Art Therapy
27 February

Four days of work and I feel tired and exhilarated.

I'm exhilarated because I've been in the training room again and have led sessions and worked with people. I've been working alongside my new colleague, another David, and the signs so far are that we will we shall form a good team together.

However, four full days of work have left me feeling tried. Pleasantly tired but tired nevertheless. It's early days so I suppose that this is not surprising. However, I am very glad that I now have four full days away from work. Today, Friday, I have taken as a holiday and Monday is the first day of my new contract in which I shall be working a four day week with Mondays as the day off.

Ross and I used some time off last weekend to attend a private view at Tate Liverpool. The exhibition, entitled The Uncanny, featured a sort of cornucopia of items, found, sculptured, crafted, which focus on the quirkier aspects of life. I can't say that I found it a total success.

It was a bit like being in a travelling Victorian freak show and was ultimately not a little distasteful even if I was captivated by and admiring of some of the artifice. I feel like I'm going to be a little less easy about handing out my stars this year and so this can only rate two stars. The meal that we had afterwards in the Tate café was quite ordinary as well and, for the price, over-priced.

Much more enjoyable was Calendar Girls which we viewed last night - a clear three star enjoyment film telling the story of the Mothers' Union group who raised money for cancer treatments by creating a calendar of middle aged women posing in the buff.

The film didn't shirk from sensible, commonsense earthiness and steered a fine line between sentiment and absurdity. The only wrong note was the American photographer who was just too much of a caricature sleazeball.

And for the rest of the weekend, I am looking forwards to peace and quiet and a few special events.