Doctor Who Tattoo

I bet having a tattoo is on most bucket lists, and particularly on 50 type lists.

Who said I had to be original anyway? It was a hard job to come up with 50 things I had never done, achievable within a year and on a minimal budget.

I had several vague ideas about what I wanted for a tattoo - oh the usual stuff, a butterfly? Flower? Perhaps a line of Latin script, or a quotation from Shakespeare?

In the end, it had to be from Doctor Who, since I am such a fan, and it being the 50th anniversary of the programme too. I contemplated a Tardis for a while, but eventually went for a design in Circular Gallifreyan.

Link to the webpage where I found the design:

https://www.deviantart.com/search?q=gallifreyan


I think it says 'Hello Sweetie', i.e. a quote from the lovely River Song, but I have not checked it out for myself.

On 12th September 2013 I went with my good friend Sam to Red Inc tattoo studio opposite where I work. I was the last customer of the day, so there was nobody about, only the tattoo artist. He was scrupulous about cleanliness, wiping down all surfaces and covering things with rolls of clingfilm. He took a copy of my printed design, and transferred it to my arm, then tattooed it on, simple as that!

I think circles must be difficult to get right, but he did a grand job.
I didn't watch it being done, I chatted with Sam - oh, the tattooist was also called Sam! It helped to be distracted from the pain, it didn't hurt too much, and I am delighted with the result.

People - actually, just about everyone who has seen it - ask me the same two questions: 1. did it hurt? 2. will you be getting more tattoos?
My answer to 2. is - probably not, I am happy with my Gallifreyan symbol, it was part of my 50 challenges for the year, and I do not feel the need to have more.

Goodbye Sweetie!

Badly Drawn Boys

Item 41 on my List was to draw portraits of my 2 sons, John and Carl.
I haven't done much drawing lately - 3 years ago I took a Life Drawing class at a local college, but had not picked up a pencil since then.

They did not want to sit still while I drew them, so it was decided I would draw from photographs. Carl gave me a black and white photo of himself, which, unfortunately, I have now mislaid, but I did use it for the portrait. I find it useful to draw from black and white photos, as they show the contrasts and tones better than colour. I had John's photo printed out in both colour and B&W.

I used pencil and soft pastels for the portraits, as I find pastels are easy to use and blend. The colours I chose were not necessarily accurate and realistic, but that didn't matter as much as getting a pair of pictures which reflect my own as well as the boys personalities.

Strangely, they both chose a non-smiling pose, which I think is a pity, since they both have dazzling smiles that light up a room.

Here are the finished drawings, framed and on my wall. I am quite pleased with them, and they have received some praise.
This was a lovely challenge, one of my favourites, and I would like to do some more drawing.
So if anyone wants a drawing done, just send me some photos in colour and B&W and perhaps I will have a go!

Pointless Party

After months of waiting, the broadcast dates of my appearance, with Alex, on BBC1's Pointless quiz came around. The dates were Friday 27th September 2013 at 5:15, and Monday 30th September.

My lovely colleagues at the library decided to make a party of the occasion, arranging to keep the library open for staff after closing time at 5 on the Friday.


There was a table full of lovely food and drink, bunting strung above the bookshelves, a clapperboard advertising Pointless, and chairs set up in front of the television.

Excitement reached fever pitch as everyone gathered round for the start of the show, drinks were handed round, and we were all smiling and happy.

5:15 and the opening credits rolled as we all cheered, then came the first sighting of myself and Alex on podium 3. I did the introduction, then it time for Round One. We had to name a song by The Jacksons. My answer was Beat It, which was ok, at 27 points but Alex gave 'Scream', scoring only 4. We had a bit of luck when one contestant said 'Black and White', which scored 100, since he meant, of course, Black OR White.

Alex and I had kept the secret of how we did on the show, so it was a surprise for all watching.

Round Two was about fashion designers - I chose 'founder of the London Fashion and Textile Museum, known for her pink hair', who I knew was Zandra Rhodes, and scored 16. Alex went for 'best known for popularising the mini-skirt in the 1960s, and got 50. But we got through to the next round when Simon got 100 points for his guess.

