It turns out that I’m not particularly cut out to be a tamagotchi parent, as much as I try. I don’t quite remember them being so much work. I have enough on without being subjected to the whims of an electronic master. After progressing through the egg stage (yes, apparently tamagotchi have stages) they grow up into little characters depending on how you treat them.

I got the second worst outcome.

To be fair, I liked my sassy little man. He was full of character, but regrettably he’s gone to the great spaceship in the sky where all tamagotchi’s go when they… outgrow their owners. So far I haven’t reset him to try again, because I have been a busy busy boy.

Oh Yeah? What have you been doing?

Well first of all, I had my 5K on the 27th of October. It would be boring for those of you who followed along to rehash it all again, and if you’re really keen you can read about it here, and The Young Programme posted about it here, but safe to say that not only did I meet my fundraising goal, but I also met my goal of running it in under 45 minutes, managing it in 44 minutes and 9 seconds. Not a fast time by any stretch of the imagination, but fast enough for a man who couldn’t run a 5k six months ago.

I’m so proud of myself, and the team, but am enjoying the fact that I get to run for fun and not because I have the stress of a Charity 5k hanging over my head.

But surely you’ve done some work as well?

Yes! Of course I have! It’s now November, which is when us freelance artists who start to lose the plot and get to start thinking about how we’re going to flavour our creative burnout over the Christmas Period this year. I’ve chosen a specific kind of social torture, in that I’ve signed up to do some cool events this year, but I’ll talk about that in a bit.

Firstly, and to no surprise or fanfare, I’ve finished my annual set of Christmas Cards for the year, and in true Josh Moir fashion, I’ve gone a bit extra this year. You’ll soon see what I mean.

I decided to go back to my roots and to design another four cards celebrating different buildings in Dundee.

This year, the buildings I chose were The Caird Hall, Tanandice Stadium, Dens Park Stadium and the ‘auld’ Overgate as it’s affectionally called in Dundee. The style is the same as the cards that I’ve previously done on other years, except this year they’re printed on a different card in an attempt to try something new.

Not exactly pushing the boat out though are we?

Well that’s where you’re wrong, because I’ve not just stopped there this year. I’ve made some other cards that I really like as well.

Firstly there’s the animal set that are inspired by the Dighty Burn Print that I made as a gift for people who donated to my gofundme. I thought the animals needed sprucing up a little and bringing into the Christmas Season so I through little Santa Hats on them to make them feel a little more festive.

Then, to complete the Dundonian Theme I also made a set of four with Dundonian words and phrases on them, because I love nothing more than my native tongue.

Do you even know enough people to use that amount of Christmas Cards?

No, probably not, but that doesn’t mean that the wonderful people who follow my work don’t. There’s even a special offer on the Dundee Landmarks set where if you buy 4 or more cards you save 15%. If this year is anything like previous years then there’s every likelihood that the cards will be popular.

But even if they aren’t, I’m going to have a few more opportunities to get out and about and see if anyone else is interested in my cards, because like I said previously I’ve got a couple of events on in the run up to Christmas. Most related to Christmas is that me and the contents of the Josh Moir Art shop will be at the Verdant Works Christmas Market on the 23rd and 24th of November.

As well as local artists, crafters makers and sellers, there’s also a new festive menu to try out, and there’s going to be live music and entertainment in the market, so it’ll be fun even if you’re not interested in buying Christmas Cards made from 100% recycled material using biodegradable inks.

Also coming up, but slightly less Christmas themed is the Dundee Zine Fest, where I’ll also be in attendance.

That one isn’t Christmas themed, but I’ll still be there with bells on, and I’ll also have some cool zines that haven’t been seen before for sale, so if you’re interested in that kind of thing, come along. I’d also say come along anyway, because there seems to be a lot of really cool people who are going to be there if the Dundee Zine Fest Instagram is anything to go by.

With all that going on, have you even have time to watch TV?

I have, but also not as much as I would have liked. I am STILL trying to work my way through Monsters on Netflix, but I have managed to watch some little things here and there.

The thing I most enjoyed recently however is Apartment 7A, the Rosemary’s Baby prequel.

While it didn’t manage to quite meet the creepy vibe of the original exactly, it matched it enough, and did enough new things that it was an enjoyable watch. The performances were fantastic, with Dianne Wiest a very convincing Minnie Castevet, and Julia Garner was just damaged enough as Terry.

It doesn’t get up to anything too imaginative, and doesn’t reinvent anything, but I would recommend it if you’re excited for some spooky moments, and costuming that has all the charm and cringe of the 80s, but with the plush textiles and fabrics of the 2020s.

I enjoyed the costuming so much I did some fan art of Julia Garner in a Jacket I wouldn’t be upset to own.

Apart from that, have a good week and I’ll see you next week!

– J