Merry Crumble!

Here we are gathered round the festive twig. Had a nice day out yesterday in Liverpool despite the gloomy weather. Good to see the Alice In Wonderland exhibition at the Tate although we felt it could have been a bit more fun - for the kids. A nice maze or a Mad Hatter's Tea Party or something. It was all a bit too serious and celebral despite the inclusion of Bill Woodrow and Peter Blake. Lots of stuff that really shouldn't have been in it. Also popped in the Walker to see the Matisse books but as Hazel said the gallery lacked that spark - felt a bit isolated and empty. Some terrible pretentious twaddle on at the other gallery I always forget the name of. No festive joy there. We had lunch in the Hole In The Wall which was a mistake as it was very busy and we waited ages for our egg on toast which turned out to be an egg toasted sandwich with a side salad. Which we didnt mind too much as it turned out cheaper. A lot of noise though from rowdy diners.

Didn't do much shopping as it was so incredibly crowded with queues forming outside some trinket shops - so obvious still lots of money about.
Popped into the Oxfam and the Comic shop and found some books we liked but not the price. I've done most of my Xmas shopping anyway. Just some chestnuts and puff pastry to get and we shall be almost there!

Psycerbolics

A blast from Christmas pasts here , 1968/9 maybe , under the influence of something I'm sure though probably nothing more than Thrimpton's Old Perculier.

My earliest memory of Xmas was going to a big department store in London and having a ride of Santa's submarine to his fishy smelling grotto under the North Pole. Elves with fins and flippers? I can't quite remember that clearly but seem to remember the fishes and penguins swimming magically past the port holes ( canvas strips on pulleys being cranked along ) as we chugged along and then lead out through another door to where a red coated plump Neptune of a Santa was waiting to ho ho ho and give out presents. It may have been a tin of water colour paints in the gaily wrapped parcel or that may have been another time.

Another vivid memory must have been around Xmas time - a snowball fight in Corringham in Essex where we lived just after we moved from London. It was a pokey first floor flat in a row of delapidated houses. We accessed our flat up some rickety wooden stairs to a balcony and the kitchen door. A tin bath hung on the wall outside. Gas mantles and the radio worked with a big car battery on the side board. Anyway, I was throwing snowballs down from the balcony to passing urchins and they in turn threw them back. I had not realised the door to the flat was open and snowballs that missed me found their way into the kitchen and made quite a mess. Mum wasn't very pleased when she found them half melted on the lino floor.

Who Ate All The Pies?

Weird dream just before I woke up about finding collaged soggy boxes of old gramophone needles in a fly tipping area by a bus stop. I was telling the people at the bus stop how awful all this fly tipping was and secretly thinking " heh heh, I have the gramophone needles though". The collages on the boxes were old ladies cooking pies but they were infact all mechanical inside like robots seen in section.

I looked through my collage archive on Flickr and found this one I did a few years ago. It's about the nearest the dream gets though pretty sure the collages in the dream were in black and white.

Weekend Trunk Calls

Not a particularly busy weekend though we did manage to sort out the Xmas card photo - dressed up in our silliest festive jumpers and hats we posed around the the festive twig with dangly pine cones that Archie made copying the illustration in the Ladybird Book of Things To Make. Going to get 100 printed today and make up the cards over the next week or so. I bet you can't wait!

Also the boot sales. The one at Witton was a bit of a disaster due to the inclement weather. Only three stalls outside and three inside. Luckily the i-Insect lady was there so bought two off her. Hazel bought some last week and I was keen to get some of my own. Trumpety trump!

Archie bought a huge bag of old Ultimate Real Robot magazines with attached bits of cyborg to make for a quid. The lady selling them said 50p first of all but Archie thought this too cheap and doubled it. When he got home however he realised 50p was too expensive for the pile of mouldy smelly crap he had bought in the dim light of the shipping container that served as a stall. He threw most of it in the bin!

The one at Antrobus was a lot busier but a quid to get in which was a bit steep. They even had a few stalls outside. I bought two old steam train books and a DVd of "Spiral Staircase" " a Hitchcockian thriller". Hazel got loads of stuff from the 20p stall including a lovely old 1937 copy of the Radio Times with extra Coronation of King George 6th colour supplement. Worth it alone for the amusing adverts for sheds, dog food and Liver Pills. Also a King George 6th glass fruit bowl, a potty, a set of cutlery and all manner of other tat.

