Sleeping Beauty Ballet.

Photographs taken from the programme

It is odd to think that I have never been to a ballet in my entire life, and I have been to three in the last six weeks. This one tonight was a spectacular visual experience, but it is not my favorite story, that has to be the Nutcracker followed closely by How Green is My Valley. Whilst the latter is the better story, it did not lend itself to a dance routine as well as the other two, but so cleverly done. That was danced by a different ballet Company though, The Welsh National Ballet, while the other two were danced by The Russian State Ballet Of Siberia.

The Opera season begins in January and we are booking for Tosca - and my most favorite of all time - Carmen. I am looking forward to the New Year - for the first time in over five years.

A surprise evening!

Having stayed in the valleys on Sunday night, woke up to 3" of snow Monday morning, had to be dug out, skidded on black ice during my journey back to the city, (no damage) I arrived home to find my phone ringing furiously. When I eventually thawed out enough to investigate who was calling, it was another friend from the valleys asking if I would like to go to the ballet that same evening!

The person she was going with was snowed in (I'm not surprised) and would I like the ticket - no charge. I said that I would be delighted and that's exactly what we did. The ticket had cost £40 and the seat was in the third row from the front, right in the middle of the stage. We were almost in the orchestra! It was a lovely production of The Nutcracker by The Russian State Ballet of Siberia. This has to be one of the worlds most famous ballets and it was performed by a very young company just starting out on their careers.

The ballet was in two acts with prologue and apotheosis. The set design and lighting was magnificent. It was all set in an old German town in the 19th century where snow is falling and the whole town is filled with cheer for Christmas eve. All superbly done and was magical for me and my lovely companion. A really great evening.

On a sadder note, my friend has cancer and she looked pale and frail tonight. It almost broke my heart.

God speed you my lovey friend through Christmas and through 2010. I am cherishing all these lovely moments together as you help me to rediscover the world of the arts. Thank you xx.

The accidental sack!

This little pottery sack pictured above is my pride and joy! Not only was it made by yours truly, but is was an accident - a fluke! It is made of paper clay, the first time that I had used this form of clay, and it started life as a holder for a tea-light to use over Christmas. I moved it from the modelling board to the desk, gathered up the cloth from the modelling board,which unbeknown to me had a stray thread which was stuck to the clay. I pulled the cloth to fold it and the candle holder fell to the floor.

When I retrieved it, this is what I found! The tutor decided to fire it and I painted it. This is the result. I have filled it with chocolate ormaments for Christmas for the grandchildren. I could never had modelled a Santa sack like this - 'I'm not clever enough!!!

The Mayor's Parlour.

Having coffee at the Mayor's parlour on Saturday was a really nice experience. Having visited the Civic Centre many hundreds of times over the years for business meetings etc. this was my first visit to the mayoral chambers and parlour. It was a more intimate gathering than I first imagined, and they Mayor and Mayoress had time for a chat with all their guests In the surrounding galleries were sales of work, thrift stalls and local arts and crafts on sale to support a charity of the Mayors choice which this year was St. David's foundation Hospice Charity.


A nice way to spend a Saturday morning and good to support a very worthy cause.

Newsy bits!

Around £4,000 has been raised for the new homeless charity Newport Night Shelter after 26 volunteers slept outside last weekend. Although our Church is part of the joint venture between the Teen Challenge and the Church to house the homeless during the two most difficult months of the year I did not sleep outside, but well done to all that did!

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

A new valleys comedy film called 'A Bit of Tom Jones' has been filmed all in Tredegar! The independent film which was shot in just four weeks, centres around a man who buys a body part belonging to singer Tom Jones in a bar. I bet this film is hilarious and I bet the cast were glad they only had to spend four weeks in Tredegar too!

A night at the ballet.

I couldn't envisage a ballet performance of the time honoured story of 'How Green is my Valley'. However, this was performed at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff on Saturday night and I was in the audience. It was superb!

The performance was by the award winning company 'The Independent Ballet - Wales' who were excellent. This was a breathtaking version so I am told by people who have seen the performance before. I thought the whole evening was special, and this was my very first trip to the ballet.

I always had it in my mind that for all ballets the company wore tutu's and tights; this could not be further from the truth, they were in costume to suite the production. The music was played by one single cellist on stage and some background music from Newport Male Voice Choir. When they sung the closing piece 'Myfanwy' the whole of the audience was in tears, me included. What a stark contrast to the tale as it was written by Richard Llewellyn in the 1930's about that dirty substance that was the life blood of Wales - coal. I wonder what he would have made of this interpretation of his dire tale of a poor, but respectable Welsh valley family?

