New paintings and regular art updates.
Grey throughout the day.
Cold and dreary
Cat sits by the oil heater,
The others up
On the bed.
My curtains closed
I hold the grey at bay.
My “daylight” is a bulb
No warmth, just brighter
Than the gloom outside
Grey, removing colour
Sad sort of day.
‘That’s obsolete!’ She said.
‘Why? It still works?’
‘You can’t get the parts anymore!’
‘Well, it’s still useful’ he replied ‘and what about make do and mend? You think about it, make it last and you don’t have to waste limited resources.’
‘But what about the manufacturers?’ she asked ‘if they make less things, they won’t be able to keep going? they will close down and you won’t be able to build a replacement if your object breaks.’
He thought for a while ‘they could charge a slightly higher price? Or they could mothball plants until they are needed again. It would be a difficult balance to make, but we need to stop wasting materials and energy.’
It’s a conversation that needs to happen. The world seems to think growth is most important and is the only thing to do. But perhaps we should stop and think.
My dad bought home a bulb from work which was in our bedroom. It never broke, it was still working when we moved house. Imagine stopping built in obsolescence. The act of making things with a built in shelf life. So your kettle only lasts two or three years, your car only ten. Why not make things like that longer lasting?
I touched a spiral bulb to my plasma lightning lamp that shines using four triple A batteries. I was amazed that it glowed brightly. The lamp must be transferring energy to the light bulb. I will try and find out if it effects any other bulbs?
My Amaryllis plants are coming into leaf again. They die back after flowering and being in leaf over the summer and autumn. I generally leave them to dry off for a couple of months, then start watering them again about now. The leaves emerge and then the flower spike from the large amaryllis bulb. They prefer to be tightly fitting in their pots. One of mine is about ten years old and has grown another bulb next to it. I love the large flowers, they are always brightly coloured. As you water the plants and the leaves and watch the flower spikes grow, you can almost see them expanding by the minute. If you got one at Christmas don’t throw it away when it dies back, keep it and water it next December or January, you should be lucky and get new flowers x
Mallaband-Brown