Here is a sketch of where we stayed for our second night in London – a tiny weeny room in an Airbnb near St. Pancras station. We were so close to the station we could hear the platform announcements. Talking of platforms we also visited No.9 ¾ – where people were queuing up to have their picture taken, pushing a trolley through a wall (Harry Potter fans will understand).
Sat-31-Dec-2022
Here is a quick sketch I did on our journey from Suffolk to London. It was cold and damp as we waited for the train but we had extra time to sit and have some refreshments, so I decided to try and draw the train. Normally I would have finished this off more carefully, but as I’d got the perspective wrong, I lost my enthusiasm.
Fri-30–Dec-2022
On Thursday we went to Bury St. Edmunds to do a little shopping (and make my regular pilgrimage to Denny’s, my favourite art shop). All the restaurants we first thought of for lunch we fully booked, so we ended up in Weatherspoon’s – a chain of pubs known for affordable food and drink (and also known for people getting sloshed on the cheap in the evenings). We had a nice meal there – I think the pub is in the Bury guild hall which has been sadly sliced in two horizontally…so we ate in what would have been the upper part of a huge hall.
Thu-29-Dec-2022
Here is another sketch done at my sisters house, after eating a nice meal and while others watched “Finding Dory” – although our eldest daughter slept through it and our youngest was focussed on playing Hay Day. My sisters Christmas tree is rather overloaded with decorations, so much so that you can barely see the tree.
Wed-28-Dec-2022
Here is a sketch I did when visiting my sister’s house. This Christmas robin is made of metal and bounces up and down when you push it down. There is no such thing as too many Christmas decorations!
Tue-27-Dec-2022
Here is a sketch of my daughter playing a game on X-box with my other daughters new controller. I used my new Schmincke paint set which is lovely – it’s very small and compact and has a little bottle and tray for water. I’m not quite familiar with the new colours in the set (there are only 8 colours), but they are of excellent quality.
Sun-25-Dec-2022
After eating a nice meal (baked mac), our Christmas Eve was spent relaxing and watching a movie. Having watched the first Harry Potter movie the other day we decided to watch the second movie (The Chamber of Secrets), which features a ‘house elf’ called Dobby. There is a model Dobby in my daughters’ flat, so we let him watch the movie too.
Sat-24-Dec-2022
After eating a nice meal (baked mac), our Christmas Eve was spent relaxing and watching a movie. Having watched the first Harry Potter movie the other day we decided to watch the second movie (The Chamber of Secrets), which features a ‘house elf’ called Dobby. There is a model Dobby in my daughters’ flat, so we let him watch the movie too.
Sat-24-Dec-2022
Come to think of it, I sketched this before we went for a very wet walk in the Peak District…but never mind. Despite the temperature being only 3 degrees we decided to go for a walk to Mam Tor, getting off the train at Edale. We almost made it all the way up, but it got so misty and we got so wet, we turned round and went for a pub lunch.
Fri-23-Dec-2022