Art on your Doorstep

At the moment there is a travelling exhibition from the National Gallery on display in the city centre. 

It's an outdoor exhibition sited in the gardens of the old Bethesda Chapel opposite the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery.  Stoke-on-Trent was chosen as their first venue so the exhibition could be part of the 100 years celebration of Stoke becoming a city.

Entitled 'Art on your Doorstep' it comprises fifteen life size facsimiles of works of art chosen by the gallery.  As it is Friday I've picked out five to highlight.  Some remembered from the Art History A level I did many years ago.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)   'A Wheatfield with Cypresses' painted in 1889.

Joseph Mallard William Turner (1775-1851) 'Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway' 1844.

Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797) 'An Experiment on a bird in an air pump' 1768

Georges Seurat (1859-1891) 'Bathers at Asnières' 1884

Henri Rousseau (Le Douanier) (1844-1910)  'Surprised' 1891

Across the road at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery are two interesting exhibitions.

A Century of Collecting 1925-2025

and

'Arthur Berry 100 - A celebration of a cultural icon, poet, painter and playwright.'

All for now.

In the Garden

This Summer three Great Mullein plants have taken over one of the raised beds at the top of the garden.  

 Two plants appeared in the same bed a couple of years ago, last year they disappeared but this year there are three of the them.  

According to the RHS website Verbascum thrapsus or Great Mullein is a tall grey or white woolly biennial and grows up to 2 metres in height.  Well it being a biennial explains why we didn't see one last year.  It is also known as Aaron's Rod but has many other names including Beggar's blanket, Common Mullein, Adams's flannel, and Woollens.  

Also in the garden both Philadelphus shrubs are flowering.  One at the top of the garden.

The other in a pot until we decide where to place it.  It's my favourite mock orange - Belle Etoile.

Two different poppies have appeared

 both self-seeded.

Below 

Blue Borage

Common Chamomile

Yellow Loosestrife has returned in a different part of the garden. When we first came here the garden was full of it but we have gradually thinned it out.

Sweet Peas

Hardy Geranium

I've been picking both Sweet peas and Pinks for the house.  The scent of both is lovely.  It's been cooler today and the garden has benefitted from overnight rain.

Including the pond.  The newts are happy as well.

Borth-y-Gest

Before the town of Porthmadog was built Borth-y-Gest was the place where the sea pilots could look out along the Glaslyn Estuary for vessels needing help and guidance to cross the often treacherous waters.

The pilot house was stationed here and several pilot cottages still survive at the front of the harbour.

Photo taken on one of our visits in June 2011

The peaceful beach area used to be a vibrant shipyard with a couple of companies building wooden vessels.

Below a photo of ship building at Borth-y-Gest which is on display in the Porthmadog Maritime Museum.

Borth-y-Gest is on the Wales Coast Path and we always stroll along part of it.  There are a few sets of steps down to the beach.

On the beach a man with an excitable black Labrador dog began to talk to us.  He told us about his childhood, growing up across the estuary near Harlech and told us Welsh folk tales from the 9th and 10th centuries connected with the area.  A fascinating man.  We saw him later at the Seaview café where we had a Coronation Chickpea sandwich for lunch.

More photos of the beach below

All for now.  Take care in the warm weather.

Plas Brondanw

 I've written about this garden a few times over the years so apologies if I am repeating myself.  It's a lovely place and a firm favourite.  We just visited the garden this time.  By the time we'd had lunch - soup and a roll as it was quite a cool day - the rain had stopped.  The garden looked wonderfully green with a strong earthy aroma in the air and mist still hung over the mountains in the distance.  As we walked the sun was filtering through the clouds.

Above the view from the car park.

Plas Brondanw was the home of architect Clough Williams-Ellis best known for his Italianate village of Portmeirion which is just a few miles away.

I'll let the photos show you what it is like - small but beautiful and completely at home in its wilder surroundings.

I'm usually happier with flowers in softer colours - pinks, whites and lavenders - but I'm really liking the combination of the orange and blue.  I've seen it in a few places recently.

Plas Brondanw website - link.

A Morning at Beddgelert

I always find Beddgelert a strange, soulful place mainly, I suppose, because of the feel of enclosure the surrounding hills provide, its history and mystery and the story of the hound Gelert, as told in a Welsh Folk Tale.

When we arrived the mist was still overhanging the hills and mountains that surround the village.

We walked along the riverside and out towards Gelert's grave.  According to legend Gelert was the favourite hound of Prince Llywelyn.  The story is that Gelert was left behind when Llywelyn went hunting and when he returned he was greeted by Gelert who's mouth was covered in blood.  

When Llywelyn found his baby son missing he assumed that Gelert had eaten him and killed the dog with a sword.  Just after that he found his child safe under the crib and a dead wolf by it's side.  Gelert had saved the child from the wolf.  Llywelyn was filled with remorse and the tale is that he never smiled again.  Moral of the tale is presumably don't judge anything until you have all the facts.  Act in haste and repent at leisure also fits here.

Hello Gelert.  

Statue above of Gelert created by Rowleigh Clay in 2014.

There is another statue of Gelert (or is it the wolf?) which has appeared since our last visit.  It's in the back garden of the National Trust cottage Ty Isaf.  I can't find out anything more about this at the moment. When we last visited you could look upstairs in the cottage whilst downstairs was a National Trust shop. 

It is now a sweet shop.

We always pop into the Woodcraft shop, it's an Aladdin's cave of beautiful things.

I loved the dragon puppet hanging outside.

Refreshment was taken at the little tea shop on the right of the photo, luckily for us it rained whilst we were inside.

Below a few more photos taken around the village.

A lovely morning but time to head to our next destination for lunch at a beautiful garden nearby.