Never stare at the sun - Greenman's Blog

2011-05-25

I came back to the town hall today, after a few years of absence. I’ve been here, but just for admin and odd jobs. Today I am back at my desk - to actually be here. It’s work, but it’s my space. I really do love this place.

2011-02-16

Turns out that Sotheby’s are copying my style, and hiring my clones to do their auctioning for them! Take a look at how quickly they copied my work.

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Last night I was a bit of a mercenary activist. I was given no more information apart from the fact that I would be an auctioneer. I arrived, and we did this.

More of the story on the guardian.

2011-02-14

Walk without rhythm and you won’t disturb the worm. Woody get’s his first taste of life on Arrakis.

2011-02-04

Sharing a birthday with your first son makes everything different. Suddenly there seem to be a lot more people involved in the day!

Loolie gave birth to Woody a year ago today, and that was no small thing. Remembering our experience from this time last year brings with it some strong emotions.

Then, armed with the knowledge of what it is like to be a parent, suddenly I have to include my parents in the party too. 35 years ago they went through the same thing! I can’t leave them out of the picture…. and they have not even met Woody yet.

So, happy birthday everyone.

(Yeah, so, I did leave everyone else out of the picture. And it’s an old picture too. Looking through our photos I have decided that we have to try to get more pictures that include all three of us - because we only have a few.)

2010-10-30

Woody in the Woods

The Golden Gnome, picture by Paul Miller

At the beginning of September, when Woody was 7 months old, we had a celebration in the woods. About 30 people came along, there was a made up ceremony. a sacrificial beast and Loolie got naked. It felt like a holy day.

I will choose to begin in August when we drove out of London to attend a baptism. A clear day at the end of summer, a small village church and pretty white dresses. Words were read, candles lit, a little water thrown around, but I never felt even a hint of meaning. Well, I kind of got the feeling that this was all a ritual of conformity, but I don’t think that was the meaning intended. Anyway, I “borrowed” the order of service and decided we could do a bit better.

The Woods, photo by Immo Klink

Our version took place on a Sunday afternoon in early September 2010. The weather was perfect. It rained a little in the morning, overcast and a chilly, but, just before we started, the forest filled with golden light and warmth. Around 30 people gathered under the trees in Ashdown forest for a celebration of childhood. (That was what had bugged me about the baptism, there was very little that celebrated the child for being a child.) Woody was dressed as some kind of golden gnome - fur jacket and a hat Loolie had finished sewing in the car. I wore my cyber-priest shirt, made for me before I left South Africa, and never quite used in full ceremonial capacity. Loolie’s red hair shone against a white coat. We started an hour late - when the sun was ready.

I don’t really know how long it lasted. Woody sat up front grinning and making appropriate noises. We celebrated life and death, child and adult, order and disorder. (Any good rite needs paradox). Alice opened things with a song, words from India echoing unaccompanied through the trees. Woody’s godmother and devilfather spoke , I held things together with words and made up ritual. Somewhere around the middle attempted to get people to meditate. Being still and experiencing a world without words (meditating) is something a baby does well, and adults must work hard to achieve. After the silence we spoke of death.

We lit some candles, and gave Woody his name. “Woodrow” means “passage in the woods”, and it holds an echo of Loolie’s Dad’s name “Glen”. Glen died two years before, and it would have been is birthday around the time of our feast. The candles represented the passing of the flame, the flow of life through the generations. Tears rose up in me as I realised just how much being a parent has made me respect my parents and grandparents. Family is real when you make your own.

Then we all laughed at Woody, Alice and Lottie sang a closing song and we ended with a bit of discordian apple throwing. With the ceremony done, the fire was lit and the feast began. A whole dear had given us it’s life, and it was duly gobbled. Most guests left before the sauna was populated with naked people, As they went they carried bits and pieces back to the top of the hill. The sauna gang made it back to base by nightfall.

I got bitten by an ant in my belly button. I am sure there is some symbolism there.

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Thanks to Paul Miller and Immo Klink for the photos.

2010-10-28

Things that go bump in he night! Woody can crawl now. He is making the most of his mobility to see just how well everything he finds is attached to the ground.

2010-06-10

I just got spam from the Labour party ! Is there not some kind of law about this ?

Labour: I want to email you personally. We are the only progressive party in the UK. Please give us £10.
Me: What? Can you do this ? Vote for me spam ? Damn, you guys give me hope.

2010-06-08

I quit (Wednesdays) !

Quitting a job is one of the best feelings ever, but just quitting one day is pretty darn good too. On my days off, I plan to hang out in the park with Woody and remember what it’s like to have friends.

So, if you also happen to not work on Wednesdays, or can manage your time in a flexible manner, I would really like to be able to spend time with people again - come visit. It has been too many years since I gave any of my time to the people around me.

If little Woody has taught me one thing ( he has taught me many ) it’s that work is not quite as important as I thought it was.

Quit - a bit.