Decay

Some of the buildings on the old Spode works site continue to deteriorate while others next to them are being restored and reused.

My fear is that some, like this one, could literally crumble before they get any work on them.

Time moves on, plans have been made and then stopped because they did not fit in well with both the historical significance of Spode works and the surrounding town. The traffic management needs considering too. Meanwhile the buildings need protection and rebuilding.

Too many historical and unique buildings in the city of Stoke-on-Trent have disappeared recently. Destroyed because of disrepair or fire or vandalism. The industrial archeology of the city needs saving. Otherwise we will end up with warehouses or generic apartment buildings and lose our history.

Where Manchester used old Mills to create  loft spaces and apartments, we seem hell bent on hollowing out our citys history.

Mahonia

Mahonia with it’s spiky leaf

Tinged with winter frost

Brushed bronzes

Of Autumn colours

In the Spring.

But orange tints

will be replaced

As soon new life

Engulfs the place

Bright greens and pinks

Yellow flowers

Full of dew

Red, orange, blue

Then colours of

a summer hue..

Till autumn and then

winter comes

And the seasons round

Begins again.

Leaving school

Describe a phase in life that was difficult to say goodbye to.

When I left school all those years ago I remember feeling like I was falling off a cliff. Hard to change my life.

Everything had been about learning, getting up every day, going to classes, coming home, doing homework. Trying to make the switch to ‘real life’ was a shock. I knew the times I worked would be different, but I got a couple of part time jobs cleaning and waitressing so I was not free to enjoy weekends or evenings anymore. This got worse as I went to college in the following autumn so I was trying to fit in my college work and my jobs and trying to get some work life balance.

I managed the change in my life OK after a few months but strangely it was hard to say goodbye to. I was still with my family and friends. The next year I left home. That was the real shock to my system.

Helibores, flowers in bloom.

A helibore at Rode Hall.

I’ve just written a post about flowers in bloom on Esther Chiltons blog:

I visited Rode Hall in Staffordshire this weekend to see flowers in bloom. It was the annual Snowdrop Walk. It’s about a mile of paths around gardens and woods and along to a lake where thousands of Snowdrops of various species are in flower at this time of year.


We had to book a time slot to get a parking space because the ground is saturated after a very wet winter and there would not be enough space in the car park otherwise.

My friend and I had a lovely walk around the grounds. We were a bit disappointed because a lot of the snowdrops have already gone over (finished flowering), but there were other flowers in bloom including daffodils, helibores, cyclamen, camelia, and other flowers and shrubs. Flowers are blooming and Spring is on its way!

Retrospective

I’m holding a retrospective of my art at Spode studios next week. It’s because I am leaving the studios after 7 years this April. I have enjoyed my time there but circumstances mean that I cannot continue there.

The retrospective will run from Monday 4th March 2024 to Friday 8th March. There will be a closing viewing of the exhibition on Friday from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.

Most of the works will be for sale. Please join me if you can at Spode Studios, Spode Site, Elanora street, Stoke upon Trent.

Mobiles

Wire woven mobiles in my window. The first thing I look at in the morning. One was to celebrate my hubbys 65th birthday, the other Ygdrasil, the tree at the centre of the world was a gift from my friend. I wonder if there will be any more?

Wire weaving is a brilliant skill, I think my friend was featured as a maker on one of the TV sales shows a few years ago. This sort of work takes agility and dexterity.

Creative people deserve recognition and support. In a world where councils, running short of money, are going to close art galleries and libraries, I wonder what people are meant to do to learn and enjoy the arts? Maybe the richest 20 MEN in the world should share some of their wealth more, even if we go back to Victorian values like philanthropy. Art is in our DNA it needs preserving!

Singing cheers me up

I was at choir practice yesterday and today. It cheered me up. I have to say I feel much better when I do go. I believe it helps to release endorphins in your brain? I know that when I’m feeling really down it helps so much. I would suggest if you can join a choir do it! A lot of choirs don’t have auditions, and are taught be repetition of the musical phrases rather than using sheet music. That’s how we are taught, the choir master sings a line and we repeat it. Gradually building up the song. We sometimes have the words printed off phonetically. We’ve learnt French, Zulu, Maori, Spanish, Bulgarian and many other languages learning that way.

I know this is a bit random, but I think its a great way af helping your mental health and also a good way of socialising.

Putting a bookcase together!

Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.

I remember fighting to put a bookcase together. We had picture instructions. Various dowels and screws and covers to go over the screw heads, shelves, and a few bits that made a sort of plinth base thing. It was white coated MDF which had white hardboard that slotted together at the back. It came with pva glue that helped hold it together.

Once we got it out of the box we got confused with how to put it together. Place part A next to part C, use dowel B to join together etc etc…  But it gets boring after a bit. You spill the glue on the destructions (as I call them), which stick together and then, disaster(ish). It sort of looks like the picture on the box, but a bit like the leaning tower of Pisa! No matter, we will try putting books on when the glue dries…

Parking problem

I was looking for a parking space at the hospital today. It took a while but I got one, then I struggled to fit square in the space and leave enough room for cars on either side. I went to the parking meter and paid for an hour.

When I got to the pharmacy I had to wait twenty minutes for new tablets, but that was not unusual. I had half an hour left when I got back to the car, and the distance to get off the car park was about 200 yards.

Guess how long it took to get out? Half an hour! Cars were queuing all the way up to the barrier. You could turn right or left, but the car park leads onto a road that goes through the hospital grounds. And that was chockablock with cars and buses. Both ends of it lead onto traffic lights and then main roads. So it was effectively pretty gridlocked, with only small numbers of cars released every few minutes. My main worry? Will I get fined for staying over the hour I paid for?