 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
Sue's News - For updates, special offers, class info and an insight into what's going on in my world For your ease of navigation, all underlined text is a clickable link to the relevant page FEBRUARY NEWS
Week 9: 26th February to 4th March Stef's boyfriend, Oli, has been working very hard. He set his sights on being a landscape gardener early last year. He is attending college to learn the techy side of things and has spent several months working in various nurseries. Last year he assisted Alan with the construction of the back patio and pond, which we hope to complete this year. Oli has now started his own business. Last night, whilst chatting about his business plans, we broke away, purchased a domain name and this morning his website is half designed and 'live'. It's that quick and easy. All Oli needs to do now is load some content and images and he's away. The only time consuming task was deciding the design of his website. Watch this space for the launch............. I think we'll give him a section of our own garden to re-design in whichever way he wants.  On this grey, wet and miserable day I thought this picture would cheer you up for a second. You might like to see proof of not only the lengths but also the distance that Darrell Crow will go to in his mission to teach anyone, anywhere to oil paint....... Now that's what I call dedication. And if ever you wondered what to do if you see a Spaceman, the answer's simple - park in it, Dude!
Due to horrible weather, instead of getting into the garden I'm having a kitchen day instead. What's a kitchen day? Well, it's a chance to take a day off from the paints and supplies and get busy with the meals. After another family Christmas Dinner last night (yes, they're STILL going on) with a chicken large enough to feed a family of 8, I'm busy making meals for the next few days. Tonight we'll have chicken and mushrooms in white wine sauce with rice and in an hour or so I'll have a fridge full of fresh chicken soup too, another of Steffs firm favourites. Whilst all the pots and pans are out I think I shall knock up a lasagne and a shepherd's pie too. I really enjoy spending a day cooking for the week in my new kitchen.....plus it works quite well with my schedule at the moment. Right - where's those onions?  When you find something like this on your worktop right next to a wet oil painting it makes you wonder who's been giving the painting a real close look. We know it's one of 2 possible culprits. Of course I blame Alan's cat, Floyd. And naturally he blames my cat, Ripley. But I know Ripley would never do such a thing as he's a good little boy.
We've now got the floral image for the Darrell Crow workshop on Friday 13th April - 'Poppy and Roses'. I'm just awaiting the seascape image and we will have the full set. Week 8: 19th February to 25th February I've just received the first image from Darrell. His mountain scene will demonstrate to you a triple colour blend sky with fluffy clouds, you'll learn to make a wonderful range of craggy mountains, a dense wooded fir area showing distance and middle distance, some snow drifts with shadows, a river inlet with icy waterlined edges, a couple of cabins and a detailed foreground tree with rock and grasses. I don't think you could get much more learning into a single class, can you? After this workshop, you'll have mastered many of the techniques to make many more landscape scenes.  I just want to show you a lovely little area of the background trees from John's painting yesterday. Rather than work a straight waterline, we worked our way around a small land projection, seen in the middle, using the short edge of the knife and really brought it out. If it's there, why not enhance it? It all adds to the beauty of a painting and it's a little something that your eyes do not discover immediately - which adds to the ingredients of a really nice painting.
 Oh my, it's my third consecutive day of painting and boy am I tired. We're both too tired in fact to unload the car! It'll just have to wait until tomorrow morning. We'll switch a lot of the equipment straight from my hatchback to the people carrier as the Capel classes have a larger capacity. During today's class I've taken another 2 Darrell Crow Class bookings and received a 3rd booking by e-mail upon my return home. A further telephone booking this evening now fills tomorrow's class. I'm not kidding when I tell you it's all go! So much so that I resigned my small part-time job last week. The only business I'm into now is AyoubArt - very fullfilling, rewarding and challenging it is too. This is one business where just about everyone I meet is nice, I mean really nice. That in itself is a rare thing. I think we deserve a Chinese Takeaway tonight, washed down with a nice bottle of Red and an exciting DVD (if we can stay awake)!.
