Value and valor

The sense of defining the value to yourself and to others is perhaps a large part of life and the direction that possibly alters our views of others and what we hope to acheive with work or conversation. Growing up, in a family that put huge emphasis on being humble and value others first and foremost, has left its mark on myself and my brothers, for my part I seem to have spent most of my life trying to understand my own value and the value I have to others, it is so much easier to take the opinion of others before your own but that lends itself to being used to boost the value of their life's deeds and deminish your own. There are always those that will gladly take others as steps for their own progress and not return the favour, judging confidence and progress is best made by yourself and then viewed against what others have done and not just said.
Work can be very much a means of self exploration or self deception, to push yourself beyond what feels comfortable can be a means of self exploration and acheivement, providing that it is not done as some competion with others or yourself, some how it is bound to failure if this is the case and have less value, it is better to not know the full extent of where you are going and that can allow you to move freer and with unusual gains. I have learnt that it is not always necessary to acheive large financial gains to get the reward of self enlightenment, the later is by far the most valuable and in some ways the most useful and lasting, not so easily lost once gained. it is the process of self value that gives others value and gives you valor.
I have for the last couple of years been with some small problem of vision, this had become worse and given over to bad headaches, it is now moved to me realising that i have the start, rapid start, of glaucoma and I am quickly noticing that I am now loosing sight, it is with a sense of humility and panic that is going through my mind at the present and not knowing if this is some thing that can be halted from progressing to blindness or at very best poorer eyesight, disturbing for one that makes his living as an artist and restorer and now that I have started into a relationship, to know what is right for the future?

Scottish Jewellery and antiques

Jewellery is just on my mind at the moment and to the point, engagement rings. My freind Murdo McLeod has suffered at least one of my weddings and I have just asked him if he can track down a nice engagement ring, one with a large soltaire diamond so that every man that sees it on Graca's finger will know that she is spoken for. I am forever the romantic and Murdo's shop in the heart of Edimburgh as always got that Scottish Highland romance when you enter, he is now trying to move some of the sales work to the internet and this will hopefully give everyone out there the chance to buy some nice old Scottish items as well as jewellery. Murdo is a charming fellow that is trully Scottish, born on the Isle of Skye and very much still having that soft lilt to his voice, guarantied to capture the hearts of most women, he has had a shop at the bottom of Victoria Street, near the Castle and next to the Old Bow Well, which also was next to the gallows of old Edinburgh, an area full of old buildings and drenched in history. Here is the history of

Bow Well Antiques

Bow Well Antiques takes its name and logo from the Bow Well, the public well and drinking fountain which stands at the junction of the West Bow and the Grassmarket in Edinburghs old Town in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle.

The well was erected in 1674 and repaired in 1861 at the expense of Richardson Brothers snuff grinders and tobacco merchants who occupied the building in which Bow Well Antiques have traded since 1989. The Building is one of very few Scottish Knights Templer buildings still in existence .

In 1998 Murdo Mcleod bought out his business partner and continued to as sole owner assisted by his son Alasdair. Bow Well Antiques has always specialised in Scottish antiques and highland dress with a strong accent on smaller items such a pottery glass and especially SCOTTISH AGATE JEWELLERY , HIGHLAND DRESS and accessories, the unusual and interesting and the curious.

Murdo Mcleod has researched the history of Scottish Agate jewellery from original sources looking into the inspiration and basis of the design, the manufacturers, lapidary's and silversmiths working in this trade .

passions returning

These last few weeks have had some very strange events and left me in some what of a quandary over my direction and emotional sense. A few weeks ago I had been looking after the house and visiting Mike's mother, she was ageing at 91 and I went in the evening to give her some extra company more than assistance, she seemed to cope, all be it with some difficulty, however that changed rapidly the other week and she died, leaving us all in some what of a shocked state, some of the family having flown large distances to see her before she died, which most thankfully did manage. Valerie was the Queen's 'nose gay' for many years, I think near 40 years, an artist who painted and also carved, a keen surrealist and a lady that had great mental vitality even at the end. The funeral was a very modest affair and very sad to be with friends seeing their loss and grieving, lightened I must say by the grand children's obvious love and appreciation of their grand mother and their entertaining speeches covering what they had learnt from their closeness to such an interesting lady. I had planed to go to France for some three months work but the death of Valerie and Mike's work beforehand, rather meant that nothing had got sorted out until last Thursday, when Mike and I travelled to France and had contact with the architect and builder for his house there.










I had been some what involved whilst I was in Brazil with designing a staircase for the house in France as well as some large double doors for the library and front entrance, along with my now evolving relationship with Graca, it had all been a lot of passion and optimism, I was looking forward to being in France and getting a new workshop set up but the real down side for me was the separation I new I would have from Graca, this I thought would be somewhat eased by the knowledge that she was going to Ouro Preto for 18 months on a course for restoration of paintings, truly for me an ideal subject and one that I have readily given my support to. The trouble is that with the events of the funeral, along with the memories of my mothers death earlier this year, I started to feel that the work in France was about to unwind , leaving me with almost nothing to do there, I had very little other work planned, that which I had planned before hand also disappeared, along with the feeling that having come back to the UK on a wild goose chase I had left back in Brazil what now felt I needed more than any work, that of Graca's company, suddenly it seemed to be the most stupid decision to leave when I could have been there to help her with the new course and make some new real direction for us to travel.












The meeting last Thursday, along with many emails that Graca has sent me over the weeks, with her calm and clear attitude has made the whole of the last few weeks come back to a positive and hopeful situation, creating once again some brave new venture that we can travel together. I had thought for many years that this kind of emotional roller coaster had past me by and that I was just able to calmly plan my life but I am in some ways glad to see the turmoil return and the passions flow once more, a sense of living the Brazilian life and not exsisting just to clear the gas and electricity bills.
Whilst in France Mike and I met up with our friends the Dareau's who have a small holding and riding school near to St Puy and have really been the reason for Michael's attention going to the Gers as a possible location for living in France permanently, Michael Dareau and his wife Marece have been in France for a number of years now with the main intention of helping their daughters run a fine riding school.