'Tout droit, tout doit, tout doit...'

'Tout doit, tout doit, tout doit'.. (straight on, straight on, straight on)





I can't mention how many times I have heard this phrase since being in France! My cycling companion, Astrid and I have spent the best part of two weeks asking for directions - especially out of big towns. The French have this appealing way of saying ''straight on'' three times in a rythmic, sing song way and seems to come with every answer. Mind you, it makes sense when you realise the distances and how spread out everything is in France. Everything seems to point to straight on, with the odd, a droit (on the right) alors, a gauche (then left) alors.. tout doit, tout doit, tout doit''.






Which really is appropriate for me as I am continuing my journey of and carrying straight on towards SE France and on to Italy. And what a three weeks it has been!





Since leaving the Royal Academy of Arts in London on 1st May, where my friends gave Astrid and myself a great, fun packed send off, it hasn't rained once. It has been 21 days of hot and sunny weather. I'm one of the lucky ones that goes straight to brown in colour so I am very brown even this early on in the trip. We've packed a lot in aswell. Sarting in Belgium and having a lovely weekend with my friends Jorg and Melanie and seeing the sights there. On to Paris through stunning Champagne country, the vineyards and the little champagne villages. Then Astrid and I went our separate ways in Paris, as she was due to go home, while my friend Sue came out to spend a few days with me in that City of the Arts. That was a packed two days. A train ride to Giverny, (Monet's house and gardens)with a sight seeing tour the day after and then on the Thursday, I pedalled out of Paris on my own for the first time.





I'm heading SE and am writing this from Troyes and tomorrow on to Estoyes where Renoir lived for many years. Then on to Langres to pick up the route taken by the person who inspired me to do this trip, Anne Mustoe who 30 years ago took to cycling around the world.





I've had a wonderful start to the trip, and Astrid helped me with her experience to get my cycling touring legs in and I learnt a lot of useful tips and hints about getting about and getting accommodation. We've mainly camped (cheaper) but also stayed in Chambres d'hotes ( b & b's) She was very patient with me too, as having such a heavy bike, it sometimes came to almost walking pace up the hills. However, now, I can easily do about 45 - 50 miles a day without too much effort as my legs and stamina improve by the day. So it was great fun to cycle with her for the first two weeks and great to see as many friends as I did at the beginning of my journey. And we have had a fun time. But the hightlights for me so far have been the visit to Auvers Sur Oise, north of Paris , where we visited Vincent Van Goghs attic room (left exactly as it was in his day)and he and his brother's Theo's, grave. Vincents room is only 7ft x 7ft with the single chair so familiar in the famous painting but you have to be there to see just how small that room is. And this is also the room he died in -very very moving - with a single skylight in the roof.





When you are on a trip like this, the day is made up of little events. One of which I was quite proud of. Yesterday in Provins, a picturesque medieval town where I stopped for morning coffee, I gave directions to the tourist office. in French! to a French woman! And guess what, I said to her, ..'''a gauche, alors a droit a l'arc, alors, tout doit, tout doit, tout doit.'' She thanked me and walked in the right direction, so I must have said something right!





But there are so many tales to tell, that I will only be able to do that in the book I shall be writing when I get back. All I can do here is keep you up to date with my adventures and hope you enjoy sharing it with me.





So, so far - Really enjoying it and used to solo cycling now. I'm feeling a great deal more confident than when I started out and feel settled into the journey now. There is a saying that says .. ''its the people you meet that you'll enjoy, the museums - less likely'' Never a truer word. I have met some fantastic people so far, who have shown nothing but kindness, from the little old man in his garden who came out with a large bottle of Evian water to fill our drinks bottles up and have a chat, to Daniel, the propietor of La Maison du Papidon, who brought us a small bottle of champagne to eat with our dinner, to the manager of a full B&b in Ypres who, late in evening, used his own phone to ring round and get us a Chambres D'hotes nearby. And when we got there we were greeted by our wonderful hosts at Da Poteze, Paul and Mimi who when we were too tired to cycle into town to eat, brought us up a slice of pizza each and greeted us with a glass of his best wine.





