Tag: Life

Heating up

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🔥

We have a red warning for extreme hot weather in the UK next Monday and Tuesday. Today (Sunday) is forecast to be over 30°C and not cooling to below that at night, then on Monday and Tuesday hot weather coming up from Spain is heading our way. Apparently its been up to 47° in places over on the continent with wild fires burning in Spain and Portugal. The weather service here, the Meteorological office, is concerned that additional deaths will occur because of it. They think there may be a few thousand extra deaths which is worrying. The highest temperature in the UK was in 2020, then it got to 37.8°C. This is a considerable increase above that.

The trouble here is that a lot of buildings are old, they are badly insulated so they don’t keep the heat in in winter or out in summer. Very few properties have air conditioning. I’m going to be sitting here with the fan on and a bottle of frozen water in front of it. What fun. X

Complications

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Life has a way of messing things up. I was going to do something this weekend but it looks like I can’t now. I’m not discussing what that was, but life is complex and sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

Just when you decide what to do, a different situation occurs that you had no idea would happen, no control over. Then you have to weigh up the importance of one thing against the other. Perhaps the original situation was going to be very important to you. But now it becomes almost irrelevant. You have to rethink things and maybe change your mind.

I don’t know what will happen, I will have to wait till the morning to decide. As I say I’m not going to discuss this (please don’t ask) I’m trying not to be mysterious, just trying to make a decision.

Fire?

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I don’t know what happened but there was a fire last week on the old Falcon Works pottery site near us. We saw a column of smoke rising from behind the Portmeirion pottery that is across the road from us. Then we heard a fire engine heading towards the pottery. The smell was very strange, like burnt rubber. My hubby went for a walk round the back of the works when we got back from Cornwall, he said it just looked the same as normal?

It turns out that the land has recently been sold to developers. Could this be a coincidence? A lot of old derelict industrial sites in the area seem to be hit by suspected arson recently. It is worrying to think of the damage being done to our heritage.

Planning application

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I’ve just written a comment on our local council website to oppose planning approval for development of the historic Spode Factory site in Stoke, Stoke-on-Trent.

Planning application in for Spode Site. Search on Stoke.gov.uk for details. Planning application 67906/FUL comments need to be in by 20.07.22.
I wrote :
Elanora Street and the surrounding area in Stoke Town are subject to a lot of heavy traffic. I think this proposal will have a negative effect, particularly around peak traffic flow times.
In addition, as a Studio holder based at the Acava Art Studios on the Spode site I am concerned about how my business will be affected. I need vehicular access to my studio when collecting or delivering artworks and art materials. I would want to be reassured that artists in the studios will not have there businesses restricted or inconvenienced.
Spode Site is a heritage site. It should be developed with an understanding of its historical value to the town, city, and world. But instead the city council seem to be taking the low brow option of cramming ‘apartments’ onto the site.
Like the Goodsyard proposal currently in the process of being considered, it is another uninspired use of land.
In a decade of austerity it is also a question as to whether anyone would want to buy an apartment on a brownfield site where the history has been removed!
Security on the site has been reduced due to council cuts. There have been incidents of intruders entering the site in the evening and nights. Has consideration been given to the security when the work goes ahead?
Finally I want to say I believe this proposal is ill-conceived and destructive of a historical site. The development will be detrimental to Stoke’s standing as a heritage centre. So much of our local history is being allowed into crumble into dust. The council has a short sighted bias  which does not seem to want to take responsibility for Stoke-on-Trents culture

Floating in the sea or sky?

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It was a grey, overcast day at Bovisand yesterday. The port of Plymouth off to the right of this photo was busy. There is a breakwater to protect the harbour and make the inlet safe as ships and boats travel up to the Tamar and Plym Rivers among others that flow into the sea here. But because of the grey light and indistinct sea surface, some of the ships seemed to be floating in the sky! In the distance is the coast of Cornwall. The Tamar river is on the boundary between England’s two most westerly counties. Warm and welcoming in the summer. It can be cold and wet, blustery and stormy at all times of the year. But a very beautiful place to visit.

Three hectic days!

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Three day trip to Falmouth in Cornwall and back with ivans_uk_tours.com . We stayed at a lovely hotel. Travelling through the West of England on the way down, through Ludlow and stopng off for a picnic at Tintern Abbey. We went over one of the bridges over the river Severn. We arrived at the hotel in the evening and went off to find food at a pub called the Red lion. After that we walked back to the hotel over stone stiles through farm fields.

Day two was up at the Penryn Campus at Falmouth University. I was graduating so we joined in the celebrations with other students who were graduating in different aspects of the creative arts. The actress and comedian Dawn French is the Chancellor of the University and handed out a chocolate coin covered in gold foil out to each student. Later, I got to throw my cap and gown in the air with my fellow students. We left in the early afternoon to go in search of a cream tea. Instead we found a shop that would post out cream teas all over Britain. The ships figurehead was down a sloping alleyway that led down to the sea. We sat by the harbour and ate our scones with jam and cream (jam first!). A lovely meal at the hotel and then a hot and sleepless night as the temperature continued to soar.

On the final day it had cooled down, but even though I would have stayed an extra day it was not possible because of the cost. We decided to call at Bovisand Bay near Plymouth in Devon on the way home. We had a picnic there and a paddle (hubby swam). Then a steady drive back up the motoein increasing heat. We stopped off a few times. I’m sunburnt but happy. Very tired. I couldn’t really post much here as I didn’t have much Internet connection.

Chocolate coin

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Dawn French, comedian, author, actor, amid many other talents, is Chancellor of Falmouth University. She gave the graduation speech for the students who have completed their courses over the last two years or more.

She was handing out chocolate coins to all the graduating students. We have to wait for our certificates to be posted out over the next few weeks. The coins symbolise her status as Chancellor and ‘Queen’ of the University of Falmouth. I was honoured to be handed the coin by her. As I walked towards her all I could say in panic was ‘thank you very much Dawn French in a very loud voice. 😍