New paintings and regular art updates.
A few views of where I set up to paint along side a family, gran, mother and daughter who were all painting. I really enjoyed the company. It’s good to be finally involved with other artists. We were at the top of the slope looking down at the Hall. Other people arrived and some went on to paint the lovely garden. I’ll post a few more photos later.
Watercolour painting done today, mostly of the roof of Ford Green Hall. I started over to one side so it’s a bit squashed up on the left. I was just finishing as the rain started to come down so we went inside the cafe there for a brew and a cake.
This was a plein aire (spelling?) with the Orme Art Group. Our last session until we start up again in September.
I really enjoyed being out in the fresh air, although there was a noisy motorbike (2 stroke) zooming around and being very annoying. Ford Green Hall was built in the 15th century. Brilliant place to visit and there is a nature reserve at the back.
Spanning the Cauldon Arm of the Trent and Mersey canal. This white painted metal bridge arcs over the canal near the Etruria Industrial museum. The steps are metal too so when people walk over it their steps ring metallicaly.
The other side is a car park on Kilndown Close. This is where Canada geese used to congregate, but netting has been tied to the fencing to keep them off (possibly because of bird flu?). They still swim on the canal.
Notice the sky? It was blue with puffy white clouds floating in it. Today was the best day we have had for a while. There was even a hint of heat from the sunshine despite a strong wind that was rippling the surface of the canal. Lovely bridge, lovely day.
If you could bring back one dinosaur, which one would it be?
I’d bring back a brachiosaurus. Basically because I think they were herbivores and relatively harmless… Unless it went for a walk along a motorway? The cars that could be crushed would be awful! But if I bought it back I would feel sorry for it as I doubt we could afford to create more than one. It would be left to grow old and dies alone. If we did create a partner, what would we do if they were to breed? How would it effect the lives of other land animals? Would they strip the land of food? Would they be allergic to modern plants? Too many questions!
Or I would bring back a swimming dinosaur and release it into Loch Ness in Scotland. Then there would be a real monster in the Loch. I image that would increase the tourism in the area.
I’d be interested to know how it could be done, apparently the method in Jurassic park of getting dinosaur DNA from a fly trapped in amber is not possible. Maybe reverse evolution, taking out genes to de-evolve an animal, perhaps a bird, back to one of its ancestors? But how would they choose the right genes? Interesting thought though, maybe they would end up with miniature pterasaurs?
Blurry photo of a heron chilling out on the canal bank today. It leant forward a few times and looked into the murky brown water but then resumed it’s original position again. I guess it must have seen a fish.
We have previously seen people magnet fishing in the canal, they said they sometimes find things, but nothing valuable. Is a shopping trolley or bike frame worth it? I guess you can weigh things in for scrap. In the meantime I hope the heron got his dinner!
Pictures behind pictures, a wall full of images. The chimney brest is concrete so it took an effort to get the nails in!
It also has a mantlepiece with lots of ornaments, mainly cats. I’m not proud of my clutter, but I’m attached to it. I took a monochrome photo because the colours are a bit riotous!
Are you a clutter nutter? Do you ‘collect’ or ‘hoard’? I’m on the verge, I might slip into hoarding soon, but recently I have been trying to declutter. It’s not a rapid process. But I’m trying.
Lunch today
Cheese on oatcakes
Yummy tubes
Of oaty goodness.
Made of batter
Made with oats
On a griddle
Served sizzling hot
Melted cheese
And hp sauce
Make a snack
Or a meal.
Delicious with jam too
Staffordshire oatcakes
For me or you!
The car door was caught by the wind.. And slammed into my leg! Luckily I was wearing trousers, not a skirt, but then I felt a wet trickle running down the outside of my leg. The door had cut through my skin despite not cutting the trouser cloth. I got inside and cleaned up the wound as well as I could. Hubby bathed it and was going to put a plaster on it but the wound, though shallow, was about the size of a twenty pence piece. Luckily I found something clean to use as a dressing. I put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. I’ve got the dressing held in place with plasters, so hopefully I won’t need to go to the doctors on Monday. I’m not going to A&E on a Saturday.
In the check office at Etruria Industrial museum. There was an interesting video being shown.
We went and watched a half hour video compilation by ( I think) Ray Johnson. The film was showing areas in and around Etruria and Shelton. These included the old Potteries loop line that ran through Etruria, Shelton, Hanley, and Cobridge. The line up to Shelton bar, which was the steel works was so steep it had to have special four cylinder 0-6-0 steam engines to take ore and coal up the steep slope from Kidsgrove up to the Steel works. A lot of the film showed the working conditions there with temperature s in the blast furnace area between 1500 and 2000 °C!
The film also showed how much work was done by steam engines. Apparently there was 50 miles of track in the steel works. Not only did they make steel, but they supplied the gas works next door with coal gas that was converted into ‘town gas’, that used to be stored in the old gasometers next door. The film also showed coal being dug from the ground. It also the coal being used to power the flint mill. It showed the crushing of bone and flint at the Flint mill that was produced by the Princess beam engine at Etruria. A very informative video.
If you won two free plane tickets, where would you go?
I might donate them to a family that need hospital treatment abroad, but I won’t be using them!
I do not want to fly, or more accurately I don’t want to crash. So I make excuses, it’s not good for my carbon footprint, Also, who needs to travel thousands of miles? The majority of the world can be seen on screens.
I recently saw a marvellous cruise to Antarctica advertised on TV, presumably you have to fly to catch the ship. But why? The cost must be exorbitant. And what are we doing tramping around pristine environments! You see the world burning and you think I want to add to 5ue temperature? Nah! Not me!
Millions of people fly each year, but until we are able to harness solar energy to power them I think I’ll give it a miss. Does anyone remember the flight of the Gossamer Albatross? Look it up!
Mallaband-Brown