Month: Mar 2023

#507 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Family, Serendipity7 Comments

What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?

Here is another Jetpack ( My blogging platform) suggestion, that did actually spark a ponder. My middle name is Anne. To the best of my knowledge it has no special significance. However coupled with a first name of Juliet it creates a spelling minefield, perhaps less so in the digital age, but certainly as child and young adult I would say that at least 75% of the time I would have to correct peoples spelling of my names. Constantly removing an additional T and E from my first name and donating the E back to my middle name. Juliette Ann felt as alien as being called Geoffrey or indeed Jeffery.

A proper first world problem that I have only ever discussed with my friend Marianne ( Marion) until this week when I met a fellow artist called Norah (Nora) who expressed the problem in a different way to me. Marianne and I would agree that the wrong spelling feels uncomfortable, itchy even, just not right. Marianne has lived her life with a curious sentence. ” Marianne with any” meaning with N and E.

Norah went further , she said without her H she felt lopsided, and again the word, uncomfortable. Without her H, she said she cannot function effectively.

What’s in a name?

If I were an actor or musician I would likely have to have a stage name and that would be just fine, I could be comfortable with that. A completely different personna who did glamorous things in exotic places. While Juliet Anne returned home to do the prosaic things of Normal Life. I do not have an imagined stage name to hand.

Had I been a boy I was to have been named Noel after a much loved uncle who killed himself during my mothers pregnancy. Thank goodness that didn’t happen. If I had been a boy I would like to have been called Barzilian after my paternal great grandfather, with a middle name of  Zebediah. I would be known as Zeb. Heaping bad name spelling on my male self by the bucket load. The idea of introducing myself as Zeb is actually quite thrilling. Oh to actually be part of the boy gang with all the privilege that brings.

Names are prescient this week. We welcomed our third granddaughter into our tiny family on Wednesday.

Cecily Bea is one of  a trio of small girls who make up our next generation. Surely some spelling confusions there, especially as Bea is pronounced Be-ah.

She already has a small confusion she was born quickly on Tuesday evening, no time for any worries or concerns, but she was actually born in the early morning of Thursday in Hong Kong. The time difference making a date difference. Whenever, wherever and whoever she is most welcome.



			
					

	




			
				


				
		

		

			
#506 theoldmortuary ponders

						

				On  By theoldmortuary.designIn art, Serendipity2 Comments			

					


		

			






Windy days have an energy about them. From the comfort of indoors the gusts and howls down the chimneys are as close as I get to the outdoor action. I was blown about a good bit yesterday. I wanted to paint wind coming up against something immovable. Smeaton’s Tower seemed like a fairly wind resistant structure.










Yesterday, was an artists meet-up. 25 or so of us met up to talk about important stuff like future exhibitions and just to get together to swap news and most importantly to share knowledge. We always take something to work on. I took my windy painting, others took knitting, sewing, jewellery making. Coffee and cake were also involved, of course. Without a single emblem of Spring, the whole event felt like our creative community was fecund and ready to burst out into the world after a winter of doing our thing, largely confined to our own homes and studios.





Talking is the biggest attraction of these monthly events and true to form I did a lot of that. Diligence was required to get this sketch finished before sunset.










I also had a little bit of fun overlaying the photograph with the painting. Possibly increasing the sense of a storm. What do you think?







			
					

	




			
				


				
		

		

			
#505 theoldmortuary ponders

						

				On  By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment			

					


		

			






A big day yesterday. After 5 years with my trusty smart phone it was time to move on. Just like me the phone was getting a little cranky. It had not had the best of starts. Almost on day one I had dropped it and the back had crazed like a windscreen. But as luck would have it the silicone cover I had ordered arrived on the same day and the injury was largely unseen and forgotten until recently, when things started to get a little loose. Charging became a bit hit and miss and sometimes the touch sensitivity was just a little off. Under normal circumstances I would have just upgraded, but Huawei no longer sell phones in Europe. So here I am, the first blog on a new phone. A lot to learn so only small pondering. The top picture was generated by Google Photos and shows the location of an International Womens Day gathering that I attended yesterday. There was a lot of cake.










There were also fabulous books, clothes and bric a brac to exchange.I returned home with less than I took, which is a positive, and full of good food and lovely anecdotes from everyone I met there. Donations were made to the Disasters Relief Fund and the total raised will be divided between the ongoing work in Turkey and Ukraine.





And so, first time to push the publish button on my new phone.







