pocket rocket

Wowzers - I just cannot believe how much I've accomplished in the last 8 days since I returned to Kent - even for me it's prodigious! I completed and submitted two articles to the Japan Society for their forthcoming Biographical Portraits publication (on FB of course and Urushibara Yoshijiro - I really enjoyed writing the latter because it was a semi-new subject); finished the Overview sequence for FBSG; had a day's research in London at the BM and libraries; wrote a lecture about Piper to be given at the Society of Graphic Fine Art AGM on 6 Feb (of which I'm an Honorary member!); transcribed our interview with Andrea Argent; wrote the Music section for FBSG; started the lecture I'm due to give in Japan at the opening of the exhibition; had a dental appointment and gave blood, plus all the usual housework, cooking, runs, exercises etc. Oh, and I planned a little booklet to give as gifts in Japan and designed some new name cards and sticky labels which I ordered from moo.com (they really are fantastic, thoroughly recommended!)
Poor Charles meanwhile is coping with Jo the Bear trying to complete Charlotte Bach, and has a working weekend ahead - which he dislikes intensely, since one of his New Year resolutions is to take life a little easier. And it's not just the work but the play that's exhausting - 3am they got to bed Wednesday, and 1am yesterday - chatting and downing a glass or 3 of red. I just hope young Charles is still firing on all cylinders next week because I arrive Monday for a 3 day sojourn in the hopes of completing the Overview editing (and one of those days is already forfeit to the Reyntiens saga).

Progress

Well, since the last posting Libby has more or less written two articles for the Japan Society and Charles has done one of his many and variegated VAT accounts and sorted magazines.

I arrived back at Film Farm 17 January, and from then to my departure Thursday 21st we recorded my Bruges words and edited the film section for same - pretty good going since the film lasts some 20 minutes.

In between times we had brief interludes and despite the fact that Caroline Conran famously declared that life is too short to stuff a mushroom, Libby persevered and stuffed numerous calamaris - and very yummy they were too.

Charles lives in a not insubstantial house (a mere 13 rooms plus 2 kitchens, 2 bathrooms, 2 extra toilets, a shower room, a darkroom and a workroom) but he finds himself continually pressed for space, hence the magazine sorting and the arrival on Wednesday of a second load of very useful boxes in which to store same.

Personally - I despair!

PS The shadowy figure in the 1st floor right hand window is me, waving and nearly drowning because my bed is being subsumed by magazines - a la Day of the Triffids!

I've started so I'll continue ...

Well, I said we'd get on with FBSG, and as soon as I had taken my mother back home, I whizzed down to Film Farm, arriving 3 January. We recorded my words for the Dublin section and started editing the following day, actually managing to complete the film before I left on the 7th, so not bad going because it was quite a lengthy script.

Meanwhile on the 6th I helped take down the Christmas decorations - that is after we'd take a photo of same - a very minimalist soul Charles with exquisite taste!

PS If anyone can translate the Chinese comment on my last blog I'd be grateful - looks suspiciously like SPAM to me!