Art lesson resource: AI for Workstream

We hear a lot about Artificial Intelligence at the moment, mainly worrying and negative stories. There are many positives and I have recently been involved with an evaluation project that I can outline here. It was based on using OpenAI’s Chat-GPT4 (the paid for version) to enhance workflow; assist workstream and make teaching more productive. The evaluation was on behalf of ImpactEd and they will be publishing a wide-ranging evaluation later this year that I can hopefully link this post to in future.

The Project

You may have seen some of the scare stories in the media, such as this recent CNN report Teachers are using AI to grade essays here from 6th April or from Education Week:  Teachers Told Us They’ve Used AI in the Classroom here from 5th January. In The Guardian, there is the conflicting It’s an educational revolution (here on 17th April 2019) to AI to spell the end of the traditional school classroom (here on 7th July 2023). I have even seen an article that I can no longer find saying something like “Teachers evaluating use of AI!” Ha, but of course we are. The tools are available and should be explored to see any potential benefits but also to understand how they are already being used by students. ImpactEd, in partnership with OpenAI, organised an evaluation of the latest version of Chat-GPT4 and how this might assist teachers in becoming more productive with their time. This is based on many surveys that suggest the majority of teachers are undertaking 60 hour weeks, burdensome administrative tasks and planning that go beyond expectations from school leaders and our Department for Education. Recent union action has been based on pay that reflects hours spent trying to keep on top. Initially, teachers from STEM and MFL backgrounds were invited to apply to take part, I petitioned due to my previous tech experience as a cross-curricular participant. I believe around 16 teachers nationally were part of the 8 week project. This involved exploratory tasks, group collaborative discussions and round-ups of success and issues arising. Finally, a summative survey evaluating use and potential.

Inspiration

You may be wondering what Chat-GPT4 can do and how it may differ from the free version. The free version of ChatGPT cannot access the internet. Chat-GPT paid -for, however, can do so and thus can provide more accurate answers. OpenAI integrated lots of features into the paid-for version, such as lots of generative pre-trained transformers that integrate at greater speed. One feature is faster Internet search into GPT-4, which means that the AI chatbot can provide up-to-date information on current events. Another integrates Dall-E for image processing. There are hundreds; some based on data, others produce programming, and there’s even a few tattoo generators! You can upload a scheme of work and ask the AI to generate a multi choice end of unit quiz. There are UX designers, writing coaches, travel guides and even assistants for medical diagnosis. You can upload files; PDF, Word documents, PowerPoints and diagrams and ask the GPT for a single paragraph summary or even to transform the text from one format into another.

Method

I used a variety of GPTs as part of my evaluation; for instance, I uploaded the PowerPoint slides for a PSHCE lesson I was teaching on Vietnamisation to Year 10. I asked the AI to make an ideal answer to the written task that would include all the salient points, have correct answers and use the linguistic style of a 15 year old UK student. I reframed the request to make the summary 300 words so that I could share a model answer to check students’ understanding.

I used image generators to create responses to themes alongside students; they provided the key words and I inputted them. I did this as a control for what the AI would use as starting points and intend to include Chat-GPT4 as a source credited in the students’ work. I used Dall-E and a few different Tattoo generators for this – with student direction.

I used a Canva GPT to create graphics for posters and displays, then tweaked the outcomes in Photoshop to personalise them.

I uploaded the GCSE specification (as a PDF) and asked for assessment summaries based on specific art projects and for them to be graded to 3, 4, 5 and 6 to create a writing framework for student assessment.

Feedback

As you can imagine, this technology hasn’t been around long enough to be perfect and by its implementation we can tell what works well and how to improve it. The first version of my model answer was produced in a highly academic style and in addition to seeking answers in the slides, further clarification came off the Internet! When I asked to rephrase in the style of a 15 year old, I got some cliched Californian “like uh, gee” type answers. The third version was pretty perfect and convincing for my students.

Image generation has some faults too; glasses and anatomy often become floating shapes or disjointed (at times too many fingers). The style can be tweaked into something photorealistic or even painterly; my preference is for a woodcut style.

Posters and colour schemes come out well; I really like a retro 60s futuristic outcome.

The writing frameworks are excellent but incredibly vague, due in whole to the fact that they are summaries of sections of assessment text which is in itself subjective. I then personalised with a few specific sentences of my own for each student.

In terms of improving a workstream of tasks to get things done more productively, I found that creating model answers saved a lot of time in preparation for PSHCE lessons that are never really the highest priority in my planning (probably as I enjoy prepping art lessons more).

