I popped down to Eastnor Pottery this afternoon to collect the pots which I turned and decorated a few weeks ago, and which have just come out of the kiln. These were a commission from my father, who wanted a lidded pot to use as a sugar bowl. He particularly requested that the lid should […]
Thursday nights were designated as the night to hit the town, to a tapas bar or a Chinese restaurant, or whatever. Usually that was a preliminary to the gang then moving on to sample the local bars and nightlife, but I simply wasn’t up for that. I was working some stupidly long hours (by my […]
Last autumn Christopher’s stepfather, Peter, had the inspired idea of dedicating a tree to him at his local Woodland Trust. It’s a field maple, which should be hardy and able to cope with the worst the weather can throw at it. But it’s been a particularly long and bitterly cold winter, and young saplings can […]
I mentioned a while back how disappointed I was with my aubretia – it was looking very sad and underwhelming compared to the purple spreads on the walls I pass regularly on my way to customer sites. But I think I wasn’t sufficiently taking into consideration the fact that I live on the top of […]
I’m not into purely decorative pottery; everything I make is designed to be functional. So there was no point putting my newly-fired tagine on a shelf and looking at it – I wanted to try it out. But I was very wary about using it for the first time. I have a friend who used […]
Hereditary breast cancer has been much in the news recently, what with Angelina Jolie revealing that she is a carrier of one of the dodgier BRCA mutations and having a double mastectomy. And bang on cue, the genetic consultant from Birmingham Women’s Hospital has been back in touch with our family to discuss next steps […]
I spent the morning back at Eastnor Pottery, throwing some lidded pots. Well, I say “some” – I was actually on a bit of a roll and threw ten pots and ten lids. They won’t all form matching pairs though – I was throwing “freehand” without weighing the lumps of clay or using calipers to […]
The bluebells are late this year – they are usually out in full bloom for the last week in April, but the appalling long cold winter has put them behind, like just about everything else. However, they have been well worth waiting for. I went for a walk on the Malvern Hills this afternoon, along […]
I gave blood yesterday, in the rather insalubrious setting of Malvern Rugby Club. It’s something I’ve done for years, as I think it’s one’s civic duty to do so if one can. And seeing what a huge difference a blood transfusion made to Christopher’s quality of life when he was ill, has made me even […]
I’ve been doing a considerable amount of travelling recently for work, which has involved passing through a number of rather chocolate-box villages in Wiltshire. There are lots of thatched cottages built with honey-coloured stone, rather like in the Cotswolds. But what has really caught my attention is the gardens of a number of the cottages. […]
