG6bBCR7GIfjFFm6 Sent from my iPhone
Thursday, 4 June 2026
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Monday, 1 June 2026
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Tuesday, 26 May 2026
chapter 7; Lipton and Christ reunite
chapter 7; Lipton and Christ reunite
Monday, 25 May 2026
Sunday, 24 May 2026
Saturday, 23 May 2026
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Stickleback
As a boy we would catch small fish; minnows and sticklebacks that instead of having a traditional dorsal fin opted for a run of spikes. From memory I think the ones we caught were three spined sticklebacks though I have some deeply buried dream of a fifteen spined version. This may have been a fantasy, an old wives tale shared by prepubescent boys. But the name seemed appropriate as a title for a piece of furniture I made for an exhibition I took part in. Whilst at college I’d made a table that was something of a folly but came from noticing how plants would grow through tarmac. Men plastered down their dull, black tarry pavement in belligerent triumph over nature but we all secretly knew that they didn’t stand a chance. Men may try to freeze a moment and dictate the direction of pedestrians but true paths form in wayward fashion. The collective mind wove intricate, unruly stray lines that were beyond the reason of a single urban planner. Meanwhile the pavements blistered and burst as life took its own initiative and did as it pleased. The table top I made was in oak and had small black shoots of bog oak that mimicked the growth through tarmac. The table top was a rejected idea but a curious diversion from what I saw as a rule to be broken. Of course I was wrong. Tables have flat tops with good reason. Nevertheless, having recognised my folly and being of a contrarian nature I dug in deeper. My girlfriend of the time was working in a hot glass studio and on a weekend she had access to a great facility. I asked her to make me a run of lead crystal spikes ranging from small four inch to larger ones nearly a foot in length. I carved a top from American black walnut that mitred into side panels. Beneath the top I built a maple box that housed a strip light. The glass spikes were housed into holes that allowed the light to travel up through the glass spikes which worked something like a fibre optic. The piece was of no practical use but worked as a light sculpture that glowed quietly. Who can claim that they’ve never been tempted to make a table with lead crystal glowing spikes bursting out of its back. Like a frozen burst of machine gun fire. Looking back I can still recall the impulse to create domestic monsters. Furniture is largely made to comfort yet sometimes the temptation to terrify is an impulse I have been unable to resist.
Sent from my iPhone
Monday, 11 May 2026
The Fourth Act - Filthy Rich (Official Music Video)
https://youtu.be/K09S0887pU4?si=5QUpGRR7lfW7Fw5E My nephews band’s first single. The sound of summer 2026 Sent from my iPhone
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
mental health
mental health
Russell Brand & Other Famous Narcissists: An Expert Analysis by Psychopa...
https://youtu.be/6OGewZeI86s?si=K7gR0hSiZMbaYOYb Best breakdown of Brand following his recent two interviews promoting his new book with Piers Morgan and another. I found it similar to the Emily Maitliss Prince Andrew interview in that both believed that they had been successful in clearing things up when in fact to any impartial observer they had clearly dug a deeper hole. Further I found it eye opening into myself and other ‘artists’ who I have always thought they were engaged in a kind of, what we would have called ‘showing off’, a term I seldom hear these days but this is a far more articulate explanation than I have ever managed. Sent from my iPhone
Stairwell beetles
Stairwell moths
Monday, 4 May 2026
Thursday, 30 April 2026
Skree part 22. Wellsway Colliery accident 1838
https://youtu.be/CWOnpS6NbtU?si=YSgjwp8WFR2vBK64 Sent from my iPhone
Friday, 24 April 2026
Lipton returns
Lipton returns
Thursday, 23 April 2026
The Fourth Act - Filthy Rich (Official Music Video)
https://youtu.be/K09S0887pU4?si=un-wnUxHStBdAr4a my nephews band Sent from my iPhone
Friday, 17 April 2026
Skree part 21. At home waiting for Lipton
https://youtube.com/shorts/rDuyIU1aLho?si=h27jbrZTgJkKn2yt Sent from my iPhone
Thursday, 16 April 2026
Monday, 13 April 2026
Restoring Calum’s ice cream rickshaw with Tom and Paul
https://youtube.com/shorts/S7vEq9vN4mI?si=1QyxQWKDp-mu8pwR Sent from my iPhone
Thursday, 2 April 2026
Calum and Toms ice cream rickshaw
But like all vehicles that are on the highway, wear and tear through every day use takes its toll. Alongside the complex gearing and chassis, its motor, indicators and other lights, the suspension system pedals and brakes there is the paintwork and Perspex, a freezer box and various shelving that all can deteriorate through every day use. And being honest about it all, Calum can find himself frustrated and perhaps not being as careful as some might be. Consequently, as Spring slowly edges towards summer their incredible creation requires some TLC. A few maintenance issues and a fresh motor are required. And being a unique vehicle there really is only one place able to work on the vehicle. Were it so simple, Tom might have seen his happy customer cycle away and never see his client again. And being unique and essentially a prototype based on the successful conventional rickshaw design that is the backbone of Toms business, there has been a fair bit of extra work Tom has had to carry out. Tom must have given thousands of hours free to Calum who can be hard at times to communicate with. Lovable though he is, Calum can sometimes not be as aware of the suffering of others. That's not to say he takes Tom for granted at all, but at times it has been difficult for Tom to be able to afford to carry out repairs.
