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  100th Blip - Ragged Robin
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  Stamps in Hawick
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  Just Pallets
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  A Govan backstreet
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  Westend Boys

100th Blip Day

I can’t believe I have reached 100 consecutive blips! I feel like I have done the equivalent of a Duke of Edinburgh award sticking with something over a period of time, just because I wanted to. If you don’t know what BLIP, is well it’s a site where you post a picture a day and a few lines, which sum up either the picture or your day. So who is on there …well all kinds really. There are mums recording a year in the life of their children (including the tantrums!), older folk taking a gap year, serious amateur photographers who talk about F numbers and even a few folk who photograph their dinner (but not as many as on Facebook!). Interestingly there are quite a few professional photographers who use the site and post just for the joy of taking photos! For most it’s about the photos, but for some it’s all about the journal entry and the tales they tell. Let’s face it we all know other people’s lives can be strangely compelling.

So why do it (a) It’s remembering the small things, as you look back at the pics (b) Seeing other people’s perspectives … literally (c) People are very kind …no sniping on blip …it’s a very positive thing, so the keen amateur can gain confidence, get ideas and share. Why not do it (a) Obsession …you start looking at the world through blip-obsessed eyes. Walking down the street the other day a friend did comment, as I was clicking away with the iPad as we walked, “You’ll be blipping then”. (b) The sense of ‘panic’ as you realise at 5pm that you have forgotten to take a photo that day. (c) The sadness of looking at something in the house and thinking “I’ll save that as an EB!” (EB = Emergency Blip). So will I make 200?  Well I have spotted at least 3 EB’s in the room so far …so bring on the 200^th Blip Day!

PS Blip 100 was the wee scruffy looking robin.

Hedgehogs in Hawick

This week I met a great chap who works in Hawick Museum, called David, who in passing conversation mentioned his pet hedgehog. It was one of those moments where you thought you hadn’t picked things up properly. “You have a pet hedgehog?” I questioned, …”Yes of course…” There then ensued a whole hedgehog conversation (a first for me), which proved quite fascinating, as David belongs to The British Hedgehog Preservation Society.  It turns out that David is one of the people, in that part of the world, to go to if you find a sick or injured hedgehog. He then nurses them back to health (if he can) and releases them back into the wild.  He has also run sessions at the museum where younger children can learn about these fascinating creatures.  These were my top hedgehog conversation facts: 1/ Hedgehogs shouldn’t be fed milk… the food of choice when being nursed back to health is dog food. 2/ They are the gardener’s friend hovering up slugs and the like. 3/ They are heading towards being an endangered species as pesticides and the like are reducing their numbers. Picture of Furzy David’s hedgehog attached. You never know Furzy might just end up in JoJo Gnome’s garden one day.

Sound Hunt

Next week I am heading into our local primary school to do a sound hunt with Primary 1 class looking for sounds like JoJo Gnome does  (JoJo Gnome & the Sound Machine).

Happy Roald Dhal Day

Friday 13th September is Roald Dhal Day and celebrates the birthday of that wonderful story teller. My favourite story has to be Charlie and the Chocolate Factory …for obvious reasons!

Christmas is coming

Almost there with the drawings for the Christmas book (JoJo Gnome & the Smell of Christmas – out in November) and I am spotting things Christmas creeping into the shops. In a local shop they had a deal on Christmas mince pies today (even a bit soon for me!).