Freddie the Concrete Mixer

 

Ow! when prayers are answered - it can hurt! My limbs are aching again and that concrete is back under my poor nails! Cant remember if I mentioned this wee story before, sorry if repeating - but a few  months ago I was getting desperate for more projects, beside my usual stuff, and so was really really praying for more, but the days were passing without a response, then one day while searching for tiles to make into mosaics in Murree road, a chaotic busy road in Rawalpindi heaving with traffic and dirt, when on leaving a tile and marble shop I spied a bright little broken tile lying under a lamppost amidst the general rubbish, so of course knelt down in the filth to prise it up, it was stuck by something unmentionable, so was digging it out when I heard a voice above me,

'Hello, you must be an artist!'

Shocked and embarrassed I looked up, and saw a pleasant looking Pakistani woman, positively twinkling in amusement at me.

"Here', she said, "Come and see me!" And handed me her card.

By the time I had struggled to my feet, she had gone, but reading it, I saw that she was the Headmistress of one of the (Muslim) 'City Schools' for richer kids in a smart area F-11 in Islamabad.
 

Salma, who had been in the shop at the time, was amazed, so we drove there the following day or so, and booked a 2 day Session, a paying one (well not to me I imagine) but good money. So finally I have just completed 2 gruelling days, silhouette making, mosaic making and a 'jigsaw' painting project on Pakistani traditions and cultures, (huge letters spelling PAKISTAN TRADITION AND CULTURE - divided into sections) for 80 children. 80 VERY active and at times demanding children, and some of the younger boys, I had all ages, VERY messy and quite naughty - giving them heavy black acrylic paint to smear over the cut outs was probably with hindsight not the brightest of ideas, most got on the floor and on their uniforms. And working with for that section, 50 kids in a tiny 'black out' room, was to say the least challenging, however all were charming and today the second session was much better, just painting, and me single handed cementing, mixing and spreading, 18 concrete slabs that had been glued with mosaics the previous day by the 30 who had not been silhouetting.

I did the cementing or grouting in about 40 minutes and my whole body is wracked with builders aches and pains. Throughout the two days the well English speaking children all demanded autographs, and had loads of interesting questions, and school/teenage type ones, like what is your favourite animal? To which having said, 'Dog' it lead to much shared mirth, and sympathy, since traditionally dogs are unclean, and of course my favourite colour just had to be purple, though on that I knew more about old attitudes to that colour (thought to be too grand for strict muslims) but it was refreshing to chat to such normal kids, albeit probably the 'elite'. They spontaneously gave me presents, and all, want me back, and said they had great fun.

I am going in alone tomorrow to make sure all the exhibits are hung right, there are dozens of these schools, what a shame now I have 'got in' to be leaving so soon.
 

 Freddie the concrete mixer.