Sunday's spotlight - wagons roll

By guest blogger Pete

Many years ago when we lived in Chesterfield I had a treasurer who not only kept the books wonderfully well but also devoted a great deal of time to raising money. Most of the money she raised wasn't for us but for a special enterprise we ran each year.

Our parish was in a deprived part of town where employment was low and poverty fairly common. Each year we used to raise sufficient cash to take 60 or so teenagers away for a two week holiday during their summer school break. 30 girls went to a camp somewhere in the U.K. and 30 boys went camping on the Continent (Europe). We never went to the same place twice. Have you ever taken 30 teenage boys camping? It was quite an adventure and certain single adults gave up their summer holidays to help with one of the two camps. We paid for absolutely everything during those two weeks, except for the children's spending money (and I have an idea that Mary, the treasurer,used to slip some spending money to certain of the teenagers).


One of the ways in which money was raised was through a weekly BIngo session for adults. Of course, at half time we had a break for refreshments. It was at one of these Bigo Sessions that I was introduced to the wonders of "Wagon Wheels". If you've never had a "Wagon Wheel" then don't break your abstinence. They're back on the market again so when Lent comes or if you're feeling adventurous then give them a go.


The first thing I have against "Wagon Wheels" is that they are so LARGE. Inside there is a kind of mushy biscuit surrounded by a gooey white substance, all encased in this "chocolate tasting" outside. I wonder why they put a chocolate tasting outside and not the real thing! You've been warned.


I've enclose a scan of the painting I am working on and which I showed you last week. I've made some progress. I may have mentioned in last week's blog that the drying time had a good effect on the questionable area in the sky so I decided to continue with the rest of the painting. The setting is Lincoln's Castle Square. just outside Exchequer Gate and the Cathedral looking towards the Castle entrance. I haven't really got to the stage yet where I'm wondering what the people in the Square are doing although I suspect that one of them is asking the stall holder if he has any free samples!!


Remember "Wagon Wheels"! Go on! Try one"

Painting and uncertainty

By guest blogger Pete.

I have finished the painting of Lincoln Cathedral that I used as an illustration two or three blogs ago. I think that I mentioned then that I intended to paint in only the Cathedral and to leave the rest of the painting as an ink outline. This I have managed to do. Comments and/or critiques will be welcome. Please use the "comments" from the blog.


I also spoke about how uncertainty over the outcome governs a painting throughout the stages up to completion. I had prepared an outline for a painting of Lincoln's Castle Square - found in uphill Lincoln between the Cathedral and the Castle. Unfortunately once I had painted in the sky disaster struck. Now I am left with a ugly blotch in the top left hand corner. Drying has lessened the effect but I can't think of a way to repair it. I think I've damaged the surface of the paper whilst attempting to blot in the clouds with a soft tissue. If anyone reading this has ideas on how to repair this then I would be extremely grateful if you would contact me through the "comments".


The Lincoln Cathedral painting is to be my wife's Christmas card so don't tell her about it!!!!!!!!!!!!


Happy whatever-it-is-that-you-enjoy-and-gives-you-pleasure.

Sunday's spotlight - International Photo Walk

By guest blogger Pete

For a number of years now, Napp (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) has organised an international photo walk. Why the title has the word "professional" in it I don't know. Members number both professional and amateurs. I was a member until some 2 years ago but left because the members area became swamped with Adobe Lightroom rather than Adobe Photoshop. But if you are interested in photography (and haven't yet done so) you can have a look at what sort of things they get up to by logging onto photoshopusertv.com. But I deviate from my first sentence and must return to that.

The photo walk involves that, on a certain day, people from cities, town, villages and hamlets throughout the world go for a walk and take photos. Easy as that! The best photo from each participating group is then sent off to NAPP and the winners of the competition are awarded with some really good prizes.


I belong to a group called "Lincoln Photo Nomads". Membership is open to all and activities are arranged very competently by Richard, who founded what he refers to as "the most unorganised group of photographers ever". However, Lincoln Photo Nomads ended up as the Lincoln representatives for this competition and last Sunday some 40 or so members met together at the "Wig and Mitre" pub before setting out on the walk. The Wig and Mitre" serve a very good and reasonably priced cup of coffee - the pub is situated at the top of Steep Hill (next to Brown's Pie Shop), if you're ever in uphill Lincoln and fancy a coffee.


Anyway, after an initial briefing, we all separate and go our own ways for the photo walk. If we went as a group we fear that all the photographs would be dominated by studies of photographers taking photos of photographers taking photos of photographers taking photos, etc.

It's not easy to be original in your own city. In Lincoln we have many historical and attractive buildings but they've all been photographed by so many folk that's it's difficult to find an angle that hasn't been used before.


This year I made my way to Lincoln Castle. CCs have a reduced entrance fee so an investment of £2.70 seems potentially to be good value. "CCs", by the way, stands for Crabby Crinklies - not that I'm at all crabby and I haven't got a wrinkle or even a "crinkle". It was one of those days when the weather couldn't make up its mind - bright one minute an overcast the next.

I wasn't terribly thrilled with any of my photos so I decided that rather than send them in their original form I would doctor them up a little and see what results. I'll let you know when I'll be off to the States to collect all my prizes!


Lincoln is in chaos at the present moment.It's the height of the tourist season so the city fathers have decided that it's the ideal time to have the main arterial road into the city dug up. What is this essential work that JUST has to be done? Replace pedestrian road crossing lights and add some 25 yards of beige colouring on the asphalt. It took ten days to complete the first one an now we're well into the second. For anyone intending to visit Lincoln then let it be known that the High Street SHOULD be clear and open again by the end of November unless.....................


Keep on trying to get into Lincoln -- surprisingly, it is worth the struggle."

Editor's Note:
Hot off the Press.........Pete just found out that his photo - the first one shown here of Lincoln Cathedral, won the Photo Nomads competition and his photo now goes through to the final in the US! You can see it announced on the Photo Nomads blog here. Well done dad!