For image generators, the quality was way higher than most of my students could produce but gave them a visual reference that could then be used to explore ideas themselves. Although this didn’t correspond with time constraints, it was a short-cut of sorts to aid them in creating something a little more original. I do wonder that if similar word prompts are used multitude times, will the AI create very similar images and thereby be a lot less original? As a tool to assist unimaginative students it was useful, albeit limited to very same kinds of glossy reproductions. With the right tweaks and then further embellishment in image-editing software, I think image GPTs will soon become a staple within the software itself. Photoshop’s AI generator added this year can do some amazing things!

Finally, using AI as part of assessment feedback was incredibly productive. Asking for alternate rephrasing of grade descriptors created a varied and individualised feedback framework that only needed a few sentences referring to students advice for improvement. I never used a copy/paste with this anyway and by handwriting it I rephrased and personalised in my head. I managed to do two classes of feedback in just a few hours. A bit like the automated prompts when texting, you can’t always use the suggestions as is and they need the human modes of speech. I’m sure this aspect will improve in future versions.

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Top 5: Catholic apps

Our Lady of the Internets, created by prompts on Chat-GPT-4

I became interested in mindfulness meditation at university and have continued to practice when I could find the time ever since. I have often used smartphone apps to help me and my Top 5 can be found here. As a practising Roman Catholic, I occasionally sought out similar apps to aid my faith and some have been around a long while, such as iRosary. Most were very basic and of marginal inspiration. During Lent this year, the visiting priest gave a homily about how he could carry everything he needed on his smartphone and all he needs is an app called Universalis, available here. This prompted me to look again at what was out there and if anything could measure up to my favourite mindfulness app, Headspace.

I started playing around with some of the iOS apps and this support during Lent (the run up to Easter) has been one of my top 5 achievements so far this year. Here are the apps I have been using:

There are more available, but these would be in my top 10. My Top 5 would be:

1. Hallow
2. Universalis
3. Laudate
4. Divine Mercy
5. iRosary

Hallow is the slickest and best of the bunch, a truly up-to-date app with podcasts, quizzes, challenges and more. Actor, Mark Wahlberg provides some (but not all) of the content and the lives up to the quality of Headspace in many ways. There is a free trial here and a monthly subscription that follows. I had a 3 month trial for £3.99 which I thought was good value.

Universalis really does have the whole of the Missal, Old and New Testament and lots more for a flat one off payment of £9.99. I find the text a bit small and I think it will be more useful on a tablet.

Laudate is the best for a budget as it’s free! Okay, it doesn’t have podcasts or regular updates but has lots of content to keep looking through. The Daily Readings link is superb for casual use on public transport or at work etc. Did I mention it is free?!

Divine Mercy app is a very basic design but contained within are articles, videos and daily reminders. It’s quite niche for those interested or followers of the message of the “first saint of the new millennium” and has a wonderful mini app called Mary which is very similarly designed. Both are free.

Finally, my original Catholic app, iRosary, that I have had for years. Many people like to do their rosary as part of a group in church or using a TV programme to help guide them along. This app means the solitary private person can use the technology wherever they want, whenever. It’s no frills and the classic version costs nothing.

If this has whetted your appetite for geeky Catholicism, check out Fr. Roderick Vonhögen’s YouTube channel here.

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April Fuels

At the start of the year, I set myself another literacy challenge. Last year it was 23 books in 2023 and rather than just trying to read as many books as possible I also committed to learning a poem by memory per month. Last month’s poem was Today by Billy Collins. We had great fun trying to memorise this poem with its sharp visuals and really enjoyed the challenge. This month’s poem is Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina Rossetti.

Who Has Seen the Wind?

By Christina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you;
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I;
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.

More creative nourishment for the month ahead is the changing of the clocks and the beginnings of Spring. Evenings are lighter and the trees are starting to bud; much more pleasant for evening walk. I have been planning a greenhouse for a few months now, the base went in last October in readiness. I am really looking forward to creating a cacti habitat and growing some Summer vegetables. I had a greenhouse for many years but when I moved location it unfortunately was a bit too decrepit to come with me. My usual greenhouse Mediterranean veggies were: chilli peppers, sweet capsicum, zucchini/courgette, zucca/marrow, long thin variety of melanzane/aubergine and unusual tomatoes. I will post a picture later in the year!