A reflection in November!

Why do people put up their Christmas trees in mid November? There are some homes around here that have had them up for weeks, and this weekend more have gone up in peoples living rooms!


I know times have changed, but when I was a girl our tree went up Christmas Eve, and with my own children the tree went up the Sunday before Christmas, whenever that was. You never saw many trees up before then in anyone's home, so what's changed?


I know it is disregarded by millions as a Religious festival now and it is the season of Father Christmas etc, but this has long been the case, so why are people bringing things forward to stretch out a season that thousands cannot afford? Unless, they are enjoying the cheer for more weeks than is necessary with coloured lights and so on - how sad it has all become!

Finished pottery pieces.

This is the Christmas candle vase taken from above.

Christmas candle vase.

Rennie Mackintosh style dish with crystal glaze which gives the 'blob' effect,

Pot 1 - done on the wheel all by myself!

Pot 2 -done on the wheel - again all by myself!

I am particularly proud of these two coloured pots.

Homelessness

Homelessness effects many families. In many cases, in all walks of life, people leave home after some altercation, and sleep rough. Many of them just need help, support and assistance during a rough transition time.



Sadly, we as a society see them all as drug addict or alcoholics, and yes, they are out there, but all homeless people should not be tarred with the same brush. We should ask ourselves, how we we like to be categorised by society? 'They have too much money' or 'they have not enough to join our circle' - we wouldn't like that, but it's happening every day on the streets.



Over 45% of people on the streets in Newport are transitory homeless. Which means that within a short period of time they have come from their family homes and have nowhere to go. It could happen to us or to one of our children or grandchildren. Why am I writing about this this morning? It's because I have agreed to join a homeless project in our Church, whereby one night a week (a Saturday in our case) we open the doors of the Church hall to homeless people, for them to sleep and eat for one night. There are seven Churches involved in this project, so that each night of the week, through the two worse months of the year, the homeless have food and shelter and emotional support over the emotive seasons of Christmas and New Year.








The initiative is being run by Newport Night Shelter (NNS) in conjunction with the Teen Challenge initiative, that has existed in Monmouthshire for many years. It was they who approached the individual Churches, through the auspices of Newport Churches Together
and then passed the project over to those Churches who wanted to partake. We needed seven Churches before we could go ahead, one for each night of the week. The information will be advertised through NNS, who will phone ahead with the names and dates of birth of our guests, so that we know how many are coming and who they are when they arrive, If the place is not pre-booked then there will be no access allowed. This is for our own safety and for the comfort of those actively seeking help. We are all volunteers, and apart from myself and two people who will be advising from NNS, no other volunteer has worked with the homeless before. There will be no alcohol or drugs allowed into the hall, and while people will not be frisked before entry (this will be carried out on trust - and this fact established before booking) they will be turned away immediately if they do not hand over what they are carrying. All possessions will be returned to guests before they leave. The most important part of all this is that volunteers do not sit in judgement on the people asking for help. Who are we to judge?



This is a challenge from God and we are raising to that challenge just as Jesus did. I do not make this a religious forum as you Blog followers are aware, your beliefs are your own, but if you are a Christian please pray for us and our guests as we embark upon this difficult challenge through the next two months. I will keep you posted as they say!

Local Pottery Class

Me and my young pottery friend tried out a local pottery class last night. Feeling pretty fed up with the Local Authority class we are currently attending, we decided to try one more local (well, local to me that is) class.

It was pretty good, different ideas and certainly more tuition, which is why we went, and a mixed class; men and women, which is always better in any adult education class. I have never been one for moving around with a gaggle of women - I get bored with that!

We managed to make two item each last night, under guidance, which we don't do at the regular pottery class. We were given suggestion as to what to do and shown examples, again this is not done in the Risca class. The cost however is greater, but then I suppose it's the old adage 'you get what you pay for'! There were lots of paints to choose from, colours galore, and we learned last night that there are many types of clay, which after ten months at Risca we thought there were only two or three!

What does that say about local council tuition? It needs to step up it's act. They say there is no money for local authority education, but I get masses of literature through the post from Risca. Who pays for the producing and printing, much less the postage and admin time of this advertising blurb that goes straight into the bin?