I am having a relaxing day on a tranquil camp site today to catch up with things and then tomorrow, its...'tout doit, tout doit, tout doit' And more of the stunning French countyside and villages. Ah! La vie en roads!





catch up with you again next month -


Deborah





(copyright Deborah Anne Brady)

Blank Canvas

''Just dash something down when you see a blank canvas staring at you in the face. It says, 'you can't do anything'. Many are afraid of the blank canvas, but the blank canvas is afraid of the really passionate painter who is daring - and who has once and for all broken that spell of, 'you cannot'.''
(Vincent Van Gogh)

Trawling through my diary recently, I suddenly sat up with a jolt! For the first time in my working life the pages of my diary were completely bare. There was no work; there were no meetings; no 'to do' lists; no jottings or social outings -nothing - just empty blank spaces. It was as though my life had - and as suddenly as I had turned the page from one month to the next - just stopped! And the contrast was stark. It had suddenly changed from my usual chaotic, manic and - to anyone else - undecipherable scribbled entries, to - absolutely nothing. Gazing into this blank nothingness, made me feel a little weird and strangely disconnected from my surroundings and at first I wasn't comfortable with this new emotion. I stared into the void of those unmarked pages; each crisp, white, pristine, white-as-snow sheet glaring back at me. It was like peering into a wintery white-out, and I shivered with doubt at the thought of what was about to happen to me over the coming year. The reality of my imminent journey jumped out at me in a Magwich-induced fright and there was no looking over my shoulder now. I had reached the point of no return; it had its grip on me and there was no going back. My life was about to dramatically change and I felt a little unhinged at the commitment I had made.

But of course, those diary pages were not blank at all. Very soon, those same empty pages will, as yet unseen, be crammed from margin to edge with days of excitement and drama and transform those flat, horizontal, blue, spacer lines into a three dimensional vision of colours, landscapes, images and senses that would soon fill every minute of my days. Those pages will soon be blanketed in stories and adventures of intoxicating tales to come, already fuelling my over fertile mind, as I mentally traced my proposed route and filled my head with imaginings of future delights and experiences of each country I would be travelling through and especially, the characters and people I will meet along the way. With my imagination in overdrive and brimming with excitement, I turned my attention, once again to more practical matters.

In preparation for the trip, my bike had been given a full service. So, with his shiny new components as well as his deep, metallic blue colour and with the added blaze of a dazzling, yellow sunflower decorating my handlebar bag, I decided to give him a new name. This burst of blue and yellow reminded me of the vibrant, intense hues used by one of my favourite artists, and so I re-named him - Vincent - after the Dutch expressionist painter, Vincent van Gogh. An appropriate name considering the theme of my trip and one which suits him perfectly!

Another new feature is that I have also bought myself a mini notebook computer. (not bad for someone who vowed not to take any technology with me! ) and I am looking forward to being able to Skype some of my friends and family (for free!) in the coming months while I am abroad. (I am desperately trying to persuade those of my friends who haven't got Skype to buy (a cheap) camera and speakers, so I can contact them as well!)

So, the check list is finally complete; only the last minute items to catch up on just before I go. I have spent the last few days, packing and repacking and then packing again - in fact I've lost count of the number of times I have packed and upacked - just to get everything exactly balanced and how I want it. I have put everything that I (hopefully) won't need at the bottom of one pannier and the more commonly used items nearer the top for easier access. Then I had to evenly distribute the weight in each pannier to get an even balance, which makes for a more stable ride. I then had to decide which items to pack in the top pannier - nothing too heavy,so that it didn't top load the bike. But for those of you who are interested, the weight is as such: Each side pannier = 30lbs each, one tent = 15lbs, one sailing roll top pannier across the back = 25lbs, handlebar bag =10lbs making the total weight = 110lbs. (sorry, I still use lbs - blame it on my age!)

But it's a bit heavier than when I was initially testing the bike. but even though the bike is heavier, with an evenly balanced load, it doesn't feel that much different. Some have wondered why I am not using front wheel panniers. Well, there are three reasons; firstly, I am not cooking when I camp, so I don't need the extra space; secondly, I didn't want seven pieces of separate luggage to load and unload from my bike, especially when getting on trains or on a bus; and thirdly, I am a firm believer that the more baggage you have the more you want to fill them!. And hopefully as I progress on my journey, I can discard such things as maps or items that I no longer need, so it should get lighter - but only slightly!

So, its up to London this Sunday - May 1st - where between 9.30am and 11am, in the courtyard of the Royal Academy of Arts in Piccadilly, a group of my friends and family, will, over a glass or two of the sparkly stuff, (only a sip in my case) send me on my way into the wildly exciting unknown.
I intend to keep this blog going during my travels, so I hope you will follow my adventures each month.

