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Jim sat next to me on a bench.  He rolled some cigarettes and I drew the street. The CCTV camera watching us. We spoke a little, but fell silent, each getting on with their job. A while later he told me he was off to the bookies, then the pub. He left. I finished my drawing.

Today was the first day of drawing proper. I sat on the pavement in Fintry drawing the junction, while people walked past and some stopped to ask what I was doing. I met Ron who lived in the house behind where I was sitting and we had a chat. A few minutes later he came back out to show me some of his paintings and then a wee bit later invited me in for a cup of tea. I  had a lovely time with Ron and his wife Iris , thanks to them for their kindness and conversation. Oh and a caramel log …. So here is my first preliminary sketch and with his permission Rons paintings .

Prunus Jabbie

Planting hawthorn along the ghost road.

         

The sun has got its hat on,

protecting baldie heids.

A book as a present,

grass cutting in stripes.

Dean Martin sing-a-long,

mind, only efter you’ve hud a few….

Toes in the ice cold burnie water, slipping on weedy rocks,

hauling out the fire extinguishers.

The woman from Michelin said when the burn was in flood she would watch patio furniture float past.

Eating chocolate mini rolls in the mini bus.

Midnight walks in the hills,

the planting of trees.

Bangin’ oor heids the ‘gether trying tae dig the same hole –

Abbot and Costello….

Leaning on spades,

and lopping of branches,

the losing of keys, again…

Talk of a barbeque – the tatties, burgers,

marshmallows.

It wuz a guid laugh the day.

Writing Alistair on a wee scrap of paper so I dinnae forget…..?

Wheelbarrow races,

naturist walking (naw by eeny o’ us ken. )

And tea.

And a jaffa cake, or jammie or hob nob……or………

Sketches from this mornings walk in Fintry and Whitfield. When the Fintry housing scheme was being built all the street names were prefixed with Fin. So there is a Finlaggan Terrace, Finlarig Place, Findale Street, Finavon Place, Finedon terrace, Fintry Gardens, Findcastle Terrace etc…..

A sketch from my Monday morning walk along Balunie Drive.

Happyhillock Road.

A start to a collection of drawings I will be making about the communities that connect to the burn.

 

 

A pale pink sash to the morning

wraps itself against a tight fitting

hip skimming

grey sky.

 

 

Sitting,

trembling,

holding the heart of a songbird in my hand,

violet,

blue,

we sing.