Ogre's Journey

Read at the bootleggers on Will 's birthday accompanied by Pirate Joe

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The Ogre Grimnut approached the wood
Club trailing behind he was up to no good
He had a sore throat and was all of a blunder
And now searched the forest to stave off his hunger

There was a rumour if you went deep inside
You would find tasty fairies, and more besides
So in he went through the gathering gloom
Hoping his stomach would be filled soon

The trees were great and their trunks were tall
But grimnut was afraid of nothing at all
His club did drag over root and stone
And the ogre walked on starved and alone

On he trekked deeper and deeper
through swamp and marsh
till the ground got steeper
and though the track wore soles of boots
no food did he find, just tiny red fruits

Grimnut stopped and sniffed the air
The fairies were close but he couldnt tell where
So he searched until he saw to one's side
A path that would take him to where the fair folk reside

He trekked and then passed through white flowerfall
And ducked under rocks made for someone less tall
Sunlight then fell on his grizzled face
he'd finally found their hiding place

Grimnut then passed through a sunlit glade
He spotted the sight of an elfin maid
Hunkering down he wasn't seen
by the winged fairy all dressed in green

Pulling himself up he grabbed his weapon
He would do this quick, in less than a second
But as he readied his deadly swing
The fairy shifted and he noticed something

2 sycamore seeds she held in her hands
tying them together with 9 silver bands
           'What are you doing' he said with a grunt
'I'm making some wings' and held them in front

'They're for a friend that's not here yet'
'I couldn't decide what it was I should get
          'Nobody's ever given a present to me'
'That's a pity but I think
there's still time, you see'

'it's too late I'm starving and dying of thirst'
          'drink this' she said 'don't fear for the worst'
And with a wave of her glittering wand
she revealed the most wonderous and clear blue pond

The ogre bent down and drunk his fill
and didn't stop
his drinking until
the pool was dry, his thirst was sated
whilst across from him the fairy waited

He said that's better now I need to eat
'No, you need sleep, before such a treat'
So he lay his head down and closed his eyes
And as he slept she then chose to arise

He awoke much later cold and bare
lying on a bed of the coarsest hair 
Looking around he saw the fairy
she looked much bigger and no longer seemed wary

Beside him a bunch of red berries lay waiting
their crimson coats looking so appetaising
he tried one out and to his surprise
the fruit was so tasty it lit up his eyes

'I only eat meat, so how can this be'
'Things will be different now - here come and see'
she refilled the pool with a wave of here wand
and bid him come forward and look in the pond

there he could see in the glassy reflection
that changes were made in his grizzly complexion
no longer a face that was hardened and worn
but soft and now elfin for he had been reborn

'does this please you?' she said with a smile and a sigh
          'It does but how can we live here you and I?'
          'I don't have wings, where you're able to fly'
'so I cannot follow you up and into the sky'

Oh you're so very silly I've thought of these things
I made them before they were always your wings
and she fastened them on and held them on well
before uttering the sounds of a magical spell

He flapped his wings and came off the ground
his eyes were smiling, and he fluttered around
'where shall we go?' And looked into her eyes
'This way for now, we'll watch the sun rise '

Allosaurus - Natural History Museum

This is Big Al, who can be found at the Natural History Museum, London.  I think everyone think's he's a T Rex, but he's not, so there!

Bit of waffle from Wikipedia here - FYI they lived 155-150 million years ago, roughly about the length of time it takes to buy an overseas product from ebay (my son is currently waiting for a Slytherin tie!):-

Allosaurus was a large bipedal predator. Its skull was large and equipped with dozens of large, sharp teeth. It averaged 8.5 m (28 ft) in length, though fragmentary remains suggest it could have reached over 12 m (39 ft). Relative to the large and powerful hindlimbs, its three-fingered forelimbs were small, and the body was balanced by a long and heavily muscled tail. It is classified as an allosaurid, a type of carnosaurian theropod dinosaur. The genus has a complicated taxonomy, and includes an uncertain number of validspecies, the best known of which is A. fragilis. The bulk of Allosaurus remains have come from North America's Morrison Formation, with material also known from Portugal and possibly Tanzania. It was known for over half of the 20th century as Antrodemus, but study of the copious remains from the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry brought the name "Allosaurus" back to prominence, and established it as one of the best-known dinosaurs.