 Private class student, John, arrived with several of his artworks, including watercolours and a snowscape in oils. It was clear to me from these paintings that John had a really good eye for composition, light, highlights and foliage. In just 5 hours (including a break for lunch) John completed this really pretty landscape. We tried this finished painting in several frames but returned to the first one, the antique gold. It really does compliment his painting well, and makes for ease of transportation too. Just because these private lessons are on a 1 to 1 basis, doesn't mean they end quicker; sometimes they can take more time than a class of 12 - 15 students. We find we talk in detail about various techniques, how to correct things, how to enhance things, what brushes to use for different effects. Especially in John's case we discused the value of paintings and how they can be sold. Let's hope that John is soon on his way to making a few sales. For those of you attending the Darrell Crow workshop on the 15th April, you'll get to meet John.
 I've had a little re-vamp today. One of my Painting Class subjects , 'Spring Reflections', I felt could do with a lift. I've lost the heavy fir trees and replaced them with loose and light trees; I've varied the tone of blue in the sky and I've now given a bright glow behind the mountain plus I've concentrated on the reflections in the lake. You can see the new larger version here . I hope this new version will prove popular. I'll soon find out as I am teaching this tomorrow! What the heck.......let's have it for the subject of the March 24th class as well.
 I've just been filing and deleting photos from my camera memory card. I have snaps from classes going back to last year. I'm unable to include all of these photos on the website - the page would go on forever. It's getting to be quite mad at the end of the classes. There's often a queue for framing, then there's product sales to take care of and before we know it, everyone has left with their paintings before we've taken a photo of the finished result. Maybe I need to enlist a helper to make sure we get these snaps. Anyway, I digress, In December's 'Winter Pink'  class I had 2 extra helpers, which gave us a chance to take some snaps. Here you can see Justin with his snowscene, his second ever oil painting. Below you'll see a more detailed snap of the actual painting. The wide gilt frame made a wonderful finishing touch to this painting. We'll have a few more of these snowscenes on the loose this weekend as we are painting this subject for the first time in Stowmarket on Saturday.
 My new sketching pencils gave me a couple of blisters, one on my thumb and one on my middle finger. All 10 had to be sharpened (thats pencils, not fingers) and several of the leads kept breaking leaving me with a rather nice set of 'half' pencils. I barely had time to sketch after this, but managed to draw in a dark and moody base for my next subject. The pencils are actually great and I don't have to work so hard with the blending. I thought I'd prematurely expose myself to you all: Here's a half finished version of our friend Roger. The left hand side of this portrait needs a lot more work to get cheek definition and the chin at the bottom needs narrowing, but again, this sketch was about 15 minutes work. I still have the previous Waters sketch to finish, perhaps when I'm in the mood to work more on his earphones and microphone I'll get that one done too. Look out Gilmour, you're next!
 This morning I've been refreshing myself with the materials I need for the 'Blue Romance' painting we are doing this Sunday. As I ate my breakfast and drank my coffee, I slipped on the Darrell Crow DVD. I'd only intended to take notes of the different brushes required and the colours used and ended up watching the whole movie again. Darrell is quite addictive and watching the lovely effects a simple (but controlled) brush stroke can make will never cease to delight me. Again, as I look at this finished painting, I think it would be wonderful if done in other colours. I bet this would be stunning in brown and beige tones...........I really must give it a go.
 I've had help in the kitchen today from daughter Stef. We've been peeling a massive pile of carrots, chopping onions and grating ginger for the hugest of batches of homemade carrot, ginger and lime soup. My freezer will soon be replenished with supplies and I have a nice fresh sample to serve to my private student this week. It'll be just the thing we need for our snowcapped mountain scene. Stef isn't a huge carrot fan, dislikes ginger and turns her nose up at lime. She loves this soup though!
 For those of you who might not have noticed it......there's a couple of jokers in the Sue's Arty Party Forum. An entry I made for Valentine's day has grown (or groan?) Feel free to add to the string, it's not always about art in there either. I've been nodding in agreement at Stuart's latest entry re. interesting facts about us British. It's certainly makes you think, in a humerous way of course.
