With the recent news that the Bayeux Tapestry is coming over here [saw it in France years ago and it was amazing] thought this timely comic twist might amuse.
Have a great weekend.
Arilx
Have a great weekend.
Arilx
Friday, 9 February 2018
Thursday, 8 February 2018
Creative Thinking
"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will get you everywhere".
Albert Einstein
Arilx
Wednesday, 7 February 2018
On the Green Circle
Following on from yesterday's post a new public sculpture trail on the Green Circle was opened in October....naturally being a curious old bird I felt it my civic duty to go and have a snout!
This zinc and steel creation is more interesting than it perhaps looks at first glance.It represents a railway signalman's lever and an interlocking between points and signals which was invented and patented by a local man, John Saxby. He was motivated to do so following two tragic crashes caused by signal failure on the London to Brighton Line [Burgess Hill is one of the stations] in the 1850s. It's the work of Jon Mills.
A length of film made from a porcelain mosaic represents the life of John Bee-Mason and an incredible life it was too. He was an early leader in the field of filming nature as well as a war photographer. In the 1940s he developed a cure for rheumatism for which the sufferer had to be stung on the arm by a bee and he was an advocate of the curative power of honey. If ever a chap was suited to his name!...I "think" the mason bee is one of the solitary ones. The artist behind this one is Alan Potter.
This zinc and steel creation is more interesting than it perhaps looks at first glance.It represents a railway signalman's lever and an interlocking between points and signals which was invented and patented by a local man, John Saxby. He was motivated to do so following two tragic crashes caused by signal failure on the London to Brighton Line [Burgess Hill is one of the stations] in the 1850s. It's the work of Jon Mills.
A length of film made from a porcelain mosaic represents the life of John Bee-Mason and an incredible life it was too. He was an early leader in the field of filming nature as well as a war photographer. In the 1940s he developed a cure for rheumatism for which the sufferer had to be stung on the arm by a bee and he was an advocate of the curative power of honey. If ever a chap was suited to his name!...I "think" the mason bee is one of the solitary ones. The artist behind this one is Alan Potter.
Emily Temple...a very successful artist and wax flower maker from the town. She bought properties, paid for the building of the church and bequeathed the land which is now the main park. There was something very beautiful about how the artist, Helena Roden, had managed to create something so ethereal yet so robust from steel and resin. With the sunlight shining through the cutaways on the skirt there were some lovely shadows cast.
Prior to finding it I knew that the title of the next piece was "Bluebird Contained". Frankly I didn't know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't this. It transpires that a local engineering company, Norris Bros, created Bluebird 7 and then later the Bluebird car which took the land speed record in 1964. Steve Geliot looked to their revolutionary honeycomb design for the inspiration behind his stainless steel masterpiece.
Of course, as tradition dictates I've left the best....well my best to last. I'm sure others might think differently. The two "Flow of Life" boundary markers which reference the amazing plant and wildlife of the immediate environment. They are carved from green oak by Janine Creaye. It's not the first time I've admired her work. Looking back through the archives it transpires that I went to one of her exhibitions at our museum a couple of years ago https://gnatbottomedtowers.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/getting-ahead.html
Here they are in all their glory. I couldn't resist the dormouse!
Arilx
Tuesday, 6 February 2018
"Bugress Hill"
"Bugress Hill" is what our family have called Burgess Hill ever since TYM inadvertently renamed it as a very small person. Although it's really not that far from here, I have only ever been once and that was for one of those interminably long and dull day long business meetings we've probably all had to endure at some point. I couldn't remember anything about it and I have to say a return visit yesterday probably explains why. Originally it was a small place which boomed with the arrival of the railway....everything is Victorian onwards and there is nothing which makes it stand out. What it does have though is the Green Circle.....
