Art For Art's Sake

Selfies have taken over the world. We've become Selfie-obsessed. A glance through Twitter or Instagram and you can see that everybody is doing it. From Kim Kadashian's backside to Obama and Cameron at Mandela's funeral: the obsession with not just taking pictures of ourselves, but putting them out there for others to see and judge, has become a worldwide phenomenon. In 2013 "selfie" was the Oxford English Dictionary's word of the year. But is this such a 21st Century craze? Haven't people be doing this for generations? Ok, so during the Renaissance they didn't have mobile phones and the Twittersphere but there was a clear fashion for artists to paint self-portraits. As mirrors became more prevalent so, it would appear, did human vanity and our need to capture our image for others to admire. 

Which leads me very nicely on to my next challenge: Do a self-portrait. To be honest with you I'm not really sure why I put this one on the list. I think I thought it would be good to have an "art" one on there to ensure some diverse tasks but why I chose a self-portrait and not a landscape I have no idea. Maybe I'm just as selfie-obsessed as celebrities.

Now I should state for the record here that I have never been much of an artist. Granted I did come third in my 3rd year art exam when I drew a log metamorphosing into a toilet roll (log>bog roll) but that was as much about other people not preparing as my capabilities. I didn't do GCSE art, I've never taken art classes yet I've always believed I could be ok if I applied myself and had good tuition. Thankfully for me that's exactly what happened on this challenge. Step forward my long time pal, and art teacher extraordinaire, Maddy Burt. 

Maddy very kindly offered to teach me how I could achieve my self portrait and even provided all the equipment too. Unlike me Maddy is an amazing artist - check out her work here: http://www.madeleineburt.com/ she'd asked me to send her a high res. photo of myself and we then did a bit of simple photoshop wizardry with it. By putting a simple artistic filter on the photo we turned the photo on the left into the image on the right. This was printed out to exactly the right size to fit.

As you can see, I was very excited!
The next stage was prepping. Maddy had covered a piece of wood with calico (which is a finer version of canvas). We then placed carbon paper, upside down, on the frame which we taped to the back. On top of this we taped the picture.

 







The next step was to trace, with a biro, over all the lines in the picture.

Once this is complete and you've removed the picture and the carbon paper, you are left with the outline of all the colour blocks so now the fun can really begin as it's time to paint! Maddy showed me how to make a wet palette using a tray, dampened kitchen roll and greaseproof paper which not only keeps the paint moist but means that if you need to pause you can cover them, pop them in the fridge and continue later without having wasted your paints. 

So armed with my new brushes and palette I got to work.

Using the picture for reference I began painting the colour blocks in. Really quickly you can see the painting develop. It's a bit like paint by numbers and anyone with the ability to paint inside a line can achieve results. What's more if you make a mistake or decide you don't like a colour you can simply paint over it and try again.

And before you know it, you've achieved what you never thought was possible - A pretty darn good self-portrait of yourself!

I don't know about you but I think that's pretty awesome though I say so myself - considering it involved very little skill or experience I think this is amazing - you should have a go yourself!

The picture has now been framed (Maddy even provided that - she's that brilliant!) and hung up on my wall. 

 So next time you think about taking a selfie why not take it one step further and create your own self-portrait instead? If I can do it - anyone can! Now what shall I paint next?

Keep on Walkin'

I thought it was about to time to give an update on my walk round the Cheshire ring. If you've not read earlier posts it's about 100 miles of canal path around Manchester and Cheshire. I'm not doing it all in one go but in little bursts. The first stretch was from Manchester down to Runcorn along the Bridgewater Canal but now I have reached the Trent and Mersey Canal. Today's section was from Barnton Tunnel to Wincham near Northwich. There are 5 tunnels on this canal and this was my third. You can't actually walk through them as they were built for one way traffic and for boats alone. But a tow path over the top provides a pleasant woodland stroll. If you are in a boat you work on a strict timetable so for example between o'clock and 20 past boats go up through the tunnel and between half past and ten to they travel in the pther direction. 

I walked most of today's journey with a heron - well that's not strictly true but every time I got near him he flew on to show me the way. Which was kind but unnecessary as the aren't many junctions on a canal. 

Being January it's somewhat cold and rainy and as such the path is mud central. In one stretch a tree had fallen and covered the path but climbing over this was not my biggest challenge. Can you spot the difference between my feet and work out the problem:

Maybe this picture will help:

Yes, as I was walking I suddenly felt like I was limping and when I looked back I found the lower half of my shoe in the mud about 10 metres back. Fortunately I had some emergency shoes with me as my boots are prone to giving me blisters but this considerably slowed down my progress - trainers just don't cope as well with mud. 

