Kamala, I Could Kiss You!!!!!!

If you don’t already, I recommend reading @ronthroop Ron Throop’s posts, especially his recent one $18,604.34. I read it on the bus home from Camden yesterday evening, on the way back from scavenging some free cardboard from outside “Guitar Guitar”, which if you hadn’t guessed, is a guitar shop. Henry Thoreau’s story convinced me that it’s now FREE ART FREES ART’s goal to treat every customer better than anyone else has ever treated them. If we do, I'm convinced we win. I think Thoreau perfectly sums up why we're often victims of no one but ourselves, and I’m glad the small amount of time and energy it takes me to make a painting or drawing allows the luxury of doing FREE ART FREES ART. If baskets could be knocked out as quickly, cheaply and easily as paintings, I'd have thanked the lawyer for his time and left a complimentary basket out of appreciation. I'd do likewise at every door I knocked and be a millionaire within a month. The lawyer would soon have found himself chasing down the street to ask for another five. Here's a photo of Ron and I painting. Together we are JONRON. When making improvisational free-form jazz, we are FARANGERS.

On a further bright side, it’s now clear why my parcels keep being returned by US customs and it's pretty simple to fix. The problem’s the cheap courier company I’ve been using. All the ones I’ve sent with them to America have been refused by customs, and all the parcels I sent with Parcelforce have sailed through first time. Thankfully, I have understanding customers who are all getting a load of EXTRA FREE ART for their trouble and patience. Proof that my art and music exclusively attract the highest caliber of people. My nan used to say “Buy cheap, buy twice.” WHY DIDN’T I LISTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! From now on, as a friend of mine also recently advised, I’m only using Parcelforce for international deliveries. Subsequently I’ve hiked my shipping prices, and also decided to stop selling to Europe because sending anything to Europe right now is a total nightmare. Here’s a photo of Ron and I getting into an argument about Stuckism:

I’m not a political person, but have been reliably informed that the problems sending parcels to the EU isn’t the fault of anyone at the EU, or whoever the people are that dreamed up the ridiculously vindictive and sadistic admin processes of a deranged ex-partner who does everything possible to make your life a misery so you eventually see the misstep you took in leaving, but the fault of none other than, everyone’s favourite dartboard…. Nigel Farage. For all I know, he’s right. I haven’t read the libraries worth it’d take for me to think I had a clue. Likewise, I’ve also been reliably informed that the problems I’ve been having with the cheap courier company aren't the fault of the cheap courier company at all, but SURPRISE SURPRISE…it’s apparently all Donald Trump’s fault. Again, maybe they’re right. If so, I’d like to personally and publicly thank Kamala Harris for letting my Parcelforce ones through. Assuming she’s still in charge of the blue team. I’m a distant observer when it comes to politics, and judge them all primarily by foolproof gut and hunch, but it’s funny how, whichever side people are on, it’s never their side's fault. The side they don’t like’s always to blame for what happens under their watch, but it’s the mess their favourite side inherited that’s always to blame when the shoe’s on the other foot. Win, win!!!!!! It’s like when opposition parties wallow in being able to compare their ideology with the otherside’s reality, but then go all quiet when it’s their reality they’re finally held accountable for. Mix all this with the advent of social media for the perfect storm of what I imagine led Noel Gallagher to muse “Everyone’s a f**king expert”. It’s amazing how many of my friends, since the advent of social media, have suddenly all become climate scientists. One person, who I’m pretty sure is a councilor for a major political party I won’t smear by associating with him, publicly accused me on Facebook of being a far-right sympathiser. Of course, this is complete rubbish and I asked him to provide a single example. When he couldn’t, I asked him to apologise. Not publicly, just between the two of us, but he wouldn’t. I did notice, however, that he had the emotional maturity and strength of character to quietly delete his public accusation against me. The vermin you get online’s beyond belief, and I’m sure I’ve experienced far from the worst of it. About politics, here’s a song:

To counter the lost sales from having higher shipping prices, and in keeping with FREE ART FREES ART, I’ll be including even more free art with every order and making all these freebies A LOT more obvious in my shops photos and videos. I’m already doing the TRANSIT COMPENSATION PACKS and “Buy 2 Get 11 Free” on some orders, but FREE ART FREES ART ONLINE needs taking to the next level. The format for giving our artwork away for free in person is THE CAMDEN MARKET FREE ART MAN. I’d like an equivalent to Camden, but online. I’ll sleep on it tonight, and ask Ron and Emma during the next BLACK IVORY PODCAST for any ideas. If you want to watch our podcast live, tune in on Ron’s Substack. We broadcast live on Thursdays at 7pm UK time. There’s a function to write messages, not that we ever get any, but I think two people watched the last one. If you miss the live broadcast, Ron publishes them afterwards on his YouTube.