Wednesday 28 April 2021

Random Selection

Hi! I don't know why but I just have not felt like blogging. I haven't looked at Instagram or Facebook much either. I continue to watch a lot of YouTube though! I have been reading a lot, sorting out more crap from the flat, having coffee with friends, helping my brother to move house, (exhausting!) taking my Dad, Joan and their dog Wilf over there to see his house, and taking stuff to the lock up. Also working, knitting doll socks, painting planets, (quite badly!) and I don't know what else. The doll socks are nearly on their way. I am going to spend some time this weekend catching up on what has been happening here, and then I will feel connected again! In the meanwhile, here are a few random pictures from the last while. 
Cassie and the Frog Prince, who finally went to live with Joan and Dad. He was glad to get out of the bag I have kept him in for months!

You know who, looking his cutest!
Part of a display of mudlarked china outside the farm in Rotherhithe near the shore.
A mosaic there which includes some pipe bowls and stems. 
A police boat on the river. The last time I went mudlarking at Greenwich quite early in the morning, one went speeding along with its siren blaring. I am not sure why that was necessary as there seemed to be no other river traffic!
One of the newly cleared and cleaned areas. I have had the bowl on the right for a very long time. I think it was one of my first second hand purchases in Leicester when I lived there. I went to Polytechnic there, worked, then went to university there to do my teaching. I think I lived there for ten years in all. I really liked living there. The bowl is all cracked and damaged, but holds together. I feel that it is really old, and it is one of those things I take for granted, then notice it anew every so often. So I gave it a starring role on the windowsill for a while!
One of the not newly tidied areas. What a mess! Bolly knows his treats are up here, and he does this cute thing where he moves his paws like he is doing a fast doggy paddle on the fridge door. We don't always give in but it is hard not to. It is what he used to do when he wanted to come in, before he was allowed. 

 At my brother's, he had all his recent carvings out and some of the large charcoal drawings he did when his carving tools were not available, due to imminent moving. All brilliant. He has done a series of skulls and partial skeletons. He is very good at carving and could probably make a fortune if he sold more of his work!
This carving is part of a huge table in parts that he made. Below is a drawing of another carving which has the skull at the top and a chain hanging below. All from one piece of wood that curves around it. I didn't take a picture so can't show you. He said that as he carved the chain, it got longer and it was touch and go whether it would fit in the space allotted. I love things like that when making things, the problems that occur that you didn't foresee and what you learn from those. 
He one looks quite jolly!

Tuesday 6 April 2021

Village Life in the CIty

A village with hundreds of apartments that are continuing to be built. It is quiet though, so that at least is village like. And it has green space and the river, so I think it would be a nice place to live. But not really a village!






 

Sunday 4 April 2021

Cats, Cats, Cats!

The saga of Oliver and his new friend continues. He comes round every day to scavenge whatever food he can find, and although we are not encouraging him, we are not chasing him away either as he is Oliver's friend. If we see him come in we go over to the kitchen and he goes out, but he usually comes late at night or early in the morning, and unless we shut the flap then we can't stop him. I presume he goes back to his house in the daytime to sleep and eat there. There is not usually much food left lying around, just biscuits, so he is not eating much. Often one cat will appear before the other one, which implies that they are going around the area together. It is so strange! They do have little spats, but it is not serious fighting, more like play fighting and chasing each other. Cassie has not reacted to him in the way she did to Oliver. She just looks at him and he ignores her. Lily has seen him a couple of times, but doesn't seem interested. Andy has called him Eddie. He pretends to be Oliver saying, in a deep northern accent, "This is me son Eddie. He's alright." 
A slight stand-off last weekend. 
His little golden bell.
He is a cutie!

Here is Cassie taking advantage of a sunny spot by the sink.
And Lily fast asleep on a blanket I found in a skip in Northumberland years ago. 
And last of all, this is Ollie mesmerised by the screen saver on Andy's portable DVD player. He sat there for ages moving his head round watching it bounce from edge to edge, occasionally trying to touch it with his paw! 

 

Thursday 1 April 2021

Back to the Foreshore!


Under the jetty. It looks pretty creepy I think but it isn't. It is a secret world. The tide was very low and on that part of the foreshore there is a way to get right down to the water, with solid parts and things to hold onto, unlike some parts where it is an expanse of mud that I don't trust. The mud on this part is mainly solid clay with large lumps of stone to stand on too. I didn't find much but I loved being back there. Nobody else was on the beach apart from a dogwalker right down the other end. 
 


A boat from the yacht club with three purposeful looking men. I practised my zooming and tracking skills!


Some noisy and comical geese. I am not sure if the first two are protesting about the second pair's arrival or greeting them!