Finally, a little job I had been meaning to do. I have edited my Exhibitions Page . I've removed all the old exhibitions and updated the page with the 2007 events. I'm sure there's a couple I've missed, but I'll pop them on when I find the relevant paperwork. This page will be added to periodically as and when new Exhibitions come up. I shall post reports on the Exhibitions as they come and go, with photos. When we reach 2008, I'll simply delete the existing page and start afresh with the events in my diary for the next year. Yesterday wasn't all about kitchen shelves, I also picked up a pack of Artist's graded pencils. I enjoy having a sketch in the armchair in the evenings. Whenever I sketch I normally use your bulk standard Tescos 50HB pencils for £1. I use different pressures and have some blunt pencils and some sharp pencils to get the different effects I need. It'll be interesting to see how I fare with up-market tools. It says on the tin 'premium quality graded pencils designed to achieve highly professional illustrations..........' We'll see. Week 7: 12th February to 18th February  My long-awaited kitchen was fitted last September, however, it was never 'dressed'. For the last 5 months it's looked very clinical. Today we put that matter right. Off to the shops we went to buy a variety of shelves to hold my cook-books and ornaments. We also brought some pretty and light muslin drapes to soften the patio doors with a black wrought iron curtain pole to match the cupboard handles. I also managed to find an antique-style French sign. In dark blue metal with old gold writing, the plaque boasts of an 1853 Vintage Bordeaux. With the best part of 3 hours gone we began to feel more than a little peckish. So, in the name of research, we decided to pop into the Punch and Judy. We thought we'd test out the menu again and give you guys (those of you who are enjoying a meal with us on 13th April) an idea of price. Alan had roast chicken and I had roast lamb - for a bargain price of £8.95 for both of us. Remember, it's buy one get one free. I've taken a menu away with me so you can peruse it during your breaks in class. The effects of the lunchtime beer and wine made us feel quite relaxed and an afternoon nap would have been ideal. Unfortunately, relaxation was not on our agenda today. We settled for some sharp coffee and a loud Floyd CD whilst Alan set to with his drill. I 'titted' about in the background arranging my bits and pieces. Doesn't my new french sign look at home above the built in wine rack?
A fabulous Spring Day today. This morning even the Post Master at our village post office agreed, he couldn't wait for closing time so he could get into his garden. I'd love to do likewise, but they'll be time enough for that soon. Later this evening I shall look forward to some visitors, 2 ex-work colleagues.  It's 8 weeks today until the Darrell Crow Workshops . Darrell is currently working on some new material for these workshops and as soon as I have an image, I'll be sure to post it on the Workshops page . We will be having a Floral painting on the 13th April, a Seascape on the 14th April and a Mountain Scene on the 15th April. For those of you who visit my forum 'Sue's Arty Party' , you will be aware that a few forum members will be meeting up at the Punch and Judy in Ipswich on Friday 13th evening, (us included) for a relaxing meal and a chat. The Punch and Judy is 'buy one get one free' and I can highly recommend their steaks. Don't miss the boat with these workshops, we are limiting the numbers to 15 per class. There's still a few spaces left, but now's the time to book if you want to ensure your place. A £20 deposit is required per person per class. Feel free to e-mail me on info@ayoubart.co.uk for payment details.
 Val will be flying in from Portugal next month to not only take a class with me, but also to discuss in more detail the finer points of the painting holiday in Portugal. This has been Val's dream for many years and she has put a lot of thought into the "Alentejo Experience". We are provisionally working our schedule around dates at the beginning of September. For all of you attending the Woodland's End class on March 4th, you'll get to meet Val. She's no stranger to the canvas and I have seen some of her floral work - which is simply quite stunning. I feel very flattered when people make a journey by air to attend a class. In April we have 2 ladies flying in from Norway to attend some Darrell Crow workshops too. It'll be nice to see Trine again, this time accompanied by her mum. We have some celebrating to do together as much has changed for both of us since she was here last May.
 Is there anything in particular you would like to see as a beginner's painting subject? I have some free time coming up and I want to work on some exciting new topics. If so, now's the time to ask. Requests to ayoub_art@hotmail.com I want to develop a bright seascape. At the moment, all my beginner's seascapes are on black canvases so I think a bright beach scene will be an ideal and popular subject. I've been looking at some images of the Cornish Coast for inspiration. I also want to work on a tropical sunset in some vibrant colours, perhaps framed by palm trees and I'd like to develop a bright mountain scene. I might have to look at introducing some new colours to the palette too. Well, those are my ideas - lets see how far I get with them!
 The answer to yesterdays question which was sitting in the 'Your Gallery' page, was swiftly guessed by Mr Green of Sheffield. Mr Green wins himself a £5 discount to be used against a painting class or a DVD (it might just pay you to click on any links you see here for more quizzes and offers). Thanks to you all for your answers and also your comments on the art-work itself. I've forwarded your critiques onto Alan, who of course was the 'artist' and he's strutting like a peacock. Now, my loft clearance is going to be a problem......you see, Alan's head has gotton so big I don't know if he'll be able to get through the hatch anymore. He's already mentally constructing his next project........ does this mean I will be fighting for painting space soon?