More attention should be paid to provision of supplies in these classes and the quality if the tuition. Lets have less focus on advertising a class that does not do what it says on the tin! To me it is all the wrong way around!

Saint Govan

In poetry class this morning we all had to read out some of our favourite verse. I choose 'The Journey of the Magi' by T.S Elliot for the imagery it creates, especially in verse three, but one student choose something entirely different to the rest of us. He chose 'Saint Govan' by A.G.Prys.



This was of particular interest to me, as my cousin W and I, had been to look at Saint Govan's Chaple (The cell referred to in the poem) back in September when we had our break in Pembrokeshire. I didn't know this piece of verse existed until this morning, but it has already become one of my favourite pieces. Not a great work, like T.S Elliot, Byron and Shelly, but appeals to ordinary folk like myself.

Saint Govan

by

A.G. Prys- Jones

Saint Govan, he built him a cell

by the side of the Pembroke sea,
and there, as the crannied seagulls dwell

in a tiny secret citadel,

he sighed for eternity.

Saint Govan, he built him a cell

between the wild sky and the sea,

where the sunsets redden the rolling swell

and brooding splendour has thrown her spell

on valley and moorland lea.

Saint Govan still lies in his cell

But his soul, long since, is free

and one may wonder and who can tell

if good Saint Govan likes heaven as well

as his cell by the sounding sea.

I think this is a nice little verse, as I said previously, not up there with the greats, but nice and simple, especially if you know the place! This will always conjure up images of a cloudy September morning to me, on the side of a cliff in Pembrokeshire, with my cousin awaiting my return at the top.

Interesting things

I love meeting interesting people and today I met a guy who forages for food - not to supply his own needs, but for restaurateurs! He was extremely interesting to talk to, and I suspect a very intelligent guy - he speaks six languages!



The party I was with were all firing questions at him, but that's what happens to interesting chaps when you sit around a table with them. I don't know if foraging is the kind of thing I would like to do, it seems a bit perilous to me, grubbing around for food on the woodland floor, but it sure tasted great. I realise you have to know what you are doing which he was careful to point out.



This guy was on the BBC programme Autumn Watch a few weeks ago talking about his subject, and the guy who's restaurant we were in, Matt Tebbit, who owns and runs The Foxhunter near Abergavenny, has a regular spot on Saturday Kitchen, so I was mixing with the famous this lunchtime!


I am assured that locally sourced foods are more popular in restaurants than organic because it's cheaper. Well, most people have to think twice before putting organic Coriander in their supermarket trolleys in this present climate, and we all have had to start shopping in Aldi's for heaven sake, so why shouldn't restaurants cut back? What nobody was prepared for is that the taste of wild produce is so much better and fresher of course, and therefore foraging is one of the few industries where there is growth. Long may it reign!

A Day in London.

Having had a delightful day in London yesterday with a friend I decided that my poem for poetry homework this week would be about City rain. For most part of the time we had a dry, if somewhat damp day, but when it started to rain, it poured down. We, of course. did not have umbrellas.

'We can pick up an umbrella in a £1 shop', said my friend before commencing our journey. Well, I can assure you blog followers, there are no £1 shops in Knightsbridge!

Despite the pouring rain and the huge crowds, walking down Oxford Street in the rain, in the heart of this throbbing city made me feel alive. I was glad to be back. I have not been to London since the break up of my marriage, when I spent a huge amount of time there. I thought it may make me nostalgic, or thoughtful at the very least - it didn't. I am just glad I survived that period and will continue to visit London, and many other places for a long time to come I hope!



Now - to put pen to paper on my thought for a Free Verse poem about 'City Rain'.

Slow Going!

This is my gargoyle, finally finished, that I made earlier in the year. I know I didn't make it in this class, and I guessed it would be put at the back of the queue for firing, but nevertheless, six months is a long time to be hanging about. Poor old boy, lying around on pottery shelves for such a long time!

I was pleased that we had the two minute silence in class this morning for Armistice Day, I was quite surprised, but very glad.

Remembrance Sunday

With the news this morning that there had been another young man killed in Afghanistan, it made the services around the country all the more poignant.

The Veteran

We came upon him sitting in the sun,

Blinded by war, and left. And past the fence

there came young soldiers from the 'Hand and Flower',

asking advice of his experience.

And he said this, and that, and told them tales,

and all the nightmares of each empty head

blew into air; then, hearing us beside,

'Poor chaps, how'd they know what it's like?'

he said.

