kneeboard surfing

I thought it was about time that I got back to the things that matter especially as I have had such a bad time with not being able to get in the water in the last few weeks. I had another day at the hospital today trying to get my shoulder fixed (with yet another cortisone injection guided by ultra sound). so this film is the closest I have got to the ocean in a while.
check theses sites for more
simon farrer
KSUK
british kneelo club

indulgence >> the editors

I make no apology for my indulgence with this post. I have made rather too many trips to hospital in the last few months and more visits to come in the next weeks.

anyway for a while now I have found the music of the editors so good. (perhaps it's a little reminiscent of quality very early 80's stuff but that is a meant as praise) but this song especially becomes real when you arrive to park at the hospital only to see people standing in a tiny shelter in the rain all for a cigarette. not that I am saying people shouldn't have choices but simply the knowledge to make them.

enough, just enjoy the music (and the video) the editors are permanently on my mp3 player and on the car CD at the moment. I can really recommend their new album.

after a couple of days >> thoughts about hospitals

I didn't think it would be easy to stay away from this blog for a couple of days good but I did. it was so good to receive positive messages whilst I was away. so regards to paula hope you had some good waves this past weekend. troy thank you for your comments. special mention goes to andrew for checking that I really do have a problem with the way things are arranged, and also feistyred for making me think even more about how children can draw and enjoy drawing without being self conscious.
any way enough catching up and to the reason for today's blog.

I as usual always try to have a look at stuff wherever I go. today I went of the main city hospital as carol had an outpatients appointment (she is well it was a positive appointment). as usual I was looking up and almost enjoying the new section of the building shown in the picture below.

the shapes and shadows of the design of this building I thought were quite pleasing. this is a view out of a waiting room where I seemed to spend a long time. as long as I looked out of the window it was ok.

if only the same amount of time and money where spent on the interior. I pitched for a job designing textiles (curtains, etc.) for a health authority but we didn't agree on some stuff so it never really got going further that initial design drawings.


I wish that some one had been employed to design the interior of this hospital. I fully understand that the work of a hospital is not the same as a 'design studio' and there are more important things to consider as far as live saving. however there is no possible doubt that people recover better and even quicker if their environment is conducive to well being.
the chairs are so depressing (even though I like the colour!) it was the wipe clean plastic covers that I didn't like. as well as the combination of pale pigment less colour scheme. the new section of the build would have been specified, and though about with a chance to change the ever lasting corridors that really do my head in. I am sure that the is a better way of using the space even making the corridors perhaps not as straight, while keeping them accessible to all the emergency needs and wide enough to make it possible to visit without compromising the privacy of an inpatient.

by the time I left the hospital I felt like the last picture (this is the entrance/exit) that of course I have played about it a bit and I hadn't even seen anyone for anything wrong with me! perhaps that is why I spent so much time looking about.

in a rush >> waiting >> store design/layout

how many times have you rushed to get somewhere got there exactly on time only to be kept waiting and waiting! well that happened to me today I had to go into work two hours teaching then into a meeting then rush to see the consultant (about my shoulder) but ended up waiting for 2 hours 20 minutes. now I know that there are always people worse off and I realise that my need is not as great as others but it was a clinic I had an appointment time! I just had to wait quietly.

I don't want to use this blog to complain about stuff that has nothing to do with what the blog was started for so I'll stop.

I did however have a chance afterwards to go for a surprisingly nice coffee, (I chose not to have it black as would usually in case it was not very nice) at a very large retailer, as I was enjoying my coffee and carrot cake. I got set to thinking if this retailer take £1 of every £8 spent in the the UK, how does this reflect on the design/layout of the shop.



I also remembered that in the early 90's I was responsible for designing the floor layouts for a very large menswear retailer when they opened their flagship shop on oxford street, london and across the country the group where then bought up by eventually (arcadia). the design/layout of a shop obviously makes an enormous difference on how much money it makes I then realised why I had stopped doing it!

I have added a few pictures I took while I was there. I can't say I found any of it inspiring in any sense. though is so successful perhaps i need to think why, it can't just be price can it?


love the jars of octopus, I am sure not all the shops in this group sell them, so regional tastes must be catered for.

no snow in this city

we didn't have any of the snow today that the rest of the country seems to have had. these 3 pictures show parts of my day. it was a day away from work because of two important hospital appointments but instead of talking/moaning about them like I would have done. I thought I would show in pictures 3 things/images that I noticed. that have nothing to do with the reason for the trip! the car is nice and clean now.