Crimblemess Day

The usual traditional trek over to the next village and Granma Jones's and Audrey's house for Xmas dinner and present opening etc. The nut roast was made the day before and the Marmite gravy transported in a saucepan precariously balanced on my knee in the car! The usual fretting over the sprouts and roasties etc. We invited them to our place to save them the hassle but they like to suffer! Anyway, so ate too much and did tons of washing up. Played a silly game and nodded off in front of the Queen's speech on TV. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! More photos to follow.

Limehouse Blues

Ooh look what I found whilst travelling with Sir John Betjemen on a train through East London on the way to Southend in a glorious film entitled "Thank God It's Sunday" ( as seen on YouTube). It's my old ACME pre-fab in Camdenhurst Street in Limehouse where I lived from around 1975 to 1985. Incredibly cheap studio and living space and incredibly cold in the Winter and incredibly hot in the Summer ( especially the scorching one of 1976 ). I had some interesting neighbours , mostly artists of one kind or another. Next door were two performance artistes who dressed as spivs and sold tat from an old battered suitcase. Aound the corner was Bobby Baker who made life sized figures of cake. Her pre-fab was open one weekend and totally filled with cake figures you could take a slice of and eat whilst admiring the art! Also some biker's , but less said about them the better! There was even a back garden where I grew vegetables one year and supplied most of East London arty community with cabbages and onions!

Chester Xmas Shopping

Nice wander round Chester this morning before it got too busy. No bargains but some nice free badges "Bah Humbug!" in the Save The Children charity shop that's been refurbished and is a bit like a trendy boutique now sadly. Buskers almost having fisticuffs - the high wire act was appealing to the God Botherer's ( as Hazel calls them ) to move along as it was his turn to infuriate the passers by. They were being very un-christian though and refusing to budge. Then to Beth and Simon's for some delicious pea soup they had made - we provided the bread and cheese. Yum!

London ( more photos )

London Weekend

Nice fun packed weekend in London with Archie, Meriel and Jennifer. Stayed in Jennifer's basement. Packed a lot into three days including excellent "Play Well" exhibition at Wellcome Collection. Archie's work at Southwark Park Gllery, the UVA installation that he helped with and the Carnaby Street Xmas lights that he also helped with. Very packed in the West End - glad to escape back to Knightsbridge. Lovely food too including Dishoom curry place in old art deco theatre. Italian that Jennifer treated us to and lovely lasgane that Meriel made at their flat in Fulham. Also visits to Sadey Coles to see some amusing video work , Science Museum, Serpentine galleries and walks in Hyde Park etc. Phew! More photos coming up.

Whitegate Way and Station Cafe

Had to wait around at the station to get tickets - the lady in charge was heating up a sandwich in the microwave ( she explained 20 minutes later ) . She was very helpful depsite her crumbs of discomfort. Afterwards we had a pleasant walk along the Whitegate Way until it got too muddy. We returned to the Station Cafe which had a re-furbished larger kitchen. Lovely carrot and coriander soup which started out as a block of frozen orange stuff - thawed and piping hot it was very tasty as were the hot rolls and butter than accompanied it. Fancy china too. Should have taken a photo. The restless pooch on the next table tried to slobber over Hazel leg. Ah, the joys of the country!

Marbury Park Walk

Pleasant walk in the squelchy leaves down the frosty woods in Marbury this afternoon. Dec. 1st. 2019

The light was amazing through the trees and over the autumnal foliage - what' s left of it! Sat in the bird hide we saw a sneaky rabbit pass by and a few blue tits land for some seeds but they had all gone. Had we known we could have bought some. Lots of mad dogs sploshing about in the muddy puddles and one raced off being followed by two lots of frantic calling couples - "Tobious! Gropious! Come back - where are you?!"

ISSUE 43 - assembling book work.

Curated this time by Phil Mead in Devon.

