Old door

I took this photo of an old door at Spode pottery five years ago. I guess you could call it shabby. I would not have seen it but there was some work going on at the main entrance to Spode studios so we had to use a side entrance.

I only found this again because of the marvellous Facebook memories. I don’t know how many hundreds or thousands of photos I’ve taken since this, but not that many get put online, so this one must have felt special to me.

I think this might have been a pottery mould store, there was a collection of several thousand old pottery moulds that were a historical record of the shapes of the ceramics Spode used to make. Unfortunately I think they were destroyed a couple of years ago because they were not going to be used again. I think that sort of destruction is unforgivable.

Singing Christmas carols

What brings a tear of joy to your eye?

Christmas carols bring tears to my eyes. I can’t explain why. Some affect me more than others. Hark the Herald Angels sing, oh come all ye faithful and oh little town of Bethlehem particularly. Choral music especially when it’s in close harmony is wonderful.

I think its from hearing them in childhood, their sentiment stuck with me. That gentle music touched me. Sung at school and church. The music raises my spirits.

I know that when I hear the Christmas service of nine lessons and carols on the radio I have to stop and listen to the beautiful sweet voices singing wonderfully. I love going Carol singing with friends and that can make me feel teary. I can’t really say any more than that.

Koi

Koi carp, big goldfish. Did you know goldfish grow to fit the size of their container, they stay small in a bowl, but can grow much bigger in a lake or pond. These were at Biddulph Grange garden a couple of years ago. You could climb down some steps near the top of the lake and see them swimming. I think the shop there sold fish food? But I don’t really remember. They certainly came up to the steps when people stood on them.

I think fish must be able to think. Not just have three second memories, their behaviour makes me think they can learn. I wonder what it’s like to be a fish? And I think carp can live to quite old ages. Anyway that’s all I know about them!

Faces in plants

I can almost see a koala bear in this collaged photo. Above and below that I can see eyes on stalks. It’s called Pareidolia, and it’s something I seem to do all the time.. I saw patterns in wallpaper when I was young. Roses became teddy bears somehow. Green leaves became fairies. I could see faces in bowls of fruit. I think I’m weird!

Copper leaves

Almost metallic, huchera leaves look like copper in the moist air. The pattern was achieved using a symmetrical collage tool on a photo I took a few years ago. I need to do more of these, it’s fascinating to see how the symmetrical pattern enhances the shapes. This could almost be a bowl with a drain in its centre.

I don’t know

What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?

For a year I wrote down three gratitudes each day, I spent time thinking of three things I was grateful for even when they were only small things, like traffic lights turning to green at the right time. But when I hurt myself I stopped. I don’t have a spare book to write in. I have almost forgotten what it was like to do it.

I don’t think I do have another habit that I can mention. I haven’t thought about it before. I think life is too chaotic. I’m hoping that when I can get another notebook I will start again. I’m concentrating on getting well again. I’m really looking forward to starting again.

Old TV shows

What TV shows did you watch as a kid?

There were a lot of Sci fi programmes when I was growing up. The Tomorrow people, Thunderbirds, Star Trek, UFO, Space 1999, Dr Who, each one had it’s theme and ideas. Some were more idealistic than others, some were frightening. The variety of adventures were fascinating. Some of the sets were very shaky, you could see the walls move if an alien bumped into them! But it was the storyline that was important.

They really seemed to be more thoughtful than modern Sci fi. I think because they didn’t have fantastic special effects, and the English versions were less lasers and cowboys in space type stories, and slightly more philosophical.

It’s surprising how much I remember after seeing this prompt. I’d like to see some of these shows again just to see if I remember them correctly. I’ve recently watched Fireball XL5 on a station that shows old TV programmes. I used to love it when I was little… It’s awful now!

Mugs

I just answered a friends question about whether I have specific mugs to drink from depending on how I feel.

This is what I wrote: I have a ‘trust me I’m an artist’ mug, a ‘mug full of funny’ one which was bought from a charity, and a cat one with multiple cat cartoons. It has a crack in the top of the handle, so it wobbles slightly when I lift it, but it stays together and I love it. The ‘mug full of funny’ one is very bulbous so I can warm my hands on it. The artist one is wide and round so I can glug down coffee, and the cat one comforts me because I’ve had it for years and it is full of memories!

The featured photo is an image of a mug I decorated a few years ago.

Cat mug

Cat in a hat mug. My design that I draw to make children laugh if they are grumpy. I’ve been drawing it for years and so I decided to paint it onto a mug a few years ago when we went to a pottery to do some decorating. I don’t even remember where I did it, but the mug says 20, so it must have been three years ago. I have black and white cats but I always imagine this as a ginger tabby cat. X