Author: theoldmortuary.design

theoldmortuary has been a blog for about five years. It has evolved into an almost daily event. Pondering on the things that are inspired by my daily life. Often mundane, sometimes repetitive I swerve from hyperlocal activity to big and small thoughts without blinking an eye. I am an artist and writer. My hometown is Plymouth in South West England, part of me will always be connected to London and another part loves to travel.

#679 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Bobbing, Stonehouse1 Comment

Bright October sun gave me this image yesterday. It was a day for walking and enjoying good weather. The rust coloured scratches on the paving slab caught my eye as the orange leaf briefly landed at my feet. I had no idea until later that the shadow had formed such a perfect leaf shape. Nature and sun accompanied me on my coastal meanderings.

The sea was in a very calm mood, so much so that I was tempted to go for a solo swim despite having a 6pm one booked with the bobbers. Waiting was the right idea. We were not alone in the bay, a small choir of women had gathered on the beach. As we swam they sang. Strange unknown sounds filled the cove. The incoming tide pushed them closer and closer to the small cliffs that surround our swimming area. If this had been a summer or winter solstice we might have anticipated such an unusual experience. Even the pragmatic bobbers crack out a candle or two for special swims. No merfolk were summoned while we were swimming. A fat seal snacked on a big fish. We probably stayed in the water a little too long, but unexplained singing to the sea is not our usual experience of the Wednesday evening bob. The moment was quite cinematic . The singing was not exactly joyful, New-age , part chant, part song; soaring notes with harmony and discordance woven together. There was a lot of hugging. We clambered out as their last notes filled the air. Hot drinks were needed by both groups of women. The magic , or moment, broken by the need to warm up, and for the bobbers to chatter about their mid-week lives. Chocolate may have been involved.

The evening dog walk fueled by a left over bobbing chocolate.

P.s This blog was deliberately written before I have had the chance to email one of the singers to ask what they were doing.

After the bob we learned that one of our Bobbers’ mothers had died the previous day, I wish she could have been with us last night, as a singer she would have appreciated what ever it was we experienced.

Pps Here is the email I sent and the answer.

#678 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Family, SerendipityLeave a comment

What skill would you like to learn?

My daytime yesterday was a series of jobs. Intrinsically with not a jot of anything worth blogging about. Apart from the evening which was fab. But sometimes the prompts that my blogging platform puts out each morning hit a nerve. This morning was such a moment. Yesterday I ran out of sticky tape to wrap a parcel. I had also run out of a specialist tape used for framing pictures. It made logistical sense to buy both from a specialist art shop. But as you can see there are four items in the above picture. Nowhere on my mental shopping list did a rose gold highlighter or an off-white marker feature. My exact thought as I walked out of the shop was .Why can I never just buy the two really dull items? Why does every trip to an art shop tempt me to buy more materials?

So with the two additional items in hand I then ponder where the fault lies. The culprit I decide is the specialist framing tape. I could have popped in anywhere and picked up parcel tape and just picked up parcel tape. But Loxley Gumstick Handy Artist Gummed Tape is a very dull looking product. I had to search it down . Past every known and unknown art product.

Then my pondering attention turned to the parcel tape. Had I not needed it to wrap a birthday gift, I would not have needed to be anywhere near the art shop because the framing tape was not a super urgent need.

Is not buying unplanned items a skill?

Is it even possible in an art shop ?

Two questions worthy of a ponder…

Maybe the blame lies with the birthday girl whose parcel needed wrapping.

Maybe I should just accept that for a trip to an art shop, only two unplanned items was not such a bad result and that the fault is all mine.

#677 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn dog walks, Serendipity1 Comment

My little corner of the southwest of England has emerged from a few days of low cloud. Not exactly our familiar greige but just very low cloud, making life a bit damp. Another unwelcome side effect is that all the brightly coloured autumn leaves become a rather dull shade of brown as soon as they spend any time on the ground.

Autumn is a tricksy time for dog owners, hunting a poo, even one done at the end of a lead can be so difficult even in brightly coloured leaves.

This beautiful leaf was in Dulwich Picture Gallery Park. Somewhere I have hunted autumnal poos often. There is a wonderful sculpture by Peter Randall-Page that celebrates doggy defecation in the same park.