This is a fantastic set of different wildlife habitats which have been joined up into one big loop around the outside of the town. In effect it has created one of those all important wildlife corridors which allow the different species to migrate between areas and now some of it has been designated an SSI. The mixed environments of woodland, mill streams [one called Pookebourne from the old English puka meaning goblin or sprite] and the river Adur support rare species of insects including butterflies, animals [dormice] and plants. The wildflower meadows have been such a success story [only 3% of our meadows survive] the seeds are now collected and held at the Millennium Seed Bank!
Anyway enough of my waffle....a few shots we captured yesterday. Magnificent old gnarled trees stand in amongst the hedgerows and alongside newly planted coppices.
The view across to my beloved Downs.
Patterns on a fence post and shadows on the grass.
A dog walker's paradise, but the signs say you can only walk a maximum of six hounds. Dog fouling or let's say the irresponsible, lazy minority chucking filled poo bags is a problem and clearly someone had had enough. These notices were stuck on all the posts we passed!
A walk always throws up a few surprises....mine from yesterday. A decorated stone, a glass panel featuring the local Jack and Jill windmills and an eyecatching bench designed by Alison Steele.
This is a fantastic set of different wildlife habitats which have been joined up into one big loop around the outside of the town. In effect it has created one of those all important wildlife corridors which allow the different species to migrate between areas and now some of it has been designated an SSI. The mixed environments of woodland, mill streams [one called Pookebourne from the old English puka meaning goblin or sprite] and the river Adur support rare species of insects including butterflies, animals [dormice] and plants. The wildflower meadows have been such a success story [only 3% of our meadows survive] the seeds are now collected and held at the Millennium Seed Bank!
Anyway enough of my waffle....a few shots we captured yesterday. Magnificent old gnarled trees stand in amongst the hedgerows and alongside newly planted coppices.
The view across to my beloved Downs.
Patterns on a fence post and shadows on the grass.
A dog walker's paradise, but the signs say you can only walk a maximum of six hounds. Dog fouling or let's say the irresponsible, lazy minority chucking filled poo bags is a problem and clearly someone had had enough. These notices were stuck on all the posts we passed!
A walk always throws up a few surprises....mine from yesterday. A decorated stone, a glass panel featuring the local Jack and Jill windmills and an eyecatching bench designed by Alison Steele.
Beyond seeing a few celandine in a sheltered spot and buds on the trees the main attraction at this time of year is the twilight spectacle of the starling murmurations. I am already making plans to make a return visit with my nature loving friend H in the summer. Meanwhile the project is still ongoing and I'll put up more photos tomorrow of what motivated me to visit in the first place.
Arilx
Monday, 5 February 2018
Green Tidings
One of those scribblings in which I put loosely related snippets, none of which are sufficient to merit a postlet in their own right about my funny little thrifty/greenish lifestyle we enjoy here at GBT.
The buttons from four very worn out [they were from the charity shop/jumble sale originally] from Mr GBT's shirts have been saved and I've cut one of the offending articles into kitchen mop up cloths which are under the sink. They will be used for spillages and should see our much reduced use of kitchen paper brought down even lower [it goes up when TYM is home]. The others have gone in the recycling bag and I've bought him two replacements again from the charity shops.
The new reading club was fab. I found the first book very thought provoking, but it's not one I would reread. My copy came from the second hand marketplace on Amazon and has now been passed on, but for the next one I've ordered it in from the library as I've got time to wait and that's what I intend to do for future meetings where possible.
Kitchen curtains ah yes...progress has been made. A thrifted duvet cover has been cut up for the lining and I've raided my stash for the header tape which I took off other pairs. Unfortunately I've hit a temporary snag as the patchwork fabric my friend gave me [her MIL who made it had died and it was going to be thrown out] is not quite wide enough so I'll need to source a plain fabric to make a border...am hoping to find something suitable via my normal preloved routes.
On the food front two new veggie recipes have been tried...both passed the easy/cheap/quick/tasty rigorous testing they were subjected to. Details here if you're tempted. Refried bean quesadillas https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/725645/refried-bean-quesadillas and spiced swede fritters https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1974638/spiced-swede-fritters. The odd half swede this left me with went in with the leftover potatoes to make mash for our Shepherd's Pie.
