Green(ish) Fingers

Spirea “Magic Carpet”

The weather felt warm enough to venture out into the garden this weekend. I had been to the nursery and bought trays full of pelargoniums, fuschias, surfinia, lobelia and calendula to add summer colour to my little patch.

I also treated myself to a new clematis, Montana rubens “Elizabeth”, a pale pink climber to complement my pair of white Montana “Alba” which sprawl across my back fence. One of these has failed to come into leaf this year and I have had to perform a salvage operation today in the hope that it’s not too little too late. The plant has been growing in a large pot for about 5 years (probably four years too many) and has become waterlogged this spring. Upon investigation, I discovered that the roots have grown through the drainage hole which has become completely blocked and drowned the plant. This is a definite no-no for clematis according to all the info signs at the garden centre. I had to take a hammer to its ceramic pot then plant the rootball in a large hole in the earth. I hope it will recover.

So what’s thriving?

• Spirea “Magic Carpet” has doubled in size and looks fabulous. It has overrun Heuchera “Green Spice” which I’ve moved to the front garden along with Heuchera “Key Lime Pie”.
• Dicentra (Bleeding Heart) “Alba” gets bigger each year and I’ve moved the Geums which are being swamped by it.
• Clematis “Daniel Deronda” is covered in buds and I’m being strict with it, training it across the fence rather than letting it tangle with itself like it did last year. The hard prune I gave it in winter seems to have paid off.
• All geraniums – they are such good value.
• Oriental Poppies which I planted last spring. I’m hoping for a good few blooms.
• Oriental Lilies are all getting tall and lush. It’s a wonder really as they are in pots which I neglect year after year apart from the eviction of evil red Lily Beetles whenever I spot one.

And what’s struggling?

• All the Heucheras in the back garden. I’ve moved two and given some gentle words of encouragement to “Sweet Tea”.
• Echinacea “Purpurea” seems to have been attacked by slugs. The gloves are on!
• Aquilegia – one has been totally decimated by slugs and I’ve moved it. The second is being overrun by Spirea. The third (self-seeded) is OK but in a shady location and looking a bit frail. Maybe I’ll move that too.
• Foxglove has not appeared at all which is a bit of a surprise and disappointment.
• Lavender. Just a tiny frond of green is left on an otherwise brown twiggy clump. Maybe my soil doesn’t agree with it.

Hosta, Mint and Marjoram

Happy Heucheras “Chocolate Ruffles” and “Caramels”

Gardening is a bit hit and miss with me. I only venture outside in fair weather meaning that for most of the year my plants have to fend for themselves in the cold and wet. I don’t really follow the rules which is probably why I suffer the odd failure, but overall I think I do pretty well and for a few months of the year it looks super colourful outside the house.

All the hanging baskets are planted up now, plus a few pots of fuschias and pelargoniums. In a month they will be a riot of colour. My next job is to replace my poor old shed with a brand new one and install some guttering and a rainwater butt alongside it.

What I’ve been reading

Read what I thought of them here : Librarium 2013.

The North

I’m in Stoke-on-Trent today, having driven up yesterday to pick up my daughter and all her belongings from her University Halls. It seems like a very early end to the academic year, but her uni. had shorter Christmas and Easter holidays than many and hence is finishing earlier too. Most of Nee’s flatmates have left already or will be going today. Just one or two are staying on for a final examination next week.

We took a walk around the Student Quarter last evening – it reminds me a lot of the terraced housing in Leicester where I lived in the 1980s. I saw the house she will be living in from September; it’s right across the road from Hamley Park, and allegedly the best student house in Stoke.

We had a takeaway curry from Akash Restaurant which was the best Bangladeshi food I’ve had for years and really puts my local curry houses in North Devon to shame.

Now preparing the car for the long drive back home.

I’m sure there was less in September!

Close-up

Guest Photographer : Dan Oliver   …click on pic to view large…

My son has been taking pictures for his school art project entitled “Close-up”. Rather than being a random selection of pictures taken through a macro lens, he has looked at a specific location, Down End Croyde Bay in North Devon UK, and recorded the many and different elements that make up the whole.