 They're coming....I saw 'em. Driving into work this morning I noticed quite a few daffodils on the grass verges. They're still encased in their green protection but it's not gonna be long now before they are blooming. All we need now is for the nights to be lighter and already I can feel the winter blues moving behind us with the anticipation of the Spring colours ahead. This is where I start to get impatient to put together all my spring tubs for the garden. Hopefully, we'll soon be able to start our bonfire parties at the bottom of the garden again too. I think we can start with junk in the loft for fuel......I spied several bin liners of god-knows-what up there that could do with getting rid of. I could do with the storage space up there to hold some of my bulkier stock items, like easels and boxes of canvases. I think I've just described a mini Spring Clean, haven't I?
Week 6: 5th February to 11th February We've got a new addition to the 'Your Gallery' page. Quite a special entry actually. My 'New Day' painting subject has inspired someone to combine both that and 'Blue Romance'. The painting is a first time effort from someone who many of you know already. Can you guess who he is yet?  I've been adding to my list of supplies and I don't think there is one single item used in wet on wet landscape painting that I now do not supply. (Correct me if I am wrong). I can now supply a full cleaning kit for £20. This kit consists of the Bob Ross Bucket, the Bob Ross Screen, The Bob Ross Beater Rack and 2 litres of low odour thinners. My price on this kit is relatively competitive. The Bob Ross cleaner kit available at 'The Range' is £19.99. However, you do not get the custom made bucket and you get just 1.89 litres of thinners. Due to transportation of the thinners, this pack in only available to purchase from my class product table. I guess for an extra 1p this saves you driving to an art store, parking and your time. I didn't think these kits would be particularly popular, but how wrong can you be. I've sold 3 in the last 10 days. Due to repeated requests from students, I also now supply 75 ml tubes of black acrylic (gesso) for £2.50, Bob Ross Liquid White 236 ml for £8.50 and the Bob Ross Oval Brush for £13.50. Again, these items are only available from my classes. I'm aware my prices are not competitive when compared to the likes of 'The Range', but compare them to other websites and add on the delivery charges and they are not far out. Again, I do not expect to sell many of these items, they are purely available for immediate convenience for students and they have been requested from me on numerous occassions. Apparently Liquid White and Oval Brushes are not always readily available in art stores. Due to the cost, I only carry limited stock on these, so if you know you want something and you are due for a class, be sure to e-mail me to reserve your items. My search for an adequate replacement for the oval brush continues............
Here's a question for all you 'twitchers' out there and also a prime example of what Bob Ross meant when he said 'we don't make mistakes, we just have happy accidents'. First time oil painter, Dawn, was merrily popping in some silhouette twigs and branches on her main tree. Another student looked at her painting and thought the starling on the branch was a nice little effect. Dawn explained that it was actually a twig gone wrong. The more we looked at it, the more it looked bird-like. It definately resembles a bird more than a twig - what sort could it be? A nightingale perhaps? A teat owl? A great tit? I'm afraid the photo doesn't quite do our feathered friend justice as the light was bouncing off the wet oil.........but I think you kinda get the idea. If you'll pardon the pun, I think Dawn's quite 'chough-ed' with her added extra. Dawn and her friend decided a while back to treat themselves to a 'girls day out', and despite the 'fowl' weather, rather than staying 'cooped' up indoors they spent the day painting.  
 Barry, our in-house comedian was at today's painting class. You really mustn't take anything he says seriously as he starts off a story so convincingly and then springs the punchline on you out of the blue. He enjoyed picking on our different accents today. He noticed a slight Irish overtone in one of our students and told her about the Irish couple who visited the cafe over the road. They ordered a full English breakfast and paid for it and then snuck out before eating it. Of course, I was picked on (A LOT!!!!) for my Essex accent, but I really had to laugh when he asked me how much an Essex Girl paid for a cut and blow-dry. I must tell my sister, who runs a Hair Dressing Salon in Town, she'll need to adjust her prices. Apparently we pay 'Pantene' (Think about it.......................)