As the most abundant large predator in the Morrison Formation, Allosaurus was at the top of the food chain, probably preying on contemporaneous large herbivorous dinosaurs and perhaps even other predators. Potential prey included ornithopods, stegosaurids, and sauropods. Some paleontologists interpret Allosaurus as having had cooperative social behavior, and hunting in packs, while others believe individuals may have been aggressive toward each other, and that congregations of this genus are the result of lone individuals feeding on the same carcasses. It may have attacked large prey by ambush, using its upper jaw like a hatchet.

Triceratops - Natural History Museum

This is my image of a triceratops as seen in the Natural History Museum.  It's got a slightly creepy cast to it as it was lit from underneath with tungsten lights.

There was a massive queue to get in here when I was at the museum over Christmas 2014 and this is the almost the first sight as you file through.  It was very tricky to draw as it's held in a glass case that has reflections all over the place.

Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the lateCretaceous period, about 68 million years ago (Mya) in what is now North America. It is one of the last known non-avian dinosaur genera, and became extinct in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago.^[1] The term Triceratops, which literally means "three-horned face", is derived from the Greek τρί- (tri-) meaning "three", κέρας (kéras) meaning "horn", and ὤψ (ops) meaning "face".^[2][3]

Charles Darwin - Natural History Museum London

Hi All, or should I say Mum, as my wife tells me she's the only person that looks at the blog.

This is my sketch of Mr Darwin as he surveys the entrance hall to the Natural History Museum, London.  Do go there - I only managed to get around the dinosaurs but it's well worth the visit.

Darwin made a lot of his discoveries on is travels in the ship the Beagle 1831-1836.

http://www.hmsbeagleproject.org/second-voyage/

Before I forget there is an incredible book call 'this thing of Darkness' which is a piece of historical fiction which tracks his life and that of Captain Fitzroy. First 2 pages are a bit peculiar, but a great read.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Thing-Darkness-Harry-Thompson/dp/0755302818

Je Suis Charlie - Marianne

This is Marianne, one of the symbols of the French Republic.  Marianne is a national symbol of the French Republic, an allegory of liberty and reason, and a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. and this sketch is taken from the statue in the Place de la Republique in Paris where many of the gatherings are currently taking place

This my expression of solidarity with those that believe in freedom of speech.

There's further to go with this, but time is of the essence.

King Amenemhat III

King Amenemhat III, also spelled Amenemhet III was a pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from c.1860 BC to c.1814 BC One odd feature about his rule was that he had a 20 year co-regency with his father.  The other nugget I unearthed was that he had 2 pyramids built for him.  Presumably the first wasn't pointy enough.

This statue sits next to the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum, London.  Although the latter is historically very significant it's hard to see with all the crowds around it and wouldn't sketch particularly well.  I managed to sneak this sketch out whilst the family were having a wander at the other end of the section.

Found a photo of the bust here:-

https://www.flickr.com/photos/snarfel/8141183803/

Lauren Platt X Factor - save me song

This is Lauren Platt in the UK X-Factor sing-off week 9.  I think they call it the semi-finals, but it's not exactly Wimbledon is it?  

I did the sketch some time ago and every time I looked at it really fancied going in with a bit of colour to see what would happen. I think that the sketch was always intended to have colour in.

Pretty please with the background and this time I used a combination of raw sienna and ultramarine blue which somehow got the skin colour I was after.  I did add a smidge of red to warm it up too.

Combustion Engine Construction

This is my Dad making an attempt to convert my son into loving engines just as much as he does.  He did a really great job in fact and Michael, still wearing his Man U kit, kept going the whole time.

Well done Dad, but I'm not sure if you've converted him just yet!

This is a cut down version of a larger picture doesn't seem to work.  It's just about ok in this form but the original I really don't like and I'm not entirely sure what went wrong.  

The sketch was pretty well executed and the characters seem well connected, which was important in this piece.  

Coventry Cathedral Carol Service 2014

This is my effort down at the BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Carol Service Saturday 20th December 2014.  Live sketch during the preparations for the service.  The Jaguar Landrover brass band were spectacular.  I'm used to sketching to acoustic/rock music so this was quite a bit different.  I wasn't going to colour it, but did so in the end although the photo looks a bit washed out.  Key features in the pic are the guys on the trombones, the chap on the drums quite often wasn't playing.  The girl in the middle was from the Coventry choir and the lady above the trombone players was from the cathedral.  Oh, and the lectern had an golden eagle on top of it.  A great service - definitely worth the trip up to see the folks! 