The beach is not just the sand and the sea. Here we see rock pools, vegetation, flotsam and jetsam, marine creatures, dune grasses, rock formations and short-lived messages. …click on any picture to start the slideshow…

Pictures taken with Canon EOS 400D mostly using 28-90mm lens.

Mark Steel’s In Town

Stand-up comedy is not what I normally go to see at my local theatre, but when I saw that Mark Steel was coming to do a show it was a no-brainer. This is a comedian who occasionally appears on well-known comedy panel shows on the TV, such as Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Have I Got News For You, but not so often that I’ve become weary of seeing his face. For me, he’s best known for the weekly column he writes for The Independent newspaper; invariably his opinion with a socialist slant on whatever grabs his attention that week. Recently, of course, it’s been the death of Margaret Thatcher and the funeral of same. Looking past the overblown sentimentality of most of the media coverage we’ve been force-fed, Mark has that rare knack of seeing the truth and absurdity in our society and even making us laugh at it.

Mark’s latest tour, “Mark Steel’s In Town”, is a two month long trip around 18 towns of England, but is only the most recent stint in a project that has been ongoing since 2009, when it was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4. So far, Mark has included nearly 50 towns on his itinerary; from Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands to Penzance in West Cornwall; from Merthyr Tydfil to Norwich; from Gateshead to Ottery St. Mary. Each show is centred around the town he’s currently in, but also gives hilarious insights into life in other parts of the land. Each town is celebrated for its history, landmarks, notoriety, citizens, quirks and local pride.

Last night in Barnstaple, Mark came prepared with research he has gathered from Twitter, the local newspaper, books, online sources and interactions with the locals on the day of the show. The audience was also encouraged to participate and give their perspectives on life in the town. Just as a snapshot, Barnstaple’s particular points of interest included househunting with The Jackson Five and an amorous encounter with an ambulance!

Mark is a brilliant and extremely funny storyteller, with a large repertoire of regional accents, among them Devon, The Black Country, Welsh, Geordie, Scouse, Manc, Scottish, Yorkshire, Home Counties and his native Kent.

With just the right amount of swearing and profanity and even a snippet of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, this was two and a half hours of hilarious show which I would recommend to anyone with an open mind and a conscience.

What I’ve been reading

Read what I thought of them here : Librarium 2013

A few words from one of Thatcher's children....

Reblogged from Paul Bernal's Blog:

I was 14 when Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979: to say that she cast a shadow over my youth is to vastly underestimate her impact on my life then, and my life now. When I heard about her death I didn't really know what to say or to think. Mostly I felt numb - and lots of memories came flooding back.

Read more… 709 more words

It has been quite a day. Paul Bernal shows true compassion here and deserves much respect for this heartfelt post.

thedatinggame.com

I have  been navigating around a dating site (it calls itself bigger than all the others put together) recently; purely for purposes of research, you understand. It has certainly been an eye opener. What was immediately obvious is that we, as singletons, seem to have little idea of exactly what our intended partners want  to read in prospective lovers’ profiles; what will make them prick up their ears.

Unfortunately, once you’ve specified which sex your love interest should be, you are only able to see the personal profiles of people in that demographic who have also said they want to meet people in the same demographic as you. Perhaps it would be helpful, when compiling your own profile, to see the competition, as it were. As I am looking at things from only one perspective here, I thought I’d give you “men looking for women” a few tips about posting your dating profile on the internet.

