Six Orkney observations on a Monday morning

[Sandra Davies]

One blonde, soft-cushioned teenager with pushchair whose eyes say she hadn’t reckoned that  five irresponsible minutes on her back would lead to eighteen years of responsibility for another.

Two coffee-bean-coloured cats, backlit gold and far too thin, near invisible against the black plastic bin-sack they are casing.

Three fluorescent-jacketed men arrange to hire a car, one good-looking in a careless Italian sort of fashion, dark glasses, curly hair.  

Four over-soft and squidgy leather chairs – bucket seats? – deep crimson walls, coffee and cakes with Charlotte.

Five or six tiny tattooed butterflies on the neck of the checkout girl in Tesco’s, her attention torn between customer and waiting friends.

Seven dirty ochre chimney pots, not one of equal size or angle, staging an ever-changing minstrel show of crows and gulls.

[Michael Brown]

Wish my mornings began with these kinds of casual observations instead of the one where I realize how fast time is flying when I just want fifteen more minutes that feel like an hour with my coffee. I need to clip this and pin it up to remind myself to look up from my navel. Thanks for the treat.

[Sandra Davies]

Thanks all - I have to say this piece felt so good and easy in the seeing and the writing that I was confident of  doing another set today, but whatever was keeping me company yesterday has eloped with A N Other  :(

[Jamie Hogan]

Beautiful to the point of surrealism. Wow. I don't want to foul this up with my usual word flood, so let me just say congratulations on this piece. I hope it felt as good going onto the page as it does coming off.

[Bill Floyd]

This is so well drawn it breathes.  To be present in life, to see and feel; not a bad way to go through Monday.

[Toby Tucker Hecht]

Very enjoyable observations.  Nothing is wasted on you.

[Sandra Davies]

Gita - it was you who asked for these in the first place, so I am glad you appreciated them :)

[Gita]

I enjoyed every little nuance of the whole, but oh that last sentence just soared.

You see the colors and textures of things so acutely, but the best part is you then know how to translate the visual into the verbal. You could do one every day of the week and I'd be delighted.

[Sandra Davies]

Thanks Stephen - you are on the same wavelength as I when I wrote this ... it was that sort of morning :)

[Stephen Torelli]

One blonde teenager, two colored cats, three jacketed men, four leather chairs, five tattooed butterflies and seven chimney pots... don't know why, I just felt like writing that; and I really enjoyed reading your Monday morning observations. Excellent!