The Virtual Pub
Come Inside... => The Library => Topic started by: Grumpmeister on September 30, 2008, 05:25:48 PM
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No, I grew up watching Tony Hart. It must be hell for him not being able to draw again. sad24:
TV artist Tony Hart has said that not being able to draw any more is "the greatest cross I have to bear".
The 83-year-old has been robbed of the use of his hands after having two strokes, he told The Times newspaper.
"It has been my lifetime passion, but I endeavour to stay cheerful as there is nothing to be done about my condition," he said.
Tony Hart appeared on art programmes for nearly 50 years before retiring in 2001 because of health problems.
The artist is now looked after by two live-in carers at his home in Shamley Green in Surrey.
'Abandoned'
"My whole life has changed since my strokes," Hart wrote in The Times.
"After breakfast I would adjourn to my studio, built in my garden, until 4pm when I would change my shoes and set forth on a four-mile Gurkha-pace jog through the Surrey hills.
"Today my studio lies abandoned and I spend most of my day confined to my chair."
The artist served as an officer in the 1st Gurkha Rifles in World War II, before joining a course at the Maidstone College of Art.
It was a chance meeting in 1952 with a BBC TV producer and a demonstration of his quick art skills on a paper napkin that secured his on-screen career.
He first appeared on Saturday Special as an illustrator before fronting shows such as Vision On, Take Hart and Hart Beat.
"My aged heart is warmed by the lovely letters and emails I receive, especially when they tell me that my work on television inspired the writers to become artists," Hart added.
Although the artist is no longer able to sign autographs, he still makes personal appearances when requested to speak or judge competitions.
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sad24:
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Thanks for the earworm Grumpmeister
Signed, JOM, aged 49 and 3/4
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For those of us who grew up watching Tony
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlgWbN0gb0w&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlgWbN0gb0w&feature=related)
And just for JOM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31jMx8GpJ3Y (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31jMx8GpJ3Y)
whistle:
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This is the one I
had can't get out of my head
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om2HbDzZOWA
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That really is very sad.
I have often wondered just how much I would have to have lost before I finally gave up. This makes me wonder if I could, in his position, carry on.
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I'd always believed that if I somehow lost my sight and hearing then I'd give up but its something you would never know for sure unless it happened.
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The human instinct to fight for survival is very strong no matter how bad things get.
My many weeks in various hospitals have always left me thinking "There are those worse than me and they are still fighting". It is in those quiet and lonely hours of the early morning when I have no ditraction that my thoughts get morbid and depression looms. I now have a radio with earphones next to the bed to use as a distraction from those thoughts. It seems to work.
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My rationale has been if I can't take care of myself, all of the aids for loss of either sight or hearing depend primarily on the other so if I lost both I'd just end up feeling like a burden.
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Couldn't agree more.
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Poor Tony sad24:
I've always said losing my sight would be the worst thing. Imagine not being able to read!
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Audiobooks and braille Wenchy.
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But what if your fingers fell off too? rubschin:
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I guess there will always come a point where life isn't worth living.
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Today looks like a candidate evil:
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You could always ring the Samaritans - if you can get through:
Samaritans is experiencing increased calls as a direct effect of the credit crunch.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7644008.stm)