And we stood there, and watched him as he sat,

turning his sockets where they went away,

until it came to one of us to ask,

'and you're how old?'

'Nineteen on the third of May.'

Margaret Postgate Cole.

The Vagina Monologues

This performance tonight was excellent. The three actresses on tour at the moment are Sally Lindsay, Lisa Riley and Lesley Joseph. Fabulous performers. It takes some guts to perform this in front of a live audience! Especially a raucous crowd in the Welsh Valleys!

Based on author Eve Enslee's 'Vagina Interviews' conducted with women from all around the world, this hilariously funny, witty and moving collection of tales tells lusty, yet outrageous stories from women everywhere. They were all very human stories, some poignant - but it's not for the prude! There were women from eighteen to eighty years in the audience, all sharing that same knowledge of men or life. It's a riotous evening, billed as 'The Ultimate Girls Night Out' - as it was!

All Saints and All Souls

This is how All Souls is celebrated in America, we British are a little more reserved.

All Souls day is traditionally marked on 2nd November directly after All Saints day. We had a really lovely service in our Church on Monday night, conducted partly by candlelight. This celebration is mainly an opportunity for the Church to commemorate the faithfully departed, and many people have the names of their loved ones read out during this service. The reasoning behind this stems from the notion that when a soul leaves the body it is not entirely cleansed from minor sins. However, the power of prayer from the faithful left on earth maybe able to help these souls gain the beatific vision they seek, bringing the soul eternal peace. Well, that's what Anglicans believe, and who am I to say different. I only write here what I hear in Church.



Whatever, the tradition, it's a lovely service and well attended. There were no seats left in our Church on Monday night and we can seat over 200 people. That indicates how popular this celebration is. I was thinking on Monday how sad it is that we won't see the majority of these people again until this time next year. I am not sure if the problem lies within the Anglican Church or within the people themselves, but something is wrong when people only turn up for high days and holidays! I suspect both sides need to adjust their thinking. The people should be telling us what is wrong with Church worship and we definately should be taking it on board.

Halloween & Pottery

Halloween was spent with the girls from pottery class who came to my place for the day to practice some pottery. This is my effort (pictured above) just a small occasional dish. We rely on our pottery tutors goodwill to let us do the firing in class. It was an enjoyable day and my friends had not long left for their various homes when the doorbell started ringing and the 'Trick or Treat' children were out and about. This year was not too bad as they were younger children all accompanied by mums and dads, but other years I have had some very sinister looking teenagers knocking the door and I don't like that. It's quite a threatening thing when you live alone.

The house across the road actually decorated the house externally for Halloween, I have never seen that done before in the UK. They had orange and brown fresh flowers laid on their windowsill outside. When the children went 'Trick or Treating' in the evening, a bunch of theses flowers were left on the doorsteps of the people who did not give them sweets or fruit!

This is all big business now. I have spent Halloween in America in the past, and it is very big over there. This country is sadly becoming more and more like the American style celebration. When I was a girl in the Welsh valleys, and my children youngsters in Newport, we had Ducking/Bobbing Apple night. This involved fishing apples out of a bowl of water with your mouth! Far more satisfying than walking around the streets dressed up as skeletons, scaring people and asking them for 'goodies' in my opinion!

Exam results.

Two postings in one day! I write tonight to boast that I have had the result of my final term results from my first year in college. I got a B13, which is in the outstanding performance category. Am I pleased, you bet I am!

Another one mark and I would have got an A - ah well we can't have everything! I certainly won't be getting anywhere near this is the poetry examination.

The Big Read

Hello Blog followers. Did you think I had deserted you? It's this dam poetry that I am doing, I am really not very good at it, and the main thing is my lack of interest in the subject. No matter how hard I try, much help I get, I can't quite bring it off! I need all the support anyone can give me, and many thanks to those of you that are helping me through. No working for high marks this term, just a pass will do!


I went to a day organised by the college yesterday, called 'The Big Read'. It was an excellent day. Multi talented poet and short-story writer Phil Carradice was reading and discussing his work. What an orator. He was wonderful, I could have listened to him all day, but I had to move on to the next session called 'Between the Black and the Green' which was a talk given by Professor Dai Smith on notable Welsh authors whose works have been republished in the acclaimed Library of Wales editions. There were some mediocre sessions in between before the last session for me which was Professor Bernard Knight, the master Medieval crime writer. My friend A. from pottery joined me and the college group for this last session as I was taking her to Cardiff for some scan results immediately afterwards.


