My Art Blog

If I were to ask the average guy his favourite 3 cars I wouldn’t be surprised if I heard responses like a Lamborghini, a Porsche or a Mercedes Benz. However being the practical person that I am, these brands are far from the top 3 cars I have in mind. In fact I’m sure my choices will surprise you. To better explain my perspective I should probably start by mentioning what I look for in car. Above all, I look for cars that are affordable and have longevity; for me that rounds out to be a Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3 or Honda Civic. While these cars do have additional features that make them appealing, I am most attracted to the fact that they are quality-engineered cars that will stick around in the long haul.

The Toyota Corolla is a Japanesemanufactured car that first appeared on the market in 1961. The Corolla is a mid-sized compact car that offers great fuel efficiency and is one of the best-selling cars in its class. Toyota has been around for many years and is known for producing cars that are functional with solid road performance. When I drive a Corolla I feel comfortable it has the space to pack in all my things for a cross country road trip without running out of space. I have also trekked to some not so smooth terrain and was pleasantly surprised by the car’s ability to handle the terrain. These days Toyota has branched out to producing some energy efficient fleets which reduce impact on the environment while still maintaining the quality that Toyota is known for.

The Mazda 3 is another Japanese manufactured compact car that is known for its speed. The Mazda 3 comes in the sedan or the hatchback version. The one thing I like most about the Mazda (apart from its functionality) is its sleek design. Unlike the Toyota corolla the Mazda 3 looks almost like a sports car but has the conveniencesof a mid-sized vehicle.  When the red Mazda zips down the street you would have to look twice to realize that it is not a sport car. It offers excellent performance and handling, but is not as fuel efficient as theCorolla. The Mazda 3 also has some neat features like allowing the driver to start the engine before entering the car (which is a life saver during those awful winters). Although being a compact car, Mazda appear to be somewhat smaller in the interior and can feel like a tight squeeze. This aside Mazda has a reputation for being a great build with superior performance and handling.

The HondaCivic is an indispensable model in the world of cars. For most new car buyers, the Honda civic works out to be ideal due to be great pricing and functionality. Although it is still a compact car, Hondas don’t have as sleek of an appearance as the Mazda counterparts. Howeverrecent models of the car have been noticeably redesigned to offer a more modern, attractive appearance. Hondas are well known for their reliability and fuel efficiency and in later models significant strides have been made to improve performance and safety.

While I’ll be the first to admit it, these are definitely not your luxury top-of-the line cars. However as a new car owner they offer a great value that meets the requirements most important to me. Furthermore, newer models of these brands have started to offer luxury features that make then even more comparable to features found in luxury cars. I know you’re thinking, give me my Jaguar or Pontiac instead, but you would be surprised how much further your money can go with these well-rounded trusted brands. Give them a fair shake the next time to walk into your dealership!

I am a bit confused with the adverts on TV for triple glazing. The adverts are full of praise for triple glazing, and compare how much heat is lost with traditional double glazing. I started to wonder if triple glazing was all it was cracked up to be, as I was considering having new windows fitted. What was the difference between double and triple glazing and should I invest in triple glazing?

How cold is does this country get in winter? We are not a Nordic country or a North American country where the winters are severe and are severe every year. I live in the south of England and some years the winters are very mild. We often have a lot of rain and high winds but very rarely do we have snowfall or ice.

I thought I would research into how effective double glazing is. I went to visit a neighbour and asked her how she liked her double glazing. She invited me in to see for myself. I have to admit her house was very warm. We tried the windows upstairs and downstairs to see if we could detect any draughts. We couldn’t.

Now I’m not saying that triple glazing is not a good thing. But it does cost a lot of money and when you are on a budget it is something you need to consider. I think if you live in the north of England it would be wonderful. Most places in the north of England have a much colder winter than we do here in the south.

I went to visit another neighbour who has triple glazing, and their house is indeed very warm, especially the hallway area which I find very draughty in my house. I have started to shop around for a good double glazing supplier. I will question whether triple glazing is needed in my case. I am not sure if triple glazing is sold as standard today, or if it is still seen as an added extra.

Cost will dictate eventually which I have fitted. I think there is a good case for having the triple glazing fitted, but which I choose will be decided by cost at the end of the day. I have an old house which is draughty and the windows badly need replacing, if I can afford glazing I will certainly have it fitted. Perhaps I will be able to afford triple glazing in the living and kitchen areas. The more I look into this the more I am convinced that if I can afford it I should go with the triple glazing.

Before I started looking into this I thought I was going to buy double glazing, but now I think I have changed my mind, after seeing the results in my neighbour’s house.   Whichever I decide I will choose a local company that has lots of recommendations. I will definitely call in the company that installed my neighbours triple glazing and see what they have to recommend.

