Catherine’s return to duties

[PrettyFlyforaMaiTai]

Catherine has returned to her public duties and has visited the Royal Marsden hospital today to “show her gratitude to the incredible team, but also highlight the world-leading care and treatment the Marsden provides".

It has been revealed that she attended her chemotherapy appointments at Royal Marsden. She thanked staff and visited patients for approximately an hour. It’s also been released that she will join William in becoming a royal patron of the hospital.

news.sky.com/story/kate-visits-royal-marsden-hospital-to-thank-staff-who-looked-after-her-during-cancer-treatment-13288556

I think the one by George of Kate in the chair shows talent.

(I assume it's by George; if it's one of the younger two, even more so - if it's a self-portrait, not so much 😆)

@PigeonDress "You mean a school that offers classes in art from pre-school onwards, Art GCSE and A'Level? That'll be most schools, then."

Nope. A school that teaches drawing.

@NormaMajors1992coat "What I'm getting is "she has been taught to draw and other people can also draw, therefore the sketch is rubbish"

No. If I thought it was rubbish I would have said so.

Is painting by numbers a sign of quality then? I assumed that wasn't something most artists were aiming for.

Didn't you learn to draw in nursery/school? Learning to draw people, objects and buildings and shade/give an image perspective etc forms part of the basic Year 7/8 art curriculum.

@NormaMajors1992coat "Is painting by numbers a sign of quality then? I assumed that wasn't something most artists were aiming for."

It's a perfectly capable representational sketch. That's what I meant. Do you need me to explain the difference between that and "rubbish"?

@PigeonDress "Learning to draw people, objects and buildings and shade/give an image perspective etc forms part of the basic Year 7/8 art curriculum."
I'm very glad to hear it. Not sure what your point is, though!

I’m really struggling to understand your point @CurlewKate

@pilates As I said earlier-often very ordinary things are often elevated because a member of the RF does them. The PofW sketch is perfectly fine. I'm sure she would be embarrassed herself to see them being used as examples of her superior artistic talent!

the sort of school that teaches drawing.

That's all schools, according to the national curriculum.

You seem determined to criticise Catherine's drawing, but don't seem to know that all schools teach the basic skills. Therefore, are all artists of line drawings "drawing by numbers" in your estimation (as someone who can't draw but seems to have a lot of opinions on what's good and what's not)? What distinguishes those who draw by numbers and those who don't, when they have followed the same school curriculum? What makes Catherine's drawing "drawing by numbers"?

It's a perfectly capable representational sketch. That's what I meant. Do you need me to explain the difference between that and "rubbish"?

No thanks, that's much clearer than drawing by numbers, which does seem quite critical and strange turn of phrase when what you meant was capable.

@PigeonDress "You seem determined to criticise Catherine's drawing, but don't seem to know that all schools teach the basic skills."

I am not criticising it. And I know that all schools teach art-but not specifically drawing. The school she went to does. It has an amazing art department. It would pretty unlikely that someone interested in art would emerge without the ability to produce a reasonable sketch of a church.

You're not criticising it? Come on, you are always criticising Catherine for something. What does "drawing by numbers" mean if not criticism? Saying anything is done "by numbers" is being derogatory about it. The Cambridge dictionary on line says:

done according to a plan that has been decided previously, without using your own imagination and ideas: This is painting by numbers - there's nothing original here.

All schools do teach drawing. It's part of the national curriculum for years 7 and 8. In year 9 if you opt to take art, and if you take Art GCSE from year 10, you can take the Fine Art option that hone those drawing skills, as they are one of the key skills for the topic. So, in effect, all artists who learned their skills in school are learning "by numbers", if you follow your logic.

Don't you think an "amazing art department" (I wouldn't know, I'll take your word on that), is more likely to encourage the opposite of drawing "by numbers", because it has the time and resources to encourage creativity and artistic freedom?

Why do you think loads of other people being able to do just as good a drawing devalues this one?

I think people already know drawing with your kids is a fun thing to do - as is cooking with your kids, game of footie in the park, or hitting a tennis ball with a racquet up against the wall etc.

The sharing of the drawings is well meant but in my opinion not going to have much impact. The problems people face in the first 5 years of their children’s lives are complex and wide ranging and none of it happens in a vacuum.

I think this is borne out by the response to the sketches. People seem to be mainly arguing about the level of skill of the artists rather than the intended message. The media is responding similarly (maybe even setting the tone) to the point of getting ‘experts’ to comment on the children’s drawings.

Everyone knows already that the first five years are very important and that spending time with your kids is good. Why people aren’t doing so, is the problem and the question.

The public perception surveys from the Centre for Early Childhood show more nuance than your statement ‘everyone knows’ Jaquettes - the first showed that in general pop over 36% didn’t understand the importance of 0-5 in shaping later outcomes and even within parents that figure was over 20% and they focused on physical development milestones and had less/little understanding of social and emotional development.

The first report does explore barriers around spending time with children and makes recommendations around childcare support etc and the business task force was set up to spearhead change in business settings for parents

You are right MyrtleWilson that everyone doesn’t know. I am guilty occasionally of making sweeping generalisations - although I don’t do it much. I am surprised at how high the percentage is though.

I think my other point still stands. The release of Kate & the children’s drawings does not seem to have done much to encourage discussion about the first 5 years - at least on here and in the media - that I’ve seen. Discussion has been focussed on the drawing abilities of Kate and the children.

@Jacquettes maybe thats the point.

Shame about Sure Start.....

Indeed @CurlewKate - the centre for early childhood references the value that Sure Start had. I’m not sure if any govt evaluation is planned on the first round of Family Hubs which are about 18 months old now, would be interesting to see the impact they are having - I have insight into local situation but not national and indeed if/how place and population has shaped FHs to be distinct

Those drawings just came up on my IG (🤷‍♀️) so I took another look.

I love that Louis has kindly included the lines on Kate’s forehead. Kids can be brutally honest!

I agree with this. I remember very acutely with my eldest son, the emphasis that parents put on physical skills, the boasting about their kids crawling, rolling or walking early. There was also a real excitement when their child skipped a skill. My eldest DS has a disability and everything happened late for him. It was really important that we were supportive and not overly pushy.

My younger DS was 5 when the Covid pandemic hit. His social skills were definitely impacted, but he had a good solid foundation which meant he caught up quickly. Some of his classmates are still struggling 5 years on.

A lot of parenting might seem like second nature, but it really isn't. It's why Sure Start was such a good idea.

Catherine and William attending the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey today.

It looks like she is wearing Queen Elizabeth’s Japanese pearl necklace. Here’s some photos of the Queen and Princess Diana wearing the same necklace.

I like this look (it's very 'royal', which is what I'm here for). I'm fairly confident she's worn it before (perhaps one of her carol services?).

She looks beautiful and regal, magnificent piece of historical jewellery, they are such a striking looking couple, As Ever.

Not sure about the bow on the coat though.