Walking the Dog I, II, III by Peter Randall-Page

No chance of missing those doggy dollops. But real life is not like that,so my autumn will be spent peering into piles of leaves. I don’t always find my target, so by way of reparation I pick up a less diligent dog owner’s abandoned poo. There is something slightly uncomfortable about picking up a cold anonymous poo. Community spirit is not always comfy.

#676 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

What’s your #1 priority tomorrow?

Rather a lovely but not interesting answer. My Grand daughters first Birthday. However if we roll back a year my response would be different. The tomorrow of exactly one year ago was my daughters first day of her maternity leave. She was in London and I was as far west as it is possible to be in Devon. My priority for that day was to pack my Nana bag.  A bag that would be grabbed some time in the next month or so when I would be needed as number 2 birthing partner.

There was a mental list , thank goodness, because at 2a.m my granddaughter decided to start her arrival. Some of the mental list made it into an actual bag and I made it into London in time for her grand entrance. Despite the A303 doing the overnight closure thing and the London rush hour doing its daytime thing.

So if I am ever asked on the second of October what my priority for tomorrow will be. The answer is likely to always be the same.

#675 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn WordsLeave a comment
Autumn flowers in cafes.

A rather strange summer in the UK has created some lovely flowers for autumn.

Which could be considered to be natural schadenfreude. Summers misfortune has made autumn thrive.

Schadenfreude has never been my bag. I really disliked those TV programmes that invited the public to send in videos of people having minor slips, trips and falls. I don’t like pranks or practical jokes. My moral compass doesn’t take any enjoyment from other people’s misfortune. Misfortune falling upon those that deserve it is sometimes satisfying, but no more than that.

I’m pondering this because I heard a sportsman being interviewed yesterday and he was asked if he had Schadenfreude when a team that did not renew his contract immediately hit a period of poor performance.

There was a long awkward radio silence, he then apologised for not knowing the words meaning. After the presenter rephrased her question there was another silence while he considered his answer.

” Why would anyone take pleasure in their friends and former team members suffering repeated defeats ” he asked.

I can only hope the interviewer squirmed at her question. She was clearly working her way through scripted questions, but had not registered that every one of his previous answers had demonstrated that he was a compassionate and thoughtful person.

I was going to ponder a different word today but Schadenfreude pushed Prescient from my mind, I should have realised that would happen!

This is quite a dry ,wordy blog but autumn flowers in cafes are brightening up the look of it if nothing else.

My big problem with schadenfreude is that there is no natural control. I once saw a man slip on a banana skin. It gave me brief pleasure to witness a cliche but ultimately he collided with a hard park bench and really hurt himself.

And so October blows in I wonder where the ponderings will take me.

#674 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Devon, Serendipity1 Comment

Farewell September, you were fabulous. Sunshine from start to finish yesterday, so a small road trip on the A38 to harvest Vitamin D on the edge of Dartmoor, at Ashburton. Prompted by my blog of yesterday I remembered to take the pile of stuff labeled ‘ Charity Shop’ actually to a charity shop. Link below to an introduction to Ashburton, a historic town founded in 1305. As with many towns in Devon I used to work there occasionally and loved the vibe of the place.

https://www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk/places/ashburton-p197593

Yesterday. Bathed in sun the town was lovely.

Vitamin D and Coffee

While drinking our coffee we were involved in someone else’s colour choices for the outside of their home.

Now that is a pretty broad spectrum of colour choices.

Personally my vote was for the really dark blue at the top of this close up picture. In September sun it was the perfect colour. Maybe not so much on days when Dartmoor pulls rain out of the sky specifically to drench anyone who foolishly has to work in the town, and be out and about. Oh Ashburton I remember your rainy days…

Another wall was in need of some tlc.

Delivering stuff to charity shops obligates a bit of a ruffle about in the stock already on display. I have a fascination for the artwork on Album or LP covers. Charity shops are a rich source of the albums that no contemporary vinyl collector would ever be interested in.

We also found a graveyard for figurines at a very reasonable price.

September is also the time of Harvest Festivals , we caught a flower arrangement on the move.

All in all a very colourful day finished off with a late afternoon swim still in sunshine.

#673 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Instagram, SerendipityLeave a comment

September. Blink and you might miss it.

I nearly did. Why do the months I love most travel at the National speed limit, and the ones I don’t care for much just linger .

At some point in September I was planning to blog about ‘Second -hand September’

The second to last day of September is hardly going to spread the word but this blog is almost a confession. For someone who fully embraces the second hand world of Charity Shops (Op shops) and EBay my September has not seen me set foot in a Charity shop. On instagram I follow a woman who writes great wisdom about fashion and second-hand purchasing and the effect the fashion industry has on the planet.