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Q1:24 Culture

Locally or nationally, there are exhibitions and events on around the country that we should make the effort to see as cultural capital is an important aspect of the work life balance. One of my goals for the year was to proactively seek some cultural stimulation each month and this post will outline those experienced in the first quarter (January to March).

january: Lincoln | Little red gallery

The weather was pretty bad this month and really inhibited our movements and desire to go out and explore. We did a little trip to Lincoln and visited some of the private galleries with original art work; the stand out was The Little Red Gallery in Bailgate. This three story characterful building is situated not far from the cathedral and castle and is ideally suited to capture tourists and passers by. Primarily this gallery is in the sales business and is well stocked with contemporary drawings, prints and paintings (a few sculpture too). Some works by Dali and Warhol nestle alongside works by illustrators as is fitting for a university city famous for its’ illustration degrees. There are numerous small galleries along Steep Hill but this one wins it for me due to the informal atmosphere and the lack of the numerous ‘fast art’ reproductions that are ubiquitous in Britain’s towns and cities. I liked the graffiti wall alternative visitor’s book situated on the first stair well too.

February: One love | Usher Gallery

At the cinema this month we went to see the Bob Marley biopic: One Love. Reinaldo Marcus Green directs Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch in this multi-faceted and often a little confused story of the man (or is it about his relationships or his music or his religious beliefs?). Don’t be put off though as the performances are superior to the script; some believable scenes (stand outs include the raid on his Jamaican compound and the ‘row’ in Paris) and others that fall into the usual tropes of music industry biopics. Not unlike the Freddy Mercury/Bohemian Rhapsody movie (2018) scenes where hit songs are instantly conceived there is also a slightly dubious London gig with The Clash on stage and a mix of Rastafarians, punks and skinheads in the audience! I wasn’t there but it’s not the mix I remember from 1977 (not without a some sort of mass brawl). Despite this, I really enjoyed it and Ben-Adir’s patois is breathtaking and had the Sheffield audience cackling at the in-jokes.

Also in February we returned to Lincoln (it is on our doorstep) to visit their bigger Museum and Usher Art Gallery. The museum has some eye-popping local history finds of this important geographical site; Ice Age boats, Mammoths and even older oceanic serpent dinosaurs but also Roman artefacts and Medieval Lincoln culture. We had hoped to see the Grayson Perry exhibition but missed it by a week or so!  Over at the Usher Gallery, a literal stones throw away, there were a few Perry ceramics to muse over and a lot more besides. Most of the second floor paintings refer to the city itself which is consistent and slightly meta but also upstairs are the amazing bronze heads by Thomas J. Price. From the Contemporary Arts Society website: “Price creates a dialogue with the viewer, encouraging them to analyse their behaviours and reactions to Black phenotypes, particularly in spaces where they are not historically represented. Bronze has been historically used to create sculptures that pay homage to a person’s legacy.  These sculptures can also reclaim and redefine the way Black figures are typically represented in sculpture.” Read more here.

March: Nottingham Contemporary | Dune 2

Not far from Nottingham’s Lace Market area is the Contemporary Art Gallery and the exhibition we went to see was the photography of Paul Mpagi Sepuya, the first in the UK of this Los Angeles-based artist. Drawing on inspiration from Ingres to queer intimacy, there are some remarkable images and others that reflect on the technical nature of photography itself. My favourites were the monochrome/red on black portraits and figures; an idea I have since used with my photography students in their portrait work. I loved their shop and cafe too but not so keen on their website with its’ infuriating animations and quirks that seemed like a good idea as a retro ’90s look and display poorly on a smartphone.

We went to see Dune: Part Two and were tempted to see it on it’s premier night as were so enthused by part one. We held out a few days to avoid the crowds and get better seats; in our showing it was actually barely half full so we needn’t have been so bothered. Denis Villeneuve’s epic world-building did not disappoint and it was well worth the slow burn character-build of the first instalment. As a big fan of the books (also the Lynch movie and the TV adaptations), I was a little frustrated by Villeneuve’s condensing of time, rushed ending and lack of psychedelic promise in the Spice but thoroughly enjoyed the style and audio bombardment. I hope they wait a few years before production on Dune: Messiah to give the actors a chance to grow into the age of their characters; say maybe wait 8 to 10 years?! I can’t wait to watch it again and spot the things I missed in the cinema.

Illustration credit: ChatGPT4/Dall-E response to: Lincoln, Rastafarian, Dune, Red and Black, Woodcut

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Into March

At the start of the year, I set myself a literacy challenge. Last year it was 23 books in 2023 and rather than just trying to read as many books as possible I also committed to learning a poem by memory per month. Last month was Love’s Philosophy by Shelley and we both found it very hard to retain and visualise. Too long too! This month we have chosen the beautiful Today by Billy Collins. Illustration above created by Chat-GPT4.

Today

By Billy Collins

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze

that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house

and unlatch the door to the canary’s cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,

a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies

seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking

a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,

releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage

so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting

into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.

