Nothing major here, but if you want to know about ‘continuous creativity’ then this is the place to linger for a few moments.We are lucky enough to live near one of the major quilting centres in the UK. This humble showroom, situated in the middle of nowhere, draws customers from all over the world and they have a large regular clientelle. Quilting is the process of sewing two or more layers of fabric together make a figure padded material. The art has developed over the years and so the results are becoming more and more beautiful. The delightful feature of this particular centre is the benevolent proprietor, Chris, who has arranged an informal seating area where coffee and refreshments are available for anyone who wishes to come and talk about quilting or even pass the time of day. Teas and coffees are offered but all profits go to Dorothy House, which is a specialist care service for those suffering from a variety of conditions.
Over coffee, I was motivated to describe the writing workshop I had last weekend (see relevant entries) and commented that five silent people were converted into a vibrant and lively group of conversationalists after an exercise lasting about 20 min where we were given a choice of three stories to tell about ourselves, one of which was fake. I think English people need to be cranked up and they live for the most part within themselves. Push the button, and a conversational ability equal to most nationalities becomes manifest.
Here are a few examples from the quilt exhibition. Most of the pictures were available for auction in other words you put in a bid and if yours is the highest bid for that particular work, you get the quilt. I’m impressed that people virtually donate the results of many hours worked done with such love care and attention.
The Kelpies are 30 m high horse-heads sculptures built from structural steel cladding next to a new extension of the Forth and Clyde Canal in fair Kirk Scotland. They weigh 300 tons each.
Funicular railway
Rhino: where is our future? The Rhino once roamed throughout Eurasia and Africa, but habitat loss and poaching have resulted in limited distribution. The southern white rhino is now largely restricted to 5 countries; South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda
Jodrell Bank
I love colour and I love bobbins
*****
I had an interesting discussion with someone about the local coffee bar, the “Holy Cow”. The proprietress in her desire to please introduced free Wi-Fi into this rather small cafe. What has happened is that the local office workers have come in, bought a cup of coffee, and spent two hours sitting on the laptop thus blocking space for others. The problem is you cannot please everybody all the time and if you put off the locals this is a heavy price to pay when you have five members of staff. It is so difficult to get everything right and I think the proprietor has underestimated the number of people who want to use their computer for long periods. The problem is, the more comfortable you make the seats, the longer people want to stay in them. Suggestions anyone?
*****
0 Comments