Curious Things

Some fuzzy views of the new "interactive area" in the foyer of the Curious Things exhibition in Special Collections, MMU, Manchester. There's a rubber stamping table to add to your free stamp card/ exhibition guide etc. A bowler hat post box in memory of W. Reginald Bray and a section to stick your artworks. Here some students from fine art history department are having fun with the stamps. Thanks to Sophie for the photos.#mmucuriousthings

Mattresside

New mattress delivered and old one disposed of. Two burly blokes with tattoos on their tattoos humped it up the stairs only knocking a few things off the walls ( nothing broke thankfully )> they took a photo of the mattress in it's final resting place to prove it had been delivered and not eaten ( or whatever else one does with them? ). Phew. I need a lie down after all that!

Birthday Boy

So it was quite an exciting day - 27 years ago in St. Thomas's Hospital where our boy was pushed out into the world. Hazel went into labour around 10-30 in the morning so not far to toddle ( or did we go in taxi? ) My diary doesn't mention any modes of transport. Two days earlier "Hazel feeling miserable. Crying and tired, poor thing." She cheered up later . Visit from Michael Lumb who took away three carrier bags full of our mail art archive for his PHD studies. Carol came round for lasagne. Friday was "A blur!" is all my diary says. For the 10th - "Gosh, so elated and tired and confused- my head spinning and aching and the days events rushing through my poor addled brain. Dear Archie arrived at 9.43pm. weighing 7 pounds and 2 oz. and howling like a banshee! Poor Hazel had to have stitches which was worse than the contractions she said. She sucked on the gas line like it was going out of fashion. Went in hospital at 1.30pm so quite quick. Arrived home from hospital about 8 mins. past midnight (Saturday). Walked but no hassle thankfully.Tired. Hope to sleep and Hazel and Archie too. Weird being a father - can't quite believe it! Slept fitfully - woke at 7. Phoned people on Hazel's list. They didn't mind being woken up." and so it rambles on...... and here he is 27 years later in his flat in Fulham with his birthday crown and inflatable crabs! He's off to see Graham Norton tonight with Bruce Springsteen and James Blunt and some other stars courtesy of BBC ticket unit.

Anderton Boat Lift

As Archie and Meriel were here for a couple of days we decided to go over to the Anderton Boat Lift as Meriel had never seen this wonder of the industrial age. It's free to get in and see the mini-museum now containing some old penny slot machines. So we had fun spending old pennies on the "Haunted Graveyard" "The Haunted Library" and the "Laughing Clown" etc. I think these were originally over at the Candle Factory near Beeston.

CURIOUS THINGS Open Evening

Nice but somewhat stressful evening at PV at Special Collections in Manchester. Went on train and met up with Rick Cox and Allison, Tony and Pene Eve, Mark Pawson in the Benzie cafe for a chat and quick look round the dissapointing MA show. Then over to library and SC for a mingle with gathered throng. Staff there had pulled out all the stops and provided lots of drink and hospitality. I had to read Roger Stevens poem out as it was National Poetry Day which was slightly embarrassing but managed it and even got a round of applause. Hazel read her speech as did the head of Special Collections - Anneka? Mark P. gave us a potted history of the mail art movement from Fluxus to the 90's. Great to see Russ Columbo turn up from Fife in Scotland who I hadnt seen for over 50 years! Also amazed to see Jennifer Williams from London on a day excursion just to see the exhibition! Also there were Charlie Holt, some assorted staff and ex-staff of MMU nd even a few students. Chatted to several poeple who I didn't know but seemed intrigued by it all which was nice. A friend of Keith Bates. A man from the Victorian Envelope Club? One man who said his friend makes painted postcards and would be sure to tell him so he could send me one. Quite an evening and very tiring - trudged back through wet Manchester streets to the train station and home

Congleton Antique Mill

Greeted by a lost partridge or a pheasant maybe at the car park in Congleton this morning. Pouring with rain. Went to meet up with old chums Tony and Pene and look round the antique emporium. Prices seem to have gone up since last time so didn't get anything. Hazel found a bit of 30's stained glass to prop up in her workshop or summerhouse.Nice coffee and toasted tea cake for elevenses. More antiquing. Lunch in cafe on top floor. Soup was a bit salty Hazel said. I had mushroom and cheese toastie and salad which was very tasty.Braved the weather to look in the most boring museum in England . Home through massive puddles. Splish-splosh!

