Hastings Battleaxe battles on…

Battle? What is that about? Well, Battleaxe hasn’t been too well for the last few days. The stress of giving birth to the novel can’t have helped.  One is not as young as one was, you know…  But am now committed to delivering two more novels in the series, unless a household-name publisher swoops down and says Woman you are a Genius, worry no more we will do it all for you. Fat chance of that. Weather hot, hot, hot. We went to Eastbourne to view the very impressive ‘Sussex Modernism’ exhibition at the Towner Gallery. Battleaxe would totally recommend if you have not seen it. It is on until 28 September, so you have plenty of time.

 

Let’s do the exhibition first. I think the photo above sums up the best of it for me – a massive work by Ivon Hitchens with a beautiful sculpture by Jacob Epstein in front of it. There were plenty of other goodies – Edward Wadsworth, Burra – here is an unusual painting of flowers by Burra – can’t remember the title, but it is wonderfully vibrant.

 

Also liked this one by well-known Hastings local Laetitia Yhap. It was a pity they had nothing by her late/former  husband, Jeffrey Camp.

I did think the exhibition fell into the currently fashionable trap of being over-curated in terms of what was included and what was left out. Then, readers will know how much Battleaxe dislikes ‘art-speak’ – well, it was very much in evidence in this exhibition.  Here is one example. What does ‘nationalist cultural flattening’ mean?  Or is Battleaxe just too repressively heteronormative to understand? Curators, please let the works speak for themselves and stop trying to educate us.

One notable Sussex artist was totally missing from the exhibition. Eric Gill. Yes, of course Battleaxe knows why he has been ‘cancelled’ but I still believe there is a debate to be had as to whether/when/if ever an artist’s personal behaviour is sufficiently reprehensible to permit all their works to be removed from our view. Appreciating someone’s artistic talent does not have to mean we accept or condone their private life.

Just the usual final gripe about the Towner – the catering. Have said this before. What used to be a perfectly good gallery caff on the top floor is now ‘Light’ an uber-poncy eaterie that now doesn’t even open until 12… no coffee there then. The only alternative is now a dark, boring, windowless space in the downstairs foyer… GRRR. Why do galleries do this? The Hastings Contemporary is just as bad….

So, why is Battleaxe poorly? Have been feeling light-headed and sick at certain times of the day for some weeks now, but it has grown worse. And no, it isn’t dehydration or heat exhaustion. Went down to the doctor’s surgery yesterday, got no enlightenment, but am booked in for lots of blood tests etc. It may be to do with one of my blood-pressure medications. It could be anything – or just stress and hot weather.

As I said above, the book business is stressful. I keep on compulsively looking at my Kindle dashboard to see how many downloads I have – lots, is the answer, and at Amazon to see reviews. Annoyingly, some people have left reviews but they don’t show up. Why? Have they not spent enough money with Amazon, or something? But the reviews that have appeared, as of this moment, are all 5* which is gratifying – and some are from strangers! Better still! And I constantly have to market and promote the thing to keep it alive. Have just filled out a form to take part in a Crime Writers Day at Hastings Museum on 9 August. If I get accepted, I’ll give more details. Then, I also have to get the second novel finished… am now 60,000 words in.

Anyway, for any Battleaxe slug-a-beds who might not have seen the book, here is the Amazon link yet again. Reviews very welcome too!

‘Death, Deceit and Cake’

The paperback is due out on 19 July. Am quite pleased with it, but as a Print on Demand Amazon effort, the quality is not 100% high. Also, I got it a bit wrong – I kept being told that my gutter was too small – ooh missus – but making it bigger moved the text away from the inner edge too much. But overall, it is fine.

And to finish – such a familiar view but it never fails to cheer me up. From the Country Park. How blue the sea is. Positively Positano. Am currently researching a 2026 holiday – oh I know, get a life – to Sicily. Philosopher and I have never been. Have photos of my Dad in Taormina in WW2. He very much loved it. If climate change carries on like this, we can stay in Hastings – but I wish the sea was a bit cleaner. No way am I putting my head in that water…