Nuclear Family

Havent really done all that much of note lately but a quick update. New blog seems to be faltering slightly with me the only one adding to it. I thought it was a good theme too - Family. This is one I did which seems to have gleaned lots of comments on Flickr. Strangely other collages which I consider much more accomplished have been ignored completely. Again I seem to be at odds with the world around me! Nevermind - it helps me focus on my collage work which was the main reason for starting a new blog in the first place.

Besides the alternate daily shopping trips and healthy walks we have been to the boot sales which continue despite the Winter weather. The one at Witton, although small, comes up with bargains week after week. Last week I got a huge bag of stuff mainly because it was so cheap - DVD's , CD's and books. More stocking fillers. Hazel found some great creepy crawly i-insects which run on tiny batteries and whizz about looking very authentic. Only a quid each and in the shops they are sometimes as much as six quids!

They still keep trying to get planning permission for the land at the end of our garden which is annoying. They have been turned down several times already so hopefully they will be again though in the current climate one wonders.

Hazel has been poorly with a nasty sore throat and laryngitus so off work for a week. Amazingly I havent caught it ( touch wood ) but Archie had a mild dose of it but cleared up pretty quickly.

Keep taking the tablets!

Will & Adela's Wedding & Guy Pile

Here's the first guy pile with the one I made at the front. There's a better photo of me dancing with it that Hazel took but seems to be horizontal and no idea how blogger can twist it round.

A lovely time was had by all needless to say though we did feel a bit like gate crashers as we didnt know anybody- only Will & Adela. The disco wasa bit loud ( showing my age here! ) so glad when it stopped and the guys were called for and we danced around for the judges. Needless to say we didn't win any prizes - some amazing elaborate ones had been created.
Here's the lovely bride and groom singing a heart warming duet by two pink piggy cakes . No fireworks though but some cows looking over a fence and lots of kids running around high on icing sugar and pop I imagine! Coincidentally it was our anniversary so an interesting way to celebrate it. Now we shall never forget Will & Adela's as it's the same day as ours and the Bonfire Night which in itself is a massive clue and sticks out like a sparkly rocket on the calender.
Outside the Hotel in deepest Cheshire the guys are piled up before the big dance off. That's not Nick Clegg at the front next to Cow Guy.

PS. We had to take our guy home and rather than burn him we took his papier mache head off and put it on a shelf in the front room so now he looks down at us while we watch telly.

We labouriously unscrewed the balls of newspaper inside used as stuffing and flattened them ALL out again for putting in the recycling bag. The clothes and slippers are going to Oxfam.

28th Anniversary

Hard to believe that Hazel and I have been together for 28 years now. It don't seem a day too much as old Peter Sellers used to sing to his Old Dutch. Hazel gave me this lovely old variety bill she found in a charity shop today and a nice little tin lady robot with saucepan lid bosoms.

I made her the card below. There are kisses on the bottom but they missed being scanned.

We off out later to a hog roast and disco to celebrate Will and Adela's marriage so that should be fun especially the home made guy fawkes competition. Our guy has been falolloping about in the back room for ages now and itching to get out there and strut his funky stuff! More photos soon!

Library Sale

This spell of warm weather has made all the little flies appear again. One is just flitting around in front of the computer monitor making "V" signs at me - that's what it feels like anyway - buzz OFF!

Some more catching up to do -

Tony and Penny came over to join us at the Crafts Centre near Tarporley last week. They hadnt been before so we showed them the delights of the candle shop, ye olde wishing well, pet shop aquariums etc. Hazel was busy so she just stayed for lunch in the cafe and then went home to do college work. We also looked round the antique emporium and bought some postcards.

Two boot sales on Sunday at Hartford business park and Witton Albion. Got a few films including High Fidelity and Woodstock (directors cut). Archie got a few things including some nice Ladybird books and a dial and a light switch. Hazel got a few bits of crockery and other bits and bobs that will no doubt turn up on her collections blog shortly.

Archie is making a stop motion animation with his friend Hannah upstairs . We watched the rushes of the first one the other day and it looked hilarious , even without a soundtrack.

Nice that he has found some creative arty friends at the new college he goes to.

More bargains at the library sale today including a nice book about Signwritten Art with lovely old shop fronts in. The other day I found some DVD's for a quid including Gainsbourg about Serge that looks interesting though not too keen on his music. Also a triple CD of Island label stuff from the 60's and early 70's. Nice to hear Dr. Strangley Strange again!

