Nanny Pots

It's been a while between blogs and I've gone round in circles about how to approach this. I thought about just not mentioning it, battling between 'staying professional' (whatever that means) and being honest. My time here in Slovakia has a had a giant hole in it and last week I had to leave my post here as Bridge Guard to fly home for my Nanny's funeral.

So this post is just for her, the funniest, most stubborn, contrary, generous, loveable pain in the backside you ever could meet. When I told her I was coming to Slovakia, she looked at me with 'that look' and turned me around to look at my back, she said, "what's at the back of ye!?" Another chinese whispers moment, it makes no sense whatsoever but we laughed for about 5 minutes. She never did know where I was going, just that I was going away again.


Nanny stuff...

Fish and Chips

TJ's, London Road, Liverpool

Aldi, didn't matter which one but mainly the one on County Rd, Liverpool

Nanny heaven (even though sometimes she swore to me she'd never even been!)

another favourite

London Road. Liverpool

Scouse

The Bridge Guard - Part Five - Budapest

My head is exploding with things to say as so much seems to be going on so I may go back to one of my favourite blogging tools...the list!

But, before the list I have to report immediately a major shift in my personal psyche. I'd say around a week ago or more - I'm losing track of time and days - this is a good sign with me - anyway, I felt this change. It was like I suddenly stopped watching life here and became part of it. I stopped being an observer of other peoples lives. I realised this when I stopped looking in my diary to see who or what was coming up that filled portions of the day. I stopped watching other people do their 'everyday' and started doing my own. This is hard to explain, but I suppose I stopped being 'aware' of myself...and as soon as that happened the work started. The fun really started with new friends Silvia and Zuzi and I happily became all ravelled up in my new Sturovo life. Such as...

- weekends at The Green Pub

- a first trip to a local outdoor pool where you sit outside in hot water in the night time and don't freeze to death, I want one.

- trips to Billa

- trips to Kaleidoskop Has 

- trips to Tesco in Esztergom and paint shops with Bogi

- Bogi and her husband actually thinking I would eat a chickens stomach

- trips to Lidl

- trips to the other Billa, the one near Lidl, not the one in town

- Liverpool matches in the pub

- trips to  more various places looking for face paint

- halloween zumba class

- halloween Rick Astley mask

- school visits to the studio and great ideas

- long talks about writing letters to Rick Astley

- long walks along the Danube

- tons of cardboard from Joseph's factory

- making a massive pencil with some lead, bamboo sticks and masking tape

- making a massive drawing all over the walls in the 'middle room' of the Bridge Guard residence, (obviously I'll be leaving the residence as I found it afterwards...)

- making cardboard sections for the drawing and loving with all my heart having a studio where I live that is warm and bright and looks out onto trees

- glueing cardboard together with some kind of corn glue that doesn't stink which is grand

- being told on many occasions that I don't speak 'proper' English

- realising I have a mailbox outside the residence

- discovering Budapest and falling in love with place

- meeting Hanneke, Santa's wife and curator of the Bridge Guard in their amazing apartment in Budapest

Have I mentioned Budapest yet???

My Aunty and Uncle (the one's you met in the last blog) had said that I'd love Budapest and everyone I know who's been loved it (well apart from one friend, there's always one!) But I wasn't expecting to absolutely love it! My initial reaction getting out at Nyugati train station was that it reminded me of Manhattan, anyone that knows me knows what a soft spot I have for that place, for those that don't, I lived there when I was a youth for awhile and this is probably the highest compliment I can pay Budapest. The wide avenues, some with trees and big old mansions, the unique shops, tons of bars, tons of people, tons of colour, tons of cafe's, tons of restaurants, a sex street; you know you're in a big city when there's one of those! It's vibrant but not in an overpowering way, it's dynamic and big and exciting but not too loud or overwhelming. There's an architectural wonder at every turn, I felt excited walking around, I felt stimulated and I felt like it was one of those places that no matter how many times you visited you'd always discover something new.

So it's safe to say I will return to Budapest! 

OK, that's enough talking here's some pictures...

Buda Castle

Chain Bridge, Budapest

Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest

toilet door in Szimpla Kert, Budapest

view from our apartment in Budapest

neighbours in Budapest

Budapest

horses at Heroes' Square, Budapest

Silvia with boss lion

100 ft to get in the church please

a church, Budapest

Magyar Mezogazdazagi Muzeum, Budapest

Are you happy now?

I miss you a lot

you know that right?

St Mathews Church, Budapest

chicken's stomach at Bogi's house - yum - not!

Zumba halloween costume

Andrea's zumba halloween class, Sturovo

a taste of home

Rick halloween mask with Sari at Kaliedsokop Has

Rick moves to Green Pub with Zuzi

CLEVER!

lots of cardboard from Joseph's factory

massive pencil

massive drawing

outlining with paint

starting to add card board

over the door

Thank you for reading...

