Boatband night.

Posted on June 10, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedLeave a comment

On the first Wednesday of each month we go to the local pub and listen to a group called the Boat band. It’s fun to hear old and new pieces, with people bringing along instruments including trumpets, harmonicas and banjos to join in with the music or sing or play an instrument in the interval.

It is real fun to be part of a group of people enjoying themselves. It has lifted my spirits on many occasions when I’ve been feeling a bit down. It has also improved my confidence. When I first sang a solo song I was shaking at the end of it. Not any more. I’ve seen other people go from being very shy to writing their own songs and learning to play instruments. What more could you ask for on a Wednesday night out?

UK urban sketchers annual event, Sunday

Posted on June 10, 2019June 10, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Drawing, Fun, Life, School, SketchingLeave a comment

Who knew so many people would get together and draw for three days in mostly very wet conditions. Here are a few more photos of the event on Sunday in Hanley.

Art is important, it is creative, it shows us new things, new ideas, new ways of looking at things. It helps understanding of the complex as well as the simple.

I think it should be compulsory to do some sort of art at school (well I would), but nowadays the core curriculum seems to have shrunk without the breadth of knowledge of the past. In the meantime dumbing down seems to be the norm.

Ah life, so strange. Thank goodness for art.

Summer flowers

Posted on June 10, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Flowers, Garden, Gardening, Poem, Poetry, Rain, Shade, Sun, Sunlight, WindLeave a comment

I’m craving bright plants and flowers,

Summer sun and bright blue skies,

Hanging baskets

Piled up with blousy flowers

Swiss chard and marigolds

Poppies and antirrhinums

Names that scramble on the tongue

But bloom on the ground.

Days to sit on the patio getting hot,

Or in the summerhouse keeping cool

……. Instead? Rain and wind!

Thanks to Martha I can post again.

Posted on June 9, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blog, Blogging, Computer, Deleting, Learning, Life, Memories, Photos, Thank you, WordPress2 Comments

I managed to delete photos from my WordPress account so I can now post new ones. Thanks to my friend for helping and explaining how to do it.

I deleted over 10%, so if you look back at some of my old posts there may not be images to accompany them. At least it means I can avoid upgrading my account and also save a bit of money.

So… Posts and more posts to come

Urban sketchers annual event…

Posted on June 9, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Drawing, Life, National urban sketchers event, Sketching, Urban SketchersLeave a comment

This weekend was the first time Stoke-on-Trent urban sketchers had hosted the National Urban Sketchers event.

Over Friday, Saturday and today visitors to the city and local sketchers joined up at four venues. Stoke minster and its surroundings, Burslem school of art and places like the wedgewood institute in Burslem. Longport at the waiting room gallery and the cherished chimneys shop, and also the local canal, and finally today we were based up in Hanley looking at the inside and outside of the Potteries museum and art gallery.

There were a lot of attendees. From various parts of the country. I think they enjoyed it despite very wet conditions.

Can’t wait for next year. I don’t know where its planned to be held but I can’t wait to hear.

Deleting mania

Posted on June 9, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Can't post new photos, Frustrating, Not enough memory, WordPress12 Comments

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I want to post stuff so I’ve been deleting older posts. The result? A lot of stuff gone but it still won’t let me post new photos. So I’m not going to moan, I’ve already done that enough. Hopefully I will get things up and running again. In the meantime there are plenty of older posts that I hope are worth looking at.

Good night

No……

Posted on June 7, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Creative writing, Dreams, Funny, Garden, Gardening, Hose, Humour, Life, Noooo, Running water, Tap, Water, WritingLeave a comment

I have really interesting, involved dreams, marvellous fantasies. The trouble is when I wake up they are gone. Dissappeared, dissolved into the mists of reality. I have just woken up from one marvellous concoction. But it’s gone. I can’t grasp it back from my sleep. Today as I woke I could hear myself shouting Noooooo…..

In other news, I just heard the very quiet sound of running water. A hiss that signifies something is happening outside? Went out. My partner had switched the outside tap on last night with the hose attached… He’s left it on all night! I’m surprised the garden hasn’t floated away! We don’t have a hose ban, but I might ban him. Thank goodness we are not on a water meter!

Another reason to wake up shouting Noooooooo!

Cat stairs

Posted on June 6, 2019 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Cats, Fun, Kittens, Life, Micro poem, Play, Poem, Poetry, Stairs, StaresLeave a comment

Cat, stares

Cat, stairs.

Black and white kittens

With white mittens,

Golden eyes

Glint in the light.

Bouncing about,

Jumping with energy,

Playing tail chase,

Pouncing on legs.

Cats on stares

Cat stares

Golden eyed

Then yawn.

In the paper!

Posted on June 6, 2019June 6, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Burslem, Chartists riot 1842, Life, Murals, Not enough memory, Painting, Photo in the sentinel 5.6.19, Riot act, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, The Leopard Hotel2 Comments

I can’t use the actual painting in this blog because I don’t have the memory on my plan. But imagine this is a mural of the Burslem Chartists riot of 1842 that I painted in the Leopard Hotel, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent in about 2007.

The mural includes the hotel, the original town hall in Burslem and Josiah Wedgewood House.

The painting included police and members of the Staffordshire troop taking on rioters in Burslem. The rioters were Chartists and were fighting for the rughr to vote. One of them was killed, his name was Josiah Heapy and he now has a memorial in Swan Square, Burslem.

My mural included local people from 2007 depicted as rioters. These include local historians Fred Hughes and Mervyn Edwards and the then owners of the pub, Neil Crisp and Neil Cox. Other members of the hotel staff are included. I really wish I could show it you. If I sort things out I will post photos.

Move to trash…

Posted on June 5, 2019June 5, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, Full memory, Humour, Life, Memory, Not enough space, Things to say, WordPress, Words to speak2 Comments

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I have no space here. Each time I try and post a new photo I get the message that I don’t have enough space. 99 or 100% of memory full..

I will update my WordPress account although I don’t know if I can really afford it. I suppose I just got too involved in this, seeing my stats going up week by week. Feeling the excitement that people might like what I do.

So I’m using an old picture I drew instead of something new tonight. Eeking out my space. I have things I want to say but I don’t have space, photos I want to post, words to speak. Life to live. Maybe I can do more soon.

Mallaband-Brown

Category: Uncategorized