July 2022 - Dec 2022

 Drawing someone is a very intimate and contemplative process, both for the sitter and for the artist. Quiet conversation during the drawing process can illuminate so much more about the sitter than just a drawing ever can. 

As the project goes on, the portraits and conversations from the early stages will already be part of the past.  How will the realities of the future present have changed? I will endeavour to choose a wide range of people, some known to me, and some not.

I want this to document, in the best sense of the word, the realities of individuals, their joys and their concerns, big and small.  The documentation will evolve with time.  Each person’s testimonies will be forever tied to their painted portraits, to be fully shared as a body of work in 2030.  Woven into the fabric of the project are little notes recording the events at that particular time, for context.

Later note - April 2020 - Covid-19 hit us all.  So I learned to work with people via Zoom!  Portraits created via a screen have a different feel, but that is all part of this evolving story.

Please enjoy the journey back through these posts.

30/12/22   Taliban banning women NGOs.  So Afghan women have no support at all.

29/12/22    China trying to open up, but Covid is running riot through the un-vaccinated population.

27/12/22    Kherson evacuated under relentless Russian bombardment.

21/12/22  Zalenski goes to Washington to meet Biden and address Congress.  Taliban bans girls from University overnight.

16/12/22  Government announces radical new changes to asylum policy.  No-one coming 'illegally' can apply for asylum.

                 Inflatable with 40+ people sinks in Channel, 4+ die.

13/12/22  1 month of rail strikes begins.  Nurses, ambulance drivers, Royal Mail and  Border Force workers to follow.

7/12/22  China makes radical changes to Covid rules but relaxing them overnight.

"S.T."   6 December 2022  What an injection of energy and positivity! As a community artist she works with a wide range of individuals, offering them very special experiences. She talks especially about helping people through lockdown, and working with the homeless.

"S.T." 6/12/22

4/12/22  Two Russian airfields hit, so Russia retaliates with more hits on Ukrainian power infrastructure.

"N.V."  4 December 2022  From Ukraine and currently living here with her two boys, N.V. talks about how she came to be here, but can hardly bear to think about home in Kyiv.

"N.V."  4/12/22

1/12/22  10,000 ambulances/week have to wait +1hr outside hospitals.

28/11/22 Unprecedented dissent in China against stringent zero tolerance Covid rules.

27/11/22  More than 50 cases of diptheria in Manston asylum centre, with 1 death.

24/11/22  Net migration up to 1/2 million.   Ambulances - 3/10 delayed by +30mins.  Nurses and paramedics to strike. Also                          postal workers, train workers, Uni. lecturers.               

22/11/22   Manston migrants - 4,000+ in a space meant for 1,600. 50+ cases of Diptheria.  1 man dies.  Space now cleared.

           Report shows that Australia now has ave. temps up by 1.5deg.C. c/w 100 yrs ago.

           5 judges rule that Scotland cannot have another referendum on Independence without permission from Westminster.

21/11/22   Football World Cup, Qatar.  Iranian team don't sing national anthem!  German team stand with hands across mouths.

20/11/22  COP 27 eventually agrees to create a fund to compensate/protect smaller, at-risk nations.

17/11/22  More shelling of Ukrainian infrastructure.  10 million people now have no power or heating, ^& v. little water.

"R.L."  16 November 2022.  "R.L." is very pragmatic about her current diagnosis and looks back on a good life.  She reflects on the care she gets and depends on, and also the mental health support she offers others.

"R.L." 16/11/22

16/11/22  UK inflation rate up to 11.1%

15/11/22  Russia fires 90+ missiles at Ukrainian infrastructure, one lands in Poland!  Urgent talks with UN and G20.

10/11/22   Russians withdraw from Kherson city, but have cut power, water & gas and mined the dam.

8/11/22  USA Mid-term Elections. Democrats retain the Senate, Republicans take House of Representatives.

6/11/22  COP 27 starts in Egypt.  UN states "no credible pathto limit temperature rise to 1.5deg.C."

4/11/22   Bank of England puts up interest ratesto 3% - highest for 14 yrs.

              Ukraine - 4.5million people have no power.  Zalenski "Energy terrorism" by Russia.

3/11/22   12,000 Albanians arrive in UK this year, only 80 2 yrs ago.

31/10/22  Suella Braverman statement "Invasion on our southern shores" - incendiary.

30/10/22 Dover immigration centre attacked with petrol bombs.  300+ migrants sent to overcrowded centre at Manston.

               Brazil election -Lula da Silva beats Jair Bolsenaro 51%-49%!

28/10/22  NI - deadline has passed for restoring a devolved government.  DUP refuse because of EU border in the sea.

                Nancy Pelosi's husband beaten on the head with a hammer.

27/10/22  Protests in Iran against the Hijab laws intensify.  Met with live rounds.

"P.Y" 26 October 2022   He has spent a lifetime involved in local politics. He talks passionately about his belief in the power of community in a healthy society. We spoke during the rapid Prime Ministerial changes, and he talks about what he sees as the fragility of democracy. He shares his deeply held views on many aspects of our current lives.

"P.Y."  26/10/22

25/10/22  RS asks King Charles. New cabinet - Hunt stays as Chancellor, Suella Braverman back as Home Sec!

24/10/22   Rishi Sunak wins election (MPs only) to leader of CP, and PM tomorrow.  First Hindu and youngest in post.

23/10/22  Xi Jinping "re-elected" for 3rd term - longest serving since Mao.

