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1990. Very hot summer.
1990. Very hot summer.
Photo with unfinished scrolls. And there, bottom centre, is the top of the ladder.And the paper blowing in the wind, with information on -So I do not make a spelling mistake! Ha Ha.No, it was photos of the three owners, to get the faces right.
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I am staying at this campsite near Acton, Wormwood Scrubs.. Great bell tents, like the army, full of backpackers. Cheap. Take the bus to St. Pancreas station in the morning, and put my clothes / sleeping bag IN the 'Left Luggage'
I do not trust the camp store room.Well, I am at the point where I do not trust ANYONE!
Meanwhile I take out my paintbox FROM the Left Luggage. Left the night before.
Then I wander about looking for nameless stores. Vans parked outside without a name. Leave a card under the wiper.Blank windows of the hairdressers. etc.
I have a contact number for an Agency.Australian. No home address necessary..Call once a day for any messages.
I cannot advertise in LOOT anymoreBut that is another storySo I have to look for work.
Put business cards under the doors. x 100 around Soho on a Sunday morning. I received calls from everywhere.
Sometimes, I'm suspicious ~ A call from a garage on Finchley Rd.?I have never left a card on Finchley Rd.Ah! He lives in Soho, where I have placed a card under his door.
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Then I leave my toolbox in the left luggage, take out my sleeping bag, and go to the campsite.
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Picnics in Hyde Park, Regents Park. Feed the ducks. Wandering about. Read a book. The vagabond in me.350 in my pocket.No pressures at all.
One good job a weeklike a truck or a window,taking a day or two,is enough.
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PLASTIC catching up . . .
PLASTIC catching up . . .
But the adhesive plastic letters are more to be seen. . . Here in a window. There on a van.
And the winters are finally getting to me. The infinite grey sky, like a blanket. Cold, and the tips of your fingers are numb.
It´s not too easy to paint in gloves.Paint on the gloves.Then smears on the van.Cannot wash your gloves like your hands!
Tape does not adhere to damp surfaces. or even when the air is damp The drizzle interrupts your work Continue tomorrow? No. He is using the truck Endless re-schedules.
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Or was I just getting bored with 10 years in London? Maybe I need a change . . Certainly I could not be more free. But where to go?
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I went on the SS in October ´91. I've had enough of winters outside.No signwriting.I lasted a year and a half.
Wrote a book. Link
HUMPTY
The resurrection of Humpty Dumpty.The ORIGINAL Humpty Dumpty 1648 AD
Not that egg sitting on the wall.
- - That was Alice in Wonderland c.1880
- A variation of . .
Don't laugh! It's a mind twister.
Link also at the bottom of the page!
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REQUESTING A JOB
REQUESTING A JOB
Then the time came that if I could not find a job of choice, I would have to take whatever they threw at me, like work in a factory.or lose unemployment benefit. and the paid accommodation Therefore, to work for a sign company again. Maybe I can work more time inside? Although that had been proved wrong.
The COLDnot laziness.I LOVE my job!!
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Apply for a sign job ~
His eyes open theatrically.Just friendly, or something else? If so, he could make a pass sooner or later. I will politely evade
Then he will start giving me a hard time. Do tricks. Take the mickey.Just because he cannot get his own way.
The scratched shield comes to mind.
Then I'll choose to leave.
What is the point of applying?
When you are a salaried employee, people think that they OWN you. I guess they do. Accommodation used as a lever also.When I was an art student,the Landlady threw me outbecause I would not visit her every eveningand listen to her BORING 2 hour monologues.So . . .
"Oh! ~ My son is coming back from Australia.I need the room!"
This is why I want independence, is it not?Get away from control freaks!!
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Bye the bye,the definition of a "Control Freak"is someone who wants you to do something,suggestion, hint, etcand punishes you if you do not do it!
Like having a boss at work.
Now if it is someone with the (PROPER) authority, ok.The LAW for instance, orNot paying your taxes etc. OK!
If not the proper authority, then that person is a"Control Freak" !A "Wannabee" authority.A Bully
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And "Nagging" is
Passive / Hidden, aggressive bullying .
Psychopath. Toxic.
NPD - Narcissus Personality DisorderLook it up.
I have met more than my fair share !!
