Yorkshire Sculpture Park - Jaume Plensa Exhibition

On my recent visit to Yorkshire my friend Sue suggested we go to the Jaume Plensa Exhibition  http://www.ysp.co.uk/exhibitions/jaume-plensa.   Having lived in Yorkshire I knew the reputation of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and knew it would be good and just how good.

I did not know the artist Jaume Plensa except that he is Spanish (Annie if you can manage it you must see his work)!

I took lots of pictures and I'll share them as I recall my sense of the exhibition itself.   
The artist used language and words to develop a curtain of poetry of language which visitors were encouraged to read and caress.   This reminded me of tibetan prayer wheels where if you turn the wheel the prayer is said.   This curtain allowed you to caress the words creating a tinkling sound of whispers.

 It was a glorious bright sunny day and the curtain was reflected on the opposite wall.  A range of world languages were use.

The exhibition was separated into internal and external exhibits.   One room housed a number of gongs which visitors were encouraged to hit with a mallet and listen to and feel the sound being made.   Each of the gongs made a different sound in the room and if you stood in front of one after giving it a hefty hit the sound reverbrated in your ribcage - very powerful.   The gongs had text written in the centre not readily seen on this picture.

Another of the internal exhibits was a room full of heads and again there were differences in terms of race but also of expression.   What were they thinking??????

Moving outside I was struck by two large see through head sculptures which were placed on top of the exhibition centre.  

There was something about being able to see through them and take in the landscape of the YSP that made it feel as if they belonged and in a surreal way made me think of Alan Bennett's - 'talking heads' series especially as they had rather a Churchillian look about them.






and I'll finish with a last piece a scuplture of a figure which you could walk inside of and made me feel that I was being hugged and wrapped in words.

This was the best exhibition I've been to in a while - if any of my readers get the chance to see Jaume Plensa's work grab it with both hands - you won't be disappointed.

The Hot Toddy cure all

Apologies for my absence readers.   I've been off to Yorkshire catching up with friends and neighbours before the season of goodwill - now there's a thought does goodwill only happen at Christmastime?   I think not but it is nice to dedicate a season as a reminder for us.

Anyway the joys of catching up caught up with me in the form of 'dreaded lurgy' or cold/chest infection.

I am now surfacing from the duvet and looking out of my window onto a sunny interspersed with snow showers winter scene - brrrrr.  

I don't know about you but I hate being ill.   Thankfully I only catch a cold about 1/2 times a year which is just about the number I can cope with.

My tips for coping - a strong hot toddy before sleep.   Whilst I'm not recommending this as medication it somehow makes the feeling of being unwell bearable.

This set me thinking where does the 'hot toddy' idea come from.   Google searches turned up ideas such as:

• it comes from India (toddy being a palm from which wine is made) and so like a lot of language did it come over to Scotland as part of our colonial past?
• it comes from Tod's Well in Edinburgh - which used to supply water to the good people of that fair city
• before the cocktail there was 'the toddy'

Does this matter - not a jot I say all I know is that when I'm feeling grumpy with a cold a 'hot toddy' eases my discomfort.   Here is my version:

A good slug of whisky (you might choose rum or brandy - your preference)
Add a dollop of honey and tsp. of fresh lemon juice (your preference might be sugar)
Add hot water to fill your mug
A sprinkle off nutmeg to finish and voila!

Quirks from a ....versatile blogger nominee!

Thank you Annie (chocolateannie.blogspot.com) for this lovely nomination I can't remember the last time I was nominated for anything and the feeling is wonderful!

I sat back when I read your nomination and pondered (blogging is great for pondering I'm finding) on versatility which I associate with being adaptable and flexible.   Yes I thought I am those things when I'm in work and or indulging in the things I love such as travel; hiking and pointing the camera at something of interest.  

It's lovely to now link this description to my blogging which I would have described up to now as
' the randomness of a toy shop window".

Of course being nominated comes with responsibility as following the instructions from Annie I have to identify 5 other potential nominees as well as own up to 5 personal quirks.

On the nominations front I must be honest and say that I have not been very good at exploring the world of co-bloggers - this will be put to rights over the next month when I will explore with gusto in order to pass on 5 nominations so watch out if I visit your blog it is with a hidden purpose - oh I feel like a mystery shopper!

