Autumn mist.

 

I have used the power of nature to help me cope with the illness and loss of my dear cat. Tears fall easily, but this blog is not a place for sadness so I am choosing the memories of him when he was well and the times when he made me laugh. On one occasion I had the temerity to throw some dirty linen into my (yes my) laundry basket when I heard an indignant yowl and a disgruntled feline appearing from beneath the pile of clothes. I removed him and ten minutes later he was back curled up on top of the pile. Typical bluddy cat. He was very gentle, ridiculously friendly, but quiet and he had quite the fan club and yes he could be a right royal pain too😂

It has been a quiet few days as I begin to adjust. I've been charmed by the turquoise streaks of kingfishers flying at speed, moved by the beauty of the autumn colours as David and I have started a small walking project and stunned by the energy of Brighton. To my amazement I stumbled across this by my favourite sculptor Janine Creaye in Horsham Park. I'd heard rumours that there was some of her work there, but had been unable to find it when I'd gone looking a couple of years ago. It's very soothing.

Have a good weekend.

Arilx

Over the rainbow bridge.

Our gentle giant Humphrey is now at peace. We will miss him terribly, but it's been an absolute privilege to have him in our life. 

Arilx

 

David's new toy.

 

This has come to join us at GBT. It's David's 3rd mandolin which makes it officially a collection. There isn't enough wall space for any more though. It's rather gorgeous. Hope you all have a fab weekend.

Arilx

 

5th November

It is always amazing to find a preserved Victorian shop frontage and this one is in Lewes. Richard Urry was a coal merchant and this was his premises. The town is known for its huge bonfire festivities and every year they issue a warning that people shouldn't travel in which is ignored by everyone. It turns our that Mr Urry got himself in a bit of bother back in the 1890s when he thought it wise to lob a burning barrel of tar into the River Ouse from the Cliffe Bridge. This spot of high jinks saw him locked up for the night in the Lewes police cells. Tonight the streets will be ablaze with flaming torches once again with the spectacle of all the bonfire societies processing along the streets. It marks the end of the 2026 bonfire season which started back in September and will undoubtedly go out with a big bang🔥🎇🎆

Arilx

Right under my nose.

Looking back through old blog posts I can see that I last popped into St Andrew's in nearby Nuthurst back in 2015. Many's the time I've gone past it since, but not felt any need to stop. However, as I was driving along that road again last week, I pulled up on a whim. As there was a gentleman sitting quietly in the pews I didn't tarry and just took a handful of photos of things I hadn't noted before. I rather liked the fluidity of this modern window when compared to the rather stiff and uninspiring Victorian ones there.

Nothing about it rang any bells and it wasn't until I took a closer look back here at GBT that I started to notice that there were figures within the streams of molten glass.

By now I was curious to find out who was the artist behind it. An online search soon gave me the name of Tom Denny and at that point the penny dropped. I have swooned over his work in Tewkesbury Abbey  https://gnatbottomedtowers.blogspot.com/2015/07/tewkesbury-abbey.html and in Gloucester Cathedral https://gnatbottomedtowers.blogspot.com/2023/04/gloucester-reimagined.html. It even reached the point his work is so recognisable that I didn't even need to check it was by him when I encountered more examples in Malvern Priory and Hereford Cathedral [see photos below]

This most recent find is an earlier example commissioned in 1994 and I think his distinctive style has developed to become more identifiable in more recent years. This is the only one in Sussex and there it was sitting right under my nose all this time in a country church in a tiny village a couple of miles away and I literally had no idea. The universe works in strange ways sometimes!

Arilx 

The Witchcraft and Vagrancy Act

 Here in Horsham we are lucky devils because we are able to enjoy three months of free music every Friday night over the summer which covers a wide spectrum of genres. Within that time frame the museum opens its garden once a month with an additional offering. At the last minute I got wind of a "spooky folk band" coming up from Brighton so we decided that day to go down and see what The Witchcraft and Vagrancy Act were about. Were they spooky? You can judge yourself from the photos below which were taken on a very bright July evening.

Were they any good? They were fabulous and definitely a sinister soulful take on traditional folk. I was intrigued when the main singer downed his violin and sat down with a jig doll. I somehow didn't expect it, but it was very fitting. This is the tune which accompanied the dancing wooden figure. I have kept this back to All Hallows as somehow the dark half of the year seems more fitting for their material. The Bonegrubber's Jig.