The Bridge Guard - Part Four - Words

Erm, what happened to that month!?

It's exactly a month today since I spent that first blubbersome (if it's not a word it should be) day wondering round Sturovo and the bridge... It's gone by incredibly fast.

So...you know the wood I told you about last time? Well, the next day it had gone, yup, just missed out there. But, Kati from Kaliedoszkop called the building firm on my behalf and they said I could have the next lot but then due to bad weather and people being away on holidays and stuff it's two weeks on and I haven't got any wood. SO, after a cracking discussion with my mentor Juliet via skype last night we decided that I should move on with another idea and that maybe the wood thing wasn't meant to be. I'm not sure the building can take some of my bodge-work either. It does need to be in good condition for the next bridge guard! I felt a re-think coming on...

It's weird how thoughts can often just float round on the edge of you consciousness then only in a conversation do they step forward and actually demand your attention. I'd been thinking about a past work I did ages ago back in Suffolk called, Conversation in the Kitchen, it was for a breast awareness campaign going on at the time and the work was to be exhibited in a local health centre. I'd recorded a conversation I'd had with a friend about the project and wrote the dialogue all over a 'mock-up' kitchen I'd created the health centre. It read like a play, it was written all over the walls, plates, cups and saucers etc, covering everything in the discussion and inviting others to read it. This had popped into my head last week as I'd had this idea to use text on the walls as part of this piece here in Sturovo. Thinking about how words had become such an HUGE part of this experience. In that, it's alienating but freeing sometimes that you don't understand what's being said or written, it allows you to drift off or even imagine what they may be saying. Not being able to chat freely all of the time explains this sudden burst of writing I think. I mean, this story I started writing, The Bridge Dreamer, I've never done anything like that before. That's the beauty of the residency though, there was no way I could of guessed I'd of spent the majority of the first month writing. I hate writing. Well I hate 'proper' academic art speak writing. As you may have noted for yourselves!

sketch

So yeah, talking to Juliet, talking about text on the walls, about the wood situation then talking about the drawings and the short version is I've decided to start drawing directly on the walls and use layered cardboard (seeing as I have some) painted black to create some 3d lines along with the drawn 2d lines. I want to do big massive drawings and take over the whole room....Working from my photographs to zoom in on certain sections of the bridge to start with...

scribbles

sketch

sketch

I think another big factor was having my Aunt and Uncle visit last week and being able to talk over ideas in some depth and get some feedback.

So today I went looking for black paint, simples huh? Nope not unless I wanted to pay a million pound for a tube of acrylic that would last me 5 minutes. Luckily I had a new chum with me, Bogi, who took me to tesco of all places where I discovered that they don't sell big tins of colours like in the UK, you have to buy a big tub of white then a little tube of colour and mix it yourself, if Bogi hadn't been there I'd still be there now trying to work out how many tubes I needed for a 4l tub of white! The woman in the shop told me to just try the tube on it's own with a little bit of water, I got stupidly excited about this as if it's OK it'll save me loads of money. I honestly can't believe how expensive stuff like that is here, and I'm not even going to start on shampoo! Or face-paint! (I've been invited to a Halloween themed Zumba class! I have no costume so I was just going to wear my overalls and do my face like a zombie and carry a hammer...why not? A flesh eating workie??)

sketch

Last week was great having Aunty Alice and Uncle Ted around, we spent alot of time in the Green Pub where Zoli was the perfect host! Cheers pal! And the cakes, (drool) in Esztergom were tremendous. In spite of the thick fog that descended over the whole of Sturovo and Esztergom on the day of their arrival we still managed to have a good time without actually being able to see! It did force us into the pub (kicking AND screaming) a lot earlier than if we'd been able to sight see, silver lining and all that jazz...

foggiest fog we ever did see

Alice happy near cake

Alice and Ted, Basilica, Esztergom

Day after the foggiest fog ever but still foggy

happy jaunt across the bridge

cake

On the party front, (which is definitely now 22nd Dec) things are moving in the right direction and fingers crossed there'll be a terrific band performing on the night, chinese lanterns, fire, mulled wine, people, costumes and an added surprise. Early stages so lots can change/develop but I at least bought one chinese lantern today! It's a start! I'll ask politely for other 'Bridge Guards' on the night to bring one too. They sell them in the paper/art/craft shop in Sturovo for €1.89.

I'll sign off this time with a serious of random observations. Thank you/D'jackujem/Koszonom.

The 26?

She looks happy with the Man's Hands Massage

 clapping dogs

My Father attempting skype for the first time

smarties

boss bench in Kormano, Slovakia

the soup's inside the bread, genius!

what I miss that I should of asked Our Alice to bring, damn.