And so, as I make the last entry, I've closed my half filled diary and with mounting excitement, I am about to go upstairs and pack for the final time.

Deborah

My special thanks go to Bull-it Recruitment - part sponsors of my round the world trip.

Also, huge love and thanks to all my friends and family who have put me up - and put up with me! - and thanks to everyone for their encouragement, support, advice and love, without which, I could never have got this trip off the ground.

''Listen ...... there's a hell of a good universe next door;

let's go! ''

(E.E.Cummings: from Anne Mustoe's; A Bike Ride)

(copyright: Deborah Anne Brady)

It's partly about the bike

It's not about the bike (book title of Tour De France cyclist Lance Armstrong)
It's all about the bike (book title of cycling fanatic Robert Penn)

It's partly about the bike (blog title Deborah Brady)

'Now they call me The Breeze
I keep blowin' down the road'
(Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Everyone can remember their first bike ride. As you flung away the stabilisers, indignantly moaning that those childish supports were for babies and definitely not, for one as grown up as yourself, and with your parent's guiding hand gradually loosening its grip - off you pedalled. The liberating sense of freedom and independence overwhelmed you, as you sped towards the sunset, the wind whistling in your ears. This fleeting, momentous occasion soon ended though, as only yards further on you lay in a crumpled heap, having collided with the garden gate: your street credibility in shreds after having forgotten to slam on the brakes!

So, as an experienced cyclist of a certain age, it was somewhat humiliating as I wobbled down the road, shakily steering like a child trying to keep a teetering momentum on their first bike ride. I lurched and veered from one side of the road to the other, secretly wishing I had a pair of stabilisers and dreading the moment when I would have to turn around on my heavily laden bicycle and pedal back the short distance I had come. But eventually and cautiously, I made it home, feeling pleased with myself that I had passed the first real test: the pre journey rehearsal of cycling, fully loaded, for my round-the-world bike ride. I hadn't ridden a bike with this much weight and luggage for many years and had to familiarize myself with the different handling and balance needed when this much luggage is stacked up on the rear rack and it took a few heart-stopping attempts before I got used to it again.

But before the wheels touched tarmac, I had to get on the bike. A different approach is required with a mountain of baggage piled high and for some length of time, (and here, I am desperately trying to avoid typing that suggestive phrase which describes a manoeuvre to get one's lower limb up and across the bike frame), I hopped around on one leg with the other flailing around in mid air, waist high, trying to reach the pedal on the other side while slowly falling backwards. There was no point in cycling the world if I couldn't even get on the bike! I tried coming at it from every angle and after various, desperate attempts, at one stage, I was left bent over the saddle: my legs scissor-swinging from side to side, like a struggling gymnast trying to re mount the pommel horse. (not a pretty sight I can assure you). Eventually, and refusing to let this simple, two wheeled, machine defeat me, I found a technique.

This time, with the bike sideways on to me, I goose-stepped up to the bike, putting my left hand on the handlebars, while gripping the luggage at the back with my right, and in one continuous movement and about as gracefully as one of Les Dawson's Roly Poly ballerinas, I high-kicked into a Tiller Girl, Can-Can routine, stepped over the cross bar, twisted round to face front and lifted myself into the saddle. (those of you under the age of 25 won't have a clue who I have just been talking about!). But puffing with pride and the poison arrogance that makes you feel better than you actually are, I began to feel like a seasoned, cycling traveller and proudly, launched myself off down the road.

Before the wheels even turned, I was flat on my back, with both bike and 60lbs of luggage on top of me, pinned underneath the bike like an upturned beetle. And like Road Runner, the cartoon character, who after a mad dash, over runs the cliff edge and hangs, frozen in mid air, taking his last gulp, aware of the fate that awaits him: I, too, after only a few pedal strokes, and with my legs still rotating, started, to topple over in slow motion, swallowing hard as the ground came up to meet me. It was an inauspicious start for a round-the-world bike ride!

