Hats, plants and motorways

I start the day with the Funky Monkey porridge and explore Davenport which I think is verging on gentrification. 

Head north on the A6 and things are very different. 

Before heading back South to my adopted county I visit Hat Works, which opened in 2000. 
The building, Wellington Mill, was built as an early fireproof cotton spinning mill and dye works in 1830–1831 before becoming a hat works in the 1890s. It is grade II listed and must have been derelict in my time.  Perhaps it benefitted from the boom of the Blair era.I like the concept but feel it has not been done well.  It's a bank holiday Saturday but I am the only person here.  There is too much info on the walls and all the fascinating equipment is jumbled together. 

I escape and get myself a coffee at the Knutsford services on the M6 which I arrive at with great ease.  I have trod this route before when travelling from my parents' to Lichfield, Bromsgrove or Abergavenny.  Back in the day A roads connected us to the M56 and the M6.  Now we have the swanky M60 and an even sexier trunk road links this to the M6.   It passes through Osbourne land.  Could the two be connected?

I then crawl through road works while listening to Any Questions.  The focus is nationalism and equality.  What a world we are becoming.  Next stop a Garden Centre in Gloucestershire.  Then home with my new baby plants and seeds by 5pm.  

Shattered but happy 

Northern Powerhouses

I have found a wonderful place to have breakfast. 

I am delighted to say good taste and culture has arrived in my homeland. Funky Monkey is a real Northern Powerhouse. My porridge with 'all the stuff' is delicious

funkymonkeycoffeeco   is friendly, trendy and all and all an eye opener. Busy and heaving. .  

And who says the North can't rejuvenate itself?  

I spend the rest of the day with my cousins and the grandkids 

Sam says to me three times 'I don't want you to go Aunty Meg.'  He's the only person who needs me!  At 5pm he says 'You can go now if you want' 

Here's a rare smile from lovely serious Sophie.  

Arriving Home

I didn't need to take a spin with R last night.  The problem was obvious as soon as I turned the engine on.  So this morning finds me getting the exhaust fixed.  While the car is in Kwik Fit, I take a boring walk along Trent Valley Road, past a very interesting place.   

The top window was my office in the 90s.  

The building, originally a work house was erected on land purchased from Lichfield Corporation and Lord Lichfield. The new building was constructed in red brick (made from the clay dug out from the workhouse foundations) and embellished by blue bricks at the front and sides. The builder was William Sissons of Hull. Work began on 24th May, 1838, with a foundation stone being laid by the Chairman, Edward Grove. The building received its first inmates almost exactly two years later on 24th May, 1840. Up until this point, the Union had continued to use former parish workhouse accommodation from St Mary's in Sandford Street, and at Rugeley.

Read more here

The larger buildings behind, which I think were 'geriatric wards' back in my day have been replaced by the Samuel Johnson Community Hospital. Were we in a country which takes health care spending seriously it would be an all singing, all dancing acute hospital.  As it is Lichfield people need to travel to Sutton or Burton for acute and emergency care.  .  

Next I am reduced to a cappuccino in Costa at Tesco!   The store seems to have doubled in size!  No wonder Finefare, (previously a cinema) has closed

April showers and lorries hamper my journey North.  It's cold but dry at the Macclesfield crem. Very dark by my plaque. 

I then meet a nice man. He cleans his wife's bench and I sit on it and eat the sandwhich that M kindly made for me.  He shows me his wife's headstone; she is younger than me.  His nephew is next door.  He was 6 when he died in 1999.  This gentleman visits every day.  He misses them. 

Next I go over to see Dad.  I am heartened to see improvements where the flood was. 

Dad's stone and blossom. 

To tea with cousins.
It means a lot to be with family.

A lovely day which ends with San Miguel in bed and Question Time 

Going Home

  

A leisurely start is needed today but I get on the road before lunch.  I am heading for Lichfield.   After a break at the Warwick service (fruit toast; yum!) I notice a 'noise'.  I put this down to paranoia and struggle through the heavy traffic on the M42 then narrowly avoid the M6 toll. Soon M is reviving me with a cup of tea.  

It's unseasonably cold but we head off to town for a walk and to hunt for presents for the kids. 

There are houses where the 'Vic' used to be.  Memories of Wednesday evening 'Family Planning' clinics.  We changed the name to 'Contraception and Sexual Health' but it took a while to catch on.  Fortunately these words now slip off the tongues of my daughter and her friends. 

Fortunately the Tudor Cafe is one thing that is still standing.

A Belgian bar has opened up next to The Whippet, the micro pub.  A groovy corner of town.  

I'm on the ginger tea as I need to take the car for a spin with R so he can diagnose the noise.  

Here is M upstairs.  It's a cosy place and I look forward to returning soon for beers. 

Queer British Art and the Wheel of Life

I set off in the sun on Phyllis noting a markedly arctic feel to the day.  The train is peaceful and it's sunny in the Hyde Park.  

Who would think this was Central London? 

Finally hot and sweaty from my walk I enjoy a cappuccino at Benugo in Curzon St surrounded by men in suits.

I have lunch in with my Art History Girl who is happy as can be then take another long London walk.

I arrive at Tate Britain to see Queer British Art 1861-1967.