One of the landmarks I passed was the Anderton Boat Lift. In the days when people transported everything via the canal network (1875 to be precise) people searched for a way of connecting the canal with the nearby River Weaver which lies about 50 feet below. A clever engineer (Edwin Clark) came  up with the boat lift which is a nifty idea for transporting boats up or down between the waterways. Essentially there are two containers of water; when a boat enters one of these from the canal it becomes heavier and the container (and boat) moves down to the river level whilst the other container, due to the counter balance system, rises back up to the canal. By emptying water out and refilling you don't even need another boat - just a a clever hydraulic system that does it all for you. Happily the boat lift has been restored in recent years and complete with visitors centre makes an interesting afternoon out. http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/Anderton-boat-lift

In the back of shot you can also see some of the salt works that surround this part of the country. If you've ever been behind the salt spreader and wondered where all the salt comes from well chances are it was from one of these places - there's even a salt museum. It's where every well "seasoned" traveller visits. (Sorry!) 

I still have about 2/3 of the way to go on the walk but I've worked out that if I can do at least 8.5 miles each month I'll get there. So four more miles were done today. Co-walkers are always welcome to join me (especially if you have a car so that we can do the car at both ends of the journey trick and save me having to walk back on myself) - the journey seems much shorter with company.

Now I just need to buy myself some new boots!

The Final Countdown

Grab a party popper, pop a noise blower in your mouth for 2014 is upon us. Yes, I can finally declare that this year I will turn 40. The big 4-0. Two Score years. From September people will start saying horrific things such as "Not long til you're 50 now!". I can barely contain myself.

I'm actually ok about turning 40 though, I think this merry dance of challenges is preparing me well for the event. It's like a 2 year prelude. If you tell yourself enough times that it's on its way then eventually you get used to it I suppose. 

I'm not ready to hear the jokes about being 50 yet though.

And so the final countdown begins. The last 8 and a bit months of my 40b440 journey. Obviously by now I should be 2/3 of the way through the list and yet a simple glance will show a lot more black than red still meaning that I'm a fair way off that target. So it means it's time to up my game and get focused. I need to get dates in the diary and plan some of the biggies still on the list... and do a whole lot of walking of the Cheshire Ring.  

So today I cross off not one but two more from the 40. Firstly a couple of months ago I wrote some content for TV which was broadcast in the Autumn. Here are a couple of screengrab highlights:

I have a fun job!

Secondly I have been giving a lot of thought lately into how I could "Leave my mark". I love the vagueness of this challenge as it provides a lot of scope however the more I thought about it the more I was concerned that I could end up with a night in the cells. I'm fundamentally opposed to graffiti and despite asking a couple of people to tattoo my face on their bodies no one was buying into that option either. I considered seeing whether I might be able to persuade someone to dedicate a book or an album to me but that seemed unlikely and let's face it I don't have the time to write my own tome of wisdom as I'm too busy with my challenges. I've had people suggest that this blog is a way of leaving my mark but I fancy being a bit more literal (and silly). But today I had a mini brainwave about how to leave my mark... in a small way at least.

Throughout the offices that I work in are many funkily decorated walls. Some are donned with giant maps which feature the very road that I live on... so I may just have made an addition to one of these walls:

It's pretty subtle and in theory could be peeled off again but hopefully this will stand the test of time and I will leave my mark on my workplace. Ok, so it's no grand political gesture or great work of literature but face it... if you saw it, when you were in a dull meeting, it would make you smile wouldn't it? And what better way to leave your mark than through laughter? 

Sailing on the Celebrity Seas

After last week's celeb filled post it won't surprise you to find out that today I'm serving up another portion of my brushes with fame. When I awoke this morning at 7.30 I wasn't aware I would be attempting another challenge but as I lay in bed reading Facebook on my phone (Ah, modern life!) I was excited to discover that the one and only Sir Ben Ainslie (Olympic Sailor, handsome man and number 40 on the challenge list) would be at my place of work in less than an hour. Although I wasn't due to be in for several hours I leapt out of bed (well limped as I often have the morning aches of someone about to turn 40) and as soon as I was showered drove to work. 

After a quick chat with a friend in the know (Thanks Kimberly) I located where in the building he was and headed down to see if I could complete another challenge by meeting Big Ben. I spotted him immediately and positioned myself on a chair near the kitchen where I could spy from afar whilst I built up courage to talk to him.