			
					

	




			
				


				
		

		

			
#504 theoldmortuary ponders

						

				On  By theoldmortuary.designIn art, SerendipityLeave a comment			

					


		

			

©theoldmortuary





International Women’s Day. Pondering this is not hard, how dreadful is it that such a day is even needed. Time to reflect on what it is to be a woman in the 21st Century and time to wonder how things will change for everyone’s daughters and granddaughters who will live into the 22nd Century.





©theoldmortuary





I had a quick digital rummage for any sketches of women in my portfolio. I think all of them are quite strong images, this matches my view of the women that I choose as my friends.










I’ve never been a fan of women who  adopt subservience to men or who rely on a man for their place in society or those who give up their financial independence to just be an adjunct to a man or men. Strong, competent, effective women are much more my cup of tea.










International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate all the wonderful women who have supported and encouraged me with positive words and actions. A day to reflect on those who have been less than kind too, they also helped to form me. As did the many men who are enlightened enough to know that they are our equals.










The world will be a better place when men and women can work together from an equal position of strength. For 365 days of the year. No special days needed. 





©theoldmortuary







			
					

	




			
				


				
		

		

			
#503 theoldmortuary ponders.

						

				On  By theoldmortuary.designIn dog walks, SerendipityLeave a comment			

					


		

			






Yesterday’s blog was hijacked by a large Seagull poo. There was no way to talk about the beautiful beach that we found just a few steps away from the sculpture mentioned in yesterday’s blog. https://theoldmortuary.design/2023/03/06/502-theoldmortuary-ponderd/





At 9am this beach was too warm to wear a coat. It was a completely perfect suntrap. A coffee and two happy dogs made for a lovely early morning start. This little beach collects light weight metal detritus. A tiny aluminium accessory could be posed as a tiny piece of land art.










There was also a small verdigris square of a light metal that had washed up.










Beech combing and coffee done it was time for a walk. The sunburst lichen was a very uplifting place to stop and bask in the real sun.










While watching seabirds fishing for breakfast in a fascinating pool of water in the sea.










If we had found all this on a holiday walk we would have been thrilled but as it was only 30 minutes walk from home it was good to share it with the dogs.










I also found a lovely old bench in bright sunshine for Pondering with a capital P.










An early morning well spent. 


			
					

	




			
				


				
		

		

			
#502 theoldmortuary ponders

						

				On  By theoldmortuary.designIn Plymouth1 Comment			

					


		

			






A monumental early morning, my first time with Rusty Reg on his own. Look II by Antony Gormley is usually surrounded by people rod fishing. They don’t really appreciate people wanting to take pictures and I don’t really appreciate taking pictures with bits of fishing rod altering the silhouette of a fine piece of sculpture.

























This morning, no fishing, some early morning sunshine and a lot of lovely   rust.










Not all of it of the monumental kind.





Just behind Look II there is a commemative plaque, slightly monumental, that celebrates the achievement of Francis Chichester.










And then, just a few steps away, was a monumental Seagull shit. So utterly monumental I had to put my coffee cup down to give a sense of proportion.










I am so very glad I side stepped that. Monumentally glad. 


			
					

	




			
				


				
		

		

			
#501 theoldmortuary ponders

						

				On  By theoldmortuary.designIn ponderingLeave a comment			

					


		

			

Rather a late blog. No particular reason. Certainly not giddy celebrating of blog 500.Our weekend plans have flipped completely and maybe that has affected my time line. For whatever reason I overslept considerably this morning leaving no gap for some gentle Pondering before the day started. A news article piqued my interest as I was scrolling while cooking breakfast. It seems that one of my favourite doors has a life of its own beyond its home town of St Ives or my blogs.










This 200 year old door is opposite the kitchen window of a cottage that we like to rent in St Ives during the winter months. Below is the 2018 article that popped up while I was scrolling. 





https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/famous-st-ives-green-door-1833083





I hastened to Pinterest and Instagram and had a look at their picture grids of the door.














Pinterest and Instagram





It seems I am not the only person to find old doors with flaking paint fascinating. 





https://www.stivesbythesea.co.uk/blogs/st-ives/the-green-door-of-st-ives-have-you-discovered-it-yet





By one of life’s wonderful coincidences we found an old, green, ghost sign in Plymouth, this example of flaky paint may not interest any branch of the various Tate Galleries but it has a green flaky charm of its own.





Below is another WordPress Blog with the exact same subject. 





St Ives – behind the green door










Flaky paint on a Sunday. Pondering is a funny old habit. 


