Decorum

I was very nervous about this class, in the couple of weeks running up to it.  It was a private residence, somewhere along Loch Lomond, and I didn't know exactly where.  I had the address and I found out the route, but I still wasn't sure about the precise location.  And none of the routefinder apps I used seemed able to tell me about any buses that went that way.

Down to the old fashioned approach.  I asked at the bus station, in person, where I found out that the bus to Oban went right past it.  It was between Luss and Tarbet, which was handy, too - always great to find out the local towns.  Then it can be as simple as go to the nearest town, settle down in a convenient hotel or restaurant, have a couple of coffees and kill some time, then walk to the venue or catch a taxi - depending on how close it is

That plan usually works.  Occasionally, it fails pretty badly.  Like the first class of this year, when I caught the bus to Aberargie, arrived at the local hotel and discovered it had closed down and I was trapped wandering about the local countryside in a persistent, miserable drizzle.

A few days before the day of the class, a friend and I drove out along Loch Lomond and we checked the area out.  I wanted to see the house itself, but we drove past it and I spotted a handy layby.  The perfect stopping place for the Oban bus, if the driver was feeling accommodating - and they usually are, if the stopping place is a safe one.  We carried on into Tarbet, where hotel was very convenient - and open for business, so I had that covered if the weather was nasty or the bus driver wasn't accommodating or the road wasn't safe.  Everything was cool.

A quick check of the bus schedules reassured me that if I left Edinburgh at 9AM, I'd get there a good two hours before the class was scheduled to start.  A comfortable margin for any potential disrupted schedules.  And so I was on my way.

And it all went very smoothly.  Even better than planned, in fact.  The girl who had booked me called me up while I was en route and offered to drive into Tarbet to pick me up.  So all I had to do was hang around the car park and wait.  And when she found out I was going to be arriving early, she was very happy to pick me up early.  She also told me that everyone knew what was going to be happening, so there was no need for subterfuge - no sneaking in the back door for this class.

There were a couple of fluctuations in the schedule after that, that I wasn't entirely clear about.  For a while, I thought I was being invited in to chill out until the class was due to start.  I said that if the schedule wasn't set in stone then I would be happy to start earlier than planned.  Then I found out that one of the girls wasn't due to arrive until later, so an early start would mean she was excluded.  Then, somehow, we ended up starting early anyway.  I got a little confused at that point, and eventually just figured that the girls had a clearer idea of what they wanted and the schedule they wanted to keep to, so I decided that I would fit in with their plan as best as I could.  I still felt bad for the late girl, though.

When we arrived at the house, I was shown to the room where the class would be held.  It was beautiful and only needed a couple of minor furniture adjustments to make it perfect for the class.  Before I got it ready, I took out the Mac and set up the slideshow videos I'd created, then took the Mac through to the kitchen where the girls were relaxing before the class started.  I told them that if they wanted, they could get a sneak preview of the event, then left the Mac with them and went back to finish getting the room ready.  I could hear the music starting up and shortly after that, I could hear them starting to laugh, so it seemed to go down well.

They were all dressed for the part - with berets and little twirly moustaches drawn onto their faces.  It looked pretty cool and it reminded me of a different class I held in Glasgow one time, where the girls had done something similar.

The pictures were great.  One of my favourites was a Superman picture, which was improvised because the pose changed.  I had started out with my arms in the air, but I pointed out that it would have to be a quick drawing, because I wouldn't be able to maintain that pose for long - so someone suggested I change the pose.  One of the girls had started drawing my arms in the original pose, but she changed them to a cape instead.

Another favourite was from a challenge I had been planning to introduce for some time, but had always forgotten about during the classes.  I asked how many right-handed girls there were, then told them to pick out a chunky bit of charcoal and draw with their left hands instead.  I need to do that challenge again, because it seemed to go down well.  One of the girls came out with a very shaky-looking picture, that I really liked.  Another favourite had me looking a bit like Gok Wan - although I didn't notice the similarity until a friend (the same one who went along Loch Lomond with me last week) pointed it out. I was gutted, because I like commenting on those similarities when I see them, during the classes.

Towards the end of the class, the late girl turned up.  I think she had a couple of children with her, so it might have been that she wasn't able to attend the class because of that.  She came into the room, though, and posed with me for a picture so she was at least able to participate a little bit.

Eventually, I wound up the class and was driven back to Tarbet.  And a couple of days later, I got in touch with my friend (yes, the same one again) and asked about her night out.  She'd been to a Butlers in the buff event and I was very curious about it.  Much, much rowdier than my classes.  And a lot more depravity.

I have decorum.