Good luck to you in your search for a good supplier from Clive.

I just wanted to share my experience of going to the dentist with you. Dentists were quite scary places when I was a child. The waiting room was quite austere and receptionists did not exist. You just took a seat in a cold waiting room and waited for the dentist to call you in. My early childhood memories of going to the dentist are not good ones. I vaguely remember sitting in the dentist chair and him pulling open a drawer full of sinister looking Instruments. There was no communication between myself and the dentist as I was just a child and in that case I didn’t count. Fortunately I don’t remember having much treatment as a child, but the whole experience of going to the dentist was quite scary. My mother would drag me along without even telling me where we were going until we got there!

I went to the dentist this morning. And today’s experience is a whole different thing. I have been going to my dentist for about 30 years. I knew my dentist when he was fresh out of dentistry school, now he is a middle-aged man with greying hair.

The reception area is manned by three lovely girls who make you feel welcome as soon as you walk in.  They call you by your first name and you feel as if you are a paying customer and deserve to be treated in a friendly and courteous manner.

The waiting area houses A tv, which is always on. Magazines, and trendy comfy chairs. The waiting time is less stressful because you have these distractions. Today I was only scheduled to have a checkup with the dentist but first a session with the hygienist. The hygienist is friendly and chatty and always remembers me, and we catch up with what has happened in the last three months.

Today she scraped away at my teeth and then put the electric polisher over them with some lovely tooth paste. I then went in to see my dentist who gave me a gold star for my efforts. He told me he had tried very hard to find anything wrong with my teeth and that I should go away and come back in six months time. He laughed and joked with me and I thought how different it was to visit the dentist when I was a child compared with now. The dental nurse was all smiles and we chatted on the way back to reception. The girls on the reception area were very nice as they took my money, but I think it was money well spent.

Visiting the dentist is not daunting any more. I do not have to visit the hygienist for another three months or the dentist for another six months, but I don’t really mind as I quite look forward to my visits and I also went to a teeth whitening clinic and they look fantastic now.

How do you keep a surprise party a surprise?

Hello there my name is Dave, I think I told you. I would like to share a short blog with you about a surprise birthday party that organised for my lovely wife.

My wife was approaching 40 so I thought it was right that I should throw a party for her. I wanted it to be a surprise. I informed his family, which consists of his mum and dad and two sisters. I wasn’t quite sure how well one of his sisters could keep a secret so I kept it to a minimum what I actually told anyone. I was going to organise the party with the help of my sister. I knew she could keep a secret. It was essential that Gina should not find out.

I didn’t know where to start so I started making lists. Even the list looks so daunting I had to make lists of the lists! The amount of suppliers I had to call and the amount of people I had to call to get involved just grew and grew. I started looking at caterers and party organisers and even toyed with the idea of getting an events organiser to do the whole thing for me.

I looked at the party organiser and there is a whole world of things you can buy for a party out there. I looked at the fish and chip van, the popcorn cart, the hot dog van and the pizza delivery boy. Finally I decided on the fish and chip van which at which guests place to orders to get fish and chips late in the evening. I ordered chairs and chair covers and a sit down meal for during the day.

All these things took time and a great deal of patience to get organised. But the hardest thing was to keep the whole thing a secret from my wife Gina. I employed the services of his two sisters to help get some things arranged like transport and music. I still wasn’t sure if his younger sister had spilled the beans to her. Anyway I went ahead with my plans and just hoped that he didn’t know.

We ordered the fish and chip van, and the popcorn cart, for the children. The music was organised and a DJ was installed from early afternoon. Gina was sent out for some errands on the morning with a friend. I just hoped he hadn’t cottoned on. His birthday actually fell on the Thursday before the Saturday the party was due to be held.

On the Saturday morning a marquee was delivered and chairs were delivered along with covers. I had my sister and two of Gina’s friends to help me lay out the tables and chairs. The popcorn cart arrived, and I knew that was going to be a great success, especially with the children. The fish and chip was not due to arrive till about 7 o’clock. I had arranged with caterers for a sit down meal to be arranged. They arrived about 10 o’clock to set up their equipment. We had arranged for a curry and a vegetable lasagna to be the two choices on the menu. For pudding we had Eton mess or cheesecake. I kept my fingers crossed that the food would be a success. The lunch was due to be served about 1 o’clock, so with dancing and activities I thought people would be hungry again by about 8 o’clock in the evening. They could eat their evening meal between eight and 9 o’clock and then be ready to dance until about 1 o’clock in the morning. The DJ was booked till 1 o’clock. I have to say he was the star of the show. He played music all day long and varied it so much to change the mood with people arriving, and then sitting down having lunch. They could then enjoy themselves and have their fish and chips between 8 and 9pm ready to be off boogying in the evening until about 1 o’clock in the morning. The DJ was booked till 1 o’clock. I have to say he was the star of the show. He played music all day long and varied it so much to change the mood with people arriving and then sitting down having lunch and then up and dancing in the evening.