More Postcards From Home

A little behind in our orders - said the shop keeper to the boy sitting on the bacon slicer. Those were the old days ofcourse when they HAD bacon slicers on the counter in corner shops. Like the one Mrs. Turpin had down Hamlet Court Road in Westcliff - not far from where this picture postcard was took (See bottom card ). My mother lived nearby also for a few years - two roads back in Second Avenue.
This and few more postcards were purchased recently from the antique emporium avec le Crafts Centre which I can never remember the name of. Anyway, we always like a to buy a few and sometimes a nick nack or two if the price is right. We are spoiled rather by charity shop and boot sale prices so anything over a pound sounds extortionate!

This one was from the Oxfam . I collaged it afterwards for the Flickr group "Post Collage". Funnily enough found some of my own postcards there last week too. So did Archie's friend Hannah who knows a bargain when she sees one. She asked Archie " What's your Dad's name?" and when he told her she told him about the postcards she'd found and was keen then to see the original collages. So that was strange. I found out a few more to give her. I still have tons of "The Arses of England" somewhere but they have been buried in a cupboard or the shed or somewhere I expect.

Anyroad. Catching up with the news. Had a proper haircut. Won't need it doing until Xmas! Hooray! Will and Adela came over for dinner. They told us all about their wedding preparations and the Bear festival thingy at Brereton ( this Saturday ). Also saw them in the Cheshire Open Studios last Sunday which was fun. We bought one of Adela's lovely etchings and watched Will chase a fly with a giant wooden fork.

Went to the "Stuff A Bag For A Pound" sale at the Age shop. Got all kinds of junk - they really shouldn't let us in those places!
making a guy for Will and Adela's welding celebrations. They won't tell us what it's for but not to burn they said. So making an effort to make mine as interesting as possible. He has a papier mache head now and ready for painting.
Also compiled and sent of the Issue 22 artist book assemblings which have haunted me for the past few months. Glad to get shot of them! I sewed all the spines in the end which was a right palarva! Never again!

Went to Imperial Wart Museum North with Hazel and some of her 1st years who all seemed very nice. Took a lot of photos which you can find on Flickr. Also saw the small Andy Warhol exhibit of "Divas" which was ok but seen it all before really. Got the tram back to Piccadilly and the train home.

Hazel's old school chums Tracey and Mark came over via Manchester to take their daughter Daisy back to college. They live down in Cheltenham I think? Had tea and cake and nice chat - showed them round the house as they had never seen it before.

Phew! it's been very warm lately - a real Indian Summer which is nice though a bit too hot at times. Poor confused plants and trees think it's spring and started flowering again!
Its a bit cooler today thankfully and more like Autumn.
Went on a nice walk with Hazel to Anderton via Carey Park ( see Flickr ) and had coffee and shared cream scone in the cafe overlooking the River Weaver. Saw lots of strange sights including a book shop narrowboat pitched on the tow path, a boat that sold coal, oil and kindling, a baby toad and poor lost baby swan.

Andy Plant

Fascinating film about automata maker Andy Plant.

Where The Knuts Come From

Went to a big boot sale in Knutsford today on the Heath. A Fun Day in aid of the Scouts and Guides I think. No second hand woggles or knotting badges to be seen though. The sun was shining so a good turn out. Organised parking which is awalys good though the chap next to us left his driver's door open. We kindly closed it for him incase he really had wandered off distracted by the thought of bargains!
I didnt get much really considering the many stalls. Nice to find some buff card wallets that will be good for the assembling book covers I am making at the moment. 14 people have promised to take part but only 4 have sent pages so far which is fine by me. I would quite like a copy myself and if 14 people send pages I would have to go without a copy! Serves me right for not getting my sums correct.
Also got two DVD's of films that are unknown to me - I Love You Philip Morris ( with Jim Carey) and J'taime Paris by work by 20 directors all submitting 5 minute love stories set in Paris.
Hazel got a nice old air raid wardens bicycle lamp which was made it illuminate your front tyre and little else (whoever she might be?). Also a new dial for Archie's dial collection. He got some rubbish trucks so he was happy. Dustbin lorries rather than trucks that are rubbish!
The postcards here are from our jaunt to the antique place near us the other day.

CARTOONIST AT HOME - British Pathe

CARTOONIST AT HOME - British Pathe

River Weaver

Nice walk the other day along the River Weaver from behind the Memorial Hall to Hunts Locks. I can't belive it's taken us so long to do this walk after 12 years of living in Northwich. Really quite an attractive part of town which is ignored by most of the population. When we first came to see the area we went to a Water Festival on the river which was quite exciting with artists doing performances and duck races etc. but that sadly was a "one off" event that was never repeated for some reason.

