Doc Barbara tackles Paradise Lost

   There have been those who have cast cynical doubts on Doc Barbara's artistic talents, particularly when she illustrates works of literature. We therefore set her the challenge of depicting a scene from Paradise Lost as an ultimate test. Yet our heroine has a modest outlook on life and did not wish to attempt naked figures: hence her imaginative vision of the snake waiting for Eve to emerge from the right hand side of the painting. To those who carp and claim that she cannot draw from life, we respond that here indeed is Paradise Found.

Doc Barbara and the pop-up tent

   Doc Barbara, whose adventures we follow in this newspaper with zeal and devotion, recently decided to observe birds from a field next to her garden and purchased a pop-up tent for this purpose. On unzipping the bag, she was astonished and wounded when the tent flew out, clipping her on the underside of her jaw but nevertheless landing correctly in position. Undeterred, she settled inside and took out her diary but failed to find her binoculars (which must have been beneath the tent). Without these, she could merely record 15 sbj's (small brown jobs) but can be seen here in high spirits nevertheless.

   The main problems occurred when dismantling the tent. The spring mechanism meant that, when she tried to hold the top hoops together, one resisted and whacked her smartly on the nose whilst the other biffed her harshly on the left ear. Her right ear came under severe  attack from both bottom hoops but, when all seemed desperate, a group of Boy Scouts appeared and bandaged her up before deftly replacing the tent in its carry bag. She intends to play ornithologist from her bedroom window from now on.

Doc Barbara Takes a Step Back but Goes Forward Once More

   Doc Barbara has taken a pause in her enterprise to illustrate all the works of Shakespeare. We are sorry to disappoint her many fans but can report that she intends to continue when she has solved the problem of how to paint Titus Andronicus. Meanwhile she has returned to her campaign to interest Londoners in rural life, realising that her attempt to demonstrate milking with an adult cow in Trafalgar Square was a little over-ambitious. 

   She has therefore established herself on Platform 4 at Paddington Station with this appealing calf and some accoutrements. The trains for Wales frequently leave from this spot and so there is an innate symbolism in her choice of venue. If you see the animal and approve, please moo loudly in support.

Zounds but I am fed up of meeting on this blasted heath.

 

We asked Doc Barbara, as part of her epic endeavour to illustrate all of Shakespeare, to use her imagination and look beyond the box. Here she seems to have entered into the mind of one of the witches and invented a suitable quotation to match. We admire her sky-blue thinking but are unsure how the rest of the plays will stand up to this open-ended treatment.

For she hath played the strumpet in my bed

 

From The Monmouthshire Mouthpiece:

We asked Doc Barbara by phone to do a five-minute sketch of Othello's justification for murdering his wife, Desdemona.  From this result we wonder if she is becoming a little hard of hearing.

Her latest attempt

 

Despite Doc Barbara's evident admirable qualities this newspaper has to admit she has her critics, one of whom is the cynical editor of our sister paper, The Brynbuga Beagle. He challenged her to paint one of the prophecies from Macbeth and sent his own photographer to capture the result. She chose the one which promised security to the eponymous hero until a wood came to his castle: as we all know, the enemy cut down branches and carried them to disguise their numbers. When asked about her primitive canvas, she replied that she always thought there was an element of Dad's Army about this section of the drama. We must try her with something more imaginative and we do not rate his photographer either.

 

Emulating Picasso

   Doc Barbara is always on the lookout for new challenges and experiences and never thinks on the small scale, Recently she decided to illustrate all the works of Shakespeare starting with The Tempest as she likes to do things backwards for added interest and piquancy. The well known quotation about the isle being full of music stimulated her imagination but, unfortunately, not her latent artistic talents.This newspaper has, however,  every faith in her potential and will keep her many admirers up to date.