			
					

	




			
				


				
		

		

			
#500 theoldmortuary ponders

						

				On  By theoldmortuary.designIn art, Box1 Comment			

					


		

			






500 blogs in this series. I should perhaps roll out a great big old ponder for such an auspicious number but instead I am rolling out a softer more ponderous ponder. This small sketch caught my eye. A man, or woman in a hoodie is such an iconic image of our times. The subject of this sketch specifically tells a thousand stories. My first though was that he was like any number of men I have met. Aged prematurely by the life they have led. Sinewy necks created by manual work and a mouth sunken by tooth loss. Specifically to Plymouth he looks like a crewman heading into a local pub after a few days and a few decades at sea. Straight off the boat he has not yet scrubbed up for socialising. His first pint and his crew mates don’t care what he looks like.










Crew could well be printed on the back of this man’s Hoodie. A roadie from countless world tours with rock bands. The younger roadies leap and swing from rigs and stages but this guy knows where everything goes. He knows where to get the drugs in every world city, legal and illegal, and has seen two or three generations of groupies anxious to make out with the band and him if it gets them closer. 










Every city has men like this, lost against the brickwork of our streets. Lives lived but in this moment anonymous and passed by.










But who is this man in a Hoodie?





He is a 15th Century Monk and the sketch is attributed to Leonardo Da Vinci. 1452-1519 A simple sketch, so many stories to be imagined. A man we see nearly every day. Somewhere. And for the 500, this man is a little over 500 years old. 





©The Box


			
					

	




			
				


				
		

		

			
#499 theoldmortuary ponders

						

				On  By theoldmortuary.designIn Hugo and Lola, Serendipity, Travels, VividLeave a comment			

					


		

			

©Time Out





On this one occasion where @theoldmortuary goes Time Out follows, albeit at the number 7 spot on their list of most overlooked places in the world. Who even knew @theoldmortuary was quite so on trend!





https://www.timeout.com/travel/worlds-most-underrated-travel-destinations





I’ve copied and pasted the Plymouth section so I can use my own illustrations and add my own small pearls of wisdom. Actually these Pearls are of wealth and not mine to share. There is every possibilty these Pearls passed through Plymouth in the 16th century. Elizabeth I favourite man with very dubious morals, Francis Drake, opperated almost exclusively out of Plymouth. She liked gifts and he supplied them. 





The Armada Portrait, currently at The Box Plymouth. 





Plymouth, England
If the Devon city of Plymouth were any smaller, it’d be considered a jewel of a day-trip destination. If it were any bigger, it simply couldn’t be overlooked. Perhaps because of its middling size, it’s slipped under the radar, and that’s pretty unfair, if you ask us. I like a city that I can do most things by walking or using public transport, not always possible but defiantly achievable most days. Like art? The Box is a brilliant, recently opened gallery that celebrates local artists.





Local artist, not celebrating. 





 Like architecture? You’ll be dazzled by the newly done-up Market Hall, which also has its own ‘immersive art dome’.





@theoldmortuary goes there often, good coffee and cake, 360 degree films and a memorable lesson in Aerial Yoga. 





Like swimming? Few pools are more spectacular than the Tinside Lido.





Tinside, fun swimming and fuels my obsession for abstract photography through glass bricks. 





 Like gin? England’s oldest distillery is smack bang in the historic city centre.





Cocktail from a glug jug. 





 Book a room at the Bistrot Pierre B&B, in the revamped Royal William Yard, and you’ve lined up pretty much the perfect weekend away.










No need for a room at Bistro Pierre but @theoldmortuary can easily bore the socks off you all with our daily dog walks here.





Thanks to Time Out for giving me an excuse for a quick dip into my photo archive. Congratulations for getting to Friday with me. 


			
					

	




			
				


				
		

		

			
#498 theoldmortuary ponders

						

				On  By theoldmortuary.designIn Jetpack Prompts3 Comments			

					


		

			






Describe the last difficult “goodbye” you said.





The new-to-me blogging platform gives daily prompts to inspire. I have used one of them last week but more as a reaction to it than inspired by it. This one similarly made me think that some of the most difficult goodbyes are the ones that were not said. I would be loath to rank my many sad, difficult awkward or even life changing goodbyes. But the ones I didn’t get to have are poignant, raw, saddening at their worst and wistful at best. There are so many things that we do in life for the last time, without knowing. Experiences that we will never have again.  A group of people or person we will never see again. A place we will never return to. Thankfully this is often a good thing so I don’t need to over think this, but in response to this prompt, I would say some of the most difficult goodbyes are the ones I didn’t have. Occasionally the non-goodbyes swirl around in my head, they are inconclusive thoughts, little whisps of love, happiness, familiarity or friendship, locations or experience. Insubstantial like clouds or candy floss there is a beginning but no end, just infinite regret, sometimes, and acceptance, eventually.