Now the first thing you need to know about me is that I have a problem with facial recognition. There's a proper name for it - Prosopagnosia. You're probably thinking now, "yeah, yeah, we all have problems with names and faces - you don't have prosopagnosia!" But let me tell you about a few occasions in my past and then you might think differently:

1) I have introduced myself to the same person on 4 separate occasions - It would have been 5 but a friend stepped in and prevented another embarrassing situation.

2) A couple of weeks ago I introduced myself to someone I consider a friend who I see regularly and know reasonably well... just because she was wearing glasses.

3) I taught identical twins for a good 2 months before realising I had identical twins in the class (they only sat one seat away from each other yet I didn't spot any resemblance). 

4) Recently a chap chatted to me and I did my usual covering up pretending I knew who he was. He gave me some odd looks at my banal chit chat. I had no idea who he was. It took nearly 24 hours for me to work out he was a chap I'd had a big crush on only a few months ago. 

I could tell you plenty more of these stories but you're probably getting the picture. So whilst I thought I was looking at Sir Ben I couldn't be entirely sure as he could just have been any handsome man of about the right age. Hence when he walked towards me all I could manage was to stare with a slightly desperate look in my eyes as I tried to get my brain to process whether this really was the man I'd had as my computer wallpaper during the Olympics. As he got closer...he smiled. Whoever this man was he was super gorgeous and all I could do was smile back. "Hi" he said. It was like the first meeting in a Mills and Boons novel. "Hi" I replied, my heart fluttering slightly as I searched for another word. He walked passed. 

I'm lucky in my job that I get to meet some famous folk. I don't normally get star struck, in fact I'm usually happy to insult them like a close friend within minutes of meeting them but suddenly I was gripped with a mix of fame-fear and prosopagnosia. Had I just met (albeit very briefly) my sporting hero? Or have I just had a somewhat awkward encounter with a complete random stranger? Thankfully a kindly looking woman walked past moments later looking friendly and giving me a conspiratorial smile - I took my chance and said "That is Ben Ainslie in the kitchen isn't it?". Happily for once I'd got it right and I had indeed achieved (albeit very briefly) another challenge. 

So with confirmation I tried to steal myself to have a better meeting. As Ben made himself a cuppa I concentrated on building up my courage and thinking of something non-idiotic to say. I thought I'd keep it casual but with flattery perhaps "Hi Ben, just wanted to say huge Congrats for the Americas Cup - that was incredible!". I stood up, walked confidently towards him; engaged eye contact; smiled; he smiled a killer smile back before starting to walk in the other direction! 

I got some water and returned to my chair which just happened to be next to where he was recording another interview. I tried to do a sneaky pic (which I'll add later) but as you'll see it came out rather blurred due to my sudden arm movement and embarrassment as I'd forgotten how loud the camera sound is when I take a pic.

I contemplated waiting and going back for a third attempt but decided that he may issue a restraining order if I did so retreated, smiling, to my desk instead. 

Ok, so as celeb anecdote go this is not going to be up there with when my mate Max met Nicole Kidman in a service station toilet but the point is that I did (albeit very briefly) meet the man. Challenge completed!

If you want to see another challenge completed make sure you're watching CBBC at 0830 this Saturday 26th October. More on that next week. 

Oh, and if I ever look at you weirdly...it might be worth reminding me who you are!

Deadly 40

If you have a nine year old or you're really into nature documentaries you'll know exactly who Steve Backshall is. Otherwise you might be wondering who the Dickens he is. He's best known as the presenter of programmes such as Deadly 60 where he tries to get foolishly close to the world's most deadly animals and explain just why these creatures are so fearsome that no one in their right mind should go as close to them as he currently is. Picture Steve Irwin but British, more muscly and... well, alive. 

If you want to bump into Stevie B. then your best bet is to either hang around near a pit of venomous snakes in a tropical rainforest or work somewhere he might visit when he needs to promote his latest show. I'm not a fan of slithering fanged critters but thankfully I fall into the other camp so today after more than a year of hoping that he'd pop in, my timing was right and I got to pop the question.

No, not that question. Contrary to popular belief whilst I appreciate his manly form he's not really my cup of tea. My question to him was a much more random one. I wanted to know whether he went to Collingwood School.

I grew up in the town of Camberley in Surrey. We have three secondary schools. Clearly I went to the superior one: Tomlinscote. Then there's Collingwood whose alumni includes the 80s boy band Bros. And then there's another school that's not worth mentioning! 

