Hello again. That was a long break wasn't it.
I have good intentions but sometimes lack the willpower to carry them out. I have been unusually busy over the last few months, and life and stuff has crowded out the desire to spend any more time than is absolutely necessary sitting in front of a computer. Also there's the whole FaceBook phenomena which saps my updating energy a little even though it's a great way to keep in touch. As I've said here before it lacks the continuity and detail that a blog offers, but a blog takes way more time.
What happened in May and June I hear you ask? The short answer is I spent lots of it travelling around the UK on trains working with the Action Duchenne project, Life Thru a Lens (www.lifethrualens.org) - which involves supporting 9 young men who live with Muscular Dystrophy while they take photos of their lives. These photos will form an exhibition which is what I'm currently working on, amongst other things.
I've been to London several times, and also Manchester and Liverpool (where I stayed at the utterly FAB Castle Street Boutique hotel which was a beautiful place and a very nice experience apart from the lack of broadband), and also Arbroath and Eastbourne and other places in the South East.
It has been great to work with this organisation to work with these lads and also take my own photos, even getting access to Downing Street - great opportunities.
The past few months have also been a time of catching up with my past (rather than my past catching up with me I hasten to add) in the form of renewed acquaintances with some folks I knew in my early teens as part of a drama group that met in Backworth.
Clive, Maccas, Paul Blewitt, Lara, Isabel, Katy, Jonny and others have all literally crawled out of the woodwork (not literally obviously) and in some way made contact - mainly FaceBook again.
I've seen quite a bit of Clive, and have taken part in some filming for a long-running project he's been working on called Coming Soon (ironically) which is a sort of comedy sketch show based on a TV review programme. I've been involved so far in a James Bond spoof (evil henchman thrown off a high bridge), a Welsh comedian circa 1974, and most recently as Bigfoot. It's difficult to explain...
I've also become involved in an organisation called SENTA - South East Northumberland Tourism Association, and I'm in charge of press and publicity for them.
Still involved with the Arts Forum and Arts Centre in Newbiggin - and things are going nicely, but we need funding to make some changes to the building that will make a big difference. I want to equip it with an IT suite too, so we can offer training and courses in all sorts of artistic stuff.
June was also my second visit to Tiree, with the lovely Tim to meet up with Colin and Susan and take many many photographs of the island, and make them into panoramas. See them at http://www.isleoftiree.com/map_panos.html - click on a little dot to see the panoramas.
See also this photo album
Last month I went to see Dweezil Zappa in Birmingham with Paul and Barbera. We had great seats, and although he started late due to an electronic problem, he soon won over the audience and it was a fantastic show. I even got him to sign my Zappa Plays Zappa DVD. Wahoo!!!
Another nice development has been joining another band - Cadillac '59 with long time friend Graham Chambers. It's a rock and roll 6 piece and I'm on drums. Graham was in the first band I ever played in back in 1983ish. It was called The Comets and I was on bass and vocals and Graham was drummer. We did vaguely 50s and 60s stuff - a bizarre mixture of Beatles, Shaky and other stuff. We seem to have swapped places over the years, as he's now on vocals. Really enjoy it - we've done two gigs. The first was at the Morpeth Town Fair which was great, except I hadn't even had a rehearsal, but it went remarkably well considering. And the most recent one was this last week, at the Staff Reunion for Newbiggin Middle School. The local schools are all changing from 3 tier system to an Academy, and all the staff are moving around and everything will soon be completely different. The Middle School is a special place to me, having attended it as a child, then doing my final teaching practice there, then getting my first teaching job, then my children going there themselves. Lots and lots of significant memories.
Well that's enough of an update for now I think. Wanted to talk about Big Brother (fascinating psychological real time observations), Newbiggin Heritage Centre (it looks like it'll happen next year) sailing (I went sailing for the first time yesterday and loved it), Shackleton (reading his biography at the moment and loving it), ukuleles ~(will be starting a uke group next month at the Arts Forum), Kayaks (we've been given one but need to collect it from Dumfries somehow), my Beetle (on it's last legs due to rusty chassis) and things I think about being 40.
But that will have to wait.
I haven't even read this post yet but wanted to get in quickly as the first to welcome you back... you old tosher you!
Posted by: Tim the Enchanter | July 12, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Great to have a blog to read Jason, thank you. I've been grateful to Tim for keeping the blog ethic alive. Now you've spurred me on to blog again too. :-)
Posted by: Liz Curtis | July 12, 2009 at 03:44 PM