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ANOTHER -
Four of us, by appointment, each made a test. I got the job. Thanks, but "I'll think about it." The money was fine, but who wants to sit in that brick hole all day, with a dirt floor. There is no ventilation.
(And the bus stop is a good walk, morning and night.) I'm walking back down the road, and one of the brothers cruises past ~ in a ROLLS ROYCE.
- I'm not paying for your petrol.
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ROLLS ROYCE
There was another job I did: - painting 4 trucks for a meat delivery firm. There was his Rolls Royce parked outside in the yard And he was complaining that the signwriters were charging too much!
Well, of course, walking in, as soon as they saw the Rolls, they would double the price!! When I said 195 each, he shot out of his chair like a rocket. "Come with me!"
They took 2.5 days each, butonly because of a large complicated logo.A Victorian woman making a meat pie, but in dotty half-tone.
Done by a DOTTY designer !! I wanted "word of mouth" rather than trying to overcharge him.That way the phone is always ringing.And I have a choice of jobs
Like, it is raining today.Cannot do the van cos he has no shelter,so I´ll go and do that inside window job instead. etc................................................
ANOTHER
Request regular work "Ok, do that sign for me."
"FOR RENT - Tel. 123456" (e.g.) I do it ok.
"OK I will let you know about the job." "Pay me for it!" "Nah, that was just a sample." "With these phone numbers?" (Obviously getting a free job done.)
He paid up eventually - only because he might need me in the future.
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I see human relationships nowas simply everyone trying to USE and cheat each other.No wonder there is so much stress aboutand the world in such a mess!
<<< Home
I'm becoming very nostalgic about painting shields again. Sitting in the warmth of home, listening to good music. No money problems.No people problems.
Bye-the-bye ~ The heraldic firm in which I used to work, had ceased to operate in 1984. He entered into power tools.
So people had finally found outthat their "Family Arms"did not really MEAN anything?It had finally backfired?
Well, he got a Mayfair flat out of it.And, in the beginning, a promotional tripdown the US east coast. Try heraldry again? There is a couple with their own stall in Covent Garden and they have discovered where to get the copper shields. . . Hmmmm . . . Where . . .
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TEACHING?
I did a job for a restaurant on Gerrard St., Soho.It had an unused basement - I could teach sign writing, have classes. . .I honestly do not remember why it did not happen. Most likely, he wanted rent in advance, regardless of my income from the clients - and I did not have the money at that timeI was hoping to pay him 50/50 from the profits . . .
RENAISSANCE
RENAISSANCE
McDONALDS - January 1993
I lived in Pimlico SW1.
Sunday morning and torrential rain.So to McDonalds for coffee, above Victoria station.Then to the free newspapers.Everything being read by othersexcept the 'Manchester Guardian Educational Supplement'.The last thing I would read.It is full of ads for teachers, administrators, etc.
Drinking coffee and bored, I turn a page. . .A half page article about:
'How do British pubs fare in winter on the Costa del Sol?"
And right below, a picture of a pub.And in front of the pub, a
PAINTED
sandwich board !!
"Sausage, Egg And Chips".
"Traditional Sunday lunch"
"Great British breakfast!"
Instinctive reaction!!
My fist fell on the paper.
"BINGO!"
I shouted!!
A couple of faces turned.(Another drunk !)
Suddenly I realized how bored I was.The London dream had gone.
Middle age crisis?Roll up your sleeping bag and take off!I am free & single. What´s stopping me?
A repeat of 1980 Italy.13 years to the month.Very lucky! (Again!)
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Two months later I am ready to leave.A sleeping bag and fist full ofgood sable brushes.
Doing a 'Laurie Lee'"When I left one May morning ..."
April 2
I have left a note for the caretaker.I called DHSS and told her I had a jobThanks for everything - and headed to Victoria bus station.
I did not thank the landlord another "ex-colonial"for NEVER putting the heating on - and me having to sleep in my overcoat!Saving all he could to send back home, I suppose!
So I had bought a one ring electric heater andhid it in the wardrobe during the day -Warm as toast ALL NIGHT -
You can keep it now!!
Sorry about the electric bill,you penny pinching miser.-----------
On the way, I was thinking about Rimini.I knew the placeAlthough things must have changed in 10 years.Neon Rimini would be into computer cut vinyl letters now, for sure.Not wood blocks!