Online Interview

Online interview with Mark Watkins HERE.

Archie - Open Studio - Galleria ACME - Peckham

Strange isn't it that nearly 40 years later Archie is renting his studio from ACME as I did back in the 70's except then mine was a pre-fab in Stepney for £3 a week or something stupid and I could live there as well! Good to see ACME still a going concern - helping out artists in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Stepney was pretty basic but very cheap to live back in the 70's and 80's. I got to exhibit at the Whitechapel gallery a few times and made enough work to get my foot in the door of a couple of galleries in the west end. All run by crooks sadly so didn't last long. Mail art came along and rest, as they say, is history. Our 40+ year archive "Curious Things" opens in Manchester on Monday and on for 6 months. #mmucuriousthings

More Tweaking at Curious Things

Nice day depsite the drizzle in Manchester again to sort out the vitrines and print some labels etc. Also made sketch of where everything was in the mailed objects cabinet and did a diagram and key to find everything which will be added to wall. Hazel printed more labels with her Victorian rubber stamp set. The invites are printed and look very nice. Posters look amazing! More soon! #mmucuriousthings

Vagrants and Stella and Brian Visit.

Busy day today so just got round to putting our boot sale bargains on here. Our old chums Stella and Brian came with us to the boot sale at Vagrants near Nantwich. They are on a road trip to see friends and family in their massive campervan. They stayed for lunch and we went for a nice walk to Marbury Woods this afternoon and then to Hazel's Mom's for a cup of tea and slice of lemon drizzle cake. Stella was a neighbour of Granma and Audrey's and hasn't seen them for 19 years so they had a lot to talk about. They came back to ours for cheese and crackers and now on the road to Bolton.

Curious Things install

2nd day of install at Special Collections, MMU in Manchester. Hazel and myself sorting out lots of cabinets ( we need more!) and directing framing of posters, artistamps, postcards etc. One of the biggest, if not the biggest overview of the mail art scene in the UK. To be opened on 25th September ( PV 3rd October ) through to April 2002. #mmucuriousthings

Oswestry Antique Fair

Nice time at Oswestry antique fair today at the rugby club grounds - three big barns full of stuff and tons of stalls outside. Shame about the rain . We got soaked! Had to dive indoors. Didnt get much really - all a bit pricey - not boot sale prices like we are used to. Got a few postcards of Southend, Westcliff etc. Hazel got a lovely safety pin holder from the C0-OP. A pipe clamp thing, a 3-D View-Master viewer and "Stingray" reel (plus two others - Norway and Wales) , and pot mender . Had a cheese toastie for lunch in ramshackle cafe. "Bargain Hunt " team were there too - with Kate Bliss and two Asian guys with big black beards. Should hopefully see us lurking furtively in the background of a few shots when it eventually gets aired.

Mail Art All Boxed Up

Piles of boxed up mail art archive ready for the MMU van to come and pick it up. Glad to see the back of it for a while. Still two thirds of the archive in the coal shed. Hazel pretending to be overwhelmed by the task! They are re-surfacing the road outside so will be fun trying to load the MMU van tomorrow if workmen are still laying the tarmac! #mmucuriousthings

Moss Farm Boot Sale

Nice boot sale at Moss Farm this morning despite the grey skies and misty outlook. I didn't find much , just a couple of excellent DVD's for 20p each - The first Ridley Scott film and Italian realist "masterpiece" by Visconti. Hazel got a lot of plants. We sat in the garden when we got home for a 2nd breakfast and amazed at how many varities of birds (mostly Tits ) were on the bird feeders. Sadly I frightened most of them away with my camera clicks but caught one or two before they flew off.

