Famous Walthamstow Exports

Whilst Walthamstow might be famous for the 1990s band "East 17", it was news to me that William Morris was born here in 1834. He is a man I have always greatly admired both for his work, but equally for his thoughts about social equality and his drive to bring fairness to all. He was from a wealthy family and he all too clearly understood the disparity between his ideals and the reality that only those with money could afford to buy the Arts and Crafts goods his interior decorating company were famous for. Throughout his lifre he slaved tirelessly both for his business and for his philanthropic endeavours. By the time of his death in 1896 his doctor was to say that the cause of his demise was 'simply being William Morris and having done more work than most ten men'.  Part of my recent visit included a trip to the free William Morris museum which was his home from the age of 14 to 22. 

Below are photos from both the gallery and a few images referencing him around the area. If you had never thought you would see a footie shirt in a Morris textile then you have now. Even the toilet doors haven't escaped the Morris decor!

Over the past few weeks I've allowed the blog to become rather out of sync and seeing as I don't want to be hopping backwards and forwards like a kangaroo with a hornet stinging its backside I'm going to do a few posts in chronological order to get it back on track.

Arilx

Mr Shaftspole

 Back in this August post I wrote about the spoof art trail that someone had put up around the town centre https://gnatbottomedtowers.blogspot.com/2023/08/that-was-week-that-was.html. It caused much mirth for many of us, but some rather sourly were affronted by the whole thing and spent a lot of time removing the "exhibition" labels from many of the ugly things they adorned. Since then the plot has thickened and the supposed artist has stepped forward...he is one Mr Aloicious Shaftspole born in 1968 and "died" in 2009 except he also claims that he has had to go into hiding as he's got himself on the wrong side of a Mexican drug cartel so what am I to believe I ask myself😆

Anyhow Mr Shaftspole has been up to more shenanigans recently.....this time it's a blue plaque which has mysteriously appeared on a boarded up house which due for demolition.........

He has been busy on social media of late and there is to be a follow up 'project' launched in early November. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime hope everyone has a good weekend.

Arilx

The Knife Angel

The famous or perhaps I should say the infamous "Knife Angel" created by Alfie Bradley in conjunction with Clive Knowles and his British Ironwork Centre [Wolverhampton]. It was a concept Clive came up with in 2014 to kickstart the discussion around all violent and aggressive acts with a particular focus on the rapidly rising rates of knife crime in this country. It acts as a memorial to all those who have already lost their lives in these tragic circumstances. He stands at 27' tall and weighs 3.5 tons. The 100,000 confiscated knives from which he is constructed were donated by 43 police forces across the country. He started to tour around the country in 2018 and we caught up with him in Colchester. Stood with him was a policeman who was there to chat about the piece and explain how it's intended not only to highlight the issue, but also to bring out much needed social change. There is a haunting beauty to this sculpture and it's very moving to behold him. 

Arilx

 

The Fat Man of Maldon

Hello....remember me?!! I'm back from my latest wanderings and ready to impart a few tales teased out from where I've been exploring. Let's start today with Edward Bright from Maldon.

He was a grocer from the town and it was claimed that he weighed 44 stone when he died aged 29 of typhoid on 10 November 1750. A special coffin had to be built to contain his body. On 1st December a bet was placed at the Bull Inn that seven men could fit into his generously sized waistcoat and by 28th January 1751 they'd bettered that and had got nine men inside it. The wager this time at the King's Head was for a ham, some chickens and gallons of wine. A little more exciting than your average modern day raffle prizes I'd say. Mr Bright sounds like he was an all round good egg who was very popular and I'm sure he'd have enjoyed the jollifications. By all accounts he was an honest tradesman, affably tempered, a tender father and valued friend. The sculpture marking the 'Fat Man of Maldon' is by Cartharni Stern.

Arilx

 

The Perfect Ending

 One of those days when I was chasing my tail doing jobs in the town when this made me pause and reflect. It was on the A board outside an independent florists.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. I won't be on here next week as we're off for a spot of pearl wedding celebrating.

Arilx

Round the houses

 A little later than planned, but here's the post I promised about our time spent over at Butser Ancient farm for the Autumn Equinox. There's a bit of background about the project and information about the Roman Villa from an older post here https://gnatbottomedtowers.blogspot.com/2016/05/butser-ancient-farm.html Speaking of which I found these two Viking Re-enactors lurking by the villa. Historically they are a few centuries out, but just behind them you can see the reconstruction of the Roman garden which wasn't there on our last visit. At its centre is this brand spanking new mosaic which was revealed in August....well I say brand spanking new, but it's actually been constructed from genuine Roman tesserae. When the M4 was being built it went through a villa in Badbury, Wilts and these are where they were rescued from. It's always good to see a bit of recycling going on. The design is based on one from Sparsholt in Hampshire.

The other new addition is this larium which was apparently a domestic shrine to the household gods. It makes it sound like I know all about it, but fear not I am only parroting what I've read elsewhere. Ceres, Goddess of the Harvest is shown here because of Butser being a farm. 

The greatest joy for me though is always having the chance to nose around round and long houses. Much as I regard the achievements of the Romans with great awe, I am far more drawn to the Iron Age and Saxons. Perhaps it's the lack of written records and the conjecture based on the archaeological remains which is what makes it so fascinating for me. The houses below have been reconstructed based upon the footprint of the post holes left behind in the soil from whence the originally came. One of them is based upon a place in Glastonbury and the other in Llanfair, North Wales. What you get here is the attention to the personal details. The colours used are based on the pigments which would have been available to our ancestors. The roundels in one have been inspired by Iron Age artefacts. There may not be definitive proof that the houses were painted, but evidence of such decoration has been found on the Neolithic homes in Orkney and people like their surroundings to reflect their personal taste.

As you'll have seen last week the boat burning provided the dramatic finale to this exciting event. Being allowed in before the paying guests allowed me to take a few close up shots of it before it was set alight. It's the work of Mark Ford of Two Circles Design and during the afternoon the visitors are encouraged to attach slips of paper with personal messages on it. 

There's a great variety of activities on offer from short talks to demos and battle renactments, live music and oh yes dancing! I was very impressed and can see why it sells out so quickly. It's hard to believe that there were 2000 visitors on site and I'm sure it's raised much needed funds for the museum's ongoing research. We have already been invited back next year👏 

Arilx

Gentle early Autumnal Meanderings

 I meant to pop back in last week, but having already had our anniversary shortly followed on by my birthday and the time just ran away with itself. It's been hugely enjoyable to be GBT based this weekend after a few busy weeks and we've just stuck to doing things within walking distance of here. We pottered into town to enjoy a local band playing in the town centre yesterday and strolled over to a nearby village today to enjoy their local scarecrow trail. It's been a few years since we've been able to do that because it's always clashed with the Birmingham shows. This is the first one we've not been to...we haven't missed the early start or tackling the M25 when it's busy and we're shattered on the way home. Just a few photos from the last couple of days capturing some of the late summer colours as we move into the Autumn months.

Arilx