Our monthly culture is going well and I will do a quarterly review at the end of this month. Of my other goals for the month, sleep quality is varied as always and I am sporadically producing art as and when I can. As a taster, here is a photo taken in Nottingham this weekend at the Pugin designed St Barnabas Cathedral:

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Targets

An artist in the south of France says he’s planning to destroy up to $45 million worth of art, including pieces by Rembrandt, Picasso, and Andy Warhol, if WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange dies in prison. “In our catastrophic time — when we have so many wars — to destroy art is much more taboo than to destroy the life of a person,” Andrei Molodkin, who is originally from Russia but now lives in France, told Sky News. He intends to use a ‘Dead Man’s Switch’ (pictured above) to dissolve the works in acid. “Since Julian Assange has been in prison… freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of information has started to be more and more repressed. I have this feeling very strongly now.”

Throughout history, fine art masterpieces housed in the world’s most prestigious museums and galleries have not only been admired but, regrettably, also targeted by vandals, protestors, and criminals. In 1987, Leonardo’s Virgin and Child with St Anne was blasted by a sawn-off shotgun. This phenomenon is not new; it spans centuries, affecting everything from ancient sculptures to modern paintings. The motivations behind such attacks are as varied as the artworks themselves, ranging from political protest to mental health issues, and from the desire to make a statement to sheer acts of vandalism.

One of the most famous incidents of art vandalism occurred in 1914 when the Suffragette Mary Richardson attacked Diego Velázquez’s “Rokeby Venus” in London’s National Gallery as a protest against the arrest of Emmeline Pankhurst, a prominent Suffragette leader. Richardson’s act was a protest, using the destruction of art to draw attention to a political cause. Similarly, in recent years, climate activists have targeted artworks in museums across Europe to protest against fossil fuel usage and climate change, suggesting that their acts are symbolic gestures intended to provoke public discussion about urgent environmental issues.

Art has also been targeted by individuals suffering from mental health issues or driven by personal motivations. For instance, Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” was damaged by a man claiming the painting was a fake. In another instance, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” has been attacked several times, including being pelted with a rock and sprayed with red paint, reflecting not just the fame of the artwork but also the varied motivations of the attackers. More recently, environmental protestors attacked Sunflowers with tomato soup. The Just Stop Oil activists said “What is worth more, art, or life?”

Criminals have targeted art for theft, often damaging works in the process. The theft of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” in 1994 and again in 2004 highlights how criminal acts can also lead to the physical harm of artworks, motivated by the potential financial gain from selling such famous pieces on the black market.

The targeting of art by vandals, protestors, and criminals underscores the complex relationship society has with its cultural artifacts. Art is often seen as a symbol of the values and history of a society, making it a powerful tool for making statements or demands. The destruction or defacement of art can be a form of communication, a way to challenge or critique those values. However, it also raises questions about the balance between freedom of expression and the preservation of cultural heritage. As society continues to evolve, the protection of art from such attacks remains a critical challenge, reflecting the ongoing debate about the role of art in society and the limits of protest and expression. The question remains as to the efficacy of targeting art to make a political statement and what of its loss to the world.

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Further reading

Could 16 art works save Julian Assange life? The Art Newspaper 14 February 2024

Andrei Molodkin Holds Art Hostage for Julian Assange’s Life The Collector 15 February 2024

Art Attack: Defaced artworks… The Guardian 8 October 2012

Brain Food

At the start of the year, I set myself a literacy challenge. Last year it was 23 books in 2023 and rather than just trying to read as many books as possible I also committed to learning a poem by memory per month. I’ve also decided to read at least a page (and aim for a chapter) of a book each night. I’ve just completed a 400 page novel and started a new one this weekend. Apparently learning to recite a poem by rote can help exercise your memory cells! Last month we successfully recalled Robert Frost’s Nothing Gold Can Stay (I know it’s a short one but we needed to ease ourselves in). Our second poem of 2024 is:

Love’s Philosophy

BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

The fountains mingle with the river

   And the rivers with the ocean,

The winds of heaven mix for ever

   With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single;

   All things by a law divine

In one spirit meet and mingle.

   Why not I with thine?—

See the mountains kiss high heaven

   And the waves clasp one another;

No sister-flower would be forgiven

   If it disdained its brother;

And the sunlight clasps the earth

   And the moonbeams kiss the sea:

What is all this sweet work worth

   If thou kiss not me?

A popular Romantic poem suitable for the month that includes St. Valentine’s Day!