Turning now to the quirks - well my mind went blank and so I shared this task out to friends and asked them to come back to me with what they believe are my quirks so in no particular order:

My inability to go into a bookstore without buying a book -  this is so true I don't blink at spending £££ on books and do blink and splutter when it comes to clothes and other things.

My apre-walk ritual - of taking a warm long soak in the bath fortified by a large whisky and whatever book I'm reading at the time.

When the ironing basket gets full - I can only face it with the help of a good black & white movie to transport away from this most boring of tasks.

My face speaks before I do - I've never quite got the hang of 'masking' what I'm thinking much to the amusement of friends and colleagues alike who bring this to my attention - always after the event!   Ah well.

Never wearing skirts - and if the need arises floor length is my preference

So there you have it quirks and all!

Rambling a salve for big thoughts...........

Today I awoke to a beautiful bright if slightly misty November day.   What better way to celebrate its loveliness than to go for a ramble.   My chosen spot is not too far away from home just past the next village Inverkip and is a combination of the Overton Trail and the Greenock Cut.   This provides a 6/7 mile meander which looks down over the Firth of Clyde and on days like today the views take you over towards the Arrachar Alps.   I enjoy this walk and come up often to clear the head or just to use the space to work things out.

Looking over the Firth of Clyde towards the hills

My head today was puzzling over - poverty; what is the difference between then and now.   This and related thoughts have been running round my head after I enjoyed a theatre weekend in Inverness at the Eden Court Theatre to see Men Should Weep | National Theatre of Scotland.   

The play is set in Glasgow tenements in the 1930’s and paints a picture of the hardship and poverty of the time.   As I listened to the language and the portrayal of life my thoughts were reflecting ...... is poverty the same then and now?

On my ramble my thoughts started to make comparisons high unemployment – then and now; the cost of feeding families.   Then there was the ‘mission’ where families could make the case for hardship and be given food / clothing.   Today we have growing food banks which distribute donated food to struggling families / individuals.   The impact within the family of the daily grind of putting food on the table; the men trying to find work; the women working two cleaning jobs to bring money home; the stress of living causing arguments and escape through alcohol.

Social attitudes have changed between then and now especially in terms of the role of women and access to and the importance of education.   Although a quote from one of the songs sung during scene changes “ ye canna hae such refinements when ye’r struggling fir yer bread” makes me think are we going backwards will potential students choose work (any work) over the cost of education?

The songs were sung by Arthur Johnstone a well known Scottish folk singer who I first came across 30 years ago when he was part of a group called The Laggan.  Their songs uncompromising and reflecting life of the workers of the world from America; Australia; Spain and Scotland were delivered clearly, strongly and with passion.   Songs like ‘I am the Common Man’ and ‘Jamara/Bandiera Rosa’.

This is certainly a hard hitting play and one which has left an impression and while there is no doubt that we have moved on in this 21^st century through technological and information access as well as social changes and improvements it strikes me that there are resonances between then and now.

Thank you Ena Lamont Stewart for bringing real life to the theatre then and for the impact the play continues to make. 

A full on visit with Rebecca

Last week I had the joy of being visited by my granddaughter for a few days and what a credit she is to her Mum and Dad.   We filled our time with exploration of rock pools and collected a suitable number of shells which were taken home, washed and carefully set aside for the trip down south.

We also took a trip on the Rothesay Ferry which was the first time Rebecca had been on a boat.   There was too much going on for her not to be a good sailor.   Like her Granny she enjoys taking pictures and was armed with her camera to take pictures for her friends back at school.

We also baked up a storm with muffins, scones and pancakes adding to the larder and then just had a cuddle.   How enjoyable these cuddles are.

Work interrupting reverie.........and things breaking down!

I've been busy this past week working on a tender for a possible contract lots of effort and time goes into these things with rewards coming thin on the ground - still needs must when the devil drives and I'd be bored without some work coming in not say poorer.

The pressure of deadlines - and do printers 'know' when a deadline is lurking?   I'm sure that the printer gremlin was at work when my printer decided not to speak to my computer; to chew up paper and not spit it out; finally refusing to switch on at all.   Nothing for it but to check how cheaply I could get a new one.

