Tag: Hutong Cafe. Royal William Yard.

#644 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn art, SerendipityLeave a comment

Yesterday I went back to the Arts University Plymouth to catch up on two exhibitions that I had missed during the Private View last Friday.  The BA( Hons) in Painting/Drawing/Printing and BA( Hons) in Fine Art. I have a BA ( Hons) in Fine Art. But it was the Painting/Drawing/Printing exhibition that I enjoyed the most and which inspired me to wind back the years and just do a traditional watercolour today. I was also reminded today on Facebook that before we had dogs I had cats as my painting companions.

Harry assisting thegardenpainter
The painting Harry was helping with. Private Collection.

Cats are very different art assistants to dogs. Cats are contemptuous of the creative urge and would not be involved were it not for the soft surgical drapes ( discarded unused from sterile procedures) that I used to protect the lawn and patio. Harry loved the warmth of a surgical drape but really couldn’t care about the art created as long as he remained undisturbed wrapped in plastic backed soft fabric.

The dogs rarely experience the calm of a traditional watercolour painting. I only ever do them on foreign holidays. So today was a complete surprise to them as I sat drawing for a couple of hours and then quietly painted sat in the same position for long parts of the day. Usually they feel actively involved as I move around the studio to find all sorts of different bits and pieces to add to an ongoing painting. Sometimes they can persuade me to cuddle them or find a treat. But me, just statically painting is something they never witness. Unlike Harry they were not prepared to curl up and sleep, involved but not involved. The dogs decided to sleep on my feet, alert to any movement I might make towards the kitchen. Almost unconsciously I then kept my feet very still. Which is fine until I needed to move and then they, the dogs were grumpy and my feet were surprised by the sudden return of blood flow.

We managed to avoid me tripping over a dog or two with feet barely registering my intended movements but it was close at times. The painting and the days chores were achieved. The blog is late, the only casualty of a retro art day.

The painting the dogs were helping with.

Thanks to Facebook reminding me of what a gentle art critic Harry was. And yes King William IV really did pose with a saucy leg position. See official painting below. Floodlighting is a modern addition.

Pandemic Pondering #437

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Friends and Family1 Comment

Goodness it has been a busy couple of weeks. In reality what I’m probably saying, in the context of 16 months of living through a World Pandemic. Is that I’ve had a couple of almost normal weeks. It is not my body that has noticed, particularly, but my mind. I constantly worry that I have forgotten something but actually haven’t, so far.

Yesterday I introduced a Tamar Valley friend to Tranquility bay. Tranquility Bay is just to the east of the perilously swirling waters of Devils Point where the River Tamar enters Plymouth Sound. She lives with her family,near the river, in the Historically Industrial and Horticultural areas about 10 miles upstream. It is surprising how little known these beautiful and unspoilt beaches are, even to people who live fairly close by. Seeing somewhere familiar through new eyes is always enlightening . Also because I was not swimming the dogs got to walk there too so it was a double bonus visit.

Visits for bobbing at Tranquility Bay have been quite social events this week. Family members coming along to bask in the sun and see the location of our year round swimming ( bobbing) adventures. Today was a red letter day, visitors and a full turnout of the new hoodies.

Tranquility Bay and Devils Point did not allow us to be the only vibrant attractions.

Even a flower was out being vivid  while clinging to the wall.

All this activity fueled by a Hutong Bagel!

The same bagel is attempting camouflage on the header image.

Pandemic Pondering #334

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Home Towns, SerendipityLeave a comment

A micro blog today, the storms hitting the Tamar Valley have made outdoor activities almost impossible for the last couple of days. Regular walks are taken with our heads bowed against 50 mile an hour winds coming up from the south. Bobbing has been abandoned for safety reasons.

Being focused on just keeping upright has had two bonuses. Firstly this tiny daffodil , who against the odds, is growing through tarmac, near a busy cut through. In normal times the views here are spectacular so no one looks at the ground. I cannot imagine he will be here long.

Close by on the outside wall of an old pub, that is now a coffee shop, there is some old carved graffito. The wall was offering precious shelter from the worst of the weather. Again under normal circumstances the landscape and architecture of this area would grab anyones attention. Just like the tiny daffodil the graffiti shouldn’t exist. The old pub is built of very tough stone but there is this one random stone that is soft enough to carve on.

Just a tiny search on Google brings this little nugget up.

An Ernest Deves was born in a house at the red marker position. The old pub is currently known as the Hutong Cafe.

A chance finding in the London Gazette shows us that Ernest Edward Deves was a skilled labourer in Royal Naval Dockyards.

© thegazette.co.uk
© thegazette.co.uk

The Royal William Yard, a former Royal Navy Dockyard is less than ten steps from the Hutong Cafe.

Even micro ponderings can be fascinating!