My equilibrium regained and having eventually mastered a more suitable technique for getting on and off, I turned my attention back to the bike. During my talks that I give to clubs and organisations all over the country, about my life as a national press photographer, I have often come across many cyclists in the audience. On hearing of my forthcoming adventure, they all want to know everything about the bike and have an abiding interest in all things technical. I also give a lot of talks to camera clubs, who are also keen to find out what equipment I will be taking with me. So, if you are not interested in bike bits or cameras, please skip this part and join me further on. For the cyclists and photographers amongst you, browse the list below:-

Bike

Hewitt Cheviot SE 725 steel frame tourer

Bike Components

Handlebars - TTT Morphe randonneur style width 42cc

Handlebar tape - Fizik black

Gear Levers - bar end Dura Ace B ends

Gears - 21

Rear and Front mech - Shimano Deore Convent. Long cage and LX Bottom swing

Brake levers - R400 STI ergo

Stem - ITM racing

Headset - m part comp spacer

Cassette - Shimano Deore 11-34

Chainset - Shimano Deore Hollotech 11/22/44 170mm

Chain - Scram PC 951 (9 speed chain)

Brakes - Shimano short arm cantilevers

Brake calipers - Shimano Road sti

Brake pads - Astec

Tyres - Continental Touring Plus 700 x 37

Spokes - Front 292mm Rear NDS 292mm, Rear DS 290mm

Wheels - Mavic hand made

Rims - DRC Silver

Valves - Presta

Bike stand - Esge

Rim tapes - Velox

Saddle - Brooks BS 17 Ladies black

Rear Rack - Blackburn

Water bottle cages - Specialized x 2

Hubs - front and rear - Deore

Bike Luggage

Ortlieb waterproof Classic Rear Panniers

Ortlieb waterproof sac x1

Ortlieb waterproof, small sailing roll top bag

Handlebar bag - Atura

And for those photographers out there.......

Camera: DSLR Nikon D 300

Lens: Tamron 18-270,mm

Filters: ND Grad and Polariser

Memory cards: Compact Flash - multi 4gbyte cards

Bits and Pieces: cleaning cloths, spare battery etc

Camera case: Lowpro small black

Tripod: portable mini Gorilla flexi tripod

Welcome back!

After experiencing the ignominy of my first attempts at getting on a loaded bike, and to help me get over my dismay that not all the world's topography is flat, I thought I would get the gear ratio changed while the bike was in for its service. Steve, the workshop manager at Mud Dock Cycleworks, changed it to 22/32/44 - its technical term being 'granny gears' - that translated just means it will help me get up the hills more easily!

Someone who has experience of riding up many mountains and hills is my good friend and fellow round-the-world cyclist, Astrid, who I've mentioned in an earlier blog. Astrid is cycling out with me for the first couple of weeks. We both leave from the Royal Academy of Arts in Piccadilly, London and Astrid will cycle with me through Belgium and France and return home when we reach Paris. I am so pleased, as her knowledge, support and friendship has been tremendous and I am so glad she could find the time to share the first part of my trip with me. To find out more about her recent global adventure, please visit: www.cyclingfullcircle.com

Well, after this blog, only one more to go before departure! As I am leaving on Sunday 1st May, my next posting will be out earlier than usual to give me time to top and tail my final preparations. When travelling, I intend to carry on with this blog, certainly once a month at least, so please do join me in following my adventures. My contact address for anyone wishing to e mail me while I am abroad is: deborahannebrady@hotmail.co.uk

As soon as we arrive in Paris, another friend of mine will join me for a two day 'holiday' in mid May and after that I start my journey in earnest, where I cycle out, alone, for the first time, heading South East, towards Langres in France, to join my planned itinerary of following ancient roads and routes across the world: the theme of my trip focusing on the art and artists of each country I travel through. La vie en roads!

Copyright Deborah Brady 2011

Deborah

(paintsandpedalsworldbybike.blogspot.com - and all photographs are Copyright Deborah Anne Brady 2011)

A Sweeping Revolution

I couldn't believe what I was watching! Unarmed civilians had brought down the hard line government of Egypt after just a few weeks of peaceful protests. Amid the wild revelry and the women, trilling their ululations in celebration of their victory, the television camera then focused on an unforgettable image of a women protester, sweeping up the rubble and debris left behind in a Cairo street. When an incredulous reporter asked her why, she answered proudly,'we clear up ourselves, this is our country; these are our streets now!' And with that dignified statement, the ordinary citizens of Cairo had brushed away thirty years of autocratic rule in Egypt.