Gina arrived home about 12 noon. By this time quite a few people had started to arrive with cards and presents. The garden was decorated and the chairs were laid out in the marquee. Fortunately the weather was kind to us and it was warm and we had no rain at all. It all seemed a big surprise to Gina and he loved every minute of it.  I would never be sure if his sister had spilled the beans to her!

Thank you for sharing my blog with me Dave.

Glass is a beautiful medium and should be used as much as possible, especially around the house. It really helps the look of the house and can be made to look stunning. In many ways, this great product can be used for the obvious glazing options of outside windows, and some are beautiful today.

But it can also be used for splashbacks in kitchens, just go to your local glazier, they can come out and measure up your space and it could look like this;

You must admit, whether you like the colour or not, they do look impressive and can make a great impression and so easy to clean. Glass is a fabulous product, so go think about it, there are so many options to choose from.

Mirrors are another great idea, I will save glass mirror’s for another post, but seriously folks, there are lots of uses for the great material/product/art form that is glass.

As a point of note we used www.bexleyglass247.co.uk to do our kitchen spalshbacks.

The world is changing rapidly but the economy has been too stressed for too long.  Many people have been downsized and needed to find jobs to sustain them.  Many people took jobs not even in their own field or a field that they are interested in– thinking it will be just for a little while and then I can find something I like a lot better –

Just so you know this is not all about doom, gloom and the continuing credit crunch, but rather exploring new possibilities and achieving new goals.

We can either hide under our covers or face our futures fearlessly and full on.   You have a choice. Why not turn futility into fertility and use this time to be creative?

Like a lot of my new clients, for example, who, maybe like you, want to effect some major career changes, get a job they’ll love or maximize and improve on the one they already have.  Many of you, it seems, have been suffering great dissatisfaction in your careers and can’t see their way out. They have been working in organizations that put the bored into board meetings and it has been eroding your sense of self.

Work is such an emotive issue and, like money, has a whole host of unfounded beliefsaround it playing mind games with our psyches.  I once came from school of thought that said “you’re not supposed to enjoy work that’s why they call it work, liking a job is optional having a job is not.”  But I no longer have that belief with the help of some amazing coaching. I now actually enjoy my work as you should.

What scary or self-limiting beliefs do you have about work?

Maybe you subscribe to one of the following schools of thought around what work is

• “It’s a means to an end”
• “Well, it’s just a job. It pays the bills”
• “It’s what my parents wanted for me”
• “I’ve never had a clue what I wanted to do anyway”
• “I can’t complain. At least it’s safe” “Where else would I go?”

As a coach I don’t have within me, my desk drawer or in my magical tool kit the perfect job with your name and requirements written all over it. I can’t help you with that.

Yet, I may be able to help you find the thing you have always been looking for.

When I work with clients to help them find a job that feels fantastic, meaningful and as if they’ve “come home”, it’s a process that takes time and a lot of soul searching.

I say this because there are no quick fixes to finding something you would jump out of bed to get to each day regardless of what they paid you.

A dream job is a blessing and something you can definitely achieve.

In order to get what you want, you need to know what you want.

In order to know what you want, you need to know yourself.It is that simple and that complicated.

In order to know yourself you have to be yourself and to trust in what your heart tells you.  It takes courage, time, patience and belief that you’ll get there.

You probably already know what it is you want to do but you have suppressed or buried it as it may have seemed impractical, not what your parents would have wanted or you simply cannot see how you could make money out of it.

I guarantee the signs have always been there.

I work with my clients to help them clarify what their heart has always been telling them.We explore it further and work to come up with real and practical strategies to get them there.

Let me assure you, there are millions of folks out there doing what they love.  Turning interests and hobbies into lucrative careers, people who can’t believe they get paid to do what they do.  People like me and my clients.

I have stood where you are today feeling resigned, unhappy and yes, a little scared.  Not knowing what to do next is an uneasy place to be.   Why not do what I did, and many others are doing, and dare to look for something better?

Book a “Try Me” session @www.sunnylifecoach.com

Here are some pictures of graffiti art, I hope you like them. I think they are amazing, some more amazing than others, but incredible art. Such depth and colour, and accuracy as some are well known figures as you can see.

These guys who paint these types of work are true artists, and often go on to become very well known, in their own right. If you look around, there is so much art, not just graffiti but pictures, natural art, just look and you will amaze yourself.

And you, your self try some art, you will surprise yourself, it may be good, great, bad but it will be unique.