Musicians are artists. No really... artists with paint: Bob Dylan and Ronnie Wood

Window display, Castle Fine Art, Norwich

If you are nearby, take a few minutes to nip into Castle Fine Art in Norwich, (or maybe one of their other branches?) They have exhibitions of limited-editions by not one, but two, major musicians: Bob Dylan, and Ronnie Wood!

Part of the Ronnie Wood collection on display this week at Castle Fine Art in Norwich

I'd seen examples of Bob Dylan's work before, but I quite-shamefully had no clue about Ronnie Wood. His work is stunning... would love one of these pictures on my wall.

At the intersection -- yes, there is one -- between rock music, art, and wild horses, his work has an immediate appeal. Find out more here on his website and find out about the possibility of ordering your own copies here.

And then, there's only one song to play:

Vikings!!! Sheringham, Norfolk, England

Battle reenactment, Sheringham Viking Festival

What more appropriate for the first proper post from my new home in Norfolk, England, than a Viking invasion? It happened yesterday, in Sheringham; the seaside town's fifth annual Viking festival, ending a week of activities with battles on the beach, a torchlight procession, and the ceremonial burning of a boat at the edge of the tide. It was a beautiful, sunny, calm and clear February day. Perfect weather for an invasion. Perfect weather for a fight on the beach.

Vikings and Anglo-Saxons like ice-cream too!

I learned that Vikings love to eat chips. And ice cream. And that the leaders of today's Sheringham are happy to walk down the street with the mauraders. And that people come from all over the country to see the festival... and that it's growing bigger and better every year.

The Wuffa and Dragon Shields, Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons battled it out on the beach at low tide, clad in heavy chain-mail, wielding huge wooden shields, battle-axes and swords. Cut down in their prime--or weighted-over by the weaponry--they fell into the cold, wet sand, only to spring back to life, time and again, when the the crowd summonsed the help of Vallhala and cried, "Rise, Rise!" (or as one youngster in the crowd called, "Rice!") This generated some interesting, overheard conversations, children asking their parents about death and dying, which I'm sure were answered in creative British style.

Fire eater, Sheringham Viking Festival

There was a fire-eater, and a fire dancer, and a witch, and dog-lion who came along to watch the show and sat patiently waiting for the parade to pass.

And then, the boat burned, fueled by heaps of not-so-Viking wooden pallets, warming the cockles of our hearts, young and old. And yes, that's a human shape you see... Vikings buried their dead by burning them with their boats. Don't worry, this was as human as the Guy that goes on the bonfire in November. At least, I think it was...

Boat burning, Sheringham Viking Festival

More photos here in the Alison Toon Photographer photo gallery: http://www.alisontoon.com/-/galleries/life/vikings/sheringham-viking-festival-2018

Organized by the Sheringham Carnival team, you can find out more about it here, and another set of photos and a writeup in the North Norfolk News today.

Battle on the beach, Sheringham Viking Festival 2018