New paintings and regular art updates.
They say space smells of gunpowder..
But is that gunpowder tea?
Or gunpowder from cannons..
Why not burnt toast?
Or overcooked omlettes?
Could it smell of wet lemons.
Frozen peas?
Creosote on a fence..
Sugared Almonds?
Cat pee.
Sour yoghurt?
Old oak woods
Field mushrooms?
Who knows..
I never will!
What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found (and kept)?
The blue lias cliffs near Whitby in North East Yorkshire are full of fossils. The cliffs are very crumbly and made of a grey clay peppered with rocks and stones and things like Whitby Jet (fossilised Monkey Puzzle Tree).
One year we were on holiday and decided to walk along the pebbly beach. But parts of the cliffs had crumbled following winter storms and the debris was about 10 foot high and had fallen in large piles onto the stone and rock below.
On the first pile slightly embedded in the clay was a large rock about a12 to 18 inches across. It was roughly the size of a large quarter of a pie, and on its surface was the ribbed outline of a large ammonite.
We hid it under a bush and headed along the beach over the temporary headlands of clay. Walking up and over the landslips we managed to go about half a mile when we decided to climb up onto the coastal path because the tide was coming in!
I was quite scared, I’m not a climber, and as I looked down into the cracked surface I could see down into the interior of the material. Some cracks went all the way down to the beach. But I slowly got up the the top and then we walked back.
We found the ammonite again undisturbed. I took it home. I have other fossils but this is my favourite.
It took me half an hour to drive 500 yards and park near my house tonight.
I went out at 6pm and everything was fine. Three hours later I drove down my hill, only to find a toad closed sign about 200 yards from my house. At the bottom of the hill a large truck was parked across the junction preventing any entrance or exit from the street.
So I turned down a rutted unadopted road to get into the next street on along from mine. There was a road closed sign there too. But at least my house was only 50 yards away now.
I decided to ask one of the, workmen, but all he could say was sorry for the inconvenience. I walked a bit further and asked another workman. He, was much more sympathetic. If I went back and got my car he would move one of the cones that were in my way.
I finally managed to drive round, I couldn’t park directly in front of my house, but now I’m only about 10 yards away. If anyone moves I’ll try and shift my car later. The roadworks are going for another two days!
Who is the most famous or infamous person you have ever met?
Arthur Berry was an artist, author, poet and playwright from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.
Arthur was also one of my tutors at college and I was really happy when he said my paintings had a bit of something about them. He always seemed to wear a flat cap and tweed jacket. He was a well built man but had a withered arm. His voice sometimes boomed with emotion and joy.
His art is distinctive, charcoal and pastels, oils, mixed media. Often called the Potteries Lowry, he depicted local people and the interior and exterior landscape of the industrial north Midlands city of Stoke-on-Trent.
The works are semi abstract and strongly atmospheric. The portraits show emotions and feelings, aging couples kissing. The titles are often amusing.
Arthur wrote a series of intriguing plays, darkly comic. Set in old libraries or local pubs. They depict everyday life in the 6 towns of potteries, Grit, Grime and Clay. I saw several of them in the Victoria Theatre in Hartshill. This was replaced by the New Victoria Theatre in Newcastle under Lyme.
Arthur’s poems were funny and about his life and surroundings. His “ode to the oatcake” celebrating a local food delicacy which he once described as the potteries papadum
He really was someone worth knowing.
What is good about having a pet?
Cats calm me,
Relax me..
But they trip me up
Knead my stomach
Paw my face
Insist on tasting my food…
But they make me laugh
Purr at me
But then they jump up
On cupboards
Climb up trees
Lie on the stairs
Entertain me,
Keep me company
Cost too much at the vets
Give me love. X
My brain must be decaying.
Or I’m getting very old?
I forgot my manners
And didn’t even post
Lacking sleep and busy
I just realised
No words were written down
No thoughts discussed,
No post forthcoming
I simply slept
And forgot.
I did this years ago. I still love this little watercolour doodle. I splashed blue paint onto the paper then I think I added the cat… I loved adding his frowny face. Poor cat, getting soaked. X
Our Orme group continues to meet and create new art.
We are holding our annual exhibition, with paintings, sculpture, jewellery and other art and crafts available. There will be festive refreshments available.
We have new artists who have joined this year so there will be different work amongst the art on display. If you are in the area of Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire, on 23rd November 2025 why not come along?
Old willow tree
Standing tall
Your long thin leaves
Now wave and fall
From green to gold
And yellow hue
Fluttering against
A sky of blue.
Then wind blows strong
Storm comes along
Your leaves are shredded
And stripped
To lie among
The fallen mulch
For slugs and snails
To munch!
For the last couple of weeks fireworks have been going off in the UK to celebrate bonfire night and possibly eid and Halloween too. But last night was the loudest and longest session.
I’d been out and was driving home. At the top of our hill I could see the flashes and bangs of massive fireworks across the city. The weather was clear and dry so I could see a lot of sparkling colours. I’m glad I went home, my poor cats were petrified. I’d forgotten to leave the radio on to drown out the noise. They soon settled down though x
I was driving so couldn’t take a photo but decided to try and draw an idea of a rocket going off in my Artrage app.
Mallaband-Brown