A week in the life of a "Polymath"

A Polymath is how ZimmerStewart gallery of Arundel, West Sussex, describe my brother,Piers Ottey,  in their publicity for a current exhibition of his paintings "Raindrops on Roses".  They go on to define a Polymath as "a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas ". 

                                    

   They are right. Not only is he a wonderful painter of eclectic subjects, a much admired teacher of drawing and painting , he also takes apart and builds vintage Brough motorbikes, and has designed and built his studio and home. 

Here are some pictures from the exhibition. If you can get to Arundel before November 21st, you won't be disappointed! For more information check out www.zimmerstewart.co.uk or piersottey.co.uk

     

   Rome Evening

So it was with pride and some emotion that we attended the preview of his exhibition last Friday and took dad with us. It turned out that he had never been to his son's exhibition preview before! 

Piers with Ladies' Bridge (Waterloo) 

    Proud father, and son 

    A London night 

    John Zimmer & Piers Othey 

One of the delights of having dad living with us just now is the opportunity to do more together . For Merry the dog , it means more walks and cuddles . For Eartha the cat it provides another being to be disdainful towards! 

                                    

                            

       

                                  

                                      Hove beach and Merry 

                                      

In between walks and admiring Eartha sunning herself last Sunday, (a day of lovely weather ) we have been planning and preparing for dad relinquishing his home on the other side of the county, and moving closer into a more supported situation. This has meant a lot of cleaning and clearing, and that dad and I have spent many hours this week sifting through papers and keepsakes .  

And today this has meant Piers taking a break from art and leading an expedition ! At the crack of dawn the three of us set off along the twisting and turning roads of East Sussex with a tough mission before us.  After 4 hours labouring and 6 trips to the dump-it site for the Polymath and I, we have achieved the clear- out of dad's packed full garage .  I should have taken a before as well as an after picture . I didn't . So you just have to believe and imagine the transformation from choc full to a clean and tidy space.

                                       

                                           A virtually empty garage - result! 

So the Polymath has added being a "man with a van " and "home clearance" to his repertoire , and I only hope he is back in time and is washed and brushed up for hosting of friends at his exhibition later! 

Remembrance,reflection,reconciliation

Remembrance, reflection , reconciliation were themes that struck me forcibly when we visited Berlin for a family 60th birthday celebration last weekend. The first building we saw was emblematic of this .

                                      

                                          Kaiser Wilhelm 1 ( 1797-1888) Memorial Hall 

                                     

             

                                          

         

             Interior of Kaiser Wilhelm 1  memorial church ( built 1961) with its Karl Shuke organ ( 5100         pipes- completed 1963) 

  Starting our stay overlooking the City's zoo, we enjoyed the colours of Autumn in a city full of trees . 

Geographically the largest city in Europe, it has only 3m residents , and this is reflected in a sense of space and green .

                        

With the zoo on our doorstep and a gloriously sunny Saturday , we took the opportunity to walk in this leafy place and see the animals and birds . Unsurprisingly, the monkeys seemed the most popular with visitors . I was taken with other outdoor beasts.

  

The condor was pretty magnificent and proudly displayed - I'm not sure that we were the desired audience ! 

                                    

                               The giraffes were splendidly blending with the scenery .

     

         Oh and the rhino ......something that takes us back millennia .

        

                                     

                                         The Holocaust memorial 

The Holocaust memorial moved, and the museum below , educated . Queues of people patiently waited their turn for the museum , and we joined them , intent on being reminded of the terrible persecution and annihilation of peoples for being different . This powerful map locates all sites of persecution and extermination in Europe. Only the UK and Spain are untouched.

   

   

       

This powerful testimony by Hungarian poet Miklos Radnoti (1909-44) was one of many in the museum, Radnoti did indeed die as he foretold.  We visited the memorials to gay and Roma people too . 

     

                                        

                                            Memorial to gay people persecuted by the Nazis 

        

    Unfortunately we hadn't booked in advance to actually go into the Reichstag building , which is the seat of parliamentary democracy in Germany . So we could only enjoy the splendour of the Norman Foster glass dome from afar. 

   The Reichstag where the Bundestag meets and is centred. 

The appreciation and value put on the democracy enjoyed by all Germans today , was evident , not least in the dedicated public buildings, exhibitions and  published  literature . The Deutcher Dom in the  Gendarmenmarkt provides an exhibition "Milestones,setbacks,sidetracks - Parliamentary democracy in Germany" 

 

                                       

                                           Stairwell in the Deutcher Dom 

                        

                           

Domes are something that Berlin can boast a lot of . This is the Cathedral by the River Spree . A trip in the river was a great way of seeing many of the significant buildings in the centre - democratic and cultural - and enjoying the Autumn scenery .

       

         

   

        

And after the river , what better than coffee and cake. The sparrows approved of the choice ! 

Berlin does things on a grand scale and the Brandenburg gate at night epitomises this .

           

                                        

                                            Brandenburg gate

I said that this was a birthday celebration. Sadly, in the event, due to an unforeseen accident, the birthday girl couldn't come , and we had to celebrate without her! You couldn't make it up! Happy birthday Netty! X

All the generations

Sheffield , the biggest village in England , welcomed us back for a heartwarming family visit last weekend . The city centre had an Autumnal feel . The grandchildren were full of stories and play, enjoying kicking the crisp and yellowing leaves along the path and delighted to see Merry . 