But the speed, relative ease and success of both the Tunisian and Egyptian protests has set an example of what can be achieved and has encouraged others in the Arab world, toward a precarious opportunity for a more free and democratic lifestyle, with popular uprisings taking place in Yemen,Iran and now Libya, but sadly this time with hundreds of innocent lives lost. These despotic leaders may not be so easy to overthrow. Either way, changes are taking place on a daily basis in this already unstable part of the world, so I will have to keep my eye on changing events as they occur, as I intend to cross parts of the Middle East during my forthcoming trip.

My plan is to make (non-cycling) 'holiday' detours to Egypt, Syria and Jordan and then travel back up to Iran. But due to the sheer expanse of Iran and with the Foreign Office advising against travel in the east of the country (due to historical events rather than recent uprisings) I will probably take a bus along the popular and well used tourist route from Tehran to Isfahan and then on to Shiraz, returning to Tehran or Turkey and then flying to Karachi in Pakistan to resume my cycling. That way I get to explore Iran, one of the most artistic and historically interesting countries, in a more comfortable time scale. But what develops in the Middle East is beyond my control. All we can hope for is an end to the violence by their brutal leaders and for the region to become a more stable part of the world. What I have to worry about, is getting myself around the globe and to look after my health as best I can.

This month my arm was punctured with the second of my three rabies injections and I still have two Japanese Encephalitis and one more Hepatitis B jab to suffer. Stray dogs are a problem for a cyclist abroad, so these rabies jabs are important because as we all know, only mad English cyclists and dogs go out in the midday sun!

Biting mosquitoes can also be a real menace, especially to a cyclist who is exposed to the elements for most of the day. What's hard to swallow is that I'm not actually cycling through any malarial infected countries; I'm only travelling close to the frontiers of countries where malaria may occur, but because mosquitoes don't recognise boundaries, I've had to add to my mobile pharmacy by stocking up with the recommended dosage of tablets. But I need three different brands of tablet for the three countries that I will need protection from and the programme is complicated beyond belief. Instructions tell me that I have to start taking the first brand four weeks before entering my first malarial country and starting off with two tablets for the first two days then going onto taking one a day of the first brand then taking two a day, two days before my second country and again going onto one a day of the second brand but remembering that I have to keep taking one a day of the first tablets, four weeks after leaving that first country but still carrying on with one tablet a day of the second brand which overlaps with the first dosage in the first country. I don't even want to think about the third brand I will have to factor in, yet! I am just grateful that it's all been written down!

But this past month has seen me crossing the border into the definitely non malarial county of Oxfordshire, where I was running a week's photography course at the Women's Institutes's educational centre, Denman College, just outside Oxford. After the calamities that dampened my mood last month, spending a week there raised my spirits once again. I always enjoy teaching at Denman and on my return, I will be adding an extra course - travel photography - a theme I shall have more than enough experience of by then!

But before that I have a journey to complete. And with only eight weeks to go before departure, I am just about ready for the off. One important task I had to get done though was to get my bike serviced. I changed my mind about taking it up to Preston where the bike was made. I decided that it was too far and too expensive a journey, so I took the bike into the engagingly named, Mud Docks Cycleworks in Bristol, where the staff were very helpful and were easily able to replace the original components. My thanks go to Steve the workshop manager, who on hearing of my travels, kindly waived the cost of the labour and only charged me for the parts.

No doubt this will be one of many acts of kindness on my journey and I hope the recent uprisings in the Middle East will settle to a positive outcome, so that all peoples of that region can live in a more peaceful and equal society. But amidst the turmoil, I am sure that the only revolutions that will affect me during this trip, will be the turning of my bicycle wheels.

Deborah

(All postings on paintsandpedalsworldbybike.blogspot.com are the copyright of Deborah Anne Brady)

"After the rain, comes fair weather" (Aesop)

Financing my round-the-world trip has had to be based around a finely measured and calculated agenda, as well as forecasting a weekly budget and factoring in contingency money for any possible emergencies, as well as for those hidden extras that inevitably creep up on us. It should get me around the globe but I still have to be careful. I will have to rely on cheap accommodation and constantly watch my pennies throughout the trip.

I knew it would take the best part of a year to plan and research the journey, but I also worried that the longer I spent in the UK before travelling, the more it would eat into my savings. I had planned to leave in May this year because I didn't want to cross Europe in winter. But the length of time before departure meant that I would inevitably be open to the possibility of things going wrong.

