My sister has come to stay for a few days to keep me company over the anniversary of Christopher’s death. Rather than simply sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves, or vegetating in front of the Olympics on the TV, I thought we actually ought to do something positive. So I booked us an early dinner […]
The year after we got married, Christopher and I went on holiday via York to Hadrian’s Wall, and came back home via the Scottish Borders and the Lake District. We didn’t have a lot of money, as buying and furnishing our flat was taking up all our cash, so my parents very kindly gave us […]
Back in March, Malvern Theatres had showing for one week only The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, starring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Celia Imrie, Bill Nighy (who I think is gorgeous), Tom Wilkinson, and Ronald Pickup. Clearly it was an all-star cast, and it was the first film for ages that I’ve actually wanted to go […]
I spent this morning through to about 2pm at Eastnor Pottery again, practising my throwing technique. I wasn’t making anything to keep this time, but rather throwing pot after (nominally identical) pot, and cutting each one in half once I’d thrown it to check the thickness of the base and sidewalls. I tried to keep […]
I’ve been feeling rather low recently so I decided that I’d better make an effort and do something positive and proactive this weekend, rather than sitting around at home feeling sorry for myself. So I ate out for lunch and then went to the matinée performance of Educating Rita at the Malvern Theatres. I had […]
Jon Williams from Eastnor Pottery has put up on his blog a picture of the jugs I made on Sunday. So I have shamelessly swiped a copy to show you what I was talking about. The light greeny-turquoise slip will go a slightly lighter colour once they’re fired, and the inside will turn a rich […]
I spent most of today at Eastnor Pottery, working on a set of jugs and matching saucers. Last time I was there, about two months ago, I threw a number of jug bodies and saucers, more than I actually need, to allow for wastage. Jon the Potter let them dry out overnight to a “leather-hard” […]
….and already my holiday feels like a long time ago. It’s hard to believe that this time last week I was sitting at Rome airport waiting for my delayed flight home, and still drying out from the thorough soaking at Ostia that morning. Overall, it was a very good holiday, though it was rather bitter-sweet […]
Saturday was the last day of the holiday, and we flew home from Rome Fiumicino airport. But the flight wasn’t until the afternoon, which gave us the whole morning to explore the area around the airport. It so happens that the flight path on the approach to Rome lies directly over Ostia Antica, the old […]
On Thursday evening we had a change from Ancient Rome and turned our attention to Papal Rome, with a lecture before dinner on St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums. Then on Friday morning we piled into another fleet of taxis to take us to the Vatican Museum. It is the most popular museum in […]
