Give Blood?

My Dad was very keen on giving blood and donating organs - he even managed to get a special award for giving over 100 pints of blood, which is quite a feat.

I, however, did try to give blood while I was a student at university. Ignoring the fact that, at that time, my blood must have been near to being 100% proof, I did go along twice to do my civic duty.

Sadly, however, as some of you will know, I'm a wimp.

On both occasions I went I was horribly ill - I fainted, suffering from nausea (I think I was actually sick) and I wasn't allowed to leave for quite some time while I recovered from the trauma!

On the second occasion they noted that my records said "HH" on them - I have no idea what "HH" means in this context other than they immediately asked me if I was unwell on my previous visit - to which I had to say yes!

I've always been squeamish about all medical interventions and procedures. It's only in the past year that I joined the Organ Donor Register (yes, if I step in front of a bus tomorrow some poor sod might end up with parts of my body!).

So, 30 years later, maybe the time is right to try giving blood again?

Do a real painting?

Ok, cards on table time. I was hopeless at languages at school but my linguistic abilities far outshone my skills as a visual artist! In fact, the only time I dropped below a Grade B was art when I was given a C+ for attainment on the end of year report (for those of you who know me, you'll realise this devastated me!).

But I do love art - I love all sorts of art... I just struggle to do it myself!

Now, for my 50 things, I don't think it's practical to start hacking away at large lumps of rock and trying to produce a sculpture of some sort (has anyone else seen Tony Hancock's The Rebel?) and, as a vegetarian, I'm not about to start slicing animals up and mounting them in formaldehyde (whilst I like a fair bit of Damien Hirst's work I'm not convinced that his abuse of animals for profit (oh, sorry, ART) can really be justified so I think it best I consider doing a real painting.

I've never used oils or painted on a canvas (yes, I was that dreadful at school that it was only ever paper and watercolours for me) and the idea is quite daunting but to produce and painting that I could hang on a wall (albeit well away from anywhere where anyone might see it) is quite an exciting idea.

I do like a wide range of art - both traditional/figurative and abstract.

I'm not a fan of Constable and that whole biscuit tin school or art but I don't mind things that do actually represent something. I do love Rothko and, of course, the impressionists like Monet and Valette. I like some Lowry (though, having been to the Galleries in Salford recently, I did find some of his later work depressingly poor). I'm not going to try to paint in the style of Leonardo or Rembrandt - that would just be silly - but something more expressionistic, like Kandinsky or Miro has to be a possibility. My favourite artist has to be Turner but, again, I think that would be pushing my limited skills a bit too far to try to paint like he did. I also like Banksy...

Here are a few of my favourite painters and paintings:

Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway

J. M. W. Turner

Black on Maroon

Mark Rothko

Albert Square, Manchester 1910

Adolphe Valette

The Tower of Babel

Peter Bruegel the Elder

The Houses of Parliament, Sunset

Claude Monet

Yes, I think painting a real painting has to be a good challenge for me to do.... the only problem is how much practise I might need!

Get a letter published in The Times?

I've had lots of letters published in a variety of newspapers and magazines in the past on a wide range of subjects from rants about the Grand National and Environmental issues to whinges about political parties and politicians of all persuasions.

I've had letters published in The Independent, The Guardian, The Sun (who send a cheque each time a letter is published), The Daily Mail, etc. I even had some published in The Scotsman (despite never having lived north of Hadrian's Wall) and the now defunct Sunday Correspondent! Added to this are letters in various magazines including such erstwhile titles as The British Bandsman and Classical Music but, as far as I recall, never one in The Times - maybe that should be one of my 50 things to do before my 50th birthday?

I do, however, wonder if getting a letter published in The Times is still the ultimate for those who like to write to the editor of a newspaper - since the whole Murdoch saga with News International and the closure of the News of the World, does The Times still hold the elevated position for letter writers?

Maybe I should be trying to get a letter published in something more international? The New Yorker (always one of my favourite reads) or The New York Times? Or maybe Pravda?

No, unless persuaded otherwise I think The Times still has to be the place... all I need is a subject to get me riled!