Drive- In Hell !

It was just as well that Look East or Anglia News didn't take up the offer of filming my Morris Minor arriving at Ely Cathedral this morning to promote Ted Coney's Family Portraits. I had enough stress just trying to drive the car inside the building to worry about anything else. There was about an inch on either side of the doorway of the Cathedral, which was scarry enough, but then I had to negotiate down a ramp which consisted of two narrow bits of wood. Max was brilliant at keeping me calm , helping me navigate this hazardous journey and making sure the car (and me) came to no harm. The best bit was then driving down the centre isle and taking my place at the entrance of the West door. The exhibition is on until next Thursday(although I may have to leave the car there for ever) so do drop by, if you are in Ely

Drive- In Heaven

I've just heard that I am going to be allowed to drive my Morris Minor inside Ely Cathedral after all!
Ted Coney's Family Portraits is taking part in a business fair in Ely Cathedral next week and I requested to take the car as part of my display. However, I was origionally told that this was very unlikely, so I have been planning a more conventional table- top display ever since. Ofcourse, I want to include photographs of the different stages of my latest painting 'Another Year' since it features Ely Cathedral at different times of day (you can see this growing on the NEWS AND REVIEWS page of my website) but feel I must also show some of the paintings which include the Morris as well. I'm just off to measure the car, so they can decide which entrance to open for me. I rather fancy the great west door which they usually only open for the Queen, but musn't get too carried away.

Jasper

Jasper (my mother's old cat who has lived with us for the last nine years) always delighted visitors to
Ted Coney's Family Portraits, even when they had to step over him to get into my studio.  He died this week and will be greatly missed. We think he was about 20 years old and was demanding and grumpy to the end. There was nothing he liked better, in his twilight years, than tottering over to the studio to soak up the midday sun.
The only good thing, is that we can now get the carpets cleaned, as I was begining to feel a bit ashamed of them. Jasper would have hated all the noise and the desruption ofcourse, so at least I am spared the telling off he would have given me afterwards. 

BOGOF

BOGOF - buy one, get one free incase you didn't know! I've become part of the Greater Anglia trains offer and Ted Coney's Family Portraits is officially in the booklet. This means when you pick up a voucher and show you have made a rail journey to get here, I have to give two of you, a tour for the price of one person. Or should I give one person two tours for the price of one? Hopefully they won't demand it consecutively. We shall have to see how it goes.........

What The Papers Say

Ted Coney's Family Portraits is in the papers again. I needed to create some publicity to let people know I was open again, so decided to feature my new painting 'Another Year' in local  newspaper stories. The Cambridge News photographer came first and was very keen to get a photo in natural light, so we ended up in the kitchen. The final picture shows me holding one of my 'dusk' studies of the Cathedral with my unfinished canvas behind. Helen from the Standard was interested in the models of the Cathedral (if only she knew what anguish they had caused me) and decided to include these in her photo.
You can see the results  on the NEWS AND REVIEWS page of my website.
I was also due a visit from Debbie, the editor of the Ely Standard, who was going to include me in her weekly newsletter. However, she rang at the last minute to cancel, due to other committments. If only she had seen me, minutes before her impending visit, frantically clearing up cat sick she might have wondered why I tried to sound so calm on the phone.

Free Index Or Trip Advisor?

As an added encouragement for people to book, we've added Free Index and Trip Advisor to every page of my  website. I say 'we' but ofcourse it's been Daniel who has done all the work. Already, I've got about four comments, all posted on each site. This includes a new visitor who came to my opening tour of the season last weekend. I am too modest to quote it here, but you can see it for yourself by clicking on
Ted Coney's Family Portraits.

Singing (and shivering) In The Rain

The other day I took part in a Showcase event to promote Ely on the Market Square. Ofcourse my main focus was to advertise Ted Coney's Family Portraits as it reopens for it's forth season. As usual, I took the Morris Minor as I know it always attracts attention, and dutifully set up my A board and signs beside it. Unfortunately, it was freezing cold which made standing around a bit hard (and annoying after all the lovely weather) and then it began to rain. Although we had quite a few people around, they quickly disapeared once the weather began to turn nasty. Was it worth it?  Only time will tell, but as I am a firm believer that more has to happen on the market square, I would have been a hypoctite not to have been involved.