Follow a Football team

Another goal for the year was to start following a football (soccer) team and get interested in following the team’s ups and downs. Randomly, I picked out Aston Villa who happen to be doing really well at the moment in the Premiership. Their route to the F.A. cup is also on track and I have found the Villa smartphone app really useful in catching up with the players and weekly results. My only issue is that I used to be a big fan of Liverpool FC and it feels a bit treacherous to follow another side! What if Villa played The Reds? I would surely go back to Liverpool as my team. Consequently, I have returned to supporting Liverpool again and getting to know the current side; their strengths and weaknesses and the genius of The Boss, Jurgen Klopp. I’m still looking out for Villa but only out of interest, not a supporter to be truthful. Comparing the players, tactics and play of the two teams has been as equally brain engaging as the poetry and has proved stimulating – no wonder my teenage and younger self was so obsessed!

Pros: I have a team I can talk about results with to other members of staff and when Klopp announced he was leaving Anfield a week or so ago, I was genuinely interested not jut curious.

Cons: Premiership matches are only shown on Sky Sports so I am resorting to live text updates and results highlights. This is very annoying.

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Streaks

Now we are into our GCSE art exam preparation time, I have been thinking about how we can use the idea of repetitive practise to improve productivity. I have turned to how phone apps use ‘streaks’ to engage and motivate.

According to the advert, goals are easy to set but hard to achieve. Streaks on iOS can automatically record daily goals like “walk 10,000 steps,” “exercise for 30 minutes,” or “meditate for 15 minutes” based on your phone activity and can be monitored through apps. Streaks help to increase motivation and build new learning habits. Earning Streaks means that you can track your own progress.

Streaks above as seen on Headspace, Duolingo and Apple Fitness. A visual representation of statistics on usage using gamification¹ to engage/addict us to its use. From ‘closing your rings’ to SnapchatStreaks, to Candy Crush and Peloton too (apparently).

However, I want to make it fun to get the work done! The wonderful @LouiseClazey at Cramlington Learning Village had a visual of each of her GCSE students represented as costumed clothes pegs on a wall chart… each would move up the chart as they completed tasks. (Apologies if I have misrepresented this or misattributed the idea as I am no longer on X/Twitter to check). A coloured grid would work or even a race track  but we are talking Y11 and some are a little… belligerent to say the least. So I went for a timeline with colour-coded sections; something like this:

The colours represent tasks too, so that in the Green zone all tasks relate to A01. They are grouped roughly in three tasks a week and I know some students don’t need this kind of support and can easily work independently. Others need help and that is what this is for.

By completing three pages a week, a staple-bound 50 page sketchbook should be filled in the 10 week preparation period.

Visually an Art Streak is represented by continuous completion of the weekly tasks and even advancement (XP?) into the next zone. This colour tracker is intended to motivate and engage… so far with some mixed results.

Some students like to advance through the colours and others have… given up already! So obviously the idea needs a tweak or it may just be the students I have this year.

Maybe using a small flame icon on their online Classroom with a counter would help visualise their progress. I could use an AI program to help me do the code?

Something like:

🔥 Finish a Task.

🔥🔥 Collect resources.

🔥🔥🔥🔥 Complete an experiment.

Totals this week:

I will have to come up with some way of doing this automatically. Still a work in progress!

At the end of the day, I’m trying to help the students to help themselves and there is nothing more demotivating than falling behind when there is a rigid timeline. This week I have engaged a time-honoured reward system for maintaining a streak in art; those that finished all their tasks got a lolly pop.

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¹ More on the potential exploitative nature of gamification in You’ve Been Played, such as “Warehouse workers pack boxes while a virtual dragon races across their screen. If they beat their colleagues, they get an award. If not, they can be fired. Uber presents exhausted drivers with challenges to keep them driving. China scores its citizens so they behave well, and games with in-app purchases use achievements to empty your wallet.”.

Goals for 2024

As we start the new year, I have realised the personal benefits of settings some achievable targets last year. Short-term goals help focus the mind, give a sense of new psychological beginnings and embrace something more tangible than a resolution. Last year, I went for 23 Things to do in 2023 – it was very ambitious but thoroughly achievable but this year I am going to go for a few more basic ideas.

This is my goal list for 2024:

Daily positive habits
After using a selection of mindfulness apps for a number of years, I regularly use Headspace now and have decided this could be a daily habit built into my morning ritual! I get up at 6am and can easily do 15 minutes or so before breakfast. My Duolingo activity picked up during December and I am going to try to keep my ‘streak’ going throughout the new year.

Reading and brain exercise
Last year I aimed to read 23 books and smashed it! I’m not going to set a target this year but am to read at last a few pages each evening. We read that learning to recite a poem by rote can help exercise your memory cells! We have agreed to try and learn a poem each month (for my wife this will also be her creative stimulus for her artwork). Our first poem is:

Nothing Gold Can Stay

BY ROBERT FROST

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Monthly culture
We did a few city trips and took the opportunity to go to museums, art galleries and theatres so want to make this at least once per month in 2024. It won’t have to all involve travel and could be the local cinema just as much as a national event.