• If you are looking for a princess, angel or damsel who needs rescuing (by yourself, the knight) you are seriously limiting your chances. Likewise, if you state you are seeking “that special someone/lady” you will have us all wondering why that woman is so sought after. It’s amazing how many of you only want to meet her.
• Posting a picture of you with a protective arm on your flash car or astride your fast motorbike will have us thinking you are having a mid-life crisis.
• Still with the pictures, when every picture is of you partaking in a series of extreme sports we’ll be starting to think whether you’d ever have time or energy left to sit still and converse with us. Or, for that matter, if we could ever hope to be exciting or exhilarating enough to keep your attention.
• And more about pictures (I’m afraid I do have a bit of a thing about them) if your picture is so blurry we can barely see your face, you are giving the impression that you have no self-respect. If you have cropped out your previous partner (yes, we can still see her hair/dress/arm on your shoulder) or, worse, kept her in and put a blank square over her face we might think you are not taking this seriously. If you are taking a head shot with your own mobile phone it’s not really necessary to take it reflected-in-the-mirror; the quality will suffer and your phone is right there in the pic too! One picture of your dog is probably enough. If your portrait is mean and moody, we might start to question if you really are the caring, sensitive, fun-loving guy described in the text.
• Absolutely every man on here is genuine and honest – how about trying out a few new descriptors?
• If you say you have no hobbies or interests you are seriously restricting the possibility of any communication coming your way.
• Embarking on a diatribe about previous time-wasters/players/women who weren’t “genuine” is extremely unattractive.
• Just one more thing about pictures ……… nah, not really!
• Try to have everything spelt correctly, with capital letters and punctuation where necessary. The overuse of LOL (or any use really) is a turn-off. First impressions really do count.
• Describing yourself in terms of vehicles or buildings is weird! eg “One careless owner” “Roof requires rethatching” “Bodywork in good condition for year” “Brickwork sound”. We could start to worry that any kind of intimacy would be beyond you.
• Wearing a football club shirt when you’re not playing football…why?

” But I must dash because I met a really lovely-sounding guy online and we’re going on a date!  His tagline was “Is it me your looking 4″ – dead romantic! He looked quite fit in his Chelsea shirt (I think…it was quite blurry) standing with his sports car (I suppose it was his…it could have been anybody’s LOL!) He said he’s looking for that special girl to make his life complete, and I really think I could be THE ONE! I would definitely never cheat on him like those others did. Anyway, we’re going out for a candlelit dinner somewhere quiet and we’ll see where it goes from there. He says he wants to meet someone who’s up for a laugh, and that’s me all over, LOLZ!! Wish me luck.”

Forever Changes

Michael Brennand-Wood’s retrospective (and prospective) exhibition

Today I visited The Burton Art Gallery and Museum in Bideford, North Devon. The current exhibition is the work of brilliant textile artist Michael Brennand-Wood, and showcases both new and previously unseen work, as well as some of his finest pieces from a career spanning  40 years.   click on pics to view large ….

Brennand-Wood attended Manchester Polytechnic from 1972, where he had originally intended to study Fine Art. He said, “It struck me going around the various areas (of the department) that textiles were akin to painting in 1910. It was uncharted territory open to experimentation, and, to my eyes, very exciting, so I changed course and opted for Embroidery.” From the start Brennand-Wood impressed his tutors with his intellect, focus and articulation and especially with his natural curiosity. “He was alive with ideas and possessed the energy to pursue the majority of them”, said his tutor, Judy Barry. Starting with stitches on fabric, he soon moved on to experiment with many different materials such as perspex and wood, found objects, stone, metals and resins.

The title of the current exhibition is taken from the  1967 album of the same name by American rock group Love. It hints at the way Brennand-Wood’s work is ever-shifting and developing whilst retaining its essence.

El-Rayo X, 1981

The earliest pieces on display, from the late 70s and early 80s are built around a layered trellis of wood which is painted and collaged with names and phrases cut from paper text. Then a labrinthine network of silk threads, copper wire, strips of bright fabrics and occasional objects is built up over the framework. The result is a rich “tapestry” which at first looks chaotic, but the longer you look, the more patterns emerge.

