Two Local Exhibitions - Part One

 There are two exhibitions worth visiting at the moment, both in the town centre of Stoke.

At the Spode Works the British Ceramics Biennial is in full swing

and at Stoke Minster there is The Longest Yarn 2: Britain at War which has just arrived from it's showing at Southwell Minster, in Nottinghamshire.

Let's pop into the Spode Works and find just a few of the unusual works on display.

 

Above and below Slip Tales was a community project led by Sue Blatherwick to explore the heritage of Staffordshire slipware in a contemporary style.

(Not) Guilty Pleasures by Jo Taylor, contemporary designs influenced by the Rococo style popular in the Regency period.

The title comes from her hearing someone say that watching Bridgerton was their 'guilty pleasure'.

Just Be There 

by Johnny Vegas and Emma Rodgers.

The work addresses the beauty and transience of physical contact and interaction.  The installation captures the fleeting moment of human hugs in a permanent form.

Biba Klico Domestic Rituals - Kettle Reliquary

Loop: Postcards from the Green Belt by Alison Rees

The 400 ceramic postcards are a snapshot of  Alison's experience of  walking the London Outer Orbital Path.

Time for a morning coffee at The Little Vintage Tea Room at Spode Museum and then over the road to the Minster.

part two to follow

Into October

October already, where did September go?  It seems to have passed by so quickly.  We've had wet days and gloriously golden days.  Rich in warmth and colour.

Above October's calendar picture by textile artist Kate Findlay.  Below a photo of the Amelanchier tree in the garden taken from our bedroom window.  The window sticker is to stop birds flying into the glass, which they have been known to do from the trees beyond our hedge.

On Tuesday we took our usual weekly walk around Trentham Gardens,  The skies were blue, the weather was calm and warm and Autumnal colours were everywhere.

It was an almost perfect day.  I say almost because I have been struggling health wise over the last couple of weeks.  I'll be back soon as hopefully I will have a couple of future visits to share with you.

Take care.

Busy

 The first three days of September have been busy with work on the conservatory taking up to two or three days of each week.  All was completed yesterday and now we are getting back to normal and things are finally finding their homes again.

In between the work and also the rain we've had a couple of days out and about.  

When we visit the Peak Wildlife Park we always head straight for the Red Pandas.  There are two sisters Esha and Riya.  They are both gorgeous.

We also always look for the Red Squirrels and this one was spotted scampering about.

I've realised that I'm drawn to 'Red'  animals and our Red Fox garden visitor is always welcome.  Having said that I'm also fond of cats and hares.

A few days ago we visited Little Moreton Hall in our quest to visit all the nearby National Trust properties at least once this year.  We've now done all three local ones.  It's time to venture further afield.

I've taken you to Little Moreton Hall, a moated manor house, many times on this blog, usually for special events at Christmas or Midsummer.

I've added a few more photos of things that caught my eye during our visit which included lunch of a cheese scone in the tiny tea shop.

All for now.  Take care.

A Day Out

After having workmen in the house, well conservatory, every day this week we thought it would be nice to have a few hours away from home.  We decided to visit Shugborough Hall as we hadn't been there since last year.

Shugborough Hall is a National Trust property just a few miles south of us and close to the county town of Stafford.  It was the family home of the Anson family from about 1624. Here is a -link- to more information about how the house and estate developed.  More recently it was the home of Patrick Anson, the 5th Earl of Lichfield and noted fashion photographer, a first cousin once removed of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

We walked from the car park and reception area via the walled garden.  After refreshments we walked around the gardens and down to the Essex Bridge and then went into the servant's quarters, we didn't go into the mansion or the farm yard this time as we caught the little bus back to the car park.

I'll let the photos do the talking now.

It was good to have a break before the work begins again tomorrow. The new roof is on and has been rained on quite heavily this afternoon. The next step is plastering and re-wiring inside.

All for now.