"There are no buses to Italy.""OK, Spain.""There are no buses to Spain."
Well, I have to go to SOMEWHERE!I'm sick of this leaden sky and cold drizzle!It's the beginning of April. Where is the sun?
I turn around to have a cup of tea and think.I'm homeless now.He calls back -
"We have a bus to Andorra!"
Andorra? Where's that? In the middle of the Pyrenees.In the middle of nowhere
Why not? THAT is an example of what I meant by 'total freedom' ~Changing half way to any option that solves the problem. I had changed from Italy to Spain, to Andorra, in about 20 seconds!
If he had said 'Greece' I would have gone, though Spain did hold a little fascination.I came in 1967 . . .
And the freedom to stay as long as you want until the money runs out. .
But without a work permit?
But what about . . . ?
And . . . ?
JUST GO !!!!!!!!
Paris at midnight - Lyon in the early hoursIt was rain and snow all over France. Villages in the south, piled up under huge drifts.Like old paintings from Holland.Roofs of straw and gloomy.
And still the most important question is not answered.Have 'vinyl' letters reached the Costa del Sol?Because if so, it's going to be a very short vacation!
I had sent a letter to a sign firm in Gibraltar.Unanswered
Another letter to a pub: 'The Mousehole' in Torremolinos,I mentioned if plastic letters were used for local signs.But the answer was vagueHo hum.
<<< Home
South of France > Andorra > Spain
SPAIN
On the north side of the Pyrenees, more deep snow.Then coming over a brow of a hill, past a gas station, looking south.It was suddenly all bright skyNo snowLike a white blanket had been yanked asideand the view ahead ~ endless clear sunny countryside. SPAIN
YAHOOOOOOO !!!
Bus stops at the capital Andorra la Vella, Sunday afternoon. So I start walking. Slept in a barn that night, concrete floor.
Fontanede village
Next day reached the Spanish border. A whistle, and a cop calls me over. Thick cigar smoke & coffee Searched my bag.
Carried on walking with my thumb out. Just like the good old days, hitch hiking. The feeling of freedom is exhilarating.
Reached La Seu d'Urgell,
Scattered and open like a wild west town turned west then headed south. Two or three lifts took me over the mountains.
Col de Nargo
The last one was exciting Speedy zig zags High craggy cliffs They stopped eventually at a cafe The driver turned around to speak Breath REEKING of drink!
(Those hairpin bends !!!.)
People wagging their hands at me. "Non Bueno !!" - because I risk being robbed.
Walked for miles through a gorge full of S bends Slept in a grassy olive grove And walked and walked and walked
"- with my knapsack on my back, Tra La La."
Oliana
Guardiola
Village after village. . .
It was slow going and HOT But what's the hurry? and eventually to Leida there is a stink in the air gasworks?
Walking and walking. A couple of days N.240 (?) A bridge running over a railway line, and there is a train station. The village is Juneda. Looks like two trains a day. Idle about for 4 hours, then catch the train to Tarragona. Passed through here in 1967 on the way to Morocco.
Slept on a building site for two nights.No British bars here.It is a long way to the Costa del SolAnd at this rate of progress. . .
I'm dithering. . .and the money is shrinking imperceptibly No more to be had until I get a job. I have burnt my bridges. If I return, there will be no Social Security for 6 monthsNo accommodation . . .
South is the only option.
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NOW OR NEVER
Night train to Malaga8 ille. (30 quid?)Do not know what the currency value is now.Very exciting journey
Lubricated with red wine at 75c. a Litre4 quid in the UK supermarket - for 70.cl.
Rattling through the nightWhistles shriekingPoints clatteringRelentless Bunk swayingand the feint dawn breakingrosy glow of sunrise over the eastern mountains A new beginning. . .
Malaga
Youth Hostel affordable. Wandered about.No Brits here either. No English pubs
I am starting to get very relaxed, but I should not be.I have maybe three weeks survival moneyif I sleep out.
And the bus fare back, which was sewn in my trousers.
But I am fully confident that as soon as I get ONE job painting a signthe word will get around.Why?So far, there is no sign of plastic letters!!And there is always a demand from bars & cafes.