Blakemere Boot

Lots of bargains this morning at bumper boot sale at Blakemere. Hazel got the most - a recycled tyre bag from India, googly eyes, Nipits tin, postcards, hooks, lamp, bowl,a little Welsh Lady doll (with leek brooch ) etc. I just got two DVD's - a Gorrilaz doc. and George Lucas's first film THx 1138.Lovely and sunny.

Marsden

Interesting two days in Yorkshire. Stopped off as usual in Glossop for a mooch round the charity shops and use the fascilities. Gots a few good DVD's in one shop inc. latest Bladerunner sequel, some foreign films etc. Hazel got a few boxes for postcards etc. Nice lunch in the newly refurbished vege. cafe. - we had cheese and onion/tomato toasties and salad. Very cheap. For all that and ginger beer to share came to £7.60! Then on to Dave's over the scary hilly route that is a real white knuckle ride! Thankfully we managed it with no hiccups. Hazel sorted out Dave's downstairs bedroom so we could stay there instead of the usual B&B. It was full of cat hair so needed a good clean. Had fish and chips from local chippy - much cheaper than Cheshire too. Slept OK considering. All went a bit crazy the next day with Dave having a nose bleed that wouldn't stop which necesitated a trip to the local hospital by ambulance ( two turned up with four men to help D. down the rickety stairs). They kept him there for a couple of hours doing tests etc. and eventually we bought him home. This lasted most of the day. Lucklily Hazel went out earlier to get some food and we had pizza cooked in one of those electric bowl ovens. Dave's nose kept bleeding from time to time but they gave him a special clip/peg thing that helped. He managed to sleep without any more trauma. We were worried about leaving him the next morning but he seemed better in the nose department at least with no more drips. So back again to Glossop and toasted tea bread in the vege. cafe and more charity shop trips. Very hot and sunny after all the rain of previous two days - a welcome relief but of course the roads were packed being a bank holiday weekend. You just can't win! Anyway, so nice to get home again after all that malarky!

Nantwich

Nice morning in Nantwich as the weather had improved. Looked round the market and the toy stall but didn't see anything we desperately needed. Split to go our seperate ways for an hour as Hazel hates waiting for me to sort through DVD's and CD's etc. and she prefers clothes shops which are not to my taste. She found a good table top sale by chance so we went there after we met up at 11. All the best stuff had gone by then of course but still found a few bits including some toy signals from an ex-signalman who told Hazel what the different colours and angles of the signals meant. Always good to get a story with your purchases! I got a postcard of Southend for 50p so I was happy. Then home via the Hospice warehouse to look at some cupboards and frames. Bought two that seemed ok but later discovered they were plastic and not glass! Flower prints sold at Kew Gardens too- the cheapskates!

Boot at Whitegate

Slim pickens at this mornings boot sale at Whitegate. Not many punters due to threat of rain but the sun was shining early on. Hazel got loads of weird stuff including two decoy ducks, a cake prodder, a massive candle for 10p, and some novelty items. I didn't get anything. Then we had a short walk down Whitegate Way as the weather was fine. The station cafe still undergoing refurbishment with scaffolding all around. A bit muddy from all the rain.

Wales - Dolgellau, Barmouth and Ruthin

Nice couple of days in West Wales close to Snowdonia - first to Dolgellau to visit Linda and Ivor who live in a hidden valley surrounded by sheep and chickens etc. We took them a pile of jam jars for their honey. They have several hives in the back garden. Got a jar to take home - yum! Then off to stay in a lovely B&B near Barmouth - a delightful old fashioned seaside resort on Cardigan Bay. Very hot and sunny - got burnt after a long walk over the mile long railway bridge to Fairborne. Got the tiny ferry back for fish n' chips. Then off to Ruthin the next day to look round the antique shops and the Craft Centre before returning home.