I'm not sure why, but I read somewhere that Steve was another Collingwood alumni and so I wanted to ask him whether he did indeed attend my rival school. As soon as we had finished filming I was ushered in to meet the big guy. So is he in the same category as Matt and Luke Goss (and the other bloke)? You bet your bottle topped shoes he is! Steve confirmed that he did attend there and that he's a year older than I am (I'm happy to say that he thought I was much younger). He made the typical comments about my yellow socks (This was part of my school uniform... I don't wear them now) but I must say that I was just relieved that he did indeed go to the school as the conversation would have been somewhat shorter and more awkward if he'd replied "Collingwhat?". 

So here's the all important pic to show you Steve and myself - lets hope that he hasn't just ticked off another of his Deadly 60 after meeting me!

Roman Holiday

So you may have noticed that there hasn't been much posting of late. I've now passed the halfway mark in my challenge and I'm far from half way through the list. So I have some serious catching up to do, well Rome may not have been built in a day but I have at least managed to achieve 2 more challenges whilst having my little Roman holiday.

Anyone who has been to Rome will know all about the Trevi Fountain. The theory goes that if you throw a coin in then you'll one day return to Rome. As this was my first trip to the Latin capital I obviously wanted to book my return ticket and as they say "When in Rome"..! So with the smallest coin possible (no point in wasting a lot of money on a superstition) I joined the throngs of tourists in the tiny square, that is dominated by the giant fountain. Here's the picture story of me and my coin... consider it a before/during and after shot. (I'm the one in the middle with the grey top - not the photobombing teen in front!)

Job done! But let's not leave it there - as regular readers will know over the last year I have done the Salsa in Berlin:

and hand jived in Copenhagen:

So as I was in another capital city I clearly wasn't going to miss this opportunity, thanks to my friend Sally for joining me with this one - here we are doing the Charleston in Piazza Navona in Rome.

I may be deserving a "dance disaster" from Craig Revel Horwood but this now completes the "Do 3 different dances in 3 capital cities". I've actually rather enjoyed this one so may try and continue this in future capitals. I just wish I thought to put a hat down first as I might have been able to fund some of the next journey!

The Rise and Fall of 40B440

There are some things rarer than diamonds. Pale women in Essex; Men who admit that they watch America's Next Top Model and having a week off work in the UK when the sun is shining all week. Astonishingly the latter is exactly what I was blessed with this week so in true British celebratory style I stayed inside most of the week complaining it was too hot. However, I did manage to knock off another few miles of my Cheshire Ring walk (Stockton Heath to Dutton) and thanks to the glorious weather, combined with me actually remembering to water my plants, I am pleased to say that this is the current sight in my balcony box:

Not bad eh?! When I failed the "Grow something" task back in the Spring it was due to a mixture of my neglect and the weather getting the better of me but this time both myself and Mother Nature have learned our lessons and the results are pretty fantastic. I'd like to say that all four of the plants in the box are doing that well but let's just focus on the positives for now!

So my plants are clearly the rise in this post title, having risen triumphantly from seeds into flowers but what is the fall? Well, at this very moment, in my oven, is my first attempt at a souffle. I've never attempted one before - generally my cooking exploits reach as far as the jars of sauce in the cupboard but I thought I'd see if I could achieve another seemingly impossible task by "Successfully cooking a souffle". Now "successful" is a very subjective word. One parents idea of success for their child maybe that they've performed their first violin recital at the Royal Festival Hall aged 6 whereas for another parent it would be that Diddums hasn't stabbed anyone today with a sharp instrument. Who is really to say what success is? Well as it's my blog I suppose that would be me so I hereby declare that for a souffle to be deemed a success it has to achieve the following:

1) Look like a souffle
2) Not be burned
3) Be edible (not make anyone vomit)
4) Not collapse in on itself as it's brought out of the oven.

So I carefully chose a recipe for a cheese souffle from the interweb and purchased my ingredients and put off attempting the task until the last afternoon of my holiday but finally I've had a go. So does it fulfill the brief? Here's the picture of the one from the website (which clearly isn't done following the recipe as it uses a different type of dish for starters):

And here's the picture of the one I've just made:

Er....Well it's not burnt. 

I've not tried it yet to know if it's edible but I'll keep you posted on that one.

It's not collapsed after coming out of the oven...but it hasn't really risen much either.

Whether it looks like a souffle though... I'm less sure.

What do you think? Please comment below (rather than on Facebook) - just state YES if you think I've achieved a "successful souffle" or NO if you think I need to go back to the books and start again another day. Plus if you have any handy tips or recipes that might help feel free to share those too. I'll leave it until the 19th July to let you vote whether I can cross this off yet. The majority decision will be final and I will abide by your decision 40b440ers. I fear I may know the answer already!

As they say on Big Brother: You Decide!