Wandered about Torremolinos.Advised to go further west."More Brits."
Wandered about Arroyo. Couple of English / Irish pubs here. Slept in the scrub land outside town
Got off the local train at Los Boliches.
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FUENGIROLA
Three weeks after arriving in Spain,I walked into Fuengirola.End of the train line. Very symbolic.
Came through here as well, in 1967.Remember peering out of the back window at it, on the way to Morocco.Cars parked all over the place!*Map below.
Looking at all the bar signs and sandwich boards.Tatty Tatty, and some signs and fascias HOMEMADE!
That's a good sign!Forgive the pun.
No signwriters here?Does not look like it.Later ~ Yes. One. He's been here a while. . .But was a bit laid back now.Picking and choosingand charging an arm and a leg.
Rimini all over again. . .
So ~No plastic letteringNo rain. Well, nothing to worry about.and it's HOT.
Lookin' good.
Slept out of town at first- Did not want to be evicted from the town because I was sleeping out.
But later on the beach OKand in the castle storerooms when it rained.(Before it was renovated)
<<< Home
ABOVE ~ Oct / Nov. - 1967 - Molly & I to Morrocco.
Yellow is UK outward through Fuengirola.
Cars parked all over the place!
We spent that night on "The Rock" in our sleeping bags,
with morning coffee on the summit cafe !!
2 days later. an English pub . First one!
in 'Sin alley' by the bus station.They want it called the 'Brahms and Liszt' (photo above. Part of . . )Now called 'Pearl'
Proffessional English musician -With a gorgeous Chinese wife.I sympathised with her bank problem, that they could not pay me yet . . .
Had to threaten him after two weeks waiting,with "paint all over his bar" if he did not pay!
So it was a Mille a day (4 quid) - and a free pint.
That's not a good omen for the future!
in 'Sin alley' by the bus station.They want it called the 'Brahms and Liszt' (photo above. Part of . . )Now called 'Pearl'
Proffessional English musician -With a gorgeous Chinese wife.I sympathised with her bank problem, that they could not pay me yet . . .
- Until the penny dropped!
Had to threaten him after two weeks waiting,with "paint all over his bar" if he did not pay!
So it was a Mille a day (4 quid) - and a free pint.
That's not a good omen for the future!
But, it took off immediately ~Half way through, and another guy wants a jobSupply and demand. It's picking up . . .
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A 3 month job over the bus station, when it was 'run-around-in-the-dark-shooting-lasers'Pictures everywhere.
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A 3 month job over the bus station, when it was 'run-around-in-the-dark-shooting-lasers'Pictures everywhere.
More pictures to do. OK!
I had a magnificent job for about 2 months - painting murals for a theme park.
"Bedrock City" (Calahonda) -
see "Murals" on "Homepage".
And the indoor Las Rampas market. The mini 'Covent Garden' To-day, there are still remains of gold decor on the windows.
See "Misc" on "Homepage"
SIESTA
One of the first 2 things you notice:This SIESTA! - I want a pot of paint in a particular colour, ( or turps, or tape ), in order to carry on the job - And the shops are closed from 2 to 5 !! Very frustrating. I wanted to finish TODAY!I have another job starting tomorrow . .
There is not a lot you can DO about it.As long as the rent was paid VERY cheap accom. at the time.AND the beachthen OK.
And also: No one is in a hurry! (The 'Manana' bit). The meeting was at 10 amHe rolls up at 11 am"Ah! There you are!"as though it is me who is late!No apologies.
It took me a YEAR to slow down! from my (robotic?) life in London.
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OVERKILL
- It CAN be very quiet for the bars & cafes, apart from Summertime - And there is a LOT of competition.
To wit: All the ENGLISH & IRISH Pubs & restaurants -In a rectangular area -
1) Between the main road (Bus Station street) and the sea, &
2) Between the river (castle) and the river just before Los Boliches.
The rectangle on the map below.
266 premises.
DOUBLE that for Spanish Pubs.
500, in such a small area.
Alcoholic saturation point.
Unless you are in a good spot (what's 'good'?)You are not going to make a living.
New people looking for their "Dream in the sun"seriously under-estimate the amount of competition
And if they do not survive, they have to leave, of course.
And another family arrive to take over
- and, of course, they want the signs and menus changed.............................
