Although the lockdown has been relaxed somewhat, as both I and my husband are in the 'shielding' category, we are still staying at home with food and other household essentials being delivered. We have taken a few short walks locally, the longest being three miles which incorporates three villages in the Coln Valley: Coln Rogers, Coln St Dennis, Calcot and back to our village of Winson. It is easy to social distance as there have been few people about when we have been out, just the odd jogger and dog walker.We start our walk off-road through the field behind our house and along a public footpath. The weather has been more unpredictable during the last couple of weeks, but the last day or so have been warm enough to sit out though a little windy. I have read that we can expect a mini heatwave over the weekend but we will see! (The latest is that it will not happen until Wednesday! NB It is now Wednesday and it is happening here in the Cotswolds) I can tell that we have had little or no rain recently as our water butts are at a low level. A daily task is to water the seedlings and seed pots (some wild rocket and basil seedlings just emerging!) in the greenhouse and also some of the plants outside which need an extra drink. At about the same time I usually put some bird food out on the front lawn: suet nibbles, suet balls crumbled up, Robin and Friends seed mix and whatever else comes to hand. Hopefully all baby chicks will have fledged soon. Only last night I saw four swifts performing aerial ballet above our house on their arrival back from South Africa.
This morning we made an application for the Self Employed Income Support Grant for my husband which went through without too many complications, so will wait and see if it appears in our bank account next week. I was considering doing the same because, although my income is much less than his, I have closed my Etsy shops and, as R says it would pay for some groceries! Latest news on that, however is that my trading income is less than my non-trading income so I am not eligible. I have had asthma since I was in my twenties and take regular inhaler medicine twice a day so believe that I would probably be at risk even though I am 64. I also have a regular winter flu jab so consider myself to be in the category of people who have to 'shield' themselves.
Like many others I have been watching the Great British Sewing Bee and particularly like the various takes on a 1940s tea dress in the first episode. The next be lingerie which I am not so sure about. I expect I am not alone in wondering when we are likely to get to visit a flea market or vintage festival again. I remember this time last year visiting the Malvern Outdoor Antiques Fair where I bought an enamel bowl which had been planted up with cacti and which is in the greenhouse at present but will soon be allowed outside as the frosts should be over for this spring (touch wood). As I am compiling my figures for last year's tax return I can see that I also bought a Peter Rabbit bookshelf with books and leaflets and a small collection of lead animal figures. About this time we also visited a couple of local car boots and the Stockton Park Vintage Nostalgia Festival.
I recently discovered a new contemporary potter through a Facebook page - her name is Mary Rich and she has a studio near Truro in Cornwall. She has been working as a full time potter since 1962 and is a Fellow of the Craftsmen Potters Association. Her pieces are known for the precious metal lustres which decorate them. I have found a few examples:
Although they are mostly functional they look far too precious to use.
If there is anybody who hasn't visited the Art Uk website now is the time - they have introduced a new tool called Curation with which anyone can curate their own art exhibition. The origin of Art UK was to record all the art in public buildings which are not usually open to the public at large, such as council offices, hospitals, schools and so on. I learnt about it at an Arts Society lecture and looked it up afterwards - the digital collection can be searched by title and artist. Their recent podcast considers the relationship between art and mythology https://tinyurl.com/ycc6fqqv
Grayson Perry's Art Club has also been fascinating: Monday's episode considered the view from your window which was very pertinent right now.
I have also been picturing some of my ceramic collection to join in with merlesvintagechallenge on Instagram in which pictures are shared in accordance with the set theme which this week is floral which is great.
Anyway that's all for now - I think I will catch some of that sunshine outside!
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