It was a good day, well worth the contribution of £8 including a buffet lunch. If any one reading this who is of a literary leaning, sees something like this advertised it's well worth the effort to attend.

Poetry Today - again!

Last weeks poetry, written by me, was read out in class this morning! It's was never going to be a masterpiece, as I didn't understand the guidelines, but it was received well and the tutor was pleased.

Now this poem was not a production about eighteenth-duelling pistols, but about a humble mouse! I fulfilled the technique - even though I didn't interpret it exactly as told. I have this theory that talent is inborn and technique is learned. I will get there!

This week we have moved from rhyming - thank goodness - to narrative poetry. I think I am going to like this better. At the end of the day it's part of a course, people do this for a hobby, so let's start to have some fun with it!

Licensings and Commissionings!

It's all change in our parish! The curate has moved to the parish I actually live in where she is now vicar. Our vicar has become Area Dean and the ordinand that was licenced in June of this year, has become our curate! What has all this meant to me?


Firstly, it has not been user friendly to my diet! All these licencing 'Do's' have meant that I am having rather too many wonderful buffets put before me - which on one occasion - at least - I have been tempted, but the others I declined to eat - only because my weight loss has slowed down in Weight Watchers!!!


We are all duly proud of the three people involved and think it was a brave decision by our vicar especially to accept the post of Area Dean as he does have health issues.


The office of area dean (formerly Rural Dean) was an important one in the middle ages, but the office went into disuse after the Reformation until it was revived in 1836 ( so I read ) and is now reorganised in the constitution of the Church in Wales. As Deaneries become more significant in the modern church, this office has again become an important one. It was interesting to hear these facts at the Service of Commissioning.


Congratulations and best wishes to all those who are tackling new challenges, in and outside of the Anglican Church. I will say one thing for our Vicar, he does not shy away from a challenge, he is tackling quite a few in the city at the moment. He has the support of his parishes and I personally wish him all the best.

APSailing for charity!

The long climb to the top

There were a group of young people apsailing down the side of the transporter bridge this afternoon for charity - The St. David's Cancer Hospice Charity, a very worthwhile organisation that is struggling for funds like many other charities. . I went along to support. I could not have done apsailing, even when I was younger, I never had much of a head for heights even then!

The start.

He's off the top!

It's a long way down!

Done it!

Well done to all those who took part. I hope you enjoyed supporting this worthy cause.

Pottery and Birth days!

This is my plugged and strapped mould ready for pouring.

For the first time in ages pottery was a really busy this morning. I took in my gargoyle that I had made in Bristol back in March. Our pottery tutor showed me how to 'stress' it and I was quite pleased with the result.

Strapping the two halves of a mould together with bands

as demonstrated by our tutor.

Although I have 'poured ' a few times before, we were shown how to do it correctly this morning by the tutor. First you seal all the cracks in the mould with clay until no daylight is showing, and then the slip (liquid clay) is poured into the mould, left for 15 minutes and then poured out. A outer layer will have formed inside, which is left for a week. Next Wednesday we turn the moulds out and they will be bisque fired prior to painting, next they will be glazed. When this is done the final firing will take place.

The stressed gargoyle ready for firing.


,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Other things happening today. My eldest son is 42 years old - Happy Birthday N. Almost an ancient monument x!

My nephew and his wife have a new baby girl. We are all in shock over this, as we were told the baby was a boy. I have often wondered if these predictions are ever wrong - well now I know!

A spare morning ......

Having been informed that our tutor for creative writing class is unwell and unable to take the class today, I had a morning free. I went to check out the new Asda Stores that had opened in the city. What is it with these shops? Once inside, you could be in any of their stores. I realise that they are going to carry the same lines, but the same layout, the same design, the same everything except it's location! I realise the advantages for Asda, same plans, same shop fitting designs etc. but I wonder how many people get fed up of all this?


The new B&Q in the city is exactly the same as the one in Sutton in Surrey and the one in Cambridge, except for a few hundred miles up the M4, you could be in the same shops.


It's the same with clothes shops. All this for me takes away the thrill of going out shopping for the day as we used to twenty years ago. These days we may as well save the fuel and pop around the corner!


Well I am off out to lunch in a very nice hotel, and that's not 'samey'! I had better go and get ready. Hallelujah for individuality!

