'the times they are a changin' - again

As usual, life has been hectic since returning from my short break in Amsterdam. We all had a great work's Christmas at the SEA Awards (staff excellence awards). I was nominated and made the finals of our categories but didn't quite make the winners rostrum. Great to be voted to that stage though by your colleagues. But what a great night.

The class of Room 39. Paul, my manager (and now book agent,) is second from left, with Matt, the HLF officer at centre back





Yet another office Christmas do. Class of Room 39 enjoying their meal.

 

Class of Room 39 with me at the back on the left.

                   

All things Yuletide, and as part of my yearly events plan, I organised the first 'Christmas at Cassiobury' event just before the holidays.

Santa arriving on his husky dog sled

The staff Christmas bash was great but in contrast, surviving the first 
Christmas at home without my father was difficult, especially for my mother. But both of us with the help of friends and close neighbours managed it well enough. We kept busy and did what most of us women do to keep our minds off things - we hit the sales!

                 Mum, me and friend Sue enjoying a respite from some retail therapy over
the Christmas period.
  
Arriving back in Watford, cash poor but matching shoe and handbag rich, I've embarked on another adventure. I've worked out that since the age of 17 when I first left home to live in Bristol, I've moved (more or less), 25 times into different forms of accommodation. Since selling up my own flat in London where I lived for a decade over 20 years ago when I worked in Fleet Street, I've enjoyed all my different rented abodes including moving around the country and I'm now moving into a rented, one bedroom, unfurnished flat on the site of Watford's original orphanage. 

Lovely flat - bijou and compact (one person ok but one person plus an armchair is a crowd- type of place) and it does have a light, welcoming ambience. Definitely, a 'bring a bottle and a shoehorn' flat warming invitation sort of place. But hey, it's in a really quiet, leafy, off road location and only a short 5 minute walk into town and the railway station. I like it.

Sharing accommodation has been good for me but this last year I've been wanting to spread my wings; you know, being able to cook without waiting in a queue, desperate to be allocated more than one shelf in the fridge and yearning for the freedom to dance naked around the front room - well I won't be doing that as I haven't got the curtains up yet but the sentiments the same. But more than anything having somewhere to put my books. Have I missed those since flat surfing around the country! Libraries are great but I do yearn to be surrounded by my own. At least now I can start up my collection again with a new book just published and the first for the new flat.

My manager's latest book, London's Royal Parks, is now out on Amazon (Shire Books) in which, eight of my photos are published. It's the second book I've had my photos in and a tadge  more sophisticated than my last called, 'A Day in the Life of Farmer Jones'. At least with the latest one, I wasn't taking photos while up to my armpits in stinking slurry.

My manager's latest book

inside the front cover

 

another of the eight photos of mine included in the book

 

The next book we are planning, the Heritage of Cassiobury Park, has been approved by my manager's publishers and will be a hard back; a mixture of the amazing history of the park and the people who created and shaped it over the centuries, as well as the effect of the encroaching metroland . Watch this space !

Part of my work is to give talks to groups around the county about the Heritage Lottery project to improve and rejuvenate the park. The work we are doing in preparation for the bid in February has been manic but up in London recently, at a consultants and architects meeting, to discuss the latest finalised design of the proposed visitor centre, I was amazed at how it's developed since those early ideas and sketches only last year. And in 5 years to be looking back at the changes to the park and having great pride in being a part of those developments will be a fantastic feeling.

  

meanwhile I still keep taking photos in the park. Cassiobury Park is a magnet for photographers and artists.
.

view of Cassiobury Park with the iconic Cedar and Whippendell Woods beyond

 

 



One of my regular volunteer groups helping me to build compost pens from recycled

wooden pallets for my Orchard project in the park. These volunteers are students with

learning difficulties from the local West Herts College.

 

 

 Tai Chi in the delightful landscape of Cassiobury Park.

Socially it's been hectic too. Usually this takes the form of getting a bunch of us from work and heading off either to rugby, the pub, cinema, theatre and Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club. Then, of course, there is always shopping. 
I did succumb to wandering into Heals and Habitats in London after the Design team meeting the other day! After promising myself I would wait until I was actually in the flat before buying, I came out an hour later with two cushions and a kettle. ahh well. Temptation overcame me in the end. Nice cushions though.                     