Follow a Football/soccer team
I used to be a massive football fan (Liverpool FC) as a youngster, partly as a glory supporter and also as my uncle was a genuine fan. He took me to matches occasionally but then in the 1980s we had football hooligans, Heysal 1985 and Hillsborough 1989 (in which 38 and 96 fans were crushed to death and subsequently unfairly blamed). I stopped supporting any particular team and limited my interest to the FIFA World Cup. I often get asked by students who I support in the Premier league… this year I will randomly select a team to follow to the end of the season.

Improve sleep quality
In an effort to improve my sleep this year, I have decided to not read work email after 7pm, limit after hours blue screen (no iPad/phone screens after 9pm), seek a few early nights too. My sleeping is disrupted mainly by trapped nerves in my back but the medication knocks me out for 36 hours! Alcohol helps but isn’t the healthiest option.

Art space
It will be great to create a space for art at home and maybe get a press for making our own prints. This is potentially a medium term project but we are going to get started on this during the new year. The recent painting I did was completed in the garage with very poor light and no easel so anything will be an improvement.

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23 Things Review

It’s been a year since I  put together a list of 23 things I’d like to do in 2023. The idea was to write a positive habit/motivational blog post that I would keep returning to and act like a set of goals for the year ahead. 

You might wonder why my 23 Things blogposts all feature Groucho Marx-like characters generated by Gencraft AI? Apart from humouring myself, it is also to illustrate subconscious bragging via the Groucho Marx Syndrome:

The Groucho Marx Syndrome is the result of internalized perfectionism in the way you position yourself in relation to your peers, such as your fellow students.

Now the year has come to an end it’s a good time to write up a bit of a review for myself and anyone else who is interested. I have written some slightly more prosaic posts on a few of the specifics like the 23 books I intended to read (and my top 5 recommended here), my 23 cocktails (top 5 cocktails) and my 23 new recipes (again, top 5 here). I won’t cover all of those again in this summary. I actually did a half year review too and was finding some of my December goals a bit much! Here is a short review and the start of next year’s ambitions.

My 23 goals were:

Go Abroad
After a few years without travel due to the pandemic, it was odd to go on a flight again. We spent a week in The Algarve at the end of Spring and a week on the Greek island of Mykonos in Summer. The world has certainly changed due to Covid-19, although there were no restrictions in place this year, you could certainly see the remnants of its’ global impact. Both breaks gave us the opportunity to eat out and discover new places, rediscover old ones and also find that some are lost forever. A beloved traditional taverna we had visited 7 years ago in Agios Stefanos, Mykonos is now a wreck; the roof has collapsed and vines grow throughout. Life moves on and possibly with no tourist income, the owners couldn’t continue. Next year, I would like to seek a greener transportation method; hire an EV maybe or travel further by train?

Improve health and fitness
Up and down due to chronic back pain, however, I do think the second-hand Apple Watch has effective positive-nagging features and makes me at least try to close my daily rings. Next year I intend to lose a bit of weight (by being less sedentary) too.

Create more art
As a keen photographer and art teacher you might expect lots of home-grown artistic practise. To have the time! I do use a sketchbook to explore the ideas I do with students and just for fun too. Photography is more immediate as long as I have one of my cameras (if not always my phone camera). This year I set out to produce some more paintings and I am well pleased with the result as well as enjoying the process/struggle. I did buy some new glasses and I know I needed them. A couple of weeks in the planning and preparation of a canvas led to a week solid of intensive painting. I was then bursting with ideas for more work in this style (impasto landscape) but then no time to do it. Next year, we want to buy an A3 printing press…

Music concert performance 
Up to November, we couldn’t find any artists we really wanted to see; their tour dates seemed to be on continental Europe or beyond. However, I did go and see Weyes Blood at Rock City, Nottingham which was great! We definitely need to get out more to see live performance.

Regular cultural events
In February, we went and saw To Kill a Mockingbird in the West End, took in a few free exhibitions of multimedia art too while in London. Also saw the Chris Kilip photo exhibition at The Photographer’s Gallery and Peter Doig at The Coutauld. In October, we returned and took our adult daughters to see Cabaret at the KitKat Club at the Playhouse theatre (totally immersive!), the Daido Moriyama retrospective at the Photographer’s gallery and Claudette Johnson: Presence at the Courtauld Gallery. In between times we popped in to any galleries we could in wherever we were visiting too.