 

                     

                                

                                

                                         Peace Gardens , Sheffield 

A family dinner celebration marking the loving marriage of Kate and Sam over the summer, was as delicious and special at ever at Tessa Bramley's " Old Vicarage " at Ridgeway. Warmth and colour are a mark of the welcome, setting and delicious food. It never fails to be a special and memorable treat. 

                                    

         

             Kate and I enjoyed a delicious veggie main course 

On Sunday , the Peak District was colourful, it's fresh air and the paths of Longshaw offered a lovely setting for a good brisk country walk. Sheffielders are so fortunate to have the Peak District on their doorstep , much as we benefit from the Downs so close to Brighton&Hove. Interestingly, the Universities of both cities have high staying on rates , is this partly the joys of country and city ?  

              

                                     

     

         

     

         

                                 

  

London on Monday brought another, a very different treat. In between a day of meetings and a rendezvous with my eldest son for early supper, I managed to visit the Royal Academy and to see the Ai Weiwei exhibition. It is quite astounding. It manages to challenge and provoke whilst delighting with his artistry . Words ...my words, cannot do it justice. And it will require a revisit. Discussing with my friend who saw some of the exhibits in New York , it is worth seeing in London, additionally. What a talented,courageous artist. 

            

                                     

      

          Courtyard trees construction 

                                    

                                        Marble buggy 

                                        

                                     

                                         One of a series of lifelike models from solitary confinement 

And to cap it all, i espied one of my heroes, Professor Mary Beard , resplendent in yellow, giving an interview in the Courtyard, as I left. She cheerily agreed to a photo. 

                                         

                                      

                                          Professor Mary Beard 

The rest of the week has been taken up with family too. This time we have been visiting our aged parents - we each have one surviving into grand old age. 

In the case of  my father , the visit was to collect him from " respite" and bring him to live with us whilst we plan with him for the best means of sustaining his independence but with more company , care and safety than his last few months alone have afforded him. He was delighted to be coming to us,and was also really appreciative of the lovely caring stay he had received in a care home , following the terrifying ordeal of a robbery at home. Of course, the cost of the care home had been a shock, and the regularity of meals was a novelty, and he did not want to be in an institution, but the kindness and care of every single member of staff was fantastic. 

He is still grieving from the death of my stepmother on Valentine's Day, and I brought a painting of her and a painting by her, for the walls of his room. 

I shared the image below to comfort a grieving friend . I must show it to dad. 

                                                  

                        

    

Connecting and Learning

                                       

                                           Up at Devil's Dyke on the Downs 

Re-connecting with home, friends and family this week has been a joy. Back on the beach and up on the Downs has been a delight. The bright dry Autumn is a boon .

    Hove beach 

London called last Saturday and we spent a lovely afternoon with daughter and boyfriend in Camberwell exploring the area . After an urban walk and visit to it's church , we enjoyed  the local pub,  the Crooked Well, downing  a hearty broccoli soup.

                                  

                                      St Giles Camberwell 

Later, leaving Merry the dog in good hands, and armed with the Citymapper app (new to us) ,

we strode off and caught a bus up to town. 

   Merry at home, away from home 

We partied in Covent Garden- a joint 90th birthday (50+40)-marvelling at this cake and meeting friends new and old, before sampling "Uber's" taxi service back south of the river. Happy birthdays K&G. 

                                   

                                      A cake - really it is! 

All this has been great. But alongside the fun has been the sad challenge of planning with dad for his future. Sadly whilst we were away he was robbed at night at home. Happily he is unhurt physically but the experience left him, my brother and sister,  and the Police  concluding that he is not safe to live alone in his home any longer. He is receiving caring respite and  next week will come to us for a time whilst we seek supported independent living . 

                                     

    Borrowed beach hut forcontemplation in the sun 

Dad has been stoical and appreciative despite his fears. My family have been wonderful managing the crisis and not spoiling our holiday. And the Police were fantastic . They would not leave dad alone. They drove him through the night to my brother. They are investigating thoroughly, however unlikely it is that they will catch the culprits. We are grateful . We and they are dismayed at such a crime . 

And whilst I planned with Dad and our family for dads future I also had to honour a commitment in the last half of the week . I headed north to Durham . 

                            

                                 Kings X-Durham bound 

 

   We live in such a beautiful country and the journey showed this to good effect. My landing place wasn't the City with its magnificent cathedral , but the College of Policing in the Durham countryside .

   Crook countryside, Co Durham 

I was heading for an intensive training course to learn about the demanding assessment process for officers aspiring for the High Command of the Police . I and others were being trained by psychologists to be independent assessors alongside serving Chief officers. 

   Autumn outside the College of Policing in Durham 

I really enjoyed the challenge of learning , and meeting a new group of senior independent people who share a wish to make a valuable contribution to the identification and development of senior police officers. The approach was incredibly rigorous and evidence - based and we worked hard at our exercises over the two and a half days . 

                                  

                                      Durham station 

I've ridden the train south to be reunited with my partner and dog , and to see some of our family in Sheffield, ready for a rest. Along the way I've delighted in my introduction to WhatsApp -  a new find on social media ( second new app in a week) . 

On arrival, instead of a rest , I receive a loud warm , children and doggy welcome, a tasty supper and requests to draw and read stories . The particular request is to draw myself as a princess! I do and there is no  better way to unwind. As I put the children to bed, they ask if its the weekend tomorrow . It is. We are all delighted. 

 

      

          Princess Penma