Kitten Seeks Chocolate Box, to Adorn.

I’m not even sure if this is Jammy or Dodger! But I am sure he is beautiful.

Spud on Sunday part LXVIII

Share nicely!

Spud  the dog is discovering he may have to share some of his toys with the upstart kittens, Jammy and Dodger

He doesn’t always play ball.

Thank you all for the splendid selection of names you suggested; Jammy and Dodger as suggested by Susie C fits them perfectly*. They’re probably better names than their off screen monikers, but then our cats have never  ended up being called by the names they are registered at the vets with!  Speaking of the vets I’m still wincing from the £120  bill it cost to get the pair of them vaccinated…

*The way they’ve been screeching around the barn, Starsky and Hutch came a  very close second, they do spectacular hand-break turns.

Summers Past

And the making of memories.

Forgiving me for returning to the beach and family holidays. But a couple of   posts I’ve read this week have catapulted me back to Devon.  First there was Nancy’s post reflecting on just how many summers her family had enjoyed their favourite beach  just like the Uphilldowndale family’s love of a certain Devon beach,

then there was Sarah’s post that made me smile and recall our coastal meeting with a grasshopper.  So I nipped back to the post I’d written at the time, back in 2009, about our encounter with the artist David Measures, about his glorious art and his generosity with both his time and knowledge: sadly, when I followed the links, I discovered that David died last year.  Looking at the website of Southwell Artists I saw that Christine Measures, David’s wife, is also an artist.

When I met David he told me he was working on a book that would capture, not just the markings of a butterfly, for identification but how it moved, its mannerisms, what a bird watcher might call it’s jizz.  The slide show of Christine’s art captures both David and Devon summer holidays perfectly. Beautiful.

 

Technorati Tags: Art,Photography,Family Holiday,Beach,Seaside,Summer,David Measures,Butterfly,Paddling,Sea,South Devon

Moving Swiftly Along

Firstly an apology for the lack of a Spud on Sunday post yesterday, the day simply ran away from me! Thank you for the wonderful suggestions of names for the kittens; Spud the dog will announce the favoured names next week.

At eight AM on Saturday morning I found myself in Stockport. Personally I don’t like being in Stockport at all, but at least at that time on a Saturday there was little on the roads, its common  and tedious for the traffic to crawl along the A6.  I took Tom for his driving test theory exam, he passed.  Excellent.

I think Stockport’s most redeeming feature is the viaduct,

that bunny hops the railway line across the town,  it opened in 1840 some 11,000,000 bricks were used in its construction (now there’s a pub quiz question).

There are some still some distinguished looking mills, mainly converted to flats or for commercial use, such as storage. I imagine they must have been grim to work in. Stockport was famous for the production of hats (and is now home to The Hat Works Museum, which is worth a visit, although you could be put off by the weary website.)

Hat making was an industry renowned for the use of chemicals such as mercury to cure the felt,

“Mad as a hatter” is a colloquial phrase used in conversation to refer to a crazy person. In 18th and 19th century England mercury was used in the production of felt, which was used in the manufacturing of hats common of the time. People who worked in these hat factories were exposed daily to trace amounts of the metal, which accumulated within their bodies over time, causing some workers to develop dementia caused by mercury poisoning. Thus the phrase “Mad as a Hatter” became popular as a way to refer to someone who was perceived as insane.

Lewis Carroll grew up in Stockport, whilst Lowry drew it

One way or another, the Victorians and the Industrial Revolution certainly made their mark on Stockport’s buildings, what’s followed since though is distinctly bland (if that is not a contradiction..) I  just couldn’t bring myself to photograph the Merseyway shopping precinct

Locals from around these ‘ere parts will always talk of ‘going down Stockport’ (note lack of the word ‘to’). However, ‘incomers’ will talk of ‘going up to Stockport’. True, Stockport is north of here, so technically it is up; however it is down from the hills, that’s what makes the difference.

Technorati Tags: Towns,Mills,Transport,Buildings,History,Industrial Revolution,Hats,Hat making,Felt,Mercury

Life Drawing, by Mrs Ogg

Life Drawing.

If you think I’m going to post my efforts, you are wrong. I’ve a way to go  yet

High and Dry

When I walked east along the path from East Prawle, Mrs Ogg walked west, this is what she found.

As you can see Mrs Ogg has a sharp wit, and a keen eye for the absurd, she also has a fledgling new blog for her beautiful art, Spud  the dog is there already

I’m hoping she is going to post one of her life drawings, that she made when we attended a couple of life-drawing classes whilst we were away.  Mrs Ogg coaxed and cajoled me into going, there may have been wine involved in the negotiation: you see I’d never tried my hand at life drawing before, and I’ll admit to being a little uneasy about it all, not the nudity* you understand, I can handle that, so long as it isn’t mine!  No I was more concerned about displaying my own embryotic drawing skills in front of the other attendees, that idea made me feel very exposed indeed.

I could have turned on my sandaled heels and fled when we  first arrived, a little late (as Mrs Ogg and I have no concept of time or tide when we are immersed in the delights of Devon) and the matriarchal  class organiser announced as I peered from behind  Mrs Ogg’s shoulder ‘Right ladies, you’re new here aren’t you? Right, we’ll have a few quickies first  and would you like a donkey?’ .

I really enjoyed myself and any worries I may have had about doing a half decent job of drawing  of what I thought might be ‘the most challenging parts’ of the anatomy were nothing but a smudge of charcoal by the time I’d tried to master the nose, hands and feet of the models! I may have to find another class, and Joe and Mr Uphilldowndale could make me a donkey of my very own.

* Mrs Ogg told me later, that even by life-class standards, the male model was something of an exhibitionist, which was reassuring to know, I did think the stretchy exercise he did were a little over the top!.

Technorati Tags: Art,Photography,First time for everything,Charcoal,Life-drawing,Donkey,Boats,Fields,Coast,Walking,Drawing

Seaside Rock

How quickly our seaside holiday is becoming a distant memory. How quickly the real world piles in to the vacated mind.

How heavy it has rained today! Just as well I have some holiday snaps to look back at.

On the coast path there were some fine lumps of rock (you know I’m fond of them) ancient gate posts, long since disused girded with hand forged iron.

The remnants of old walls

The bizarre weather we’ve had in UK this summer seems at least to have pleased the costal flowers, or just made them flower later than usual. I can’t ever recall  ever seeing quite so many as this year.

The insect world seemed appreciative

Just delightful really, *sigh*

Spud on Sunday Part LXVII

Spud  the dog can barely contain his excitement, he has some new playmates, granted they are a little nervous of him at the moment, after all he is much, much bigger than they are. But he just knows having them around is going to be a lot of fun (even if he has to share his Sunday post with the little scene stealers)

They are boys (we have decided having searched ‘sexing kittens’)

what shall we call them? suggestions please.

Hope is a Thing with Feathers

Coast path nr Prawle Point, South Devon

 

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune–without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickenson 1830-1886 

I’d not heard of Emily Dickenson, until I saw the work of artist Sarah Sharpe  at the Derbyshire Open Arts event, many of Sarah’s pieces are inspired by Dickenson. 

Perhaps a photo of a swallow, swift or wren may have been a daintier bird to balance the poem, but we have a bird equality policy on this blog, all birds are equal.

Sunset Cliché

Can you have too many photos of sunsets in your holiday snaps? Mrs Ogg and I discussed this matter at length (over a glass of  wine, as you do). In truth we decided that we didn’t much care, we’ll just keep snapping away.

It is as traditional as a Christmas dinner.

Mrs Ogg snapping