Sit and draw

The things is, some cafés invite you to linger more than others. When you want to sit and draw, the last thing you want is stressed out wait staff hovering behind you, removing your cup the moment you finish your coffee and slapping the bill down as a non verbal goodbye.

I often draw when I’m out and about. I like the challenge of creating an image in different environments with nothing more than a sketchbook and a fineliner. I make it a game, no pencil, no eraser, no second chances.

That’s why a good café where you can take your time with a delicious cup of coffee, maybe even munch on a biscuit and have brief chats with friendly unobtrusive staff is such a precious find. In the end, I have a new drawing and the café gains a repeat customer, singing their praises to one and all.

House in a serviette holder

What are you doing?

Um, drawing.

Why is that house in a serviette holder?

Because it is.

That makes no sense.

Bingo.

Spring wind

It's not the worst thing in the world, this spring wind. Even though the house has shuddered against big blasts and the orchids blew over like dominoes, the days really are changing. Soon we'll be wearing less layers and coming out of our houses more. Yes, there will be days when the clouds are heavy and there are more puddles to avoid, but if you stand still against the wind with your feet strong in your shoes, it feels like you're flying. 

I don’t think ducks eat ham sandwiches

I saw a duck today. Someone had been feeding it a ham sandwich. There was a piece of ham on the ground right in front of the duck and a blond man was enthusiastically feeding the duck a limp bit of bread.

Now I’m no duck expert, but that duck looked confused. The look in his eye told me, ‘Hey, what the hell is that you’re giving me? Ham? Do I look like a seagull, or a crow? I don’t eat meat dude, except for the occasional bug here and there…’

I seem to remember hearing that you shouldn’t feed bread to ducks because it gets stuck in their bowel and could kill them. Or is that pigeons and rice? I’m not sure if this is true, so I didn’t say anything at the time. Maybe I should do some research on ducks so the next time I see someone feeding a duck a ham sandwich I can defend the duck with confidence.

(P.S. I checked up on my duck facts and the reason not to feed ducks bread or anything else really is that it can fill them up so that they don’t eat enough of what they really need to prevent malnourishment. Feeding ducks food can also make their ponds scummy, lead to disease, create over population and interfere with their natural feeding instincts. Phew, feel like I should have known  all that!)