Indoor Boot Sale

Nice wander round the indoor boot at Memorial Court this morning. Got a few bargains including an old Radio Fun annual to cut up, cigarette cards, card game, candles, postcard, slides etc. Mostly it was Xmassy stuff - old plastic toys etc. Hazel's eeye is improveing after a worrying time - rushing from one hospital to another to get laser treatment for a detached retina. Amazingly quick prodedure. 30 minutes and we were phoning for a taxi back home. Nice Moldovian taxi driver was very chatty. That's the 5th time we have been to either A&E or outpatients this year so hopefully not going again for a while! The NHS are wonderful despite all the cut backs. Vote Labour and save it!

A Walk In Anderton

The joys of Autumn - kicking up the leaves - a walk round Anderton woods for a change as Marbury was full of hundreds of dogs - no parking spaces! Then to Granma and Audrey's for batenburg and coffee. Nov. 2019

Chester

Nice wander around sunny Chester today with Hazel. She went off to buy material for her quilting and I did the usual charity shop run. No bargains this time - just a slim wall calender to write birthdays and dentist apps. on etc. Also 6 postcard for a quid in the Oxfam shop. Some will no doubt be collaged in amusing and delightful ways. Then to our old chums Beth and Simon who have moved nearby. We took along some vege sausage rolls, cheese, bread and cake for lunch. Beth had made some delicious carrot and coriander soup so plenty to sustain us for the walk back to town and the bus ride to the car park at Broughton. Chester was packed with graduating students pouring out of the cathedral in droves for photo opportunities ouside in the sunshine. You can just about see some in my photo of the hideous sculpture and cathedral. The Blue Coat Hospital is on the way out of town beyond the city walls. Not noticed it before so took a snap of the figure in blue above the door.

Bonfire and Fireworks

These photos don't really do the fireworks justice that we saw last night in Gadbrook Park just round the corner. £1 to get in - a bargain! Hundreds thronged amid the swings and roundabouts - the explosions echoing round the houses on the parks perimeter. BANG! WHOOOSH! etc. Ooohs and Aaaah's a plenty. The smell of cordite and fried onions from the hot dog stall. Hazel and I had our first real date at bonfire and firework party back in 1983 so the evening tinged with nostalgia and togetherness.

Dagfields

Lots of soggy crows, starlings and sheep on the way to drippy Dagfields antique emporiums this morning. Prices seemed to have gone up again so we didnt get much. Nice ride out though despite the torrential drizzle. Hazel was not tempted by the red wooden engine ( shed work ) or the antique Marvel and Cocoa tins! Nor the fake number 6. £8 seemed a bit steep for a repro. sign. She bagged a biscuit tin for a fiver ( normally £3 on any boot sale ) seduced by the squirrel on the lid. The victorian scrap screen was nice but not as nice as the one we already have. The little snowmen made of sawn up logs were a bit too early - come back next month! Stopped off at the hospice place on the way home for a rummage. Hazel found a glass dish engraved ( or moulded?) with King George 6th Coronation wordage.

Skullduggery

It's that time of year again when you spend lots of money of nasty looking sweets to give to trick or treaters who knock on your door on 31st October. Hazel found this plastic skull in one shopping trip recently. Alas poor Yorick? Not sure how you spell it. I expect it will be in the window with all the other pumpkins, spooky lights, flappy bats etc. Hazel is more into it than me I must admit. I always let her go to the door with the treat bowl. The bowl is usually empty by 7pm and we can turn off all the lights and hide.

Memorial Court Indoor Boot

Clocks went back so confused about what time to get up and what day it was ! This happens every year about this time. managed to get to indoor boot just after it opened so plenty of bargains to be had. Hazel got loads including a button box, tins of tools and gadgets, sewing paraphenalia, bottles from a old bathroom, toffee tin, pin box, old wooden rulers, rugg making stuff, etc etc. the list goes on! I was given a free digital camera as it has no leads or charger to go with it. It's a Kodak EasyShare C763 in case anyone has spare leads they don't want.

Here's Hazel sorting through one of the button boxes that also contained many sewing threads and cards of poppers and suchlike.

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.