Make do and mend...sometimes I'm glad I'm a bit of a saver of Very Useful Things [only in a very tidy and ordered way though...deffo not a hoarder]. I lost the screw from my glasses, but because I'd kept the identical pair [BOGOF deal years ago] I simply pinched one from them [can't wear them now] and fixed them at home. Mr GBT has been busy with the packet of Sugru that I invested in too. We had several plastic things which had broken and had failed to fix with other types of glue.
As you can see, Kintsugi it ain't...if you're after a pretty mend this is not for you. However, it has fixed lots of bits for us. I thought the product was rather on the pricier side and it only keeps for six months, so if you are going to try it make sure you've identified lots of things to mend before you part with your hard earned dosh!
Work on the veg plots has officially begun👍 Not by me I hasten to add. Dear old Mr GBT has been and emptied the compost heap...is it only me who stands back in wonder at the alchemy of it all? You put in all those unusable scraps and then months later they're transformed into buckets of friable soil. It's like magic! The beds he built last year have been topped up and the shallot sets he bought recently are now planted out. I've recently discovered this blog from which I'm learning a whole new way of looking at ways of using up stuff in the garden....the writer is a permaculture teacher, but she's also keen on sustainability and the circular economy. All areas of personal interest to me https://thesnailofhappiness.com/author/thesnailofhappiness/
My plans for the garden include a rewilding project...I have bought a locally made bug hotel from the nature reserve [position in garden yet to be decided] and invested in a bag of dried meal worms. We don't get many birds on our feeders, but there is a very keen robin [or two] and I'm hoping there might be other avian visitors which I simply miss because I'm not here much. I shall persist...bee friendly plants are part of the plan, but not until we are past the frosts.
As ever I keep tweaking how we do things here in my bid to tread more lightly on the planet. I've just swapped from green pan scourers to the recycled steel ones. I "think" they're a better option, but since then I've discovered you can use loofahs and they can then be composted once finished with. I used the Ecover refilling station for the first time at the Repair Cafe which generates less plastic recycling because you take your own bottles and next on the hit list is moving back to loose tea once my current lot of teabags have been finished so that I can further reduce my plastic impact.
I've never been one to just trade up for the sake of having something new and shiny....let me finish by showing you my cooker....strange thing to share you might think....this old lady has a birthday to celebrate because she's thirty now! I bought her second hand in 1990 from the chap I got my first flat from and he'd had her since 1988 [don't think she'd seen much use to be frank]. I paid my oven cleaning chap last week to do his annual spruce up and she's come up looking rather fine I think. This time I've put foil on the bottom of the oven aswell as under the rings to try and keep her as clean as possible. Although I am not a great lover of cooking, she has given us the most fantastic service!
My sincere apologies...I thought this was going to be a short post...it has turned out anything but. If I haven't bored you all to tears please do swing by another day!
Arilx
The buttons from four very worn out [they were from the charity shop/jumble sale originally] from Mr GBT's shirts have been saved and I've cut one of the offending articles into kitchen mop up cloths which are under the sink. They will be used for spillages and should see our much reduced use of kitchen paper brought down even lower [it goes up when TYM is home]. The others have gone in the recycling bag and I've bought him two replacements again from the charity shops.
The new reading club was fab. I found the first book very thought provoking, but it's not one I would reread. My copy came from the second hand marketplace on Amazon and has now been passed on, but for the next one I've ordered it in from the library as I've got time to wait and that's what I intend to do for future meetings where possible.
Kitchen curtains ah yes...progress has been made. A thrifted duvet cover has been cut up for the lining and I've raided my stash for the header tape which I took off other pairs. Unfortunately I've hit a temporary snag as the patchwork fabric my friend gave me [her MIL who made it had died and it was going to be thrown out] is not quite wide enough so I'll need to source a plain fabric to make a border...am hoping to find something suitable via my normal preloved routes.
