You’ve heard it said that creative types are not much good at paperwork? I’d like to say that doesn’t apply to me. Unfortunately I can’t. (I’m no good at vacuuming, or baked goods either.)
My passport expired over 10 years ago, which means I have to apply for a new one and supply lots of bits of PAPERWORK proving that I am who I am. And some of the ones I have to provide (like my birth certificate) were not to be found earlier today, which meant that I had to apply for a new one. Guess what? You have to provide lots of OTHER PAPERWORK to prove who you are to get a replacement birth certificate!
I found myself thinking how it would be if your house burnt down and you couldn’t prove who you were because your PAPERWORK was burnt to a crisp, and your computer… That would be the perfect time for my family to disown me, wouldn’t it? If they pretended they didn’t know me, I wouldn’t be able to prove they were pretending.
But you can all stop worrying. Mum and Dad (who haven’t disowned me yet) found my birth certificate and it turns out I really am their child.
Here are some photos; the only ones I can find, because Scott has put all the photos in the roof.
Here’s Dad, and Grandma, when Dad was a fine young lad in the Navy during WW2.
Here’s me in Canberra, at the museum a few years back. This is completely random and proves nothing. I could be lying.
And last of all, here are some chicken sketches, because the boys and I are taming Hazel’s friend Princess Leia and it takes lots of after school chicken cuddling. She is a Bantam Australian Langshan and not a naturally tame person. Probably an artistic type.
Princess Leia sees us coming… Just DON’T!!
Princess Leia finding this whole BEING HELD thing rather alarming
Oh, but wait… Arthur has found her weakness. It’s a chin tickle!
Hazel finds it all very amusing
And up on the left you see a little exploration into clothes/feathers territory. For Leonard Doesn’t Dance. It was really, really nice to sit down with the boys in the chicken run and draw birds at the end of the day. My brain was all rumpled from all that paperwork.
Now it’s only Leia who’s rumpled.
endpapers 
Delightful drawings as always. They make me feel good…. a great way to start the day. Princess Leia looks to be quite a character, certainly your drawings capture her brilliantly.
Your dad must have been very young in WW2. I hope you have taken account of his experiences, if he has ever revealed them; one thing I greatly regret re my dad, he only spoke once about his time in the RAF in the Middle East ( for 5 years, no home leave) I didn’t take notes, and have since forgotten a lot of what he said, to my shame.
LikeLike
Yes, Liz. That’s very true about the importance of talking with parents. We have spoken, but not enough. He was indeed very young to go to war.
LikeLike
Hi Liz, was that usual for an RAF (pilot?) to be away on service for 5 years without any home leave? That seems so harsh. And how many family members were at home waiting for him? Must have been so terrible for so many people.
LikeLike
Hi Judy I just found your reply by accident! Sorry to appear rude and not replying. ( and now I notice there is a tick box, duh…) anyway in answer to your question, I think it was quite usual because they were so far from home. The only way home would not have been via the Suez Canal, but via the Cape of South Africa, which would have taken too much time and resources. Dad was not a pilot, which is probably why he survived, he was on radio repairs and also worked on the Enigma decoding machine in North Africa, Palestine,Jerusalem, Beirut etc all the current troublespots. Mum was in the Fire Services back home, and yes it was extremely hard for them, particularly when they were so young. Luckily they reunited after the War and that explains my existence!
LikeLike
No worries Liz. I replied really briefly initially to your comment, because it was one of those mad, hectic days and I didn’t have time to do anything else. Then I replied again later. But I’m glad to have that bit of back story. So there were no bambini at that time, and you were a celebration after the war! But that is pretty wonderful that your parents remained attached all that time apart. And the Fire Services back home must have been a terrible and necessary thing during an extraordinary time. I think of Sonia Hartnett’s wonderful book ‘The Children of the King’ which describes the bombing of London and the attempts to rescue trapped families…
LikeLike
You write so nicely, and amusingly, and you look so fetching in that photo.
LikeLike
Ha ha! Thank you Kezzie Dear x
LikeLike
Lovely chooks, your drawings so capture their personality (chickenality?).
LikeLike
Thanks Amanda. The personality (or chickenality) is so bursting forth from the chickens, that it can’t help scattering itself all over my paper. Leia is winning me over with her ‘hard to get’ routine, but Hazel… I am IN LOVE with Hazel. She is DIVINE. If I could start all over again now, I might have a backyard full of only Salmon Faverolles. So incredibly friendly and yet quite sturdy and chook-like. I will do some more drawings of Hazel soon. She is the one with the cheek fluff (muffling) who here appears in feather clothes. Thanks for visiting.
LikeLike
Judy I always enjoy your sketches, such movement and character, very unique to you. The paper trail for getting a passport is a real headache. I was expecting to see some sketches all through an old passport, as I remember all your art splashed across old books. Now that would be cool.
LikeLike
There’s a challenge Kath! I’m having a bit of a full on week this week, so I’ll put that idea on the slow-cooker! I have my expired passport with nothing – not a squiggle – on a single page. So I think you’re right. It’s asking for something. Maybe after my passport interview!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds cool, I think of my old passport with stamps from exotic places like Egypt and I can imagine one of your beautiful chickens having her own adventure in that backdrop Judy. look forward to seeing that one day.
LikeLiked by 1 person