little boats! little boats!

a long long time ago mel and mig and I met up at a wonderful photo blog, and we all loved the images with little boats in them. . .

. . .they have a special place in my heart (mel and mig, as well as the little boats!)

from the wraparound balcony view I see many boats

there is a north/east/south view I could sit at the northerly point of the balcony and look west, but for some reason I don't; probably because where I sit (facing east) means I can people-watch the people on the piazza many floors down. . .

the river flows almost directly east/west/east at this point (depending on the tide, well obviously the river is only flowing west/east, but the tidal waters mean the flow of the river goes in the other direction - east/west - when the tide is coming in)

I can see a road bridge and also a bridge that takes the Underground overground and over-river at this point

just under the bridge is a little yacht club - not much used (in all the time I've spent here recently, and over the last year, I have never seen anyone use it actually); there are some moorings - and some little boats

I've been drawing them from various different points of view - close up, as if I had a zoom lens; with the boats on the right one side of the picture, as part of other drawings of the river and the tide pools; and, on the left of the image, if I draw the river path which is lined with trees at this point - where it crosses the piazza

yesterday at just after high tide when the river was full and flowing downstream, a HUGE piece of driftwood (it looked as if it were the whole branch of a large tree) floated past, very close to the southern bank - I wondered if it was like an iceberg? how much of it I could see above water and how much was out of sight below the water?

what I could see was that the driftwood was going to lodge itself amongst the little boats and it duly did

this morning the tide is in and the river is full again the driftwood has gone but it has left its mark: all the little boats are out of their previous alignment

they used to look a little like this:

._

-.
_

._
_

./

-
_.

\

_.

(you have to imagine that the lines are
the angles of the hull of the boat,
the dots being their mooring buoys)

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now they look like this:

._

/
.

\

\

.

.

/.

/
\.

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this "event" means that I am now able to draw the boats from a different angle, it means that the ripples on the morning water are making a different pattern, it means that I was wrong earlier yesterday - when I thought I'd drawn all that there was to see in the two weeks that I've been here. . .

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that is
very curious notion!
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I hope that your day
brings you
something different
and interesting
to experience

from "no room at the inn" to "a room with a...

. . .view" and I like it!
.
no doubt endless descriptions of herons, swans, gulls; pools, ripples, waves; bridges, cars, taxis, buses, tube trains; helicopters, planes just overhead on a flight path to Heathrow with landing gear emerging from their bellies, planes so high above the only evidence of which is their vapour trails criss-crossing in the sky; dawns, sunsets, the moon appearing over the horizon whilst edging its way towards a sliver; the river, the flow of which at this point goes due east and due west (the direction of which depends on the tide); etc etc will follow
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right now I have to go food shopping: the cupboard is bare and this Old Mother Hubbard is hungry
.

have a good day,
dear reader
(that'll be YOU!!)

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ps dave: for some reason I can't even comment on my own blog, but I don't dance because I have two right feet

beautiful rhythm

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remember, a while ago,
when I was contemplating the life of a phoenix?
.
possibly not,
why should you recall all that I jabber on about?
.
(I was singing a different tune then)
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well. . .

. . .the above is my new perch

it has very good views!
I hope you'll join me there

XXX

for mel, craig, shot, katherine and all my wonderful buddies over the pond

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and for everyone else. . .
.
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and anyone able to resist humming "celebrate good times, cummon" and then play a snatch of air-guitar whilst schreeching "yahoo!" you have better stamina than I do, but we probably knew that. . .

personally, I hate that tune (but then I am well known for being a miserable cow) (only you guys haven't cottoned onto that yet)

I Like The View. . .
your subconscious mind is driven most by
Kindness

"This means you have a deep desire to be kind and fair to others. You may even be preoccupied with finding kindness in the world around you, far more than you realize on a conscious level. It is possible that the underlying reason you seek kindness in the world around you, is that you fear cruelty, the opposite of kindness. That could drive you to unconsciously project kindness wherever possible into your world. Regardless of its origin, your steadfast adherence to being kind to others is felt by people you are close to.

"You are probably more susceptible than others to being overwhelmed by emotions — both yours and others'. It is possible that your unusually empathic nature is a result of your natural sensitivity to others' pain, and your desire to help them avoid it. For this reason, things might affect you more than they affect your friends and family. To protect yourself from too much emotional intensity, you might want to keep an eye out so you can recognize it when it starts. That will allow you to slow things down until you feel grounded again.

"Overall, your strong orientation towards kindness gives you an optimistic nature, which translates into you seeing the best in the people around you. Because you're not one to be overly judgmental, others may seek out your company when they need a friend to talk to. People close to you likely know that you care deeply about the inner lives of others and can listen to what they have to say without imposing your views on them."
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I had a little spare time, so I did this (didn't pay up tho!)

PS then I did the birth order one, and got almost completely the opposite results*:
.

"Similar to other middle children, you are probably very stable emotionally which makes people feel at ease around you. In addition, having older and younger siblings taught you how to appreciate diverse points of view. You have learned that the best way to resolve conflict is by remaining calm and open to compromise. Like other middle children, you tend to radiate warmth, affection and maturity. You are likely to display an extraordinary ability to remain composed even in stressful situations."
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(*no surprise there then! phoney baloney tests!)

dawn to dusk with Joseph Mallord William. . .

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. . .Turner
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If a picture paints a thousand words, Then why can't I paint you? The words will never show the you I've come to know. If a face could launch a thousand ships, Then where am I to go? There's no one home but you, You're all that's left me too. And when my love for life is running dry, You come and pour yourself on me.
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And if I could be two places at one time, I'd be with you. Tomorrow and today, beside you all the way. If the world should stop revolving spinning slowly down to die, I'd spend the end with you. And when the world was through, Then one by one the stars would all go out, Then you and I would simply fly away. . . .
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BREAD