New paintings and regular art updates.
I just found this on the Internet when I was trying to describe Staffordshire Oatcakes.
A local artist, Arthur Berry, wrote an ode to the Oatcake. Likening it to pancakes, tortillas, chipatis, all sorts of thin flat round things that you can wrap food in. In this case the main constituents are oats, flour and yeast.
Enjoy hot from the grill or microwave with cheers, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes. What ever you fancy. Also jam. Maybe even tofu?
In about 2006 and 2007 I painted several murals in the Arnold Bennett suite of the Leopard Hotel. It has appeared on Britain’s most Haunted on TV and until a couple of years ago was still open. Now no one seems to know what is happening with it. I’m sure it still needs a lot of work doing on it. No doubt my murals will get painted over if it is refurbished. It’s sad, because for a few years the place thrived. But there was also bad luck there. I wish things coukd be better for it. X
This evening we had a stroll round Keele Woods. Situated being Keele Hall, part of Keele University in Staffordshire. The paths are rough in places and meander down by three old fishing pools. I’m not sure about who is allowed to fish if at all. It was getting dark as we walked back up the hill to the hall. Nice walk.
This morning we went out in the sunshine and visited Trentham Monkey Forest. Three troops of Barbara Macaques spread through a forest landscape. They have the run of about 60 acres and the park is helping save them and repopulating them into the wild.
Trentham Monkey Forest is just south of Trentham Gardens on the A34, near the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Staffordshire.
Six and a half miles from here, in the countryside is Knypersley Reservoir. It supplies the local canals with water (apparently Staffordshire has the greatest mileage of canals of all the counties of Britain).
The walk round the Reservoir was up and down hill. We walked up past a tower in the fading daylight, then on up a rough path to a waterfall, more of a small weir. Back along it and out of the shadows of the trees, then along the footpath and out onto the road that crosses the Reservoir and back up to the car park.
We walked for about two miles, up and down. Good exercise, although I was a little nervous of the uneven surfaces.
How many mugs and cups have you got? I seem to have enough for a small orchestra!
I think there are a few more around the house and in the garden. I am not going to search them out. They are from various manufacturers. The majority from this city, Stoke-on-Trent.
Different styles and sizes. Some that I decorated (you can book workshops to paint your own mugs, some places are more expensive than others). The small cups are for tea or expresso coffee. But I prefer a madium sized mug, pint sized ones are too much for me.
The creativity of this city shows through the designs and shapes of the mugs and cups.
When you take a photo of your work and post it in Instagram… Don’t include your foot! I was trying to take a photo of my necklaces on display at the waiting room gallery at Longport, Stoke-on-Trent. I’m pleased to say I have sold two necklaces and a small painting. It’s taken six months, but now they can allow people in again it might do better. I may arrange to make some more pieces.
I won’t be including my feet!
I was sitting watching TV when I saw a man’s head looking over our side gate so I tried to open the front door and ask him what he was doing. The door was locked so I called my hubby. He went out and followed the man up our hill. When he caught up with him the man explained he was a motorcyclist and had recently had his bike stolen.
My hubby decided he probably wasn’t a thief and the man was contrite. Then…..
They both spotted a budgie fluttering on the pavement. I was standing at the bottom of the street and saw him take his tee shirt off?
He walked down the hill and explained he’d found a beautiful budgie. He had it gently held in the tee shirt.
Next we tried taking it to the pdsa vets nearby but they were closed so I found their number and rang it. After a brief conversation with their emergency vets in Meir Heath they agreed to take it.
We then had to get the budgie into a suitable container. Luckily I’d got a brown paper bag, but while I was trying to shoo one of our cats away the budgie got free!
We had to get the cat away and I threw a tea towel over the budgie. Popped it in the bag, safe and apparently healthy. Then off to Lyme tree vets at Meir Heath. Tel: 01782 417882.
If its yours I hope you will soon be reunited.
When you see this leaf shape with beads of water on it you can pretty much identify it as a perennial plant, ladies mantel. I think the name is based on the fact that the edge of it looks like an old fashioned ladies collar. It’s used as a border plant because of its unusual shape and bright green colour. One of the plants at the Dorothy Clive Garden.
Stag and hind sculpture at Trentham Gardens today. I walked about four miles, not a great distance but it was warm and humid. I think they are casr bronze, they are hollow. There is a small herd of deer at the Gardens, or there were a few years ago. They are up higher on the hill, or they were. There is a path round the lake and a longer one, so I wonder if they are up there. We will explore further.
Mallaband-Brown