All change

All change

I have discovered recently why I like change, its because change releases us from the past, or at least it can.

I have for a long time had a dislike for the seeming permanence of books When Dr Benjamin Spok ,not the Startreck one, Changed his views on child rearing and rewrote his books to reflect his new stance many of his readers were left with guilt for having tried to follow his earlier work. Not his fault just the way things were, early sixties I think. Its all changed now. 

                 We have e books with an e book like a website if you want to change something in the light of new knowledge you can, it may be ten seconds after or ten years later! it can be changed. This of course does require a radical rethink about how we pass on information. I have become in recent times a storyteller using a medium called Kamishibai

Japanese Picture card theatre performed traditionally from the back of a bike. I use/recycle old stories and occasionally create my own, Kamishibai uses Picture cards as well as props acting and all the theatricality I can introduce, and here’s the clincher for me I can change it every time I tell it.

Not just the dialogue but the pictures indeed the whole direction of the story .I make the pictures using a digital camera, some painting ( very little) and Coral draw painting package to stitch it all together. Between getting the idea for the picture and printing it can be as little as ten minutes .Its printed to size then Laminated to keep out the rain and stiffen it up like the original cards. Some don't like the glossy finish but you can get matt laminate envelops too.

I get some of my best ideas whilst telling/acting out the story and have to be quick to notice them Why embrace change? It feels right we change so why shouldn't our stories/lives. Its not just about accepting change its doing something about it.

 

Its a bargain or Trust?

 

The other day someone called to book me I work as a clown a children's party I said yes we discussed terms venue and time, and duly a confirmation email appeared. Then another email appeared two weeks later cancelling  the now confirmed booking. The child had changed its mind ( 3 years old) thank you very much and good bye . The mother sounded aggrieved  that I asked for a cancellation fee 50% of the agreed fee. I have not signed any contract was the repost . But had she?

            Contracts in this country  can take many forms verbal, legal, but often difficult to enforce. Written the most common to name but two. For a contract to exist the participants need to agree on three points Time , venue, and payment, at this point you can “Shake on it” “sign on the dotted line” or just put your hand up as in an auction. That's it the agreement , contract, deal , bargain is struck.

            It , and this is the important bit can only be dissolved mutually by both parties (effectively contracting again to break the first contract) or by the courts in a disagreement from either party. Not convinced , then lets look at some examples. Car insurance, written, try getting out of one of those. Verbal  Marriage verbal contract “I do” some say the strongest contract one will ever agree too. The courts exist to sort out the less obvious infractions. But we make and break contracts every day, what makes this incredibly  complex system work one thing, Trust.

            The mother in this dispute would have been peeved to say the least if on the day of the party I had not turned up she would never trust me again, and probably never book another entertainer again. That might be a good thing for other performers would you want to take a booking from someone who went back on there word?

            If instead the mother had come to me and spoken on the phone outlining the situation I would not be writing this now. I would have “ let her off “ now  I am the aggrieved party I could have lost a booking in the two weeks that I was contracted. I didn't as it happens and further I will try to get a booking from this date. Do I sue? In this case no I have spent at least one hour writing this missive and hopefully doing the right thing by not suing Ignorance is no defence in law . I hope she reads this, she knows who she is, now she might understand the consequences to others of her actions You can check anything I state in this blog and comment if you wish. In over forty years of trading this has only happened a very few times. Most people prefer trust not contracts.

Identity,
             my concept of identity has always been loose, I perform with twenty five different characters each having there own unique take on life. A talk I went to a few nights ago likened it to a web with "me" at the center. Today another Derek Carpenter posted a picture on Facebook, this is someone I have never met but who contacted me through Facebook to become my friend, so If you can't be friends with like named friends who can you be friends with, the picture posted was not one I would have connected with nor published so I was a little miffed, my own sister thought I had posted it, so a case of mistaken Identity. I looked up Derek Carpenter on Facebook ( that's just a name right) and there appears to be hundreds of us!! It gets worse, I chose to be called Derek Carpenter!!!!! Not my birth parents, the Williams but me . I became an actor at an early age 13, at 16 Equity, the actors union, told me if I wanted to join I would have to change my name as there were four Derek Williams in Equity already and there couldn't be a fifth. So Derek Carpenter was reborn, I say reborn because" I "already existed. Carpenter because I was playing a Carpenter in a TV play, and to some degree my Grandfather had been a Carpenter, and all the stars of the day appeared to have trade names Gardner, Baker Taylor ecetera, I didn't change the Derek bit because that was me, even though I did not like the name, I wanted to be Jim, like my best friend and it was also my Dads nick name his real name Roland! Are you still following all this? I did it all legally too so I could build my career on a sound foundation, Deed poll at Sommerset House even my Passport.
               All to no avail it seems, there are Hundreds of me out there and all like me multi-faceted do I care? not any more, to quote Prevert "I  am as I am I'm made that way"
Bo.

