Chalkfest.

It was  very much a day of two halves weather-wise. A great deal of rain in the morning which cleared away in the afternoon. Walking down to Chalkfest in the afternoon it went from pleasantly warm to hot with a tiny bit of cool depending on how much of the breeze you were in.

Once again the alarm was set for before 7.00 though by the time it went off Peter was already up and making tea. He doesn't like an early start but I guess that an 8.00 row was enough to get him out of bed.

By the time he was ready to leave it was raining heavily but when he met the rest of the crew nobody wanted to be the first to call it off so out they went. Not only was it raining but the waves were big so everyone, except for Peter who was coxing wearing his yellow coat, got very wet. But they all had a wonderful time.

I spent the morning watching the Olympic Opening Ceremony while throwing together my carnival headgear. Safety pins and elastic bands were used as well as needle and thread and hopefully it will all stay together on the day. Although I'm not that interested in the actual sports I enjoy the spectacle of the opening ceremony and this one was certainly spectacular.

With the clouds beginning to roll back in at the end of the afternoon I headed off to see how they were doing at Chalkfest. After such a wet morning people hadn't begun until much later and there seemed to be fewer participants than usual but it still looked good. It is run by Dean, from the zoo who is a mural artist and anybody can turn up to have a go. He provides all the materials and there is no charge. It is just a fun thing to do especially for families.

The village itself was full of holidaymakers making the most of the good weather. People on the water, people on the beach and others sitting outside the cafes or perching on a wall eating ice-creams. Just how a summer should be.

Saturday is the usual change over day for holiday accommodation and there were a number of families trudging down the High St. pulling their wheeled suitcases behind them. Most likely they had come down on the train and were heading for one of the several holiday parks that are at this end of the village. At the other end of the scale as I walked past the house of the chap who flies here in his helicopter his garage door was open and I could see a shiny 4wd parked next to a RIB (inflatable boat) the same size as the lifeboat. Over his the garden gate I could see the tail of his helicopter which he parks in his garden.

Since I'd never been in before I went into what calls itself an antique shop but is more of an emporium stuffed with vintage objects and clothes. It was interesting to look around but nothing caught my eye. It would have to be something really special as I'm working hard on de-cluttering and have more than enough beautiful things still packed away.

At home I cut out the card to make the stern of the gondola, painted a simple Rialto Bridge on the the back of the card for the back of the seat and made a stencil so that I can spray a venetian skyline on the side panels. Those are still bending so I've laid them flat with bricks on top.

A busy day but so far I'm on schedule.