A week of culture.

All week I have been telling people that I am going to see an amateur production of a Terrance Rattigan play, when in fact it was Arthur Miller! Old age etc. ?


Blackwood Little Theatre is just that - little! A far cry from the very modern and elegant Millenium Centre, where we were on Wednesday night, but this small place has a charm all of its own.


The play 'Broken Glass', set in the 1930's, is a complex play about a married couple who have personal issues, which are triggered by political events. It appears to be a play about sexuality, but it's also about the hatred of Jews by other societies and individuals - it also tackles the issue of a Jewish males' hatred of his own Jewishness.



The production was a sell out, but the majority of the audience were students studying 'Broken Glass' as an exam text. My friends and I felt a bit overdressed and 'aged' among such a youthful gathering of denim jean clad budding academics! However, it took away none of the enjoyment of the evening, and we all agreed that we would keep an eye on forthcoming events. What a cultural week this has been!

Madam Butterfly

This really was a spectacular, much-loved staging of Puccini's deeply moving opera that we saw tonight in the Millennium Centre, Cardiff. This is my almost favourite opera, my favourite being Bizet's Carmen. I have seen them both previously, but many years ago. I saw the Welsh National Opera perform them both then and , if anything, this production tonight was more spectacular!


This story of love, hope and betrayal in the Japan of a century ago was brought alive by some fabulous voices, not just from the soloist but the chorus also. This was my first visit the the Millennium Centre and I was impressed. I still fail to see why people rave about Cardiff Bay itself though, as the parts of it I have seen are very uninspiring and bordering on scruffy - definitely a place for the young. However, that did not detract from the wonderful evening , with world class performances tonight.


The WNO are going on tour now but will be back in Cardiff in February and guess what they will be staging - Carmen! A must for me I think!

Apology

The layout of the post below is due to a blogger error. I am still experiencing problems with blogger, so may be unable to post anything until it's sorted.

Raku and Haiku

This is my best raku piece from yesterday. I tried all the copper glazes back in the Spring, so I wanted something different this time. I am quite pleased with this effort and I love working on the wheel; it is so much more professional than the hand moulded pieces. This pot has all the raku 'cracking' that it's famous for, something you don't see with the copper glazes. Having said that, I will probably use the copper glazes again next time, as it really is a startling finish!

I have enjoyed my experiments with raku pottery, I hope there will be more opportunities around next year. It's a pity we can't find any courses in Wales.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Today in college we discussed haiku's, and had to write a few. I now understand the principle, but it doesn't make them any easier to write. Apart from writing more traditional poetry this week, I have to produce 4 or 5 haikus for homework. They seem so easy when you read them, but they are not so easy to write - even though you don't have to follow the principles strictly for International haiku.

This one I have posted below is from a book I borrowed on haikus:

Glass balls and glowing lights.

Dead tree in living room.

Killed to honour birth.

This is a particularly good example, but mine, when I post it won't be nearly as good Blog Followers!

The Raku Process

The Kiln is carefully loaded.

Another wonderful day in Wrington for the final Raku weekend of the year, only marred by a one and a half hour hold up on the M5 coming home! I have charted the Raku process in photographs below. I took 123 photographs yesterday and only 3 needed deleting during the editing process. That's the best I have done with this camera in the year I have owned it!

Fired up and at a hot temperature with more pots drying off on the top.

Out of the kiln into the sawdust.

This is Bill Moore (above) our lovely tutor. All students had to take it in turn to douse the flame with sawdust, I have some hysterical photos of my two friends trying to do this process! I teamed up with a lady who was on her own and we did well - of course!

The finished product which has been cleaned up - this is not my work.

So, a morning ahead of me cleaning the smoke of my pots. We all got the worse off before we left the craft barn, but they need a lot of attention, and we ran out of time. I will post my own work from yesterday when I have cleaned it up.

Wheel Turning.

Independant of any tutor, I made my first turned pot on the wheel today! It may not be much to look at at the moment, but it's not bad as a first attempt. My next-seat-neighbours also had a go and we all managed one pot each.






I know from past experience that this is when it looks it's worse, but will improve after biscuit firing and painting. After the glaze and the final firing it will be a work of art blog followers!

Poetry Today.

