A Visit to Grandma

Lola and Grandma

Grandma and Calum

Grandmas are very special people and Joe's Mum is no exception. We don't get to see her as often as we would like as life is so busy.

Joe goes down once a month to see her and stays overnight so that she has company as she lives on her own. However, as a whole family, we only go down every few months.

So when we all went to London for Calum's Open Day at St Martin's we made sure that we called in to see her.

Having not seen Calum and Lola for a while, she could see a real difference. Calum is taller and Lola even more grown up, in the way that girls are.

We called in for tea after a hectic day in London and it was really good to catch up with her.

She hates having her picture taken but I managed to persuade her to pose with Calum and Lola. I had to take several shots as she kept closing her eyes but we got there in the end!

Calum will be staying with his Grandma when he goes to his four day Graphic Design course at St Martin's that we've booked him on during the Easter holidays.

I think it will be really nice for both of them.

Central St Martin's

Calum outside Central St Martin's

Student artwork at St Martin's

More student artwork - I think the message is loud and clear!

An Open Day
Calum and I recently went to an Open Day at Central St Martin's School of Art. It was for the Graphic Design undergraduate course

Calum is mad about art and wants to become a Graphic Designer and work in advertising. He'll be following in his Dad's footsteps as Joe spent 20 years in advertising working as a Commercial Artist.

Going round St Martin's was an amazing experience. It felt like a privilege to get a glimpse 'behind the scenes' of this world famous institution.

There was a real buzz and energy about the place - you could really feel the creativity.

We were taken round St Martin's by the quietly spoken but very knowledgeable Head of Graphic Design, Alan Baines. He gave us an in-depth insight into what life there is like, what they're looking for in their students and what's expected of them.

Fierce Competition
Needless to say, standards are high and competition is fierce (800 applicants for 180 places!).

But someone has to get those places and Calum has as good a chance as anyone else.

He can certainly see himself studying there and so can I so that's what he's aiming for. He came away more enthused than ever and that's a good sign.

If you want really want something, you'll go all out to achieve it. I'm glad Calum is aiming high.

The tour took over two hours but we both enjoyed every minute. Afterwards we visited an exhibition of some of the students' work.

The artwork speaks for itself - it shows talent, originality and creativity.

I believe Calum has all of those qualities. Now he needs to demonstrate them in his portfolio.

He'll certainly give it everything he's got.

And we'll be behind him all the way.

Never Give Up

Lola's GCSE artwork

Lola's been working really hard on a piece of artwork for her GCSE.

It's very elaborate and has taken an incredible amount of work.

So you can imagine how she felt when she was half way through and her brush marker pen smudged really badly, ruining the picture.

Undeterred, Lola started the whole thing again from scratch.

It's taken her most of the Half Term holiday but I think the end result shows that it was well worth it.

Well done, Lola - another amazing picture!

Happy 150th!

Me in full flow

Balloons in Reception

Chris's fantastic cake

Last Monday we celebrated our 150th anniversary at work.

Reaching 150 years is is quite an achievement for any organisation - I wonder how many of those around today will last that long.

So we definitely had to mark the occasion.

Book Launch
In the morning we held a book launch for our special commemorative book. The launch was attended by a host of dignitaries and members of staff who had won their places in a prize draw.

The mix of people worked well and everyone seemed to enjoy it. The speeches were interesting and entertaining and, thankfully, not too long.

I was the MC and really loved it. Give me a stage and an attentive audience and I'm happy!

I also loved seeing the balloons in Reception. They were a real talking point and put everyone in a festive mood. Lots of visitors commented on them, too.

Happy Birthday
In the afternoon we held a 'birthday tea' for all our staff with free cake.

Thanks to the military-like precision of our catering teams we managed to feed over 1,000 people - which is a lot of cake!

Some people took away three or four pieces (they were spotted by the catering staff) while others made do with one. I couldn't decide between the carrot cake and coffee cake, so I had both. That kept me going until the next day.

However, nothing came close to the fantastic cake that Chris in Catering made for the book launch. It looked so good, it was a shame we had to cut it.

A Brilliant Day
It was a hectic but brilliant day and everyone entered into the spirit of it - especially the cake! It was great to see people sitting around and chatting and taking time out from their normal working day.

When it was over, we were all exhausted but really pleased it had all gone so well.

It was definitely a day to remember.

Another Day Out In Cambridge

Me at the Ronald Searle exhibition

Studio space at Anglia Ruskin

Vibrant flowers

Ronald Searle Rocks
Calum and I went to Cambridge yesterday and I took him to see the Ronald Searle exhibition at Anglia Ruskin. Ronald Searle is an amazing illustrator and his pictures are as quirky as they are clever. Seeing some of his most famous drawings close up felt like a real privilege.

It wasn't all laughs, though. There were some poignant war illustrations as well - the simple lines somehow capturing the anguish of the subjects. Harrowing but beautiful. But most of all it was a joy to see the characters I grew up with 'in the flesh' so to speak. I especially loved the 'fat cats' and St Trinian's girls. The pictures felt like old, well-loved friends.

A rare treat indeed.

ARU Open Day
It just happened to be an Open Day at Anglia Ruskin as well so there was a real buzz about the place. Calum and I went up to the gallery to have a look at some of the studio space used by art students. With the light streaming in, it looked fantastic. I was especially taken with the work of one student who painted huge flowers in vivid colours.

Cafe de Paris
Once we'd had a look round, it was back to the library for me and into town for Calum. However, we did manage a trip to the Cafe de Paris beforehand where I treated Calum to a caramel slice and a hot chocolate, as well as an enormous tuna baguette.

I go there on a Saturday morning for hot strong coffee and a piece of wicked chocolate biscuit cake on my way to the library.

Well, there has to be some reward for all that studying ...

Good Things Happen

The happy couple, Rebecca and Nick

Phoebe in Company magazine

Phoebe in Company magazine

It's great when good things happen and this week lots of good things happened!

Another Distinction!
I got another distinction for my last MA module. I was so pleased I literally squealed with delight. It makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Rebecca and Nick got Engaged
Nick proposed to Rebecca on their fourth anniversary at the time they first met. They make a perfect couple and I have never seen anyone as happy as Rebecca was on Friday.

I Got a Bottle of Pink Champagne
My lovely Korean friend Hyun Sook dropped in unexpectedly with a bottle of pink champagne for me. It was to say thank you for copying some MA notes for her.

My Friend Clare Rang
I haven't heard from her in ages and had been wondering how she was. We had a good old catch up and have arranged to have lunch next week.

Yiota's Birthday Lunch
We all went out for lunch at Da Luca to celebrate my friend Yiota's birthday. We drank Prosecco, ate delicious food was delicious and generally had a great time.

Phoebe was in Company Magazine
My friend Nic's daughter Phoebe was in the March issue of Company magazine. I've known Phoebe since she was born and she's turned into the most beautiful young woman.

Nail Art
I had my nails done at Blazing Nails and I'm really pleased with them. This time I've gone for little flowers with sparkly bits. I've already had lots of comments.

I Met Mel
I bumped into my friend Mel, who I used to work with. It was great to see her and catch up on all the latest gossip.

New York, New York!
We finally booked our holiday to New York, so we're definitely going - I can hardly believe it.

We're staying at the W Hotel which is tres chic and we're all beyond ourselves with excitement.

Roll on August!