The only winners are the People who enable the start-up.
Estate agents, the Landlord, the Council.Painters & DecoratorsBuildersElectriciansPlumbersOh, and Signmakers!
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And the pub - if he is lucky.It is the only time he will have cash to spare.Because he has sold his house in the UK.
Burnt his bridge back.
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'A' boards were a nice little earner - $200 each, but a good 2 days work and minus $40 materials.until the council stopped them, as being a pavement 'hazard'
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2021: I have not done painting now for 4 years, yet a complete stranger sees me in the street and says 'Still doing the old painting?')
Famous but not rich!
DOUBLE that for Spanish Pubs.
500, in such a small area.
Alcoholic saturation point.
Unless you are in a good spot (what's 'good'?)You are not going to make a living.
New people looking for their "Dream in the sun"seriously under-estimate the amount of competition
And if they do not survive, they have to leave, of course.
And another family arrive to take over
- and, of course, they want the signs and menus changed.............................
The only winners are the People who enable the start-up.
Estate agents, the Landlord, the Council.Painters & DecoratorsBuildersElectriciansPlumbersOh, and Signmakers!
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And the pub - if he is lucky.It is the only time he will have cash to spare.Because he has sold his house in the UK.
Burnt his bridge back.
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'A' boards were a nice little earner - $200 each, but a good 2 days work and minus $40 materials.until the council stopped them, as being a pavement 'hazard'
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2021: I have not done painting now for 4 years, yet a complete stranger sees me in the street and says 'Still doing the old painting?')
Famous but not rich!
Heraldry.
Finally got there. But no one is interested now!
A different generation . .
Finally got there. But no one is interested now!
A different generation . .
ALL I really miss is Real English Ale, like Courage Directors. Out of the barrel.In an olde fashioned pub.
And a weekend in the woods somewhere, with a big fire, a fry up, and a bottle of wine. and sleeping out under a big oak tree.
No camping out HERE with a bonfire . . .
And a weekend in the woods somewhere, with a big fire, a fry up, and a bottle of wine. and sleeping out under a big oak tree.
No camping out HERE with a bonfire . . .
There were no murals to do in the UK.
Only small pics for Italians, Greeks, (Mediterranean culture)
So my Art School training was finally paying off. Painting a picture with method. -Work backwards Sky first, then the buildings & trees, then the figures in front.No wasting time.
(Thank you Teacher Lewis - CCA)
Only small pics for Italians, Greeks, (Mediterranean culture)
So my Art School training was finally paying off. Painting a picture with method. -Work backwards Sky first, then the buildings & trees, then the figures in front.No wasting time.
(Thank you Teacher Lewis - CCA)
This mural below, the first, started a chain reaction. (Lower Deck. Porto).Got me on local TV for my 15 min of fame.
First & last shop, Top row, middle photo below!
Hardly started!Expecting me to bring in all the moneywhilst they sat around drinking beer!
They would leave a card or leaflet in a pubThe proprieter would say he was interested (Naturally)
"SOMETIME in the future."MAYBE
Then they would return and make a big Hoo Haathat they have got me a job!So buy them a drink!Or they want their commission NOW!
I have never met SO MANY con-persons! Quite an education!
Or is it part of "growing up"
And facing the "Real" world ?
To remind myself of the dream.1970
Work MY own hours
Decide the price (Almost!)
Not have to COMPLETELY depend on anyone.
Not having to work in the same place EVERY DAY
Plenty of work, because you are helping to fulfill a DEMAND
And best of all, work which you LIKE doing.
And where it was SUNSHINE all time. . .
The SEASIDE would be nice. .
and where language does not matter
(That much.)
You can always get through!
and have a day off when I like!
NO KIDDIN` !!!
(Yeah! No kiddin ')
DREAM COME TRUE. . .
25 - 30 yearsSign painting for a livingin a sunny countryIndependent &Plenty of work
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But now the computer has arrivedand changed the lives of everyone.
I design fascias & menuson the computer.OK.
But now I have competition -the "Copy Shops" !!
They charge moreAnd you are always waiting in a queue!
But the client feels happier becausehe can always pop in and check up.
And he can't run away - Ha Ha!
Maybe maybe - more on living in Spain.
But do not wait.
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