Calum’s ice cream bike
Whilst at university in High Wycombe my partner at the time was at art college in Cheltenham and we would alternate our weekends. Consequently I got to know my girlfriend's freinds and their partners. This is how I got to know Tom Nesbitt. He is a designer most well known for the rickshaws that can be seen everywhere from Soho to Scotland though the highest density of them is in Bath and Frome where Tom has made them for something like two decades now.
A chance meeting shortly after I had moved to Frome was with an old friend from my mid teens. I had lived with Ron Tree when I was about 16 having found myself homeless. I had no family to turn to but being part of the counter culture I was fortunate to be able to find a roof for me and my girlfriend of the time. After some months there we moved down to live in a communal house in Cornwall and I lost touch with Ron. Move forward nearly twenty years and I am walking through the town centre when I bumped into Ron. I recognised the tattoos on his hands. In a strange twist of fate he had become the frontman and singer for Hawkwind. Hawkwind were our band in our teens and I was blown away by how he had found himself fronting what had been probably our favourite band.
Soon I got to know him again and I got to know his partner and his son, Calum. Calum is autistic though I'm not knowledgeable enough about his condition other than to say he is a remarkable person. Back then he must have been between five and ten and somehow we connected. He'd come walk my dog with me and we have remained close as he has grown into a remarkable young man. His enthusiasm is infectious though it can run away with him and he can lose a clear sense of what other people are feeling.
Having grown through various obsessional periods where he would become engrossed in the police. He would produce drawings, repeated in great detail of police. He would dress as a policeman and collect police related clothing and items. At some point he became obsessed with becoming an ice cream man. He created a bicycle with chimes and began operating as an ice cream vendor. The thought of him driving an ice cream van was a step too far but something in my head connected and I knew he would be fascinated by Toms rickshaws. So I arranged a time for him to go down to Toms workshop which at the time was in Frome. It was only meant as a way of showing him what might be possible were he to focus and work towards it. Ron came down and he had a weary look which I didn't understand but do now. This lit a spark and I think I gave Tom a heap of work. As I said his obsession can be overwhelming but he can achieve incredible things and sees no boundaries where I might see problems. I also feel some guilt towards Tom in that he has given Calum an unbelievable amount of time and energy.
Having made the connection I lost touch with them both for a couple of years as life took me down some strange avenues. The cost of one of Toms rickshaws is in the low to mid thousands. They are a sophisticated and well designed vehicle that Tom has developed over many years. He doesn't do one offs. The cost in time and research and development is too great. Yet one day I saw Calum riding an electric, bespoke ice cream rickshaw. Tom made his dream come true and has given Calum a chance at a career no one could have predicted.
Wednesday, 25 March 2026
Friday, 20 March 2026
Thursday, 19 March 2026
Friday, 13 March 2026
Monday, 9 March 2026
Monday, 2 March 2026
Sunday, 1 March 2026
Remember Richard
https://youtu.be/04OdxHcgrpo
Sent from my iPhone here is the block of wood mentioned in the YouTube series Skree part 16. Though no plaques or commemorative gravestones are permitted the green burial site of Lawnswood Cemetery I made this block as a marker of where Richard and his dad are buried. Following Richard's death I went through a psychotic phase of grief was drawn to make something for my friend who died way too young. If you can hear me I miss you every day. You were my closest friend and you always will be. Love to you my brother.