Arilx

Down at the chippy

Our favourite local chippy has got in on the Halloween mania. The guy who painted it works in the shop and spent days creating it. I love a bit of 👻 and might as well climb on the band wagon He's made a nod to the late Tim Curry who we sadly lost in August. It goes without saying that I came across the artwork when we were there buying a sneaky chippy supper for our recent wedding anniversary!

Have a great weekend.

Arilx

Gritty

Someone just couldn't resist🤣

Arilx

 

Prattle Broth

During the 18th and 19th century  whilst the blokes had the coffee houses, pubs and drawing rooms, the women were left with pots of tea and visitors with which to share a cuppa and catch up on all the news and gossip In a patriarchal society a cup of tea was dismissively referred to as prattle broth, scandal broth or cat lap. I love nothing better than catching up with a friend over a cuppa. A few years ago my friend Arty L bought me this beautiful cup and saucer as a surprise gift. We don't usually exchange presents, but she said she simply she had to get it for me because she knew I would treasure it. Too right!

Arilx

Influenced by....

During his lifetime Oliver Messel was the most famous and highest paid theatre set and costume designer in the country. His clothes were known for being eminently wearable on stage, light in weight and very practical. His work continues to ne influential and Nymans is currently exhibiting these dresses inspired by his work and created by students from Wimbledon College of Arts. Messel was a member of the family who owned Nymans before it passed into the hands of the National Trust. Beautiful.

Arilx

 

Sussex by the sea.

There are just so many towns along the Sussex coast which I have either never been to or not for aeons. Shame on me! On my birthday I managed to tick another one off the list and am now left wondering why it took me so long to visit. Destination Seaford. 

If you love being by the sea, but are not a fan of the whole 'seaside' resort and big crowds thing then this town might just be perfect for you. There are toilets and a couple of small cafes down on the front, but none of the classic attractions and not a funfair in sight. Even the parking is free. Other than oodles of blue sky what we did get down there was this beautiful memorial bench to Claire Sumners who was a local environmental activist and very highly thought of. After the bench was unveiled in 2025, there was a community beach clean held along with a celebration of her life. At the far end you come across the long Shoal community bench which weaves it way along the jetty at Splashpoint like a silver stream. Upon its seats are many fish shaped messages. Many are of too personal a message to share here I feel, but this punning one made me smile. It all felt a little fishy in tone to me🐟 Walk further up and you will see the Martello Tower which was built in 1808 and is one of 103 national examples. It cost in the region of £18k at the time and was put up to keep old Boney from invading. Nowadays it is seeing a second life as a museum, but was closed on our visit.

Having got ourselves orientated and with one of the heritage trails downloaded we headed off up into the town to continue our meanderings.

Any visit that I'm on will almost inevitably a visit to the local church. I'm such a good tourist that I had even contacted the parish office to check the opening hours😀

St Leonard's [the patron saint of sailors] was a Norman church [the arch at the bottom of the tower is one of the remaining features from that time. It was sacked by the French and then restored in 1485 with the tower rebuilt within the old walls. It retains some lovely features as well as some glorious modern additions. I thought the ancient carving of St Michael slaying the dragon most apt as I was born on St Michael's day.

Every church has its many memorials to the great and the good from the local vicinity, but this one to Dr William Pringle is of national interest because he was the first person to officially diagnose dyslexia in an article he wrote for the B.M.A in 1896. He had noted that one of his young patients was a bright lad, but had been struggling with reading and writing. Further investigations led Pringle to discover that the problem was not down to a lack of understanding, but an issue relating to visual perception.

The font is a modern one and although pleasant to look at from afar on its oak plinth it didn't exactly blow my socks off. My reaction changed upon seeing the bowl....a stunning enamelled piece made by Mel Howse💙🩵

Part of exploring always involves a cup of coffee if it's me. Opposite the church stood a cafe with this daft sign outside. We were intrigued and it was recommended to us by two of the patrons who were just leaving as we approached. Well I have to say it was one of the high spots of the day. It's small inside and was packed. The whole time we were there everyone was bantering back and forth with the owner who gave as good as he got. In the end I couldn't resist joining in and when asked if we were from around the area I admitted that we had crossed the county border. There's always a bit of rivalry between East and West and I was reminded that the West is the place where all the rejects from East Sussex and Hampshire are sent. I laughed my socks off and the coffee tasted amazing!

Here's a few of our after lunch treasures as we finished our walk. The frontage of the chemist is still the original one with that unusual contemporary combination of lamp post and dog bowl to be seen.

What a gem. We were made to feel very welcome.

Arilx