Being inspired is just seeing things differently

We spent the weekend on the Isle of Wight which we love-quiet, slow and sunny and we didn't see a Starbucks or a Weatherspoons all weekend. The thing about being away is you have the space to really look at the world around you. Doing the City and Guilds course with the wonderful Loraine McClean is that I am begining to understand that design is not necessarily about thinking up brilliant things but also seeing brilliant things around you and using them in your work. I really liked the colours in this rusty container I saw and the juxtaposition of these boats on the shore. When I saw this cliff face at the Needles I saw lace knitting-should I worry?

The husband does incredibly complexcomputer stuff for a living and compensates by refusing to read instructions in his spare time. This is a middle class Jewish boy version of macho behaviour. This is why it took years for him to grasp the concept of his IPod "What's my library?" "Playlist?" He now has completely got it and is obessing about playlists. But he has no fun music-no 'Sugar Sugar' by the Archies, no Motown, no Dolly. Essentially music to bop to whilst washing the floor or cleaning the kitchen.....but wait why would he need music to mop to he wouldn't know what a bloody mop was for!

He has kindly offered me the chance to use his download service and make my own playlist-however we will put it on in the car and after 2 tracks he will look like he is in the process of root canal surgery and we will have to turn it off and go back to male jazz wank.

We went to the most beautiful garden run by the National Trust. We got there before it opened and found ourselves waiting amongst a gaggle of other middle age couples-is this what we have become-I was somewhat cheered by the sight of the husband bending over obsessively looking for butterflies and bugs to photograph when he gets his new groovy camera which is currently still a fantasy. The Guardian is too blame for this one with their handouts of insects 2 weeks ago.

May be we should have gone to Glastonbury after all.