We were so excited to get through to the Head to Head Round, but our hearts sunk when the first question was on Football World Cup teams. We went for 'most successful team in history, with 5 titles'. as Brazil. We won this round with 38 points, the others team getting their question wrong. The next question was on RAF Aircraft, there were anagrams to decipher. We went for Mosquito, they guessed Barracuda, and we lost 58 to 6. The 3rd question was photos of models turned actors. We were so unlucky to guess Channing Tatum instead of Tatum Channing. Or was it the other way round? Still not sure!
Much ribbing from library colleagues that this point!

Anyway, that was it, we were out. Alex explained our mistake by saying we shelve author surname first in the library where we work.

It was a fabulous party in the library, everyone enjoyed it and they were hugely supportive of our efforts.

The second show was screened the following Monday, and I watched it with my family at home.

Round One was about chemical elements, my guess was Neon, which scored a disappointing 31, and Alex scored an excellent 5 with Californium. At this point, we were the high scorers, so were in danger of going out - but we had some luck when the final contestant made a mistake and scored 100.

Round Two was Famous Geordies - and it was here that I made my Big Mistake!
I decided to guess the 'footballer who was transferred to Newcastle United for a record-breaking £15million in 1996 - I said Gazza, and scored 100, as it should have been Alan Shearer. Luckily for me, Lizzie also had a 'random guess' at the same question and said 'George Best', which was much more wrong than my wrong one was wrong! Phew!
Alex went for the singer who had a hit with Ain't No Doubt in 1992, and scored 16 for Jimmy Nail. We needed 29 to stay in the game, so he saved us.

Yet again we were in the Head to Head. The first question had 5 stills from films adapted from Booker Prize winning novels. We lost this round when we guessed Brick Lane, but it was actually Midnight's Children.
Question 2 was about The Beano, and I chose to guess 'Scottish city in which its headquarters are based' as Dundee, and got 21. Lee and Simon guessed the companion comic as The Dandy, and got 61, so we won that round. So it was one all, and everything rested on the final round. The question was about NBA Basketball Teams. We had to guess the nicknames, and went for Chicago Bulls, the others went for Philadelphia 76ers - they got 6, we got 47, so that was it, we were out. The 76ers was the best answer on the board, we couldn't have beaten it, not that we knew it!

I was pleased to see that Lee and Simon went on to win the £2000, worthy winners.

My family loved watching it with me, it was such fun!

Dune' Know This Book?

Having read Anna Karenina for my List, I needed another classic book to read.
I asked around for ideas, and Mike from the library suggested the classic sci-fi novel Dune, by Frank Herbert. This seemed like a good choice, so I found a copy in the library stack.

Dune was published in 1965, and is the first of the Dune saga.

The story is set far in the future and a long way off, and concerns a feud between two great dynastic families in the planet Arrakis, This planet is a vast desert where water is scarce and valuable, but there is another substance which is valued even more: spice, also known as melange.
There are plots and treachery, spies and attacks, and the story is incredibly complex.
It took me a long time to get into the tale, as it seems rather slow, but the scene needs to be set, even before arriving on the planet Arrakis. Soon after, the main man is killed, and his son Paul takes over, but is forced into exile with his mother.

I wonder if the 'spice' is a metaphor for hard drugs, as it is affects the minds of the users, and there are struggles to control the mining and distribution of it.

It is also an ecological tale, with discussions of how to make this desert planet more habitable, the collection and storage of water being key to this.

Super-giant worms live in the desert, and the Fremen, who are the native people, have learned to ride them. I haven't seem the film of this book, but I bet that part was spectacular.

Overall, I am glad I have read Dune, but I doubt I will read the sequels, there is too much detail about the politics of the Empire, the feuding families. I prefer more humanity in the books I read.

Red Letter Day

Number 40 on my 50 List is  - Get a letter published in a local paper

I have been pondering what to write about, and the opening of the new Guided Busway between Luton and Dunstable is a topical and controvertial subject in these parts. The £91 million cost of the scheme, as well as the years of traffic disruption and the replacement or destruction of several old railway bridges have generated many reports and letters in the papers.

Now that is has opened, I have heard some positive reports by people who have tried it out, but there are others who are very much against it. We get many enquiries about the Busway at the Library where I work, since we have supplies of bus timetable for the public. I have been asked if it goes near the local hospital, which is on the border of Luton and Dunstable, but the nearest stop is 700m away, and would involve crossing a major A road.

So now I had my subject, it was topical, local and relevant, giving me a better chance of getting it published.

It was the first time I had written to a local paper, it took me about ten minutes to write, and I sent it via email...

