Month: Feb 2023

#486 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn dog walks, SerendipityLeave a comment

This is the little beige dog that is the constant companion to the lighter, brighter, whiter Hugo. Lola was once a dark chocolate dog with milk chocolate brown eyes. The poodle fading gene has caused her to be a completely milk chocolate dog now, so pale we can barely distinguish her white markings. In every way she has been a fabulous companion to both us and Hugo but the determined little face of that dark brown puppy reflects her true character. Today she was determined to share my chocolate croissant. Her poodle nose poking at the brown carrier bag that held it.

Regular croissants are not her thing at all. She can easily sleep through the eating of one of those.

She firmly believes that the beautifully laminated slightly crispy doughy part of a chocolate croissant is hers and I am left with the awkward-to-eat bit that contains the chocolate.

Eating this in the car was a rare treat because we were off to have the car valeted. So the mess that is the consequence of her croissant enthusiasm was all vacuumed away while we did a long dog walk.

While we loved having a clean car inside and out, this is the face of a very disappointed dog who couldn’t find a single crumb to sustain her after her morning walk. We have not yet been forgiven. Hugo has not been forgotten today, but he prefers a plain croissant. They are, after all individuals with their own particular preferences.

#485 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn BobbingLeave a comment
Little Red Corvette ©Bob Kovacs

Yesterday’s earworm revealed. I love it when I get a Prince earworm. The day is going to bounce along just fine. I was very grateful to see this picture a couple of days ago from an old work colleague, Bob Kovacs. I was never a huge Prince Superfan but his music was part of the soundtrack of my life and I loved the aesthetic of his public life. Sequins are magic circles of happiness.

Raspberry Beret is part of our bobbing in-water singing repertoire because one of our Bobbers, Gilly, liked to bob wearing a raspberry Beret and a pair of cocktail length swimming gloves.

Gilly Bobber ©theoldmortuary

Gilly was unaware of the lyrics of Raspberry Beret until she started regular dipping in the sea. Knowing Gilly there is every chance she got her Beret from a second hand store, while bobbing, she didn’t wear much more. Singing while swimming, especially in cold, cold water, is quite a challenge. We are only a truly reliable choir for the chorus but we bring enthusiasm and neoprene glamour to the genre of aquafunk.

©Lyrics. com

After 2 years of being Bobbers, Gilly, is the first to leave us to permanently dip in other waters.

We held a drybob for her, with some singing and she has taken her Raspberry Beret to West Sussex to swim on bigger beaches with different people.

Drybob Farewell

And that my friends is another earworm to start the day.

#484 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn bloggingLeave a comment

Today was a big day for the blog. I swapped to a new platform for publishing. Pushing the button and uninstalling the old system was a moment of anxiety. But guess what happened? Nothing, everything slipped smoothly into the new format and off I go. Everything is pretty much the same except every day there is a spunky little suggestion as to what I might like to write about. I may not take their suggestions seriously, the first one thought I might like to discuss what my parents did at my age. Well let me think..

Their ashes had, at this point, been buried in a country churchyard for two years. Idyllic in many ways but I am sure they would rather have been living and laughing. As it was they had been moved from their last resting place by a very industrious mole. This does not make for a great travelogue or even a great blog. So this is the first and last time I will seek my inspiration from spunky suggestions from Jetpack. WordPress was never quite so frivolous. I prefer raking through my own thoughts for these ponders. For reading to the end of this transitional blog I gift you an earworm. Answers tomorrow.

#483 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Box, SerendipityLeave a comment

It is not everyday that I turn up to work looking a little like a queen. One of the 3 Armada portraits of Elizabeth I has arrived at the Museum and Gallery where I work. A painting that has stared out of a million history books. The iconic image of a Tudor Queen that is both familiar and yet never actually seen before. Sartorial comparisons may take a stretch of the imagination but to aid the process I took up a queenly pose while working.

While the Queen holds a globe to show how well Colonising was going, I am close a Barbara Hepworth sculpture because it was the only round thing available. In the Armada Portrait we do not see Elizabeth’s shoes but in a painting from a similar time I found her feet.

Tiny Elizabeth feet in flat shoes.
Bigger feet in flat shoes of a simple design not too dissimilar from Tudor shoes.

Elizabeth and I were both wearing predominantly black garments but with peach ribbons and statement necklaces.

Hers were statements of wealth, mine are the opposite. The Lanyard is a modern emblem of employment. My necklace is home made from recycled beads. The thing they have in common is that both my lanyard and plastic beads and Elizabeth’s pearls and silk ribbons are made from traded goods, mine possibly more ethically traded than hers. Which brings us to the backgrounds of both our pictures. In Elizabeth’s picture there are painted scenes of Francis Drakes victory over the Spanish. In my picture the background is filled with objects from the permanent collection of The Box, Plymouth. Without the British victory the world and this wall of acquisitions would look very different today. Below is a link to an explanation of the Armada events

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/spanish-armada-history-causes-timeline

Strange how far Pondering over peach ribbons and beads can take me. Coincidences can be a wonderful thing.

#482 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Love, Rust1 Comment
Lichen on a Victorian grave.

One day after Valentines Day is the right time to say that I have never been a fan of the whole, commercial, overload of pressure that is imposed by the notion of a special day for expressing romantic love. The root of my dislike is almost certainly rooted in my adolescent years when acne made my face look like a cheap pizza. No cards, signed or otherwise found their way to my home. The acne and possibly the experience of being a spotty teenager shaped me, not necessarily in a bad way.