Having said that I did manage to escape to the hills on Wednesday the only good weather day this past week.   Just an hour north of where I live there was snow on the tops!!!  

Picture taken on smartphone except I'm not smart enough to transfer it to PC yet as the smartphone software on my PC tells me it doesn't recognise my phone!   Stupid machine and why are they programmed to state the obvious or worse still try and second guess you when you create a document - no I am not writing a letter and yes I'm sure I want to delete this!!   Rant; rant.

In between thinking about the work deadline I'm getting ready for my granddaughter to visit next week - only one more sleep.   Don't know who is more excited!  

What happened yesterday - my sky box dies.   Thankfully engineer coming on Monday morning to fix as can't be without favourites like Peppa Pig and Dora the Explorer which are part of the night time ritual before book reading.  

In preparation - just to keep the Scottish / Irish roots alive for my Scottish/English granddaughter I'm going to introduce her to the 'Katie Morag' books by Mairi Hedderwick.   Katie lives on the Isle of Struay.

A fun packed week will be in store with promises having been made to explore rockpools; do some baking; visit a 'secret forest'; go on a ferry - lets hope I can keep up!

This morning I passed one of my neighbours as I was taking my broken printer to the garage for storing until I can get to recycle it.   Bemoaning my two broken pieces of electrical equipment Eddie advised me to 'break a match' which would then be the 3rd thing.   Why wait when you can take charge - so I did.

Feather Quills - the only way to learn to knit

When I was at primary school around 7 years old we were asked who in the class could knit.  There were only two of us who could and this is the story of how I learned.

My Aunt Catherine taught me to knit during one summer on holiday in Cruit Island, Donegal.   Catherine was my Dad’s sister and she lived on the farm looking after my Grandfather and doing all the usual tasks like feeding chickens etc.   During the summer the house was always busy because other uncles and aunts would come back and visit especially to help on the farm taking in the hay; tending to the cows, gathering crops or fixing up the house.   One year my uncle Dominick caught this huge salmon which was the first time I had ever seen and tasted salmon.   I remember it being divided up so that it could be shared with everyone and the feast enjoyed - with potatoes of course!

Anyway back to the knitting.   Catherine was a professional knitter; big boxes of wool would arrive which she would turn into jumpers, cardigans and shawls which were then posted off.   The type of knitting Catherine did was of course Aran knitting and some of the names of the stitches I remember her telling me about were blackberry stitch; the diamond pattern; cable and moss stitches.   

I must have pestered her about learning or more likely she tried to keep me still and in the one place.

At that time in the late 1950’s the knitting needles were made of steel or some other metal because I remember the clicking noise they made as Catherine knitted away.   I’m sure she didn’t trust me with the real thing and not surprising since I would have only been 5/6 years old.  

Catherine made knitting needles for me from stripping the long tail feathers from the Rooster – I’m sure he was not best pleased with losing a couple of his tail feathers.   The feathers were stripped back leaving the white quill.   These were to be my knitting needles.  

I have shared this story before with friends and always get a quizzical look and I'm sure that using quills was the way Catherine was taught and so this was the method she passed on to me.

I can’t remember the trial and error of learning to knit and I’m sure there must have been some – either it was something I just ‘took to’ or Catherine was a really good teacher.  

Catherine never used a knitting pattern and had a great knack of just looking at someone and knowing what size to make the jumper or cardigan.    In fact many years later when my own daughter was about 2 years old I sent up to date pictures over to her and she presented me with a beautiful cardigan which fitted perfectly.

So when it came to that day in school – imagine my disappointment when the first thing we knitted in class was a dishcloth out of some grey material which was not even wool.

Now – to answer your question do I still knit?  

Well I still have my knitting needles (you'll be pleased to read that I've graduated to using the real thing) and have knitted for friends and family when the mood takes me.   I did lots of knitting when my children were small and knitted for my nephews when they were growing up.   Yes I love Aran knitting however I follow patterns and for me it’s a winter pastime which means the time is now right for passing this skill on to my own grand-daughter.    With quills or not with quills - that is the question???