A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...

To All of Our Customers

and Fellow Bloggers.

It's been a very busy, but great year

here at Barrington Pottery.

and now it's time for some rest & relaxation at home with Marion.

We have the house decorated all with natural things 

Picked from the hedgerows and woods in and around Barrington.

I was pleased to walk in the kitchen on Christmas day

and see this on the kitchen table.

For me that's what potting is all about.

Plain and Simple. 

We spent a day out yesterday

this is Golden Hill in Shaftsbury Dorset

It was used in the Hovis Commercial about 30 years ago.

We also stopped off at Abbotsbury Nr Bridport

we could hear the sea in the distance

and we walked down a lane until

we turned the corner and there it was.

The Workshop will be closed now until

Monday the 10th January.

Happy New Year to you all.

Pottery Open Today Wednesday 22nd and 23rd December

Despite the snow I am in the workshop

10am - 1pm & 2pm - 4pm

I'm taking a break for lunch

as I need to go and get some things.

We now have hot water and heating again at home

thanks to our friend John Carter.

I have some Wassail cups in stock and some 1 Pint Tankards. 

Cadbury will be here as well this afternoon. 

Great for last minute presents. 

It's Snow Time.

It's Snow Time here in Barrington,

We woke up this morning to more heavy snow fall.

The pump on our central heating boiler

gave up the ghost yesterday.

So we have no heating or hot water at the moment.

So the decision to walk to the workshop this morning

was not to hard to make. 

Me and Caddy took the quick route through the fields at the back.

 and we got the chance to stop and talk to the horses.

Not that I'm doctor Doolittle or anything.

These two look like Batman & Robin.

I'm sure Caddy was thinking the same.

We managed to get through the gate that was frozen solid.

and we made it to the workshop. 

As you can see it is just above freezing in the workshop

and I have to sit a do the writing on these two bread crocks

that will take me 3 hours at least.

so to stop me freezing up in the process

I'm going to put the raku kiln on again.

What a difference a day makes.

I'm in the middle of an episode of mild peril myself at the moment.

I cant show the full pots at the moment

because they are orders for Christmas with Names on.

But Two Bread crocks with names on have cracked in the biscuit firing.

10 days before Christmas.

I've made some replacements an I'm hoping I can get them completed

in time. I sense The use of a gas burner coming on.

This was the scene out side the workshop at about 3pm yesterday. 

And this is it at about 10.30 this morning. 

I'm not expecting to see any customers today.

Even Caddy didn't want to go out in it.

I've got the Raku kiln on as a heater.

"Busy" Isn't a long enough Word to describe how Busy is !!

I've been so busy I haven't had time to do any blogging

and I had mislaid my camera for the past 4 days.

I found it in the bottom of a bag full of tissue paper this morning.

I've been doing local Christmas Craft markets which have gone very well

The Screen Bites event at Barrington Court on Friday evening

proving to be the most interesting.

Especially when the strong smell of fumes came up from the

Cellar and set the smoke alarm off.

We spent 45 minuets stood in the car park waiting for the fire brigade to

give us the all clear to go back in. 

I've been having lots of firings, but I haven't put pictures up of the pots

because most of them are orders for Christmas presents

and I didn't want people spotting them before they

 get them as gifts. 

And of course it's been very cold with temperatures as low as -11oc

But it does look stunning. 

Luckily I got the Pajero started again after 10 days of cold weather.

Just a few pots to finish before a well earned break.

FIFA Crooks

The great thing about having your own blog,

is that it gives you a platform to say what you think.

Yesterday I was in the workshop listening to the England Bid

to host the football world cup in 2018

to Fifa on Radio 5 Live.

The presentation was Brilliant and I felt a real sense of pride

 & a lump in my throat,

They had done a brilliant job.

And to only get Two votes

was a Joke.

I shall say no more. Crooks!!!

On a more pleasant note, the snow has been falling here

for the past few days and this morning it is -11oc 

Still walking to the workshop through the Village is a real treat.

The tree outside the pub looks great. 

and the workshop looked a picture.

The Berries also looked great.

This was a worrying site,

my workshop windows looked frozen on the inside.

and sure enough they were and still are.

luckily I had left a small fan on on the Freeze setting

so it only cut in if it got below freezing inside.

The 10 tankards and six jugs I had put handles on yesterday

have survived the night.