Image is Everything

Tim

I am not sure about the way I am being portrayed in this blog. I seem to come over as a cowboy hat wearing, door barging, DIY doing, begging drunk.
OK, all of the above is true, but there is so much more to me........ I think.

After leaving the Regeneration Team meeting (see Simon's entry below) I stuck my nose through the door of the Chocolate Factory 2. This is an industrial estate full of artists of all shapes, sizes and persuasions. I was just interested in launching a competition for painters to do their thing on one of our outside walls (second prize is to paint a mural on the front of the counter, third prize to do portraits of Simon & I to hang over the office door.... Hmmm, may have to re-think the third prize)

The door was locked, and the intercom/door openy thing was labelled with all the artists names, but nothing obviously officey or receptiony (Overuse of the 'Y' thingy) Luckily there was a chap sorting through the post just outside the door and - after his initial surprise at being addressed by a man in a grey stetson - he let me in and took me to an office on the second floor.

The office was quite the unfriendliest I have ever seen. Not the people, they seemed fine - Ritta in particular, but a little more about her later. No the office itself... bare concrete floors, unplastered walls, battered timbers, quite high ceilings (I didn't notice if they actually had a ceiling or if it was left open for the pipes and ductwork to be seen) The desks were divided by temporary screens, which afforded some privacy, but other than that it was as if someone had just plonked a load of office stuff in the middle of a building site. It must get really cold in winter.

Anyway Ritta was very nice, and showed interest in the project, so I took her details and will email her the competition stuff when we've decided exactly what we want... and what we can offer as prizes.

More advice from a couple of the lovely mums in the playground of my boys' school (I am meeting a lot of lovely mums at the moment, they all look at me with a certain amount of pity. Maybe because I don't have a job... maybe its the hat?) 'Get the local youth service to send some graffiti artists.' said one. Hmm, I thought, that's a good idea. Very urban, very 'Wood Green'. 'Oh yes,' agreed the other. 'My son had his friends 'Graff up' his room. It looks like some one broke in, but he likes it.' Oh dear god.

Anniversary today. Julie (the wife who I am not allowed to write about) bought me a suede jacket. "In keeping with your new cowboy theme," she said with an evil grin. It doesn't have a fringe, but I guess I can sew one on. Sorry Simon