Hopefully the new Northwich rejuvination programme or "vision", whatever they are calling it these days, will focus on the river and not spoil it with car parks and huge supermarkets as threatened before. Town planners and councils have a nasty habit of messing things up.

This was then and now is 24th August. Just back from Chester. A nice morning despite the traffic chaos due to roadworks by the Park & Ride. Got a nice old Victorian Inventions book with tons of old illustrations to make good use of. We had a copy somewhere so this is a spare. Had some veg. sausage rolls from the Pound Bakery outside the cathedral in the sun. Curious jazz duo by the market cross . Good keyboards but trumpet player was pretty awful. Thankfully the town cryer and his mini-me came over at 12 and stopped them making a racket for a while. Well, they just made another kind of racket with the bell and loud voice and the awful jokes. Then posing in the stocks with tourists. I'd left my camera at home for a change so you'll have to use your imaginations.

Norway

I must at least write a short bit about our wonderful holiday in Norway. We have stayed there before ofcourse with out dear friend Esther and her family. This time it was slightly soured by the terrible bomb and murders but despite this we found the Norwegians full of good heart as always. We took part in a candlelit march for the victims in Hamar on our third day there. Some very moving speeches and songs although we didnt understand the words the emotions were deeply felt.

We went to the cabin on the fourth day which is up by the Swedish border by lake Osen. A very beautiful tranquil place we went once before in 2005 and always wanted to go back too. There was no running water which was tricky but Esther had filled lots of drums and bottles at the local pump so we used that. The wet wipes came in handy too!
Archie took lots of nice photos and managed to get close ups of the freindly weasel and wood vole down by the lake side. Went for walks and had some interesting meals. I cooked the first one - pasta and tomato sauce and warm crusty bread in the mall electric oven. We used paper plates and cups to eliminate a lot of washing up.
Delicious breakfasts of local produce - brown cheese and jam, fish paste and a caramel spread called Pana I think.

On the Saturday we went to the local fair and junk market in the village across the lake. Lots of nick nacks and ornaments to sort through in the old community hall. Also a nearby craft fair by the two churches. One was very old and contained a beautiful hand painted and carved wooden alterpeice. Had a home made waffles with jam and sour cream bought from a stall outside and sat in the sun whilst jangling horses and carts went by giving rides around the village. We went back the following day too to catch the end of the sale - all you could stuff into a plastic bag for 100 krona ( about 10 english pounds ) Esther manages to get 90 candles , a cheese holder, ornaments, comics and tons of other stuff into her bag without it bursting! Also went to the nearby beach . Archie and the kids braved the cold waters. I stayed under an umbrella as I'd got a bit of sun burn and looked as red as beetroot!

Nice to get back to Hamar and have showers after three days at the cabin. We needed them!

Auntie Olwen R.I.P.

Sad news from my sister Barb yesterday about the death of my last Auntie , Olwen. I wrote about her in this blog in 2008 so will add it here. In the photo above she is on the left in 1947 after just coming out of the WRENS probably. That's my Mum in the middle, expecting me. My Auntie Iris is on the right. Photo taken probably in the garden in Highbury North London where my parents lived in digs just after the war for a short time.


"It will take me ages to find the very small photo I have of my Auntie Olwen so here's one of WRENS scrubbing the sides of a boat during the war. Not sure if Auntie "O" used to do such things but she did get rowed round Grimsby harbour by a sailor boyfriend she said- the nearest she got to any ships whilst she was in the navy during the war. She was just on the phone to me and it's hard to get a word in when she gets going - all about her childhood and the war etc. I expect I'll be like that when I'm 85 or whatever age she is.
She also told me about when my mother carried her into the Broadway cinema in Pitsea as "babes in arms" got in free. She was 7 at the time! My mother who must have been about 9 or 10 had some cheek! She spent the three pence entry money she saved on sweets. Olwen confessed it was very embarressing when the usherette came round and shone her torch on her and she had to pretend to be very tiny.
She also told me about Pitsea at length- a bigger place than it is now - having been swallowed up by Basildon New Town which did not exist in the '30's. They used to live in a bungalow down by the Station Hotel, opposite the market. I explained that the market has been gone many years. She seemed incredulous - "What, Pitsea market gone?!" Yes, and the cinema is now a Bingo Hall and has been for 25 years or more. "Never!"
Pitsea school is still standing and was "new" in the 30's she said- she remembers the teachers quite well- the four masters and the one lady teacher Mrs. Peace. I said I remembered only one teacher as her name was Mrs. Ramsbottom which always stuck in my mind and the howls of laughter from my mother whenever I told her what Mrs. Ramsbottom had been up to that day. I only went to Piteas school for a year back in the mid 50's , before the new Greenstead School was built in Basildon, just down the road. You had to walk miles down a concrete path , through fields and old bungalows to get to Pitsea school. As a five or six year old it was common to send children on their own to school in those days. With my satchel heavy with Shipham's bloater paste sandwiches ( if we were lucky!) or jam if things were a bit tight that week.

