Tag: Life

Decay

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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

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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.

Helibores, flowers in bloom.

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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!

Parking problem

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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?

I don’t know an answer

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If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?

What possible word could be banned? What language would it be in? Would it be an old word or new? Could it be a profanity or a religious word?

The question what word would you ban from general usage is impossible if I were to make the choice. Thinking about so many words that I hate or dispise gets me nowhere. Words that are political, or hate filled may have a use in describing a group or a situation. Remove the word and you remove the significance of it. Like editing out a person from a photo, you don’t remove the existence of them. You just try and hide a secret that should be left visible.

And again, what language is it in? I only speak and write English, but is the word German, or Swahili, Moroccan, Portuguese? What right do I have to chose? I say again, this is impossible.

I’m sure certain words do spring to mind. Perhaps we should consider using different words instead, not putting a blanket ban on it but considering a substitute.

What do you think?

Diagnosis

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I’m not saying what I’ve got, but I’ve been waiting for a follow up appointment for two years. So this isn’t a recent thing.

I was told last time that I didn’t have something, now I’m told I have. Basically my previous symptoms, we’re not bad enough for a decision and delays in appointments have meant it’s taken two years for a proper diagnosis. To be honest I felt relief because I can take tablets for it. Hopefully that will alleviate my symptoms.

Now I’m waiting for some other test results about something else. I feel like I’m playing illness top trumps! (a card game).

It will be ok

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What advice would you give to your teenage self?

When I came to Stoke-on-Trent (the potteries), as a teenager I was leaving home for the first time. I was living in student accommodation for the first year, but then I had to move out into a rented room. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me. But I met my boyfriend who later became my husband. I would now tell myself that was the right choice. It didn’t always feel like it at the time, we had some crazy days until things settled down. I could tell my future self some things that I have since forgotten.

I would tell myself that when things were bad they could and did get better. It wasn’t all perfect, how could it be? I never became a famous artist, but enough people would end up liking my paintings for me to feel their recognition.

Life changes over the decades, but a lot of what was important to me as a teenager still is. Moving out also taught me lessons about real life. How I should treat people kindly and to care about them. I can’t say much more because it’s so long ago!

Floating

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I used to do a lot of collages like this. I just looked back and saw this. Blue sky and wispy clouds with an old building suspended in the sky. I think I might try and do a few more if the rain ever stops! Grey skies and lack of sunshine makes me a dull woman. I need to try and do more art and experiment more. I don’t want to come to a stop. I hope when the sunlight comes back I feel more bright myself.