Drunken Monkey in the Tiger's Eyes (1978)

This is an exciting and brilliant film that is full of the action and slapstick which has made Jackie Chan famous, and is just as fresh as his later films; it is great to see how his younger self developed his style of kung-fu and his comedy. He has a very expressive face that suits his physical comedy. The colour is brilliant and the photography, too.

Green Woodworking Week in the Lakes

Last week, Sat 20th to the 27th, I was learning to make a timber frame shed out of green wood. The project was a National Trust working holiday and was run by their rangers at the High Wray Base-camp, which is one of the first bunkhouses to be built by the National Trust. It was a fun week where I learnt to fell a tree and hew a beam from it, and how to design, build and assemble the timber frame. The weather was mostly good, being clear, hot and, unusually dry for most of the week, for the Lake District.

Yesterday morning there was snow lying on the ground!

Yesterday, Monday 18th March, there was snow on the ground, and it is March! That has been quite unusual in recent years. The snow had cleared from the hard surfaces by the afternoon, but remained as slush on the grass. Even today, 19th March, there are still traces of slushy, icy snow left on the grass. It has been unusually wet over the past eight months.

Today is the 20th day of the 12th month of 2012

Today is 20 12 2012! This date seems special. The weather here is grim today, wet and overcast; so wet that the fields are saturated with water and huge puddles are appearing on the surrounding fields.

With the wet weather of recent months, it seems so odd to reflect that throughout the first half of this year parts of England were experiencing a drought. Meteorologically speaking, 2012 seems to have been one of extremes.

National Trust hedge-laying working holiday

Last week I have been in the south lakes. I have been taking part in a hedge-laying working holiday for the National Trust. I had a great time in the fresh air. I have improved my pleaching and laying of the plants in the hedge.

I stayed at the Acland Block of the Highwray bunkhouse, which was the first bunkhouse built for the National Trust. It is situated high on a hill with really excellent views over Windermere and north towards Ambleside.

At the beginning of the week, the site was very boggy and muddy, but not rainy. The sun came out from Wednesday onwards and by the end of the week it became very cold and crisp, though not too windy. On the whole the weather was good, and there were plenty of great views especially of Helvellyn and Fairfax from Basecamp and the site.

Today is the 20th day of the 11th month of 2012

Another curiously special date: 20.11.2012.

And here is a drawing that I did on the 20th of November. I was experimenting with the combination of an eye and the rising sun.

Today is the 10th day of the 11th month of 2012

10.XI.2012 or 10.11.12 is another one of those dates

... and here are two painterly drawings that I did on this curiously special date.

The artwork below is of my black Labrador, who turned fourteen years old on the 7th of November (that is ninety-something in human years); he is still a puppy at heart, though!

He is part chocolate as well, and when the sun catches him in the right place you can glimpse patches of chocolate colour amongst his back coat. Charming. I tried to capture this by using a chocolatey under-drawing with solid greys and black to fill in the shape.

Acylic inks and watercolour were used.