Love Locks at St Ives.

Obviously I am not averse to romantic love but I don’t quite get why it has a day to itself when other forms of love are equally satisfying and beneficial.

Rusty Painting ©theoldmortuary

Love for Life, Family and Friends are just as valuable. I’ve used another love to illustrate this little love rant. The love of rust. Not always metallic, sometimes just a rust colour. Add rust to verdigris and the love just magnifies.

Ceramic pot, weathered in a garden

Not too far from home this lovely door with added graffiti always makes me stop to appreciate the colours and industrial strength.

Cold War bunker Richmond Walk

In complete contrast these naturally occuring barnacles are rich with colour and texture.

My love for rust is obsessive, as obsessive as my dislike for the commercialisation of the 14th February. A proper Valentines Grinch and proud of it.

Cafe seat, Toronto Island.

And finally one that was taken close to home a few years ago. I have no idea what it is. I love it!

#481 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn art, SerendipityLeave a comment

A year ago I was learning some lovely colour exercises while on an on-line course with Tansy Hargan.

http://tansyhargan.bigcartel.com/category/online-courses

On the same day I collected some Mussel shells.

It is only when the both popped up in the same photo file that I thought about putting them together.

Neither photograph was taken with overlaying in mind but this rough little experiment has given me inspiration. I have spent a whole year doing these little colour doodles and wondering how to incorporate them into my work. With the right photographs the doodles will have a new way of being used.

Imaginary backgrounds
Imaginary sketching

I just need to remember where I put the mussel shells a year ago. That may take some time!

#480 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Beach Life, SerendipityLeave a comment

This was the early morning dog walk. Cold, crisp and with a wind blowing in from the east. I had a lot of warm clothes on and a hot black coffee in my hands.

My coffee of choice was the India Kirshnagiri and I was fully enjoying the Dark Berry, Cherry Liquor and Pomegranate flavours which were taking my mind off the fact that just one short hour later, the Bobbers and I would be plunging into those very same waters for pleasure. There really is no accounting for the ways some people get their kicks. The rewards are hot drinks, biscuits and for some of us a hottie.

But back to the coffee, Cherry Liquor is one of the flavours I can still identify after Covid has wrecked my sense of taste and smell. The coffee had all the pleasures of an actual Cherry Liquor without any of the calories. It kept my mind off the water temperature.

#479 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Beach LifeLeave a comment

My Dad was an eternal optomist. I neve knew his glass to be anything less than half full. Not that his life was always easy, but he could always find a way around difficulties or find something to be grateful for. One of his favourite moments in life was when he could declare something positive out of mediocrity or worse. Yesterday he would have declared that we had all got the best out of the day.

We took a late trip out to the beach when the tide was out. For the most part it had been a grey day but as we started the descent to the coast the sun appeared from a crack over the horizon. Giving us our first ever sighting of the Eddystone Lighthouse.

Set on a perilous outcrop 12 miles offshore it protects seafarers from harm on a notorious spot for shipwrecks. The weather conditions have never been right for us to see it on our regular visits to this beach. So without anything else we had added value to our day. But the sun prevailed.

When the cafe had an Internet fail there could have been grumpy faces but some hidden cash bought everyone a late afternoon snack, to fuel our afternoon wanderings in the unexpected sunshine.

My Dad would have said ” I think we have had the best of the day” It was his great grand daughters first time on a beach. She was a lucky girl to have such a perfect moment.

#478 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn fashionLeave a comment

This week has been a series of sartorial failures. Culminating in a pair of bright pink leggings that I thought were rather cheery in the depth of winter. I may never have worn them in the presence of people who might given an honest opinion. Apparently they are never to be worn outside the house again. In the harsh reality of bright February sunshine they do look a little odd. A mixture of Elizabethan leggings as worn by my father in Shakespearian plays in the 40’s and 50’s and comedy undergarments. Just to cleanse your minds of pink legs I will share some pink Dahlias from The Dahlia Society.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnCSKecPpdT/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The rest of the weeks failures were not so much poor choices as poor timekeeping. I dressed in the morning for specific tasks, Dog Walking and Bobbing but then failed to have enough time to change before other tasks needed to be achieved. One day was spent in a rugged fisherman’s sweater and another layered up with thermal underwear. Both of these selections turned me into a sweaty mess when I was caught inside buildings with central heating. I will spare you any accompanying images and carry on the flower theme. Tulips and a hyacynth on the kitchen table.

It is one thing to live through the darkness of winter dressed warmly, quite another to emerge blinking into the sunlight in bright pink, badly fitting leggings!

#477 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photography, SerendipityLeave a comment

This morning was a bobbing morning and a small grandchild morning but not a blogging morning. The swim was sharp and crisp in a bright winter sunshine. Everything felt clean and fresh. We were not at an equilibrium, the outside air was 2 degrees cooler than the water temperature. I am still swimming in skin rather than a wetsuit so there is no faffing about really. Just in, then out to get colder and then in and the water feels warmer, not tropical exactly but just a little less cold.

In other news Drawn to the Valley had a Creative Table event at Ocean Studios yesterday.

Extra excitement was caused by the delivery of two old print machines. One was not quite unpacked but here is the badge of the one already installed.