Poetry can be fun! People kept telling me that, not that I ever believed them, but I have to say I did laugh in class today. We had all been given the task of writing our own poem this week, and two of us were doing it for the first time, myself being one. Everybody tried, that is the nice thing about this, and everybody had a go. This is much more relaxed than prose writing where everyone is so serious. Maybe this is reflective of our tutor, who is larger than life and is Mr. Personality Plus!


I had to read my poem first which was awful because I had nothing to measure it against, but I did fine in the end. Some of them wrote funny poems, and the feedback comments were hilarious too. Our tutor got us to relax before the readings by making up silly verses as he was passing out some handouts. For example:

There was a worm that did nothing
but wriggle on his belly.
I felt so sorry for him,
I asked him in
to sit and watch the tele

We were all reasonably relaxed before the readings, and eventually all went well. I really enjoyed this session today.

Cost of Relationship Seminar.

Baroness Ilora Finlay of Landaff.

The weekend was not all about pottery and pleasure. Saturday I traveled to Margam with the MU to a 'Cost of Relationship' seminar, primarily to listen to the main speaker Baroness Ilora Finlay.

I was glad that I did this on several levels, mainly because it taught me that the MU is about a lot more than the Branch that I belong to, which is just a notch up from a social club. There are many Branches out there working hard for a very diverse range of MU programmes all over the world. The MU is working in 78 countries, mainly in Africa, looking after the needs of families. A target of our particular Branch is 'Water for Africa' whereby we are supporting that cause through donations.

It was however, to hear Baroness Finlay that I really attended. The Baroness is a Doctor working in Wales and a Professor of palliative medicine. An Independent candidate of the House of Lords, she was the representative for the proposal of the bill to ban smoking in public places in Wales. She also introduced the Private Members bill to change the current system of organ donation from 'opt' to 'opt out'. three years before it was eventually implemented in the Principality. On Saturday her keynote speech was about ways to promote palliative care and explaining why she opposes legalised euthanasia.

This was a worth while effort to go to listen to someone who, apart from being a good orator, was actually living through what she was speaking about. She used an elderly lady as an example of why euthanasia doesn't work, and it was only after she had left the building we were told that the lady was her dying mother. What does that say about the Baroness, not just being able to speak about something so very personal to her, in a nice, but detached way; but leaving her seriously ill mum to come and talk to strangers to get her point across at such a demanding time for her? There has been a TV programme recently about her work and views which I missed. These thing are usually repeated, I hope so as this is a lady who I can respect and would like to know more about.

The Walled Garden

Pottery items waiting to be fired next week.

Another super Raku weekend at the lovely Walled garden craft barns in Wrington. We had a super day creating our pots and drying them off ready for the Raku firing next weekend. We are hoping that the weather is going to be fine so that the firing can take place outdoors, if it's wet I don't know what will happen, but there is bound to be a plan B! The weather was lovely which makes the trip a lot easier and you can appreciate the picturesque journey when the weather is good. On a wet day when the cloud is low you cannot appreciate the lovely Mendip hills and the setting we are in.

Raku firing, taken in March 2009 - This is what will happen to our pots next week - hopefully!

We made four pieces each, tackled things we have not done before and we all did something on the Wheel. I had a go at the Wheel in pottery class on Wednesday! This was my first time without supervision, and it was really good to feel the clay evolving. What a mess I got in! I was by far the worst of the three of us that tried pottery on the Wheel! I got home and had to consign everything I had been wearing to the washing machine!

It's really me!

My cousin sent me this photograph, it's one that she took on our recent holiday in Pembrokeshire. This is me climbing back up from St. Govan's chaple where I went all the way down and all the way back up! This photo is proof that I did it!

It's roughly 76 steps each way, although legend has it that no-one counts the same number on the way up as they did on the way down!

You can just see the roof of the chaple in the rocks and the beautiful sea in the background. A magical place, but sadly the photograph has not transposed well onto the blog.

Saying Goodbye

I went to Pottery Painting for the last time this morning. Now that the new term at college has commenced and pottery lessons have started again, I cannot do all three as sadly times does not permit. I have enjoyed my time with lovely talented people and have learned quite a bit about the art of painting pottery.



My Holy Family is now finished, there were twelve pieces in all. I photographed some of them for the blog (see above and below) but they were, in hindsight, quite difficult for a beginner. I have done them fairly well but would not advocate starting with something as small and intricate as this to begin. However they are done. The stable has also been built.




