I’m really kind of writing this because I haven’t posted anything for a few days and nothing regular for even longer. I have been doodling on occasion but not felt the need to post any of it – the urge to blog is a strange beast – I know I’ve posted really pointless drawings – just this side of nothingness really, but felt the desire to share – and sometimes I do stuff that I think is a bit more worthy but just don’t want to share at all. Anyhow, here I am just blogging for the sake of it. Maybe there are things on my mind.

I am about to enter a period of transition that will change many aspects of life for me. This is my final whole week of being a stay at home dad. Next week my daughter starts primary school, my wee boy is going to full time nursery and I am going to enrol in college. So, all change on the home front. Clearly I have feelings about the change but I’m not going to dwell on them here.

So, what else has been rattling around my cranium lately? Oh yes, the Olympics. It seems that much of the country (known as the United Kingdom), has been riding on a two week euphoria rush of an almost fevered religious nature watching the London Olympics – I have found it a touch unnerving to behold. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been really fond of sport and have enjoyed aspects of the Olympics in the past but I just didn’t get the fuss this time. Perhaps I am bitter as I was working many evenings and missed many of the higher points of the games but I think it’s the fact that we’ve had to suffer the 7 years of hype leading up to them – I’ve found it excruciating at times – an almighty plastic parade of frenzied capitalism with very little resemblance to sport as I know it.

Apparently everyone has been rallying behind TeamGB and the ubiquitous Union Flag – and therein lies my problem – flags are about identity when it comes down to it and I just do not identify, relate or have any positive feelings towards the flag. Im a Scot and a Northern European, for sure, but I’ve never felt like a Brit and probably never will – I just don’t get it. Oddly enough, the games seem to have thrown up the issue of Scottish independence – both sides of the political divide claiming points on the back of athletic success – (Scotland won more medals per capita than England did etc). I read some particularly nasty tweets from so called unionists earlier but seeing as they seemed to come from people of weapons-grade stupidity, I dismissed them.

I think the point I seem to be labouring towards is that it was two weeks of sport, nothing more or less. Yes it was brilliantly staged and arguably the best Olympics so far, but as time, technology and human capability rolls onward, so it should be. Set in a first world country with gargantuan amounts of money thrown at it anything other than utter success would have been unimaginable. And was it great? I only have the BBC’s word for it – and that was hardly impartial – I found it difficult to follow the proper news through them over the two weeks.

There is also much talk of ‘legacy’ – that there is going to be an abiding benefit to the country on the back of it all – there has been a lot of knee-jerk politics shouting for more competitive sport in schools and the like – although, let’s face it, high end elite athleticism is beyond the majority. I feel that we are so close to the hype that judgements are all pretty obscured (including my own!)

I didn’t intend to rave on about the Olympics for so long but there you go – at least I’ve blogged something this week. I realise I will be in an absolute minority (of one) regarding the games, and some may find me offensive, but there is a feint whiff of religiosity about it and clearly that kind of thing should be butchered at birth. I’ve said enough on the subject now so here’s to Rio and a lack of bias.

Maybe I should post something visual too…

Been playing with ink, paint and WD40 on wood – clearly needs work.