BIRTHDAY FILING CABINET!

I turned 62 summers (and a few hard winters, especially last one!) on Friday - not really an occasion for celebration, merely a reminder of the ever-swifter passage of time. I received a card depicting a young lady (who, I am sad to say, just looked impractically dressed as far as I am concerned nowadays) from my brother, and more circumspect ones from my mother, sisters and one of my many nieces. On the morning of this momentous day, I got soaked on my way back from Alex Morrisons shop, where I'd dutifully gone to buy my Shetland Times, and found myself wondering, having read it, if it was worth getting wet for! I found an email from Philips in my inbox, offering me their felicitations and £10 off any purchase over £100 from their products range. This was sweet of them, but I didn't take them up on it, and duly got on with my scheduled tasks for the day, more or less as planned. As I recall, this went rather well that day.

The big birthday present had arrived (rather presumptuously!) earlier in the week, in the form of a 3-drawer filing cabinet! My family have always given practical presents, and they knew that I had been considering the acquisition of such an item for some time. I had been reluctant to pay the substantial sums of money which such a piece of furniture (in a decent finish) would cost to be delivered to me, but I was getting round to paying it anyway, when this timely present arrived. I'm very grateful, yet again, to my family, who have been so supportive over the years.

Support has been the watchword between us, especially over the last few years. We have formed ourselves into a fairly efficient unit, each of us ready to slot him/herself, at a moment's notice, into whatever role or function might be demanded of us by whichever situation. This was particularly true of some of the scenarios which faced us during the snows of last winter. Looking back, there was a providential element to some of the "support solutions" which presented themselves at crisis points. For instance, the schools were closed on the day that a foot of snow needed to be cleared from the "Brugarth Brae" before my mother, due back from a respite care stay (which could not be extended) at the Fernlea Centre in Whalsay, could gain access to her home. The school closure meant that a team of fit nephews, nieces, grand-nephews and grand-nieces were available, and the clearance, which would have been impossible for me on my own, was done in an hour, and another serious problem was solved (and a lot of fun had in the process!).

But I have reflectively digressed from the subject of this post, which is my birthday on Friday. The best present I could possibly receive is for everyone around me to keep well for another year. That, and a few more painting commissions, would mean another happy return of the day in 2011. By then, I'd also hope to have next year's Catterline exhibition in an advanced stage of completion, and my new state-of-the-art website upgrade operational. But that, as they say, is another story.

COMPOOGLING?

Could I have invented a new buzzword here - or has someone else stolen my thunder and beaten me to it with this magnificent addition to the internet lexicon? It is a term for the behaviour of someone like me who, when once started on a search for a particular item on the web, carries on with the search for hours on end until either the search has come to its end, the phone or doorbell has rung, or nature has intervened, his compulsion/obsession having taken the whole exercise over.

The other week, I compoogled "Filing Cabinets", a singularly unsuccessful exercise. I spent a whole afternoon, which would have been better spent doing something more useful, discovering that the kind of cabinet I need doesn't exist, and anything approaching it is way beyond my means. This morning, it was "Small Display Units Suitable for Postcards". I found many items which would have been ideal for my purpose, but there was always a snag - a blip in the ointment (sic!), as I once heard a well-known female weather presenter (and metaphor-mixer!) describing it on a renowned television breakfast news programme. On that occasion, a strange image presented itself to me, of a fly appearing, mysteriously and unaccountably, on a radar screen in a parallel universe somewhere!

Anyway, to return to my own universe, which, far from being parallel, consists mainly of ever-decreasing circles, I came across the usual pitfalls in my search for small display units. One firm doesn't deliver to destinations outwith mainland UK (because they can't be bothered to find out how to do it - I'd be quite willing to pay an extra charge for this service). Another had a fault on its online registration/catalogue request form. Every time I pressed "Submit", it came up with the message "You have selected an 'Other' - please specify", despite the fact that I had done no such thing. There's probably someone at "Display Units 'R Us" who's wondering why they haven't had any requests or registrations lately. Come to think of it, how many businesses are going down the tubes because of such flies in their online ointment? Is mine one of them? The sooner I get my website upgraded the better!

Strange how many issues can arise out of a Google search which, in this case, stemmed from an inadequate postcard display at my stall at the Toll Clock Centre in Lerwick yesterday. I did OK, by the way, but not spectacularly well. I sold a few prints and postcards (out of a cardboard box!), met some old friends and made some interesting new ones, and had some good repartee with my fellow stall-holders. The day passed quite quickly. My next set-up will probably be in the run-up to Christmas, and I'd like to have a better presentation unit for my postcards (and maybe Christmas cards!) by then........

CABINETS AND EASELS

My sister Thelma and I headed, through the gloom of yesterday morning, to the Salvation Army's Lerwick headquarters on the North Road, having been attracted by their Shetland Times advertisement of a sale of office equipment in general and filing cabinets in particular (I have, of late, developed a need for such an item of furniture). However, we arrived too late to secure one of the only decent ones on offer, and all that was left was a couple of rather grotty grey ones, one of which I eventually decided to buy.

I'd forgotten how heavy a 4-drawer metal filing cabinet is, and I needed the muscle-power of the taxi-driver (who had arrived to provide the transport for the cumbersome object), to get the thing manhandled to street-level. Fortunately, there was a trolley there to help us. It was only when we began to move the thing that I realised just how rough it was. The bottom was rusted through, and had obviously been kicked violently a few times by dissatisfied staff and clients of the firm at whose premises the unfortunate object had been previously situated. Anyway, it was duly bundled into the back of the six-seater and, on climbing into the front passenger seat, I gave the instruction to proceed to the town dump at Rova Head with it. I had decided that it wasn't worth the effort of negotiating the revolting thing up the stairs to my flat. I'd helped the cause of the Salvation Army, and it was time to move on. I'll get a better filing cabinet somewhere else - soon.

I had better luck with another furniture acquisition this week. I have recently (see last week's post) secured a commission for a larger painting, and I decided that I wouldn't be able to work satisfactorily on the bigger work by my usual "flat" method. So I chose myself an easel from the vast selection available from Jackson's Art Supplies. These varied in price from under fifty to thousands of pounds; I opted for one of Jackson's own brand products at a mere £65, and I am well pleased with what arrived through my door on Friday. It seems much more stable than the ones I used to pursue round the room in a strange danse macabre in the old art college days. I have explained, in a much earlier post, how I used to put my left arm behind the easel (to steady it), as I belaboured the canvas with the brush in my right hand. This had the effect of moving the easel slowly forwards, and resulted in the weird dance, as described. The new easel has a square base, a much better modus operandi, and should prove much more suitable for my type of "action painting". Look out for a post next week, entitled "Jim test-drives the Jackson's Midi-H-frame Studio Academy Easel!"

The canvas which is to be first onto the easel is to be re-delivered tomorrow. I was out when a previous delivery attempt was made on Friday - this will be the third attempt by the suppliers to furnish me with a usable canvas, the previous two having arrived holed below the waterline and in a sinking condition, so to speak! I have my fingers crossed for the condition of the one which is arriving tomorrow.

Progress on the artworks which are currently "on the stocks" has been steady and unspectacular, and I hope that this is maintained during the next week. I'll let you know when I have any further news. Have a nice week!