New paintings and regular art updates.
Old light and fitting at Spode factory site, taken 4? years ago when I still had my studio there. I like the fact that the photo looks black and white apart from the pale grey/browns on the globe shaped light shade.
I wish I could time travel, go back to when I could do things, climb stairs, move things around. I struggle just to get through my front door. I guess the thing to do is to get on with things the best I can. I’m stubborn, which means I don’t give in easily.
Unfortunately like many other ceramic factories it has closed. The cost of gas and electricity means that a once thriving local industry is dwindling. Stafford pottery was one of the latest victims.
There are still excellent potteries that create designs and pieces of art for the 21st Century. Portmeirion, Emma Bridgewater, Wedgwood are a few that continues to produce beautiful work. It’s hard to say whether they will still be producing ceramics in a few years time. We also have a company called Lucideon which undertakes research and development of ceramics for such things as electrical insulators, non slip tiles and other diverse uses.
Hopefully this city of potters will continue to survive well into the future.
Our writing group visited Spode Rose garden this afternoon. The sun was beating down so we took to the shade of the huge old willow tree near the “China” and “1770” end of the China halls. This is on the Kingsway car park side of Spode Site in Stoke-upon – Trent, one of the six towns in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
The flowers were past their best because they usually flower earlier in the season. White, Lavender and Blue are the theme colours of the garden because the factory produced the famous Spode “Willow pattern” that mimic Chinese ceramics that were imported into Britain a few centuries ago. Local potteries soon started copying Spode designs but the pots from Spode are some of the best known.
The willow tree had many coins pushed inro it’s bark over the years, but sadly these have been removed by person or persons unknown. The garden has had a bit of damage through vandalism but there is a strong group of volunteers to care for, and recently extend it. More planting can be found around the side of the building and fresh vegetables are being grown in raised beds.
I’m sitting hoping the night will cool down. The backdoor is open and a couple of moths have come in. I’m watching an appropriate film “in the heat of the night”, set in the deep south of the USA. It’s about a black detective and a racist white policeman trying to solve a murder against the racial tensions of the 1960s. Somehow they manage to work together despite their differences. It’s very tense and thought provoking. I think people ought to watch it in these troubled times. I’ve seen it several times. We are so inhumane to people who just look different. It’s crazy.
My day has been spent shut inside the house. Not wanting to go out, shaky and achy. My feet are cramping, my hands tremble and twist tightly. I started doomscrolling which was a mistake. I also wanted to keep out of the heat and humidity.
This is the reality of a bad day of Parkinsons. Quiet, just mooching, worrying, thinking about the future. Things I can’t do. Fears of what I need to be careful about.
I need to put washing on the line, I really need shopping. But I had trouble washing my hair. I’m not supposed to get water in my eye because of the surgery, but leaning backwards in the shower feels very unsteady.
Reading about other people’s problems makes me realise how much people have to put up with. Life isn’t always easy.
BUT my Cat just jumped on my lap. She’s happy and purring… Not so bad then..
If you were going to open up a shop, what would you sell?
Because then I could get rid of a few! I have over 1000 but some are a bit obscure, and some were my hubby’s… Huge books about planes, submarines, ships, bicycles, cars. Also books about the second world war. Then there are my collections of old science fiction books, I don’t necessarily want to keep them all. I don’t want to get rid of them all, so my book shop would actually be a stall that I can easily pack up and take away (except they weigh a ton).
Went for lunch with my friend. Overwhelmed by the size of my meal… Sausage, bacon, egg, beans, mushrooms, tinned tomatoes, a hash brown, and two slices of toast and butter. When I was younger this might be my Sunday breakfast, but I only eat it occasionally these days. The food was well prepared and hot, I enjoyed it, but also felt guilty having so much when so many are struggling. But it’s still worth asking the question. Why is the world so unequal?
What is the most important thing to carry with you all the time?
A simple thing
But I have my keys
Close by..
If I lose them I panic
I’m stuck without them
Don’t know where
There’s any spare!
Sometimes they go
Where? I don’t know..
Under the clock?
My mind mocks me?
Why can’t I see?
So I keep them safe
Those special
Keys to my heart.
In its prime a few years before it burnt down. Sadly one of the landlords passed away following an infection from a scratch. It sounds bizarre but it is sad that it eventually closed down after his death. The atmosphere was fantastic, with ghost tours and belly dancing groups, the hotel became a great place to meet friends while keeping a spooky edge to its historic building. In fact historical groups met there to discuss the Burslem riot of 1842. The troops were called in to quell it by reading the riot act. One man, Josiah Heapy was killed during it. Many more were wounded.
Old wooden floors and staircases, panelled rooms, hotel rooms at the back each with it’s own Victorian sink. How it must have impressed people who stopped there in the past. I miss the old place.
There’s nothing worse or funnier than seeing a supposed doctor ot medic looking at an x-ray upside down. These chest x-rays are an example.
I was watching a TV show and saw what I knew was wrong. This is why we need to learn, to be educated. If you don’t have knowledge how is it possible to learn. It a trivial example, but worth considering. Meanwhile I’m still chuckling!
Mallaband-Brown