Back from a superb holiday in France all due to Michelle's flawless planning. One week of phillosphic discussion at Maison Du lac a restored Farmhouse near Boullonge sur we have never eaten so well or had such stimulating company. The object in restoring the Farm was to preserve the tranquility that surrounds it.

This was my Homage to David Hockney using my new mobile phone.

Inside view of Maison Du Lac

Any suggestions gratefully received as to how to share our Holiday pics this way is very slow.

Energy from The Sun.
         About Ten Years ago, I had the idea to make Tiles for the roof that were in fact solar cells, so the whole roof , or at least the sun facing side was a voltaic generator. Today my dream has come true, Voltaics on both the Workshop and the House it means we have finally closed the loop and our electric bikes are sustainable from the sun. also all the power we use from home( I work from Home mostly so I don't have to add to Road Pollution ) computers lights even heat to a small degree can come free.
               Next stage Daytime storage probably at 12volt ( its like economy 7 in reverse) so we can use computers, TV's ect at night. Lead acid batteries ( car Batteries ) to store the power and a simple inverter to run up to 240volt AC. Available from Maplins) In time most appliances will run at this or up to 36 volt as the roof panels produce direct current at 36 v The transformer that wastes 20% converting up to 240v ac will go.
                Whole streets could convert sharing the dividend and more importantly free power, it could see the end to the craving for Nuclear. Why aren't people shouting from the rooftops "We want solar Power", and why aren't the government publicising this ground breaking advance in renewable energy, possibly because the roots for this project reside with the previous administration. Or maybe as I suspect ,sour grapes,  they are going to cut the feed in tariff ( what you get for generating energy too the grid)  on the 12 December from 43pence to 21 pence a swingeing cut which could decimate this burgeoning industry. Ring your local councillors now and help to reverse this ludicrous decision. Meanwhile its getting cold in my office I know I will put on my fan heater 
after all its free now!

Had a bumper crop of bookings come in, Christmas was looking like Scrooges pantry! 11 days in all more than enough.  The Clown car has been out again it can go forward and back and it can go up slopes too something I was very worried about, the old petrol engine was very powerfull 850cc Mini and the new electric motor is no bigger than a dinner-plate.  The Phnematics are a liitle problematic but I can't see why, so I am waiting for enlightenment. The sound sampler system is working just need a couple of bits from Maplins (keypads) and it will be working it matches the amplifer perfectly.  all in all a good day.

I remember when I started on my artistic career, I hate the term but can't deny that is what it is, I felt that my life should be the expression, and my Expression/product should be my life. This presupposes  that I managed to live a life worth expressing. With me so far, trouble is we get so bound up in expression that we forget the living bit. The Day to day., and possibly the enjoyment. Yesterday went to a Workshop on creativity in Education met lots of old friends and met some new ones also became more aware of what's happening out there in the big world, big investment in Head energy and I missed out on my making time in the workshop with my Frankenstein recreation of the Clown car. Got out of balance with myself.
          Just realised I used to write this sort of stuff in a diary, never felt the need to publish it but then I have nothing that is a secret so why not.
          Heard from Jackie in oz that they have formed a storytellers cafe on Skype, the more people that use Skype the better it will get as it uses a little bit of your CPU to live ( that's what I was told if its inaccurate let me know), I also was told yesterday that Skype is now owned by Microsoft?
To quote Spock, The Vulcan not the doctor "Live long and prosper"