New paintings and regular art updates.
Found an old photo of my mural of Walter a regular at the Leopard Hotel in Burslem, the other picture is my reimagined portrait of Molly Leigh, based on the mural I did of her. Both murals were destroyed when the pub burnt down a couple of years ago. I might try and recreate the Walter one too. The final photo is of my Molly Leigh painting and my Spode circular window painting in the Orme Art Group Exhibition at the Brampton museum and art gallery in Newcastle under Lyme. It’s on at the moment.
Red warnings over Ireland and Scotland today for strong winds. Some gusts were over 100 miles an hour. Almost a million houses are without power over Northern Ireland and Eire, and the storm is moving across to Scotland.
Amber warnings for North Wales and the North of England. The rest has had yellow warnings.
I woke this morning to the wind blowing through the cat flaps, seeking the gaps around the kitchen window, and whistling round the door. The bare skeletons of the trees were rattling their branches together. I think the birds were hunkering down in the bushes. Next door has a scaffolding platform in their yard while they work on the roof and walls. That shivered and shuddered as strong gusts blew past it. I was worried it would blow into my yard. The cats have been out but quickly rushed back in.
People were warned not to travel and trees have been uprooted and structures damaged. There has also been flooding in costal areas. This is one of the worst storms recently, but they are getting more frequent.
But the large country to the West of us has a new president that does not believe there is a problem. He wants more oil and gas development.
He is the reason for a lot of hot air.
Looking forward to seeing fireworks on November 5th, bonfire night in the UK. Also known as Guy Fawkes night when he tried to blow up the houses of parliament several centuries ago. Children say the rhyme “remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot”. Nothing to do with the American General Election thankfully! And something people actually enjoy X
14 years after the Conservative Party took over government in the UK, the Labour Party has now won our General Election.
Yes the election votes were counted last night, and this morning, after the votes had been collected in only two results are outstanding. I guess that’s because we have about a fifth of the population of the USA and I think I’ve read that the UK would fit into Texas?
But it is remarkably speedy. Sir Kier Starmer is now Prime minister. He is already selecting his cabinet and has taken over the reins of government today. Rishi Sunak the Prime minister yesterday has left number 10 Downing Street already.
It’s so different from what we saw on January 6th 2021 in the States. No fight over the winner, maybe a few recounts, all done manually with people counting bundles of votes which were collected in from Polling stations within hours of them being cast. And how do we indicate who we want to vote for? With a pencil cross in a box next to the candidates name.
The only change recently? Having to have photo ID. Not universally appreciated as not everyone has it and you have to apply for a certificate of authenticity if you don’t have a photo driving licence or a passport. The amount of electoral fraud was only in the hundreds if I remember rightly. This was one expensive policy by the previous government that might have disenfranchised some voters yesterday.
So congratulations and hoping for a much better, less frantic, government for at least the next five years!
90 mile an hour winds, storm surges, trees uprooted. Storm Isha, the eighth named storm this winter, bought disruptive winds and rains across much of the UK yesterday and today. Planes that were going from England to Northern Ireland were diverted to France after being unable to land in Ireland. Only to be refuelled and travelling back to Ireland again. One flight due to take 45 minutes took 9 hours including delays. Sea ferries, trains and cars have been delayed.
A few people have died. Trees have been blown over 48,000 homes lost power in Northern Ireland. Farmers fields continue to be flooded and winter wheat is dying in the sodden landscape.
And yet the British weather intrigues us. We are used to wild and wooly weather, just not this much of it!
Photo from a couple of weeks ago, pinky red leaves on this Acer (Japanese Maple) shine out with brightness on a dull day. I saw this in a churchyard and just had to take a picture of it. The green coloured chlorophyll has been absorbed back into the main part of the plant and xanthophyll carotanoids and antoxcyanines remain (spellings might be wrong).
Some countries have more colour changes than in the UK. I guess our species tend towards yellows, oranges and browns as opposed to reds. I’d love to see a really spectacular autumn (fall).
We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK. It comes from the arrival of settlers in the USA and their survival despite the conditions there. I don’t know much about its history, it seems like many of the same treats and foods for Christmas are eaten during Thanksgiving. I know people make their way home to be with family and friends.
I have been to Plymouth in Devon, England, where the Mayflower left to go to America, but there is some argument about where it first set out from, and I believe there was another ship due to travel across the ocean, but it was in such poor condition that it did not go. I’m interested in the history of the celebration, and the variations between it and Christmas or other winter celebrations. I wonder if it’s similar to our harvest festivals earlier in autumn?
Just looked at my Barometer, it’s dropped to 957 millibars which is the lowest I’ve ever seen it. The pointer has dropped all the way down to “stormy”. And yet fireworks are going off all around us. It will be bonfire night, or Guy Fawkes night in the UK tomorrow. (Remember remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot). This was in the reign of James 1st when Guy Fawkes and fellow plotters tried to blow up the houses of Parliament by getting gunpowder into it’s cellars. The British people celebrated the failure of the plot by burning an effigy of Guy Fawkes and letting off fireworks.
So the weather isn’t good for it tonight. I doubt there will be many bonfires because of all the rain we have been having. But the fireworks are crackling and banging all over the place, and it’s not even the 5th yet!
In a country that often gets more than its fair share of rain, today is rather dull, overcast, wet and windy.
It’s also flipping wet, raining cats and dogs, dark over Bills mothers house, persisting it down, good weather for ducks.
Other phrases spring to mind. If its not raining yet just wait five minutes… A bit damp, mizzling, drizzling, raining stair rods, blowing a gale, blowing a hooly, damp. Stormy, showery.
I’m sure there’s more, just can’t remember them all! Have a good day, stay safe, and if you do go out take a brolly and wellies!
I was watching the weather forecast and the smoke from the forest fires in Canada has risen in the atmosphere and had been carried by the jet stream up across the Atlantic and towards the UK. The smoke particles are not low enough to cause breathing problems, but they are in the right place to scatter the light more at sunrise and sunset. This should result in brighter red and orange skies in the morning and evenings.
A similar phenomenon happened when Krakatoa erupted in the 19th Century. Then the volcanic dust that was swept into the sky caused changes in the evening light and blue moons being reported. We have to realise how interconnected the world is.
Mallaband-Brown