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Travels
I returned to live in the UK, specifically Scotland.
I am overjoyed to be back in the United Kingdom, which, however demoralised it may feel, is such a culturally rich, enjoyable place, with many interesting people.
And, critically, it is where, if anywhere, I belong. The weather is pretty awful, however. It is often cold, and the darkness of winter is unpleasant. I`m trying to think of ways to get away during the worst months. I dislike being shut indoors so much.
Therefore, I`m looking at options in Asia, and the Mediterranean.
Social Media
Like many, my broad feelings about social media have altered from seeing it as a space offering communicative and commercial possibilities to being a zone dominated by morons, willingly exploited by crooks and manipulators.
Perhaps I, too, am a moron? Having that suspicion, I restrict my usage to what I consider the minimum necessary to maintain a presence: a new picture on Instagram every couple of weeks or so, and all new pictures on Facebook. Thus, I maintain some contact with the public without deeply entering the morass.
Flickr
I have 944 followers, down 2. I stopped posting here
Blogger
There are 85 followers, a decrease of one. There were 465 visitors, with Singapore and Hong Kong bringing the most recorded. But the stats do not seem dependable.
The site with landscape paintings - tadeusz_deregowski - has 404 followers, up from 392. The one with photography - modestphotographybytderegowski- has 116 followers- no increase.
These numbers, in Instagram terms, are very low and are likely to remain low as I will continue to post infrequently.
Saachi
I didn't sell anything here this year though it is now open for sales.
I continue to post here though it is an unpleasant site run by people whose ethical positions are questionable.
Photography
I took few photos.
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Painting
Writing
I didn't write in 2024. I do not feel like it, and I don`t want to force it. I often feel I have nothing to say but I don`t think that`s a bad thing.
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Next year: 2025
I begin 2025 in India, an escape from the dark and cold of Aberdeen, and the chance to go somewhere which has lurked in the back rooms of my imagination for the best part of a half-century.
The India trip is largely Rajasthan, but will include time in Delhi and Agra, as well as an excursion to Chandigarh and then up to Shimla and further into the valleys of Himachal Pradesh.
What follows on my return at the end of March is unclear, but I hope to be able to show some work in Duns in the Borders of Scotland. It could be that the India trip points me in a new direction. Perhaps it will incline me to go to Nepal? Or other parts of India?
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