All that is left to do is to thatch the roof of the stable and then paint the rest; buy some straw to scatter about and it will be finished. Next year I may consider making some pottery items to go into the stable, but that is really thinking ahead. Let's get this years project finished first!

.....................0.......................

I went to my first aqua aerobics this afternoon. It was different, not exactly enjoyable, it was exhausting; certainly more difficult than I had previously thought. I am still considering whether or not to go on a regular basis to supplement my diet - I will sleep on it I think!

Haiku

Poetry, maybe the oldest, certainly the most intense of literature's genres. Before returning to college next week I have to select a poem for discussion, write one of my own and maybe write a Haiku piece. No pressure there then! This is all very well, but I had never heard of Haiku until yesterday, much less write a piece.


It would seem that it is verse - a form of Japanese poetry- hmmm. Haiku in English usually appears in three lines and there is little understanding of it's principle. Here is an example from a book I picked up I the library today:

After killing a spider,
how lonely I feel,
in the cold of night.


Well, what do you think of that blog followers? Not exactly setting the world alight is it? I guess I can rustle up a Haiku for next week. Even I can do that! When crafted, I will post a Haiku written by me!

Pre conceived ideas.

Goff Morgan. Poet, Boadcaster, Tutor - in that order!

Caricature of Goff Morgan from his Blog.

I don't usually pre-judge people, but when I was introduced to my tutor for this term (see caricature above) in July I did exactly that. I got it wrong. This guy is witty, intelligent and very personable. As the Autumn term commenced this morning I realised what a charismatic, talented young man he is. He doesn't like 'academic speak', and hates jargon (what a bonus!). With his larger than life personality and his Hawaiian shirts, he is quite delightful.

I was contemplating a panic attack five minutes before the class commenced, I was the only woman there. Now, I can hold my own with any man on a one to one basis, and would much prefer a man's company to a woman's any day, but eight of them and me? That was a bit overwhelming! Alas, just as we were about to commence two more women turned up!

With the predominately male class we commenced and what an eclectic mix it proved to be. The whole morning was vibrant, challenging and alive. This is great stuff. I have gone from fear and trembling with my inability to swoon over poetry, to feeling maybe I can hold my own. I am never going to be great in this subject as I am not keen on this aspect of the arts, but I will try and get the best mark I can, and think I may have an enjoyable journey along the way to achieving it.

Poetry preparation.

Richard Poole b. 1946

I have been looking at poetry in general for the last few weeks so that I don't look a complete idiot on Tuesday in college! I thought I may be able to say what kind of poetry I liked if asked, and be able to say something about one or two poems at least. It hasn't quite worked out like that! However, this morning things improved, I read this, and it's something I can identify with.

Separation

Sleeping by myself is curious.

The strangeness isn't the product

of you not being here,

of the cold fact of disconnectedness -

but your refusal in our severance

to be utterly away!

You persist on the edge of perception,

a distraction -

an imaginary sound that turns my head,

a shadow half-glimpsed in mirror-glass,

the wraith of a perfume in a room.

Tonight I shall douse the light,

clamber into the emptiest of sheets,

close my eyes,

and fold myself away into your absence.

Richard Poole

It makes it easier when you understand something that you are reading about, so I guess I like the more modern works and the man who wrote it is close to my own age, with the awareness of a situation that I can understand.


However, my perception of doom is ever deepening. Knowing my luck, I will have to study John Donne or something as secular and divine. This could be a long semester.



P.S I hope my sister doesn't read this blog entry - it was she who bought me the book of poems by John Donne! Sorry A. xx

This 'n' That!

This week has seen me getting 'Ship Shape' for the winter. I bought some daffodil bulbs while I was in Pembrokeshire and that spurred me on to tackle the back garden in readiness for Autumn planting.



Tomato plants were stripped - I am amazed how many pounds of tomato's I had from two plants - geraniums were cut back to half their original height and re-potted for wintering, the three small beds were weeded yet again and eventually the daffodil bulbs were planted ready for the Spring. A friend from Brecon emailed to tell me I could carry over a couple of varieties of fibrous begonias, also some tender Lavender plants as well if I so wished, as well as some of my hardier herbs like Rosemary and Tarragon. So I am feeling rather virtuous!



Other than these domestic things it's been a quiet week. Next week is quite different. College starts on Tuesday and pottery on Wednesday, and then Thursdays will be taken up for a few weeks with pottery painting, as I have to finish off painting my Holy family! So, Merry-go- round, here I come again!