And everything was going so well. The planning and research for the trip was on schedule and as we turned the corner into the New Year, things were ticking along nicely. I have been managing to live, modestly, off the fees from my talks and photographic courses, along with the kindness and hospitality from my friends and family. In fact I can't believe how fortunate I've been. But life has a nasty habit of breaking a spoke in the wheels of our dreams. With only four months to go and everything going to plan, fortune abandoned me. The cost of travel essentials, such as my inoculations, travel insurance and all the expenditure that goes with planning such a trip, has left me keeping a very strict and wary eye on my ever decreasing bank account. Things were ok, but I was starting to feel a little uneasy:my finances were beginning to get a little stretched.

Then, one of my worst nightmares happened!My trusted and faithful workhorse, my car,which hasn't let me down once in the past ten years, had to be garaged, twice, in the space of ten days, culminating in two rather hefty garage bills. I am planning to take it off the road at the end of March but the car is essential for my work and as I wind up my talks and courses in these remaining months, it's important to keep the car going. It seemed this extra expenditure, at this particular point in time, was a cruel twist. I couldn't believe the timing of it! To make matters worse, I had just booked and paid for the first of my 'holidays'; a few days in Paris, where one of my friends is planning to come out and join me. I wasn't best pleased. The garage bill, along with a few other hidden extras that I hadn't anticipated, had bitten a bit too deeply into the finances and my spirits were low; so low, I seriously considered cancelling the whole trip. I'm not usually one for giving up and I nearly always go all out for something I've set my mind to, but this did make me feel that the wheels were coming off the bike.

But in life, as Emerson once wrote, 'difficulties exist to be surmounted'. After my initial dejection, came calm reason. Instead of getting depressed about it, I just had to change my thinking. I changed my perspective and instead of cancelling the trip, I convinced myself it wasn't that bad. It was just a case of adjusting and realigning my plans. I worked out that I could still afford to get around the world but I would have to cut a bit here and nip a bit there. I may even have to cut a few days off those 'holidays' I had planned and possibly leave out one or two of the countries I was hoping to cycle through. But with the reduced finances I wasn't feeling so at ease with the trip as I was before and the worries and the 'what ifs'
were beginning to set in.

So, to lift my spirits, I went cycling. It was one of those rare, blue-sky winter days. After only a few miles in that soporific, afternoon golden sunshine, that treads on the heel of a bright, winters day - where you breathe the heady, crisp, hoary air, and the weak sun warms your back, and while the only sounds are the humming rhythmic motion of wheels on tarmac that lulls you into that hypnotic, stress busting lightness of mind, that only cycling can do - my spirits were beginning to lift again; my reverie suddenly shattered by the realisation that I couldn't stop! The rear brake cable had snapped!I managed to get back without incident but rather than get it repaired there and then, I thought it better to wait until the beginning of March, when the bike is due for a full service and everything can be done at once by the same mechanics. Meantime, I have borrowed an old Raleigh mountain bike, which will do fine for the interim month.

Apart from these minor calamities, preparation wise, it has been a quiet month. But that has given me the chance to catch up with my reading. My journey will follow ancient routes; the theme being the art and artists(ancient and modern)of the countries that I am travelling through and I've found time to re-read some of my favourite ancient poets.

One of those is the Roman poet, Quintus Horatius Flaccus, more familiarly known as Horace. I really like Horace with his lyrical style and positive thinking. And he loved his wine! There's a person after my own heart! In nearly every one of his Odes, he is forever lauding Bacchus -(the Roman adopted name for the original Greek Dionysus - God of the grape harvest, wine making and wine) -The God of Wine. Forever the optimist, his answer to the pits and troughs of life was to tell us, not only to relax but also to enjoy the moment and not to trouble our minds with things we can't control, but also to indulge in the odd tipple or two! As he writes in his Ode, 'Enjoy the Hour', "why, with planning for the future, weary thy soul?
Why not rather quaff the wine, while yet we may, reclining under this lofty plane or pine, in careless ease....Bacchus dispels carking cares'. (Horace: Ode X1)

He even titled one of his Odes, "In Praise of Wine". And in another,.."take delight on holidays in some choice vintage Falernian wine".

Cheers! Horace, I shall do just that!