20/10/22  Liz Truss resigns after 6 weeks!  Front runners - Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and BORIS JOHNSON!

"S.J." 19 October 2022    He is making such a difference to the lives of young men recently released from jail. He is helping them to find employment through initiatives he has set up and giving them self-respect and hope for the future.

"S.J."  19/10/22

19/10/22  Total chaos in Government.  Suella Braverman quits as Home Sec.  Accounts of bullying in lobby vote.

17/10/22 Hunt undoes the whole "mini budget" tax changes.  Liz Truss "apologises".

             Ukraine infrastructure targeted by 130 suicide drones from Iran.  100 shot down, which still leaves 30.

14/10/22  Kwasi Kwarteng sacked.  Corporation Tax U-turn.  Jeremy Hunt replacement Chancellor

"N.T." 13 October 2022    It is rare to come across someone with so much energy and desire to help people.  N.T. hates waste of any kind, and from that feeling has grown the most amazing enterprise where she identifies the things people don't need and redistributes them to those who do. More and more necessary these days.

"N.T."  13/10/22

13/10/22   £ plummets.  Chaos in Government & markets.  Major backbench dissention.

10/10/22   More than 80 missiles on Kyiv & other cities.

8/10/22  Road & rail bridge leading to Crimea - huge explosion.  Russian missile hits block in Zaporizhzhia, people asleep.  

1/10/22 Ukrainian troops retake city of Lyman in Donetsk, 1 day after annexation speech!

30/9/22  IMF criticises recent UK tax plans.  Economy out of control.  OBR to meet Truss & Kwarteng - unprecedented.

               Celebrations in Moscow of election results in 4 Ukrainian regions, Putin says they will be part of Russia 'forever'.

27/9/22 Both Nordstream pipelines broached off the Danish coast, gas leaking out.

26/9/22   £ hits all-time low of $1.03

25/9/22   Italian Prime Minister Elections - Georgia Meloni elected.  Most far-right since the war.

23/9/22    Kwasi Kwarteng announces the biggest tax cuts since 1972.   Basic rate down to 19%; higher rate of 45% scrapped; 

                 NI Tax and Corporation Tax rises scrapped; cap on bankers' bonusses scrapped; Stamp Duty threshold increased.

22/9/22  Iran - last week, Mahsa Amini beaten to death by Morality Police for breaking hijab rules.  Women and students                              protesting. Internet and phone use restricted.  Many being killed or arrested.

21/9/22 Putin announces Partial Military Mobilisation of reservists.  Also proposing elections in 4 annexed regions.

19/9/22  Queen's Funeral.

14/9/22  Queen leaves Buckingham Palace to Westminster Palace.  The Queue to file past up to 3 miles long to Southwark Park.

10/9/22 Ukraine retake +50km of Russian-held territory.

8/9/22  Queen Elizabeth II dies.  King Charles III announced 10/9/22

5/8/22 Liz Truss wins election to Leader of CP, and therefore Prime Minister.

2/9/22 Putin shuts off gas supply through Nordstream1 indefinitely.

"A. P."  31 August 2022    He has lived in Kent for 30 years.   A.P. fled here with his young family to escape the brutal wars which led to the breakup of Yugoslavia. His powerful story has so many echoes of what's happening in the world now. Do we ever learn?!

"A.P"  31/08/22

31/8/22 Mikhail Gorbachev dies aged 91.

28/8/22  Devastating floods in Pakistan, 1/3rd covered in water.  Drought and famine in Africa.

26/8/22  Energy Regulator sets a new price cap of $3,549 in October.  Up 80%.  This is 37% of State Pension!

24/8/22 Ukraine Independence Day.  31 years since 1991.  ^ months since invasion.

22/8/22  Barristers vote to strike.  Dockers at Felixstowe strike.  Fuel prices shoot up.  Still a power vacuum at the top!

12/8/22  Unprecedented drought in UK and Europe.
               Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Russian controlled territory shelled. Ukrainian workers held at gunpoint.

9/8/22 UK energy bills predicted to reach +£4,000 in spring.  £3,600 last week, £1,400 October '21!

7/8/2    Total vacuum in parliament. BJ and Zahawi on holiday. 

5/8/22  Bank of England predicts deep, long recession.  Raise interest rates by 0.5% to 1.75%

2/8/22 Al Qaeda leader hit by US drone strike in Afghanistan.

1/8/22   First grain ship leaves Odessa destined for Lebanon.

25/7/22  Gazprom cuts gas flowing to Europe by 20%.

24/7/22 Turkey brokers a deal to get some grain out from Ukraine, but then Odessa struck by missile.

21/7/22  Conservative Membership choose Liz Truss & Rishi Sunak as the two candidates.

20/7/22  Highest temperature ever recorded in UK - 40.3 deg. C.   Inflation up to 9.2%.

19/7/22 Putin meeting leaders of Turkey & Iran, to discuss grain blockade.  Ukraine supplies 30% of world grain .

10/7/22  11 candidates for Leader of CP/Prime Minister.  All say they are going to cut taxes except Rishi Sunak.

9/7/22 Sri Lanka.  President Rajapaksa flees, his residence stormed.  Total economic collapse.  No food/fuel/medicines.

7/7/22    50+ Members of the Government resign.  Rapid turnover of Cabinet Ministers.

5/7/22 Rishi Sunak & Sajid Javid both resign from BJ cabinet with damning letters.