Day three has not been a magic number and I want to start today by apologising for the fact that I set myself the task of writing/drawing daily, for a week, just as the shit hit the fan.
Today began with a delivery of wildly differing types of post, one being a lovely, surprise letter from an old friend and the other being two copies of a solicitor's eviction notice under Section 21 of the Housing Act. I'm concentrating on the wonderful timing of my friend's letter which was the perfect antidote to a surprisingly speedy action by our normally glacially slow to act landlords. Rupert went for a run to burn away the fury and I tried to draw Tree.
Then we set off to Penrith get my head looked at.

I've been getting loads of migraines and earache. The doctor suggested an MRI scan and olive oil; only the olive oil has made me deaf, trapped in my own head with unruly thoughts, the sounds of the sea, creaking ice floes and popping Space Dust. The mobile MRI unit wasn't there and we drove around Penrith unable to make sense of the map - which turned out to be a map of Carlisle. All the information I'd been given was muddled up with 2 different appointment times and 3 different locations. I suppose if I'd been less distracted I'd have noticed the letter was wrong and avoided all the eerie wandering about in dark, deserted car parks at the back of hospital buildings, looking for invisible vans. It seems wrong to make a fuss when the NHS is under so much pressure so we came home and ate oven chips.
YIKES, this is not an interesting post is it. I did splosh some paint about; an attempt at Tree and two rough sketches based on walks in the not-our-garden next door at dusk. The garden is neglected and wild but was obviously once very much a labour of love. Over the years I've tried to resist its pull but couldn't bare to see it totally abandoned, with all its rare and carefully chosen plants choked by brambles as thick as a fairytale. I did more than I should have in the circumstances and got too attached but you can never regret gardening, it does demand a kind of optimism and hope that in the future the seed you've planted will flower and fruit.

That's me done for today. Done for, because you've probably unsubscribed but if you haven't, tomorrow I'll make more of an effort, share a wonderful photograph from the family archive and maybe have more drawings. Take care and enjoy the rest of Saturday x