    Myself, and work colleagues, Kelly, centre, and Prema having a laugh and heading

for the bar at half time, on a soaking wet day watching Saracens rugby.

 

getting a soaking with work colleagues, Gary and Prema while watching Saracens Rugby

 

 

With the move in a few days, I shall be busy settling in but lots more social events coming up, including another visit to Ronnie Scott's to see Kyle Eastwood (Clint Eastwood's son) with the gang from the office.

 

Meanwhile it's back to the packing.

 

Deborah

 

(c) all photographs and contents of this blog are copyright of Deborah Anne Brady

 

A View from Abroad Continued

    Behind the scenes in the museums:        Amsterdam : Part Two..

                            the modern Van Gogh Museum just round the corner from my hotel

After a good walk around the little narrow streets and districts of the central canal ring, I  devoted a whole day to visit some museums. My bike ride two years ago was themed on art and artists, so I was relishing the prospect of taking a look at the Van Gogh Musuem and the Rijksmuseum, which holds Rembrandt's  The Night Watch painting.

                                                

                              the airy and modern interior of the Van Gogh Museum


                     

Van Gogh's 'boy reaping'

 

                                                    Van Gogh's sketch book
After seeing Anne Frank's original diary in the museum, it was also moving to see Van Gogh's personal sketchbook which he took with him wherever he went.
 

                                                   resting in the museum

 

Van Goghs tubes of paints.

 



The introduction of tubes for paints made it easy for artists to paint outdoors, essential to the impressionists and artists like Van Gogh who wanted to capture light and movement. 

Van Gogh's bedroom in Arles: note the red blanket on the bed and see next photo 

 

a microscope photo showing the thick brushstrokes and newsprint left on paint after Van Gogh wrapped the painting in newsprint when transferring it.

 

 

microscope photo of Van Gogh painting showing particles of sand mixed in with the paint, proving he painted one of his pictures outdoors by the beach.

 

The Rijksmuseum :also just around the corner from my hotel

Studying Rembrandt

 

crowds gather to see Rembrandt's Night Watch

 

Rembrandt's The Night Watch

 

crowds kept back from the huge Night Watch painting

The crowds are kept back from the canvas as a few years ago, a person of unbalanced mind, slashed the painting with a knife in a few places. The painting was carefully restored and now the knife marks aren't visible
 





 In awe of the Night Watch

 

Rembrandtplein: The Night Watch in life size statues with Rembrandt's statue in the background

 

In amongst the life size statues of the Night Watch

 

Rembrandt's House

 

Rembrandt was a wealthy artist with commissions to do the Night Watch and others. However, he overspent and couldn't keep up payments on the house with it eventually being sold.

Rembrandt's studio on the second floor, where he painted many of his most well known paintings

More images of Amsterdam:

                                                                

The streets of Amsterdam

 

 

Girls reading on steps of Amsterdam house, Prinsengracht

 

 

storm damage along the Amsterdam canals

 

more storm damage in Amsterdam centre

 

another tree down, luckily they all fell canal side and not on the houses

 

bridges over the canals

 

Amsterdam has it all.

 

the floating pagoda Chinese restaurant

 

old Dutch clogs

 

tulips from the canal side tulip market

 

the largest pancake I have ever seen covering

the dinner plate underneath

 

                               Heineken being distributed around the city

the delightful 'brown cafes' in the city (not to be confused with the seedier 'coffee shops' that sell hashish and cannabis and where people can openly smoke it)

plate display in city centre shop window

 

                         

wooden Dutch clogs

more bikes

my last afternoon I spent in the delightful Vondel Park

 



And other things...

 

street musician in Covent Garden

 

Hedi and daughter Sabine enjoying the sights of London during their recent visit

 

On my first day back, I unpacked and then rushed out to the Cassiobury Park Firework event

 

dazzling fireworks in Cassiobury Park

 

amazed at the firework spectacle

 

more fireworks

 

keeping the wind at bay at the fireworks event

 

 

waiting for the fireworks display

 

 

A good few, hectic, wonderful weeks. Tomorrow - back to work

 

Deborah

 

(c) Deborah Anne Brady. 2013