Deborah
(all postings on paintsandpedalsworldbybike.blogspot.com are copyright of Deborah Anne Brady)

Three weddings and a flannel

This New Year is going to be big for television weddings. Coronation Street has just had a dramatic one over a hospital bedside. A Royal engagement was announced, between an Olympic show jumper and an international rugby player, and to the joy of many, one handsome young man finally popped the question to his beautiful fiance. The wedding will be watched my millions. After a turkey dinner, several cans of John Smiths and wearing a silly Christmas hat, the young man from the Royale Family, is finally going to marry his pregnant girlfriend.We are all so excited for Anthony.

The other Royal wedding this year is taking place in the slightly more sober surroundings of Westminster Abbey. Our future king, William, is finally going to marry his Kate. There will be wall to wall television coverage with flag-waving and cheering crowds lining the streets. There will be bunting and banners. There will be foreign dignitaries from all over the world pouring into London. Every single hotel and B&B in the capital will be booked up, along with much pomp and circumstance that accompanies these occasions. But on that same weekend, somewhere in a quiet corner of Piccadilly, another event is taking place. I will be silently pedaling out of London on the start of my round the world cycle ride: the only noticable pageantry being a small group of family and friends waving me goodbye.

I have chosen to leave London on a Sunday, as it is usually quieter than other days and at first I was disappointed that the Royal wedding date fell on the same weekend I was going to leave. I was following the proposed dates for the wedding very closely on the news. "Phew!" I thought, as it was first suggested it was to be in summer. "It won't clash with my trip" Then it changed to Spring; then they honed it down to March and then the final date was confirmed as, Friday 29th April! I couldn't believe it! It was going to be the same weekend that I would be setting off on my journey! Luckily the wedding takes place on the Friday before the Sunday I leave, and the chaos should have died down by then. Besides, my chosen route out of the city, means I shall be cycling through Cannon Street, on route to London Bridge, which on any weekend, let alone a Bank Holiday, augers well for a quiet ride.
Tourists are not interested in visiting the financial area of London and any lingering, celebratory crowds should be sardined into the West End. So it looks like myself and my fellow cyclist, Astrid, shall still manage a stress free ride out of the capital after all.

After my initial resentment at the possibility of having to cycle through the madding crowds, I now think The Wedding, will be a bit of a fillip to my round the world bike ride. In my dotage when people ask that timeless question, "Where were you the day that King William got married?" It will be refreshing to give a different answer than the more prosaic,'doing the washing up'. It will be so much more interesting to say that I had just started out on my round the world adventure: although,I hardly need a Royal wedding to remind me what I was doing on that particular weekend!

So, while William and Kate are busy with their preparations, I too, am putting the finishing touches to mine. With only four months before departure, the monthly checklist is being steadily reduced, with only a few things left to do now; most of which are things ongoing; such as the completion of my jabs, the medicines that I will need, and all those last minute items. And now the snow and ice has gone,it will be good to get out on my bike again and cycle off a few of those festive mince pies!

Apart from watching Top Gear and the joy of seeing England retaining the Ashes in Australia (by a thrashing, I have to add!)surely one of the great experiences of Christmas is coming down on Christmas morning and seeing all the brightly coloured boxes of presents underneath the tree. This Christmas, I had to look very hard for mine! For obvious reasons, I asked for small presents this year. And they were small: very small: small packages;little soaps;tiny bags.But size is everything! Of all my wonderful presents this year, I became very excited about - two flannels! Ah! but before you start thinking, sad person or even, sad, unwashed person,these are special flannels! They are bought, vacuum packed to the size of a fifty pence piece. Only when soaked in water do they 'unravel'to normal size. So while I am hauling my worldly goods around the globe, these coin sized flannels will be saving valuable space in my bike panniers (until I use them of course, but even then, they still use up very little space in the wash bag) On reflection, sad person, may just be a correct description.

But I couldn't be more pleased with all my tiny presents this year. Lilliput is not on my world intinerary, but should I come across it, I will be well prepared!

Happy New Year

Remember

'The Poetry is in the Pity' (Wilfed Owen)

I was watching a DVD recently of the glorious Blackadder Fourth series and the final
scene was for me, one of the best comedy sketches ever written. As Captain Blackadder's many hilarious attempts to get out of the war by faking madness fails, the realisation finally dawns on him and his men that there is no way of getting out of the trenches. The whistle blows and as they go over the top in a barrage of gunfire, they morph into fields of blood-red poppies.