A Dynamos Christmas - Poem

One thing you don't know about me

Is that into the future I can see
When you're tucked in and they turned out the lights
This is the tale of one Christmas night

It was late at night on the eve of Noel
That coach Ben heard the sound of his doorbell
A neighbour called by and said that he saw
a mysterious shape by the pavilion front door

Lucy said 'Ben you must get down there fast
there's no way we're letting a robber get past'
Ben said 'I'll go there

without a delay'
'I'll not let some villain
ruin my Christmas day'

Before he left he rang a number
it was Jon who got woken from his drunken slumber
Jon called Steve and he called Ben
till everyone knew, even Coach Glen

5 minutes later the team were in place
they were all ready to see what they faced
they crept over to the pavillion grounds
and stealthily treading didn't make any sounds

'What’s that?' said Richard and there they could see
someone was moving over by the trees
'I'll sort this out'

Tom said 'This looks wrong'
'No way' said the others 'we'll all come along'

And so it was that the Dynamos team
some on all fours

they approached unseen

When Lloyd said 'go' they all did charge
and into the figure they all did barge

'Ow' said the victim, and then with a shout
'I've slipped a disc and my back's been put out'
One coach looked closer, I think it was Steve'
'It is father Christmas,
he was gathering leaves'
'I cannot believe it,
enough of this banter
I'm afraid to inform you
that we've just mugged Santa'

'That's right' we we're stopping to get reindeer fuel
'But I can't continue
and now feel a fool'
'I think that because
my back has just popped
Christmas this year
will have to be stopped'

Ben rubbed his chin in a thoughtful way
he opened his mouth and was heard to say
'We'll sort it Santa
never mind your back
just show us where you keep
your Christmas present sack'

He pointed to the side of the Pavillion
The sleigh was right by where the story had begun
'I'm really not sure, but go if you must
but first you'll need some of my magic dust'

So the coaches were sprinkled and started to glow
and their coats did sparkle a green dynamo
The reindeers seemed friendly and ate up their leaves
and after seemed ready to fly through the trees

Glen grabbed the reins as he knew what to do
The night would be long, but they would all pull through
Ben was on Rudolph and Jon was on cupid
Tom said 'I must say we look a bit stupid'

'Heya' Glen cried and rattled the reins
'To win through the night you'll need all my brains'

But Rudolph wasn't ready

and just as they started
The red nosed reindeer
unfortunately farted

The sleigh started moving faster and faster
With Glen at the helm like a chariot master
And before they reached the dynamos drive
The sleigh lifted off
And flew into the sky

'Whoopsy' shouted Jon as he didn't like heights
but the rest were enjoying the bright christmas lights
so their journey had started
and though coach Ben shivered
a world full of presents
had to be delivered

First they did France and then Japan

Glen was the driver but was lacking a plan
and slowly by slowly countries were ticked off
by China coach Jon

had developed a cough

In New York Ben MH cut the top of his knee
This happened as he was shot

out top of the chimney
But this was by no means a delivery disaster
As Stupples had a green dynamos plaster

The night was long and to keep spirits alive
Jon started singing some subrosa 5

And as they were passing Miami Beach

Ben gave them all a motivational speech

Glen thought it handy
That there was so much brandy
But by-the-time that they

got the sleigh to Brazil
Some of the coaches were feeling quite ill

although to be fair there was a valid suggestion

that the mince pies they’d eaten had caused indigestion

By now there was chatter and some conversation

about Glen and his skills in world navigation

They'd been to Egypt, Hawaii and Finland

But weren't too sure 

if they'd ever find England

But all was well as where drinking's concerned

back home is the place that we've all returned

So they finally saw England

the last on the list
Steve said 'tomorrow I'm definitely getting a nice cup of cocoa'

But the police pulled them over 

as they flew in to Dover
Glen said 'it's ok my flying is fine'
But he failed to walk in a very straight line
In the end it turned out that the cops let them off
As Jon was not well with a worsening cough

So They covered Great Britain East South and West

Nat was quite worried and was feeling distressed

But they landed back down at the pedestal pitch

All presents delivered with hardly a hitch

Santa was happy and his back was now sorted

Fortunately Christmas had not been aborted

He got on his sleigh

giving all a high five

and 10 seconds later was off in the sky

So kids when you see your friends in 20 15

and tell them about what you've done and you've seen
you can tell them all

with dramatic pause
that you've kindof seen Mummy kissing Santa Claus

So this is the end of the Dynamos story
Next time one of you'd better call Rory