City Breaks
Having a major train line close by has its advantages in getting down to London; the west and centre is more tricky by train and seems to take ages. There have been some train strikes but we were unaffected. Next year, we will head north too and check out Edinburgh.

Eat/drink healthy
We tried a lot of new recipes this year (another goal) focussed on fresh ingredients and as vegans, we wanted to avoid saturated coconut fats. In Summer, we had lots of salad and poke bowls and used lots of the fresh vegetables straight from the garden. In Autumn, we have had a lot of soup and spicy curries… and a few vegan junk food meals too. Drink wise, we aim for a balance and I am aware that alcohol doesn’t suit everyone (despite my post of the 23 new cocktails).

Read 23 books
Achieved! I am on my 24th of the year and it certainly helped reading a few short novels and poetry books.

Try and save some money
We have changed our shopping habits (everything is more expensive now) and write shopping lists before going to budget stores. We plan a weekly menu and keep to it (most of the time). We don’t eat out much but enjoy it more when we do.

Cinema Visits
At the height of Summer there were only two blockbusters; Barbie and Oppenheimer – we didn’t manage to find time for either! A late visit to Wonka means that visiting the cinema wasn’t such a priority in 2023 but maybe that was because of the movies released or withheld due to the actor’s union strike. There are some interesting ones due to be released in 2024 such as Dune 2, a new Alien movie and Poor Things with Emma Stone.

Duolingo again
I have been back on the friendly habit of Duolingo for the final month of the year; although I may never be fluent in Italian like my wife, I know the vocabulary for more animals and some bizarre and surreal sentences such as l’orso mangia le formiche.

Learn a new recipe a month
I think we managed a lot more between us and took advantage of eating out while on a city break or abroad to get inspiration for other dishes.

Date Nights
We had a few meals out and few glasses of wine too as date nights, mainly our visits abroad were just the two of us and made up for the time we didn’t venture out socially.

See Parents more often
Achieved, particularly in the Summer months. It’s a long drive and I want to bring them back home for a break with us next Spring.

Try new restaurants
As mentioned above in seeking new recipes, I didn’t mention the vegan restaurant in Portugal, Veggie Momi, where we had vegan prawns Algarve-style and vegan pasteis de nata. The traditional taverna, Nikos in Mykonos town where we had stuffed zucchini. Mildred’s at Covent Garden where we had vegan Panna Cotta. Or Jam Delish in London with amazing Caribbean dishes including vegan ‘goat’ curry!

Make or sample new cocktails
I have written a longer post on this.

Play more boardgames
We are backgammon players since our days living in Greece and our offspring love Monopoly; this year we have spent hours on the variation Anti-Monopoly  which is two games in one. Players choose to be capitalist Monopolists or free-market Competitors! It takes hours and there are no real winners so just like real life… get yours here.

Brewery/Distillery tours
Not achieved – a really expensive past-time. I looked into visiting a gin distillery in the New Forest and some of the Malt Whisky places near Inverness. Wow. Book months in advance with a healthy wallet.

Regular hikes and walks
We have explored our local area of Nottinghamshire in fair weather but not that regularly tbh. In the new year, we will keep exploring this goal.

Picnic time
As a treat over Summer we went with lots of nibbles to our local park and on another occasion to Newstead Abbey, Lord Byron’s ancestral home. Nice to do when you have free day and the English weather is on-side.

Achievements and a 5 Year Plan
Achievements for a year are more easily summarised by these kind of goal-based blog posts and probably very self indulgent. I am not one for annual letters etc. The five year plan is still being formulated and will be part of the future of my personal blog, needless to say, I have been teaching full time for over 30 years and could do with looking for gentler options of a wind-down.

Pick up someone else’s rubbish
Embarrassingly not done. I need a grabber stick thing and I have a fair idea of where I would like to clear of mainly drink cans and fast-food wrappers. I think the ancient hedgerows of Nottinghamshire will breathe easier once I pull my finger out and so will the resident wildlife. Next year.

Develop a good habit
Achieved and as with all good habits, once you repeat it becomes second nature. I have been using Headspace for quite a few years and try doing this meditation regularly although not daily as I would like. I bought a water bottle with hourly markers for hydration which is useful. I read the newspaper (online) each morning before work and read from a book each evening. Maybe in 2024 I can make the meditation a daily habit and even think of some new ones!