A letter received this morning from the Lions Club of Ipswich has reminded me that I really must update my Exhibitions page. I've 3 more in the pipeline this Spring. We have the Buxhall Exhibition coming up , the annual Needham Market Exhibition and now the Sproughton Annual Art Show. I better get my paperwork completed and my hanging fees paid or else I will miss the boat. Now, what paintings shall I enter this year?  I have 2 price reductions to announce. The Basic Techniques of Oil Painting Landscapes has been reduced by £5 from £66 to £61, which includes postage and packing to any European/UK address. The Basic Landscape Series 1 12 DVD set has been reduced by £10 from £90 to £80. You can thank the fluctuating Dollar and some price revisions from Darrell for these positive changes.
 I thought you might enjoy this snap of my studio first thing this morning. I think this is the kind of view pretty much everyone in the UK has woken up to today. It's caused much disruption in the county. My delivery van took almost an hour to leave Windmill Hill this morning. Steffi waited in vain for her bus. I just hope the roads are OK later as I have a Committee Meeting in town this evening.
 It's Denis's last day at the club today. From tomorrow I am relatively on my own. As he left, he pointed out to me that I may want to consider using the Manor Club Ballroom as a possible venue for future Art Classes. This will be ideal for students using public transport as the bus station is a very short walk away. There are car parking facilities and there is disabled access too. I shall have to study the bookings and see if I can arrange something so that I will have a class in Ipswich Town Centre very soon. The place is massive, and they'll be room to have a dance in between painting stages if you feel that way inclined. No extra charge for being frivilous.
Shall I tell you something that I enjoy during my beginner's painting classes? First off, I guess I am always at an advantage as I am one or two steps ahead, mentally, as we paint. ie: I know what's coming next and where it will go. Sometimes a student will become a little frustrated with a branch or some foliage or a cloud. It's the easiest thing for me to show them how, by changing the direction of the strokes, by adding to height or by embellishing a little, they can turn their 'problem' areas into their successfull areas. In 5 short and fine liner brush strokes, Lyn's tree, which she was not happy with, became really lovely. Adding some height to a cloud can transform a whole painting. I always tell my students - you gotta have a rogue element in there somewhere, just for contrast. When I show them, in my opinion, where it should lie, you'd be amazed at the transformation it can make to a composition. That's my little buzz in classes, I thought I'd share it with you. Plus it keeps me thinking on my feet.  We had a moment of excitement at the Club today. 2 members became stuck in the lift.......which solved the mystery of where the muffled voices were coming from. The whole situation was akin to a sketch from Fawlty Towers. There was much panic but there was much humour also. The lift security key was on a key fob and with the current Secretary who was banking in town. Decisions, decisions......could the imprisioned couple wait till Denis got back from the bank or should we ring the Fire Brigade? They decided to sit it out....... Later in the bar I was chatting to the couple. The chap was telling me he was experienced as it wasn't the first time he'd been stuck in a lift. Apparently, the previous time he had his sandwiches with him and managed to while away his time munching on his lunch. I tell ya, I'm beginning to find out that there's never a dull moment in this Club.
I decided to make use of having a car parking place so close to the town centre today. After work I spent the afternoon in town on a little shopping spree. After 3 hours I returned home empty handed, but there's always tomorrow....... I'm after a new outfit and for once I'm confused - what exactly does one wear for a Graduation Ceremony? Any suggestions please? Week 5: 29th January to 4th February  At today's 'New Day' class we had 2 ladies from the Buxhall Women's Institute. They tell me they will take their paintings back to the group to show off their masterpieces. They want to tell the rest of the group 'if we can do it, ANYONE can do it!' We also had a lady who was given a painting class gift voucher as a Christmas present and a chap who was given a voucher as a birthday present, among several others. Everyone turned out some rather wonderful versions of 'New Day'. Whilst waiting for a lift into town, my daughter, Steff and her boyfriend briefly helped us to set things up at the beginning of the class. They turned up towards the end of the class too, to help us clear away (this was on the condition that I cooked them both a Christmas Roast Dinner in return for their hard work). They couldn't believe the results they were seeing, they also couldn't believe just how different all the paintings were. Seriously, anyone can learn to oil paint. There's absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. These oil painting workshops are designed for beginners with no artistic skills whatsoever. Right, that's all I have time for, I'm off to baste the roasties and pop the stuffing and sausages wrapped in bacon into the oven.
