ART, SNOW AND VALIANT DEFEATS

It's Sunday morning at 11.30 as I write this, and I have just watched Andy Murray being defeated by Roger Federer in the Australian Open tennis final. There's no shame in getting beaten by possibly the greatest player of all time.

Here, at the opposite side of the globe, the snow is falling again on ground already deep in the stuff, adding to my worries about tomorrow, and whether my mother is going to make it back home from her week's "holiday" in Whalsay, where her arm is a whole lot better. There are a couple of questions to be answered with regard to this issue. Will the Council clear her access road for her? If not, can they keep her in Fernlea until she can get into her home? The answers will have to wait until the next post, I'm afraid, as I won't have them until tomorrow.

My work seems to have been a minor issue this week, and I'm looking forward to getting some quality painting time in soon. I've still managed to get a little done on the two tall ships pictures, and I've started two more canvases, one of which is a commission for a painting of the "Dunter III", a boat whose main function is carrying tourists on marine wildlife cruises around Shetland. She is to be depicted against a backdrop of the cliffs of Noss, which support one of the largest seabird colonies in Britain. I spent yesterday evening wrapping the recently-completed artwork of the Fraserburgh fishing boat "Karen Ann II" (above) entering her home port. I intend to despatch it by Royal Mail Special Delivery tomorrow morning.

Shetland's world-renowned Up-Helly-A' festival took place on Tuesday, in strangely unfamiliar damp conditions, as snow and ice seem to have been the norm for this winter's weather, although in reality the freeze-up lasted just four weeks from mid-December. I was not involved in the celebrations (I rarely am), but, on Wednesday evening, I did have a couple of pints with an old friend who came up for the occasion, in the Marlex (the local sobriquet for the Douglas Arms). This was probably the first time I had darkened the door of that establishment in five years. I enjoyed my lager there and, while my friend went across the road to the Guizer's Hop in the Legion, I hopped it back home. My social life is as exciting as ever - I hope yours is more inspiring!

Wish me luck for tomorrow.