First of all, apologies for the LONG wait for this ‘written piece’. There’s been/& still is a global pandemic, & now a Russian-Ukrainian war, since my last full-blown blog (21st May 2019, apparently). I have no excuses, as there was plenty of time to write a few, & a lot of people did. However, now the wait is over, I delve into the murky world of blogging – or do I?
Many years ago, when I was still a humble art student at Hull Regional College Of Art & Design (early 1970’s), besides the practical-side of the course, there was the WRITTEN-SIDE, otherwise known as ‘Art History’.

Now, I’ve never really been a literary person, so I tended to shy away from such activities, preferring the hands-on approach to work in the studio. But, it was nigh-on impossible to dodge these duties on the degree course, as essays had to be handed-in each term (which went towards the ‘continual assessment’ approach of the course). I decided to tackle this by writing about why I COULDN’T write about the subject(s) in hand. This might seem like an odd approach to the written work, but I persevered with this strategy until I was found out. The work kept coming back to me with notes like, ‘You are not addressing the issue’, & ‘Why?’. I remember at school, using a very similar approach to English Literature & History essays. English Language proved ‘easier’ for me, as I could interpret the subject, & turn it into a sci-fi (or dream sequence) piece. The more Surreal, the better. I now realise that it doesn’t always work like that in later educational endeavours, unfortunately. Sigh… Which brings me back to this blog, ‘Why I’ll Never Be A Blogger’.

For the same reason at art college & school, I’m still trying to evade/avoid/manipulate words to explain, or write about, something else – apart from songs, I suppose, although I do like them to be a bit abstract. Habits obviously die hard (with a vengeance?) – would Bruce Willis be prode of me? Doubtful. I write in a diary every day. Maybe I outwrite myself when it comes to writing (if such a task were possible)? Yes, I’m only writing a diary for myself, so it’s probably easier than this protracted waffle. But one day, somebody else will, perhaps, read them, & puzzle over what on earth it’s all about. However,when you’re presenting something to the world (& that does sound rather over-dramatic, pompous even), you want it to come over as informative & interesting…& hopefullly entertaining. In other words, full of my personality (forget ‘the wit’), & yet giving YOU LOT OUT THERE something of value. Of course, I’ve already failed in that, because all that you’ve learnt is that I can write about why I can’t write about something. So that’s another few minutes of your life that you won’t be getting back! I suppose the same could be said of me.

To finish with, & to try & make reading all of this worthwhile, here’s a photo of an ornamental wall mask (that wards off evil spirits) I’ve recently renovated.

Was it all woth it? – not the mask. This. Hmm? Until the next blog, some time in the future!…