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Recipes: 23 Things for ’23

It’s almost a year since I put together a list of 23 things I’d like to do in 2023. It was intended as a positive habit/motivational idea based on something I tried before. Experimenting with new recipes helps with variety and interest and we have quite a few recipe books and of course there’s always online recipes. One a month seemed a reasonable goal? Well, we both enjoy cooking and easily did more than one a month! Here is a sample of our Top 5:

1. One pan paella with vegan ‘chickun’ pieces
   A classic Spanish-style rice dish using saffron and short-grain round rice. We found a herbs/spices mix in a deli that inspired us and could’ve used a vegan chorizo rather than the chickun pieces. Essential sweet paprika makes this a warming and comforting winter dish! Recipe from Minimalist Baker here. We have made this again since using Sainsbury’s chorizo style vegan sausages and the result was much more golden.
2. Coronation Quiche (vegan version)
   A recipe spotted on The Vegan Society website here. This is made from broad beans and tofu and is incredibly satisfying! Although we haven’t attempted another quiche, we have used gram flour/chickpea flour for other recipes such as mini breakfast omelettes and Sicilian panelle.
3. Vegan Lancashire Hot Pot
   This uses oyster mushrooms, jackfruit and yeast extract to create a variant on the traditional family recipe. We based ours on a recipe from One Green Planet that can be found here.

   

   Lancashire hotpot (vegan)

4. Farfalle with portobello mushrooms and rosemary
   This is a very Autumnal pasta dish with a ‘dry’ sauce rather than cheesy one or tomato ragu. Good quality extra virgin olive oil and meaty mushrooms are a must with a pasta of your choice. We adapted this recipe to our tastes.
5. Singapore noodles and tofu
   We like to get noodles from our nearby Chinese take away restaurants and one will even make their Singapore-style noodles vegan for us by leaving out any egg or prawns. We made this dish using oven-baked tofu cubes and a very spicy, curry-based noodle stir fry. Mainly inspired by this recipe from Connoisseur Veg.

   

   Singapore chow mien with tofu

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Cocktails: 23 Things for ’23

It’s almost a year since I put together a list of 23 things I’d like to do in 2023. It was intended a positive habit/motivational idea based on something I tried back in 2014-15 and I re-read that post often to see what I achieved. I hadn’t intended to develop 23 new cocktails btw, the intention was just to try out something different and maybe… sophisticated?

We have a variety of pubs and bars where we live and even a dedicated cocktail bar. On a whim, I ordered an Old Fashioned in there only to find that the mixologist gave me some weird yellow, frothy drink in a fancy glass. I’m by no means an expert or even a connoisseur, but I knew this wasn’t even bourbon! I’ve sampled all the modern daiquiris, coffee martinis and passion fruit ones but some of these don’t pass my Hemingway¹ test. So, during 2023 I made an extra effort to try out some different recipes in Nottingham, London and beyond and try to recreate them at home too. Here are my personal top 5 cocktails from this year and years gone by.

1. Dirty Martini 
   A classic cocktail with 150ml of Dry London Gin, 25ml dry vermouth, ice and three green olives and the ‘dirty’ part is 25ml of the olive brine from the jar. In my opinion, the king of all cocktails and height of sophistication! I’ve drank these in the early hours at Moonshadows, Malibu (famously the haunt of Mel Gibson²) and recommended to friends and work colleagues alike. This year I had to teach a mixologist how to make it to perfection as it wasn’t on the London cocktail bar menu and he’d never made one before! He had a box full of unopened vermouth that he didn’t know what to do with…
2. Caipirinha
   Take 200ml cachaça rum, 5 tbsp of caster sugar, citrus juice and lots of ice. The perfect summer cocktail in the sun that we have enjoyed on our visits to Portugal. 
3. Zombie
   The classic Halloween cocktail! Blend 25ml white rum, 25ml dark rum (I used spiced rum), 50ml lemon juice, 1 tsp grenadine and 150ml pineapple juice. Serve with cherries and mint sprigs on a bed of ice.
4. Manhattan
   A new favourite; use 75ml bourbon (I like Bulleit), 15ml extra dry Martini vermouth and 15ml sweet vermouth, 2 dashes of bitters, morello cherries and some of the juice from the cherry jar. Serve with a strip of orange zest. 
5. Negroni
   This is all about the balance of flavours and can be easily messed up. Use 25ml gin (try Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla), 25ml sweet vermouth, 25ml Campari stirred with ice. Serve with a slice of orange. This is my go to Christmas special!

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¹ The legend of Ernest Hemingway in a Havana cocktail bar is my measure of suitability for macho cocktails!

² The infamous story of the actor, Mel Gibson prior to his DUI arrest

N.b. Alcohol isn’t suitable for everyone, be it due to abstinence, religious reasons or tolerance levels or even family or own problem drinking. See DrinkAware for further information and take the drinking quiz if you are worried.