Auntie "O" also told me that she left school at 13 and worked in a shop in Southend for a while and then in Grays at the State cinema as an usherette. then she joined the WRENS ( Woman's Royal Navy Service ) . Or did she go to Grimsby to work in a rope making factory? Yes, that's it. She was told she could avoid being called up to fight if she worked in a factory doing essential "war work". But then joined the WRENS as she fancied the uniform and the sailors! "

Mr. Melk

Back from Norway after a delightful week with our friends Esther and her children. More photos and video soon but first a funny Norwegian advert that Vilde showed us.

Marsden, Leeds and Glossop

Back froma nice coupla days in Yorkshire thee knows. Got my collages back from Leeds. Thankfully our old mate Dave drove us there and so Hazel didnt have nervous breakdown going round appalling one way sytems and roundabouts. Also went to Andy Thornton's warehouse of old detritus and theme pub furniture. Archie took hundreds of photos for his Summer project. I took a few to be added to Flickr and here later. Stayed in quaint stone cottage by a babbling brook. Early morning duck alarm at 6. Drove back via Glossop for cheese pasty and mooch round the charity shops. Sat Nav behaved this time and we were sent round some charming lanes and byeways and not the Oldham bypass as before.

PC Problems

Old PC was playing up so much Hazel got me a new one for my birthday only it took ages to find the right one and still not sure. This Acer with Core i5 and Windows 7 seems pretty fast after the last sluggish geriactric but still having problems- not sure if its browser related or not. Cant seem to publish anything in blogger so this really is a test.

Marbury Walk and Boot Sale

Quite a busy week what with one thing and another. First it was the exhibition and open evening at Sir John Deans College to see Archie's "A" level artwork and the rest of the art department in the brand new building. Archie had some of his tin boxes ticking away on a looped film projection. The boxes were switched on every so often but the noise was so great he had to limit it to a couple of minutes for fear of everyone running out screaming holding their ears!
Then we went to Marbury for a walk and had a nice pub lunch nearby in Cumberbatch or is it Comberpatch? The barman was a bit grumpy and we almost walked out but we ordered some sandwiches which were fantastic and huge. We ate them outside in the small beer garden overlooking some old farm buildings. A handy man nearby was watering some hanging baskets with a pressure washer.
The next day we went over to see Treena and look at her latest crafts and art in her lovely leafy back garden. Also had fizzy pop and cake. Hazel bought a few things and ordered a larger collage/ fabric piece for which we supplied the frame.
Just one boot sael this week at Verdin Park which was pretty packed and a fun fair was nearby - part of the Northwich Carnival celebrations. Got a few DVD's including a very nice Ealing Classics boxed set for a quid. Hazel bought some plants crocodile clips and Kilner jars.

Leeds

My old chum Phil from Leeds came over to pick some of my work up last Saturday and we drover over the Pennines to hang the work on Sunday ( Father's Day ) which took a while and I have the blister on my hand to prove it! I stayed over at Phil's place in North Leeds for a couple of days so I could attend the Private View at the Tonic Gallery in the Leeds Royal Infirmary ( built by the same chap that designed the House Of Parliament ). Its an amazing place and one expected Florence Nightingale to wander down the corridor at any moment.

Phil and his son Trispian and grandchildren.

The following day I wandered around the city centre looking for art and architecture of which there is an abundance. The City Art Gallery has a some fine old paintings including some nice Stanley Spencers. Also trudged all the way up the hill to the University to see the student degree shows. Horrible new office block type building though with unhelpful receptionist who just pointed to a pile of maps and postcards and told me to find my own way through the maze of civil service type corridors. The work thankfully was more interesting than the building they were made in.

The Private View was well attended in the evening and nice to see Andy Sykes there- the ace animator and ex-student of Hazel's. We had lots of drinks and nibbles supplied by Phil's lovely friend Gil who ran the pub over the road to which we retired afterwards for more of the same and a fine buffet in the back snug or whatever it was called.

The lovely old Leeds Market Hall.