She was an enemy of the bland, the anodyne, the mushy, the twee. She also loved Neighbours and Home & Away. She could see things no one else could. She was appalling at housework and was a vicar's wife who was as far from the stereotypical vicar's wife as was possible to be

I wish you'd known her

She barely sold a painting in her life, but she could be brilliant. Here are a couple of my favourites (the one on the left is Trafalgar Square on the day of the 1981 Royal Wedding)

She would probably like to be remembered most of all as an artist. She could do pretty cottages, flowers, landscapes etc. But she also painted decaying plasterwork and congealed chicken fat. One work had dead frogs on. I once opened the fridge and found a decomposing sparrowhawk

Also just discovered the book was on Barnes & Noble's list of The Most Anticipated Nonfiction Books of 2026, alongside books by actual Sylvester Stallone, actual Cher and actual Liza Minnelli! Blimey

www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/most-an...

The book is a 'perceptive meditation', a 'wild ride' and 'a unique look at a singular artist', so they say

www.booklistonline.com/products/981...

How kind of you - thanks Amber!

Ah, that's nice to hear in various ways - thank you (and yes books should indeed be available at the launch)!

And the fact it's been reviewed by @helenbarrett.bsky.social - who definitely knows her Bowie - makes it all the better!

Also very happy with this line: 'Ormerod's gift to readers is his wide-ranging citations'. I was determined to make the book as rooted and grounded as it could be, because this topic could get a bit flighty. Really grateful this was acknowledged

Actual Stakka Bo

youtu.be/sGNK-cOtxSs?...

Ah, that's a relief - thanks!

Thanks Amber; also, happy new year!