What Goes On, 1995-6

The next group of pieces are made of inlaid materials: fabric in wood; wax and ceramic in wood; copper and brass in wood. The designs, mainly from the 90s,  are new imaginings of lacework designs. The colours are vibrant, the textures intriguing. The wood bases are painted and sometimes embellished with resin, marble dust, acrylic and stitchery. Some of these pieces are on a very large scale and it was necessary to stand well back to take in the whole thing. I think this group included my favourite works in the exhibition.

In the second room, the work took on an altogether darker feel. Many pieces were concerned with warfare and dreams; covered in sinister forms, some vaguely humanoid and some that made me think of viruses or hostile biological organisms. Here Brennand-Wood has used machine embroidery to create a huge array of designs including the aforementioned beings and skulls, but also the most beautiful butterflies and flowers in jewel-bright colours.

Holding Pattern, 2007

There are tangles of painted or wax-covered toy soldiers, military medals, scorched wooden miniature mannequins, button badges bearing black and white images of wars around the world, embroidered patches bringing to mind bombs and military crosses and mass graves, then suddenly a bright flower peeping from behind a screaming face brings a little hope. Two large flags, the Stars and Stripes and the Union Flag, are called “A Flag of Convenience  - Behind the Lines” and “A Flag of Convenience – The Sky is Crying” respectively, and are embroidered with words from the language of modern warfare, most of which are confusing to the layperson. For instance “Negative Health Consequences” - could that mean death? or “Enhanced Interrogation” – torture?

Stars Underfoot (4 of 25), 2001

Moving round to the next section, the mood immediately lightened and Brennand-Wood’s work began to look decidedly floral. Bright embroidered flowers with shiny beads of silver and glass brought to mind the firmament, except after a few seconds patterns started to emerge. These pieces are mainly from the early 2000s. We also saw that a new technique of attaching embroideries and button badges on the end of metal stalks which spring out towards the viewer was starting to be used more. These were rather like pincushions, except the head of each and every pin was a visual delight. There was also some lovely photographic work where images of real flowers were repeated over and over in complex patterns which reminded me of a kaleidoscope. They do it with mirrors, you know!

A sequence of pieces inspired by dreams was the final section of the exhibition.  Strange globular forms with faces and limbs of sorts cropped up again and again, inhabiting a weird desert dreamscape with blooms which I thought could be exploding bombs.

Feel Flows, 1996

As I went into the giftshop a vibrant yellow board caught my eye. It was a single panel from a larger work called “Feel Flows” and was so much like the War is not healthy… poster which appears in my sidebar, it stopped me in my tracks. My picture of it does not really do justice to the glowing yellow of the real thing.

I purchased the book Michael Brennand-Wood  Forever Changes  in the giftshop which is expensive at £25, but a large format book of over 200 pages, full of photographs of the work and lots of information about Brennand-Wood’s exhibitions, commissions, awards, consultancies, publications, residencies and more.

You can find Michael Brennand-Wood’s beautiful website here. Catch the exhibition in Bideford until April 19th 2013.

Pretty Deadly, 2011

Facebook

Dreams Within the Here and Now (detail), 1998-9

Flags of Convenience, 2011

Maid of Sugar Maid of Spice, 1994

Summer, piece by piece

I have a whole fortnight off work! This is one of the many positive aspects of working in a school. Unfortunately, my self-discipline is low, and, knowing I don’t have to be up and about at 7am, I often stay up too late watching movies or browsing the internet then feel below par the next day. After a week or two of this, I’m generally ready to return to the routine of work!

Today I tackled two dresses I cut out weeks ago and managed to get them both finished. The polka dot is from a pattern I’d used before, so I knew it was a winner. The green is cut from a new pattern, so I made it up in a length of fabric I’d had hanging around for years. That way if there were insurmountable problems with the fit, it wouldn’t be too precious. As it turns out, both dresses were successful and now I just need the weather to wear them.

After a midwinter spending spree at my local fabric shop (20% discounts due to closing down) I have six more dress lengths waiting to be tranformed into my brand new summer wardrobe, and three dress patterns to base them on. Each pattern has several neckline and sleeve options, so no two dresses need be the same.