The problem with flat roofs

It's been a couple of months since my last blog. As usual, I've been working hard and have had little time to keep up to date with everything. Apologies.

Unfortunately, I've had flooding in my studio this week. Although I thought the building had been made watertight after the last bout of leaks, as usual I have been proved wrong! Anyway, no damage done to my paintings - just a big pool of water on the floor. The roofer is patching up the outside and hopefully we won't have another deluge. That's the problem with flat roofs like the one that's on my studio. They just can't cope with too much rainfall, particularly in one hundred year old buildings. Drought in England? What drought?!

As I watch the preparations for the forthcoming Olympics, I wonder how it will be possible to keep to any kind of normal routine this summer if you live and work in East London - as I do. My studio is so close to the Olympic site that I can see Anish Kapoor's Orbit tower from the street outside. We've been told that it will be almost impossible to use the roads at peak time during the Olympics due to increased traffic flow. I have an awful feeling that public transport will grind to a halt and that 'peak time' might well last twelve hours. I am sure that my usual ten minute car drive to the studio will become two hours. It looks like I'll be either creeping into my studio to paint at midnight, or sitting at home doing my accounts... Not a pleasant prospect either way! I suppose I'll just have to make the most of the coming two months, and be prepared to write off the time I'll lose in the summer.