123-3558 – Packing pile

This is the last sketch I did before we left the Philippines for our holiday trip to the UK and Montenegro. I spent a lot of the day packing and was left with this pile of things to try and cram into my hand-carry (which has to be small so that it can fit under a seat on our EasyJet leg to Montenegro). This is also the beginning of a new sketchbook made using CassArt smooth watercolour paper.

Sat-18-Jul-2026

122-3555 – Ginger

Here is a sketch of something random from the fridge – fresh ginger. It is inexpensive and plentiful in the Philippines and we always have some. Apart from using it in cooking, I like to have small slices crushed, along with honey and calamansi juice, in a hot drink.

Tue-14-Jul-2026

122-3554 – Flask

Somehow I still had the energy to sketch this on the day I got back to the Philippines. As soon as I arrived we went straight to the mall and I picked up my new glasses and bought this too – as my old blue one finally gave up (with the lid not tightening up anymore).

Sat-11-Jul-2026

122-3547 – Holy guacamole

My daughter suggested sketching part of our leftover dinner…so I thought, why not? This went along with soft wholewheat tortillas (which I always pronounce incorrectly), and kidney beans cooked with tofu – yummy!

Sun-5-Jul-2026

122-3544 – These are mangosteen

Mangosteens are tropical evergreen trees native to Southeast Asia which produce this delicious sweet and juicy segmented fruit with a hard purple rind. The fruit is supposed to have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. I often see ads for the MX3 food supplement which is made from the whole fruit, including the rind…apparently some studies have shown that it has joint pain benefits, but I just like to eat the fruit!

Thu-2-Jul-2026

122-3543 – This is not tomato juice

I bought this juice a while back thinking it was good and affordable. It does not taste nice! I realised that it’s not 100% juice, but is made of tomato paste and stevia (artificial sweetener) and artificial tomato flavour (whatever that is)…yuk! Those are two real tomatoes in front of the bottle though!

Tue-30-Jun-2026

122-3536 – On the cob

Here is an evening sketch of something I took out of the fridge. I don’t know why but I’ve never been a big fan of sweetcorn (especially when it’s on the cob – maybe because I end up with so much stuff stuck in my teeth). This sketch makes the sweetcorn look more wrinkly than it actually was.

Sun-21-Jun-2026

121-3512 – Eating the fruit

My wife bought loads of fruit at the market then a few days later headed to Davao leaving me to have to quickly eat a massive pile of fruit before it went off. This sketch includes the remains of a dragon fruit…and some tomato juice which I regularly drink with a dash of Worcestershire sauce in it!

Wed-3-Jun-2026