She talks sense and I plan to try and emulate her instagram account by starting one that will chart my second-hand journey.

https://instagram.com/someone_elses_elephant?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

I set up this Instagram page a while ago . Uncharted waters to do something that is not art or blogging related. As you will see there is not a single post but before September is done I will start the second-hand ball rolling.

My second-hand win of this September is a worthy starting story.

A long time ago I bought two new dresses from Toast. They are simple throw on dresses that can do a day at work or nighttime galavanting. They are still fabulous despite doing loads of twirls in the washing machine. The black one has been redyed twice. I thought they would be with me until the end of time.

Having lost my sense of taste and smell I am losing weight. Most clothes just fit me better but because of the low backed design these two dresses just hang off me, my shoulders are more out than in.

Intermittent browsing on Ebay paid off a few weeks ago. A smaller size blue dress appeared and I successfully bid on it, and am very happily wearing a perfect second hand version of a dress that I have loved for many years.

Not that the new instagram account will be all about clothes. It will be the perfect place to tell all the stories of my second hand shopping and non-shopping . Sometimes items on the shelves tell fabulous stories but are best left on the shelf…

Second-hand September, but only just.

P.s oh the reality, I realise that today not a single piece of clothing is second hand. One piece is very old and one new. Thank goodness I am sitting on a chair that was made in the 1960’s looking at a sideboard from the same era.

#672 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn ponderingLeave a comment

What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in?

Being British is to be curated from a culture that has always been a multicultural stew. As befits a small island nation that has been the subject of invasions and conquests. We also have a history as colonisers which has many negative connotations but has boosted the multicultural character of Britain. It is multicultural Britain that I am most proud of, it is my cultural heritage. Maybe I should do a genetic test to see what heritage my genes are sourced from. That question is easily answered. But where do my cultural interests come from. I honestly have no idea. I am a magpie for the cultural experiences that living in an ethnically diverse community brings. I used the word magpie advisedly; just like a magpie I see/ hear/ taste/ experience something intriguing from other cultures or heritages and immediately research/ steal the idea from any source to pop into my mental resource to be utilised later when and if appropriate. No shame.

#671 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Bobbing, weather1 Comment

Waiting for Agnes. Storm Agnes is on her way, but early this morning there was a bobber in the water. Taking a dip before the storm disrupts our coastal life.

Just one bobber and a buoy

Just like a storm the subjects for this blog are blowing around in my ponderage. 4 possible subjects all of them small. Struggling to find a common theme and realising that with forbearance and some imagination the link might be the sea.

Tasks for the day

Chores

Dog walks

Make new necklace out of three old broken ones

Sketch a merwoman/bobber taking a strong pose

Dog walks

Chores

Lets not talk about the chores but the first dog walk found a familiar bobber bobbing in Tranquility Bay. Which for now is still tranquil.

I have been holding on to three broken necklaces for some time. I moved them to this house in bits two years ago. Today was the day that I actually reused the best bits from all three. The link to the sea is tenuous but the new necklace is made mostly out of artificial pearls.

My other slightly sea related subject is a new to me accompaniment for toast.

Fishy, salty and lemony it is the perfect wake up for my post-covidly pathetic taste buds. I tried Gentlemen’s Relish but it seems my tastes are more towards the criminal than the gentlemanly.

And so onto the sketch of the day. It seems only appropriate to name her Agnes.

And now to get on with the day…

But first the sketch pretending to be art.

#670 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Bobbing, Serendipity, Words2 Comments

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Bobbing and the bobbers are a rich source of advice. So much so that isolating the best piece of advice would be foolhardy. But the wittiest piece of advice I gained from the big bobbing trunk of advice is really rather useful and it also makes me laugh out loud whenever I hear the first sentence in real life or on the radio or TV.

” Well, the ball is in their/his/her court” says the protagonist, following a disagreement or differing opinion on any number of subjects. This suggests to anyone who is listening that a point of understanding or neutrality has been reached after a period of tentative discussions or slightly uncomfortable negotiations.

The protagonist is suggesting that the next move is entirely up to the person or organisation that they have had a disagreement with.

A Bobbers additional sentence takes all illusion of control away.

” But the bat is up my arse”

Removing any scintilla of doubt as to where the real power lies.