On the food front two new veggie recipes have been tried...both passed the easy/cheap/quick/tasty rigorous testing they were subjected to. Details here if you're tempted. Refried bean quesadillas https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/725645/refried-bean-quesadillas and spiced swede fritters https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1974638/spiced-swede-fritters. The odd half swede this left me with went in with the leftover potatoes to make mash for our Shepherd's Pie.
Make do and mend...sometimes I'm glad I'm a bit of a saver of Very Useful Things [only in a very tidy and ordered way though...deffo not a hoarder]. I lost the screw from my glasses, but because I'd kept the identical pair [BOGOF deal years ago] I simply pinched one from them [can't wear them now] and fixed them at home. Mr GBT has been busy with the packet of Sugru that I invested in too. We had several plastic things which had broken and had failed to fix with other types of glue.
As you can see, Kintsugi it ain't...if you're after a pretty mend this is not for you. However, it has fixed lots of bits for us. I thought the product was rather on the pricier side and it only keeps for six months, so if you are going to try it make sure you've identified lots of things to mend before you part with your hard earned dosh!
Work on the veg plots has officially begun👍 Not by me I hasten to add. Dear old Mr GBT has been and emptied the compost heap...is it only me who stands back in wonder at the alchemy of it all? You put in all those unusable scraps and then months later they're transformed into buckets of friable soil. It's like magic! The beds he built last year have been topped up and the shallot sets he bought recently are now planted out. I've recently discovered this blog from which I'm learning a whole new way of looking at ways of using up stuff in the garden....the writer is a permaculture teacher, but she's also keen on sustainability and the circular economy. All areas of personal interest to me https://thesnailofhappiness.com/author/thesnailofhappiness/
My plans for the garden include a rewilding project...I have bought a locally made bug hotel from the nature reserve [position in garden yet to be decided] and invested in a bag of dried meal worms. We don't get many birds on our feeders, but there is a very keen robin [or two] and I'm hoping there might be other avian visitors which I simply miss because I'm not here much. I shall persist...bee friendly plants are part of the plan, but not until we are past the frosts.
As ever I keep tweaking how we do things here in my bid to tread more lightly on the planet. I've just swapped from green pan scourers to the recycled steel ones. I "think" they're a better option, but since then I've discovered you can use loofahs and they can then be composted once finished with. I used the Ecover refilling station for the first time at the Repair Cafe which generates less plastic recycling because you take your own bottles and next on the hit list is moving back to loose tea once my current lot of teabags have been finished so that I can further reduce my plastic impact.
I've never been one to just trade up for the sake of having something new and shiny....let me finish by showing you my cooker....strange thing to share you might think....this old lady has a birthday to celebrate because she's thirty now! I bought her second hand in 1990 from the chap I got my first flat from and he'd had her since 1988 [don't think she'd seen much use to be frank]. I paid my oven cleaning chap last week to do his annual spruce up and she's come up looking rather fine I think. This time I've put foil on the bottom of the oven aswell as under the rings to try and keep her as clean as possible. Although I am not a great lover of cooking, she has given us the most fantastic service!
My sincere apologies...I thought this was going to be a short post...it has turned out anything but. If I haven't bored you all to tears please do swing by another day!
Arilx
Friday, 2 February 2018
Thursday, 1 February 2018
Imbolc 2018
May Brigid bless the house
Where in you dwell
Bless every fireside every
Wall and door
Bless every heart that
Beats beneath its roof.
Bless every hand that toils
To bring it joy.
Bless every foot that
Walks its portals through.
May Brigid bless the house
That shelters you.
Bright blessings to all those who celebrate the old ways.
Arilx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Off the Devil's Road
The A29 is one of the major arteries running through West Sussex. For a time it was locally known as the Devil's Road because it was bel...
-
Hello all you lovely peeps out there. Am back from my wanderings and reacquainting myself with the washing machine. It's a return to pa... -
Almost inevitably last weekend featured yet more dancing from moi. This time we were at a very local quirky show which we have performed at ... -
David loves a map and is to be found quite often checking up stuff on Google. Usually it's me finding the oddities, but this one is ent...