It is interesting to learn about the cultural history of gender fluidity  but not there is not much mind blowing art.  I like Aubrey Beardsley though.He was very talented and packed a lot into his unbelievably and tragically short life. At the end we are invited to write a message on a card.  I write one about an old friend but don't leave it. Confidentiality issues. 

I have a rest in the cafe and pot of earl grey.  A lovely waitress brings me a refill of hot water. 

Spotted on the time line on way out.

The talk at the Buddhist Society tonight is informal and on the wheel of life. I have long felt I am frequently in hungry ghost mode but sometimes so human.

On the way to the station I am disturbed by a dog fight and relieved to see the police arrive. 

On the tube a human offers me a seat. The train and bike rides are perfect

Hot bath, Archers and bed with a southern comfort.   
I have awoken refreshed and ready for my tour up North! 

Off to Bath Spa in the spring

The sun is bright. It's like Andalucia in Swindon.  Here we are on the Old Canal Walk on the way to the station.  

And here I am having lunch in Bath with my lovely ex colleagues.  

Bath is such a beautiful old Gerogian town on the Kennet and Avon Canal and railway line.   I remember walking the full length of the former a few years ago.  

The girls go shopping then I am off to the Holbourne  

I am here to see bruegel-defining-a-dynasty-exhibition  

The paintings are great.  Full of character, detail and skill. But I don't learn enough about the dynasty.  I come away thinking Pieter the Elder kicked it all off by inventing a style that departed form the same old religious stuff or portraits of rich people. In this single room, I see peasant life and nature brilliantly depicted in painstaking detail.  

I love the nick names. Velvet and Fleur 

The cheeky chappies above are 'Two peasants binding a faggot' by Pieter_Brueghel_the_Younger   c1620-25  

Here is an interesting  article about the dynasty

I also like this scene Wedding Dance in the Open Air 1607-14 also by PB the Y

Back into town to meet TT for the train.  The station is chaos with frequent delays but we are used to that.  Love Bath. 

Home in the car from Swindon and it's fish and chips with the final episode of Broadchurch. 

Easter at Mottisfont

It's the long Easter weekend, my baby is home and Hermes is well.  So life is good.  

The sun keeps coming out and we are off to Mottisfont Abbey

The estate is a wonderful place to explore, situated in some of Hampshire's most glorious countryside.  There is ancient oak woodland, working hazel and chestnut coppices, wetland meadows and mixed plantations.

The River Test, which flows through the grounds, has shaped the estate through the centuries.  As one of the great chalk streams of the world, it has crystal clear waters. It’s an ideal habitat for wild trout and salmon.

Fertile land and a plentiful water supply attracted the first settlers. The site's name comes from the spring or font shown above.  It is still producing water in the grounds.  It was around this font that the local community held its moots or meetings.  Hence the name, Mottisfont. I want one for our parish council!  

Originally founded as an Augustinian priory in 1201, Mottisfont has been shaped by its many and varied owners. Now it reflects the life and passions of last owner Maud Russell. Inspired by newly-published diary entries, they are currently revealing her experiences of the Second World War period around the house.

Read more about Maud here

Delightful displays of spring bulbs colour the grounds, while trees bud and come into leaf.

We are here to see Maud's art collection and the current Whistler Exhibition

Rex Whistler was one of the many young men whose life was shortened by WW2.  Such a tragedy.  He had his own distinctive style, painting the famous murals described in the link.  I note a discrepancy between Maud's account of his time at Mottisfont and his own!

I also enjoyed a tour of the Maids' quarters.  As ever in these places, I am reminded of my Gran's kitchen. 

Afterwards Jo and I walk by the Test. 

We meet up with T in the walled garden. 

 Tulips flower in the walled gardens.

When we get home Jo cooks a lovely meal and then we discover and remove a tick on the old rabbit! 

Waking up in West London and enjoying Art with Friends

R & L's West London flat reminds me of our early days in Brixton.  It's nice to wake up there and see the sun over the early Edwardian terraces.  After breakfast we take a slow bus to Oxford St and meet my Art Historian at the royal academy of arts  We enjoy the small three roomed exhibition america-after-the-fall

It is an era I knew little about. I learn more about the meaning of the American Dream.  The government invested in the people and there was a chance for all to succeed.  This is what Europe, especially Southern Europe and Northern Britain needs now.  R is a left winger and backs me on this. 

Clockwise from the top 

New Year Movie 1939 Edward Hopper

Street Life, Harlem 1939 William H Johnson 

Young Corn 1931 Grant Wood (A new favourite for me) 

Home Sweet Home 1931 Charles Sheeler

We picnic in the park with the Art Historian.  Next we have the chance to see her show featuring the artist Cathie Pilkington. Anatomy of a Doll has been installed in the Life Room of the RA. It was inspired by Degas' dancers.  

read more here

The Life Room is unchanged since the early 19th century and is reminiscent of the Old Operating Theatre.  Indeed, in those early days there was a close association with anatomists who were the experts on depicting the human form.  Life drawing was a compulsory part of the postgraduate course at the RA until the 1990s.  

Love the quads stretch 

The Christ figure on the crucifix is courtesy of a murderer who was hanged. He has donated his body without consent.  Gruesome.

The sculpture of the dog is extremely life like.  We discover him in the 'pews'

Here are my friends with the lovely Charlie who explains so much to us about the history of the school and the artist herself. 

Now it's time for me to head home.