This most moving of scenes and using comedy to depict the senseless slaughter can be an effective way to bring home the madness of war. The war artists and poets at that time also used different and ground breaking methods to interpret the futile carnage.

My theme for this trip is art and artists of each country that I travel through and my first stop after leaving England will be the small town of Ypres in Belgium. A place of significance in World War One, as this was where the war became industrialised with the first use of gas. The invasion was stopped in its tracks in Ypres, culminating in slaughter on an unprecendented scale. Thousands died for a few hundred yards of ground, only to lose it again a few days later.

As with all wars, the government created official war artists to portray the propoganda. In earlier times, painting had depicted the glory, nationalism and heroics of the battlefield but a small band of exciting, influential artists from the legendary , London Slade School of Art, such as Paul Nash, Mark Gertler, Richard Nevinson and Stanley Spenser, used innovative techniques to interpret the war in a different way. They wanted to show us the human face of war, its pain: its waste. Here was, 'a crisis of brilliance' as the title of David Haycock's book states and they became the Futurists and Bohemians of the twentieth century.

Atmospheric landscape paintings of 'No-Mans Land' by Paul Nash for example, used his talent as a former landscape artist to develop his painting into a futuristic and mono-toned style. Not for him the blood and guts of trench warfare, instead rendering the destruction and desolation of the moonlight, cratered battlefield, using the new vortice style of painting, then fashionable with a new breed of more abstract and expressionist French artists of the time, and just as powerful. The 'Merry-Go-Round' painting by Mark Gertler was another.

In contrast to Nash, Gertler's 'The Merry-Go-Round' used, flat, bold colours in the surrealistic style. The uniformed soldiers, sailors and civilians are posed sitting stiffly upright in regimented rows, astride identical wooden horses of the merry-go-round. No horror or gory scenes here but with mouths agape in silent screams, the endless revolving door effect, 'this blaze of violent mechanical rotation'as D.H. Lawrence lauded it, illustrates the futility of trench warfare. It is one of the most potent anti war paintings of modern times.

That was the brilliance of this small band of influential and innovative group of artists, who brought home the horrors to those who wanted to glorify the war.
And none more so than one of my favourite war artists, Stanley Spenser.

I recently visited the Spenser Memorial Chapel at Burghclere near Newbury. Here is where Spenser painted one of the most iconic war memorials. Due to his religious and sensitive personality, as well as his pastoral upbringing, his war paintings, using his unique aerial viewpoint, and his familiar, distorted, cartoon-like figures, were based on the dual themes of redemption and hope by depicting the mundane, everyday life of the soldier.

I was surprised how modest and insignificant this single storey building was and being set back from the road, I nearly missed it as I drove by. Three walls in the tiny, square chapel (or the 'Holy Box'as Spenser affectionately called it) painted from floor to ceiling (Hampshire's own Sistine Chapel - Spenser)reflect his life as an orderly in the war, often painting scenes of bed changing, or collecting empty tea urns to scrubbing hospital floors. But the dominant scene is the 'Redemption' painting covering the end wall of the chapel. Strewn with piles of white, wooden crosses and with soldiers of opposing sides emerging from their graves to greet their dead comrades and laying their crossess at the feet of a diminutive Christ figure at the top of the painting, is an awe inspiring sight and absolutely breath taking. This more reflective theme for me, is more powerful than seeing images of horrific carnage. It is a truly magnificant painting.

In the way that Spenser used more innocent scenes to interpret the war, Wilfred Owen was the opposite. One of the foremost poets of WW1, he used vivid words and phrases to illustrate the horrors of the trenches. In is acclaimed poem,'Dulce et Decorum Est'he describes in graphic detail the effects of gas on a soldier who, with hands numb with cold and shaking with fear, fumbles to put on his gas mask... phrases such as....'obscene as cancer'......'if you could hear the blood come gargling from the froth corrupted lungs'...'he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning'. And then ending the poem with those immortal lines;

'My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desporate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori' (it is sweet and right to die for one's country)

Wilfred Owen died aged just twenty five, one week before the end of the war. According to historians, his mother received the telegram while the neighbours were partying in the street outside, celebrating the armistice.

During this most reflective of months, it was good to reunite with my love of art once more and with this being the theme of my trip, I cannot wait to get going.
It may only be November but I feel that my journey has already begun.

As my next blog will not be out until early January, I would like to wish you all a very Merry and Peaceful Christmas.

Deborah