On Wednesday morning, Amelia from work said to me 'I saw your letter in the paper', so I dashed out to buy a copy of the Luton News at lunchtime, and there it was, on page 12:

The paper has headed it BUSWAY

Shuttle Bus?
Since we have no bus station in Luton, the first port of call for transport information in Luton is the Central Library.
The staff do their best to help people, but one of the most frequent questions regarding the new busway is, 'Does it go near the hospital?' 
I believe it is quite a hike from the nearest stop in Stanton Road, especially if you are elderly or ill. 
Perhaps it would be useful to put on a shuttlebus from the stop to where so many people need to go.


Janet Davis
Address supplied

Of course, I know that this is not an option, and anyway there are other buses that go to the hospital, but I got my letter in the paper, so that's another thing ticked off the List.

Please Be Seated

|I have an old dining chair that had belonged to my grandparents. Just the one, no idea what happened to the matching set. It looked rather grotty, the seat being a dull grey leather, all dirty and torn. In fact, I was going to get rid of it, and left it outside in the garden for a few months.

Having seen a friend's successful refurbishment of a set of dining chairs, I decided I would like to have a go myself. Not having done this before, it was an obvious candidate for the List.

I looked up upholstery fabrics online, and couldn't find any for less than about £8 a metre, including postage. Last week I went into Luton market, and found a nice fabric from the end of a roll for £1. Hurrah! This fabric was a plain burgundy/purply sort of colour, and was the only choice of upholstery fabric in the stall, so having no choice, it was easy to decide to buy.

I removed the old leather from the seat of my chair - it had been tacked on, surprisingly badly, with no trimming of the edges, just nailed into place and forgotten about. The padding was old but re-usable, so I left it in place. I cut the new fabric to size and wrapped it round the seat, leaving enough to attempt neat edges underneath. I used a borrowed staple gun to attach the fabric to the wood, and found it was much harder to use than I expected - you need to use considerable force to press down as you squeeze the trigger. The most difficult part was, of course, the corners. I had no idea how to do them, so it was a case of trial and error. I guess I could have looked it up on youtube, but wanted to work it out for myself. Having gone round the four sides, and then folded in the raw edges and stapled them to the recessed parts, I discovered that the seat pad no longer fitted into the chair. Argh!

It was getting late, and I felt discouraged, so left it til morning.

In daylight, it was clear that I had some bunching in a corner, and the padding had moved over to the side, thus making the seat pad wider. I undid one side, pulled out some padding and re-stapled the fabric with more care and attention.

It fits!

The wood needs a light sanding to remove some white spots of paint, but I an very pleased with the job, and there we are, another List item ticked off.

 before.....

after

Pointless Day?

List Item: Try to get on a TV Quiz Show

I rather like tv Quiz show Pointless - the format is good, the contestants seem to have fun, it is fiendishly difficult to win the money, and the banter between hosts Alexander Armstrong and ridiculously tall Richard Osman - who is permanently sitting down on the show - is charming.

Having been told that Pointless was auditioning, I had to find a partner, as it is done in pairs. There are several fans of the show at work, so I asked Vicky first, but she refused even to consider it. I asked Alex, and he agreed immediately, so I got the forms, had photos taken of us (thanks, Jean), and sent them off.

Today (16th April 213) was our audition in London. I met Alex at the train station to catch the 9:18 - he ran up the stairs at 9:17, but we made it on time. As it happens, we got to the venue in plenty of time, so we passed the spare half hour in the Starbucks opposite with a bucket of coffee. Once in the Grand Connaught Rooms, we waited with the other contestants outside the Durham Suite. There were 12 of us, plus some left over from the earlier session still there. The waiting area was a corridor with too few chairs, rather chilly too. Once we were called in, we had to fill in forms regarding identity, and disclosure / consent forms.

Next we had a general knowledge written quiz - it was like an exam, we had to turn over our papers and were given 4 minutes to answer 20 questions. I think I managed to answer 14, they were far from easy. But we did not get the answers, so I can't be sure. Next we all stood up and took turns introducing ourselves, giving an interesting fact about ourselves, which we prepared in advance. Alex was Leicestershire's longest baby for a whole year, and I spoke of my 50 List.

Finally, there was a mini version of Pointless to play in the group. After this, we all went outside, and waited to be called back. Well, guess what? We got called back!

Game on!