 Today I have been re-cycling some old canvases. These will be used for experimental purposes. I've already used 2 of them and I now have another version of Woodland's End. I've painted this again so I can take it along to class tomorrow. I always like to have my next 2 or 3 painting subjects on show so students can see 'in the flesh' what's coming up. My other version of Woodland's End is hanging in the reception of the Green Room in Stowmarket. Just as I finished painting it there was a knock on the door. A student, who is booked into the Woodland's End class on 4th March, called by to pay both his and his friend's deposits. Not having internet access, he had never seen this painting before. It was nice to be able to show him, especially as I had just slotted the painting into our largest frame for effect. You'd never know there was once a mountain scene underneath. Speaking of which, there are only 3 spaces left on this class.
 It doesn't take much to get us singing, the slightest little incident will set us off. This morning, in the post, was a brown envelope, looking official. I opened it last as it looked like it could be a) boring or b) a bill. Inside was a plastic wallet containing our Roger Waters tickets for his Earl's Court performance of Dark Side Of the Moon. We looked at each other and simultaniously sang out (quite loudly) 'so ya, thought ya, might like ta.........go to the show!' I don't think Alan quite believed just how close to the front we are until he saw it in print. If I were in the market to make some money, I can see tickets in the same area have already tripled in price. Do you know, if someone offered us £1000 each for them we still wouldn't let them go, which is usual for me but very unusual for Alan. We've decided to make a weekend of it and stay over in London. Good news for us, but bad news for you guys, I shall have to cancel my Capel class scheduled for May 13th. I'll have a word with my pal Mandy and arrange an alternative date. I think, to keep the excitement bubbling, a Roger Water's concert will be tonight's home viewing..............much to the annoyance of Stef & her boyfriend.
 It's been a very enjoyable sunny and bright day. I can see some growth in the garden and a few snowdrops are showing. That means the rest of the bulbs won't be far behind. I can't wait for colour to start to appear in the garden once more. It'll not be long now before I can use the rest of my old work's leaving present. I was given some gift vouchers to by some plants for my new back patio. I could spend a small fortune on garden plants and an even larger fortune on garden accessories. As I sit and look from my office window at the beds I am itching to get started with some garden design.
Anything sparkly and shiny and I am gone  ! This afternoon, the existing Executive Club Secretary, Denis, gave me a guided tour of every nook and cranny in the Club and Ballroom. The Ballroom is hired out for functions, including Weddings and Live Bands. I was overwhelmed by the amount of keys required, will I ever remember which key opens which door? If that wasn't confusing enough, I then have the million light switches to aquaint myself with. Whilst we were in the Ballroom, Denis gave me a mini light show talking me through the delicate wall lights, the square lights, the mains lights, the dimmers........ you can only but imagine the fog forming in my brain, trying to take all of this in. But then from out of nowhere I found a little moment of bliss. Denis announced that no ballroom would be a proper ballroom without THE GLITTER BALL. And as I watched the ball spinning around with the spot lights aimed at it and the snowflake light glimmers shining around the walls I was mentally taken to Floyd mode, imagining David Gilmour playing Comfortably Numb in the middle of the Hall. (I really should pay more attention and get less distracted.)
Today at work I had a chance to chat to our IT man. Joe, from M B Computers builds and maintains websites, and for a brilliant rate too. For just £95 Joe will build you a bespoke website. An additional £45 fee will have your domain name secured and your website hosted and maintained throughout the first year. Once the website is built all you need to pay is the £45 yearly cost. Joe had obviously visited my website and I'm really flattered when he rates it so highly. Feel free to click on the above link if you'd like his contact details. Joe will be more than happy to listen and guide you with your website requirements. |
|||
 |
||||
 |
Copyright © 2003-2008 Susan Warne. Arts Council / Wet on Wet Classes /Apollo Studio Accomodation / Darrell Crow Studios
|
 |
||
The Committee Meeting lasted just 40 minutes, much to my suprise. Afterwards I chatted with several members in the bar, all of which seemed quite anxious to meet 'the new lady'. An hour later I was ready to leave but as I approached my car I could see I was blocked in by 5 other cars. What to do? Well, the answer is quite obvious really.........go back to the bar till the car park clears. I'm not sure if it's particularly lady-like, but I am developing a taste for cold draught Old Speckled Hen. 
