Tuesday 29 May 2012

New pots for Earth & Fire

I've been trying to find time to make some extra pieces for the
Earth & Fire show at Rufford.
 These Harvest Jugs will be saved for the show
 The same but different.
 We are going to be bringing our baking dishes as well
I have an order to complete before the show so I hope I have enough left.
I thought we should show you this plate were were asked to make
for the little bakery on the side of the A303
the road to Somerset from London
the bakery has been there 100 years this year.
 You can tell Marion is in the workshop
as a few softer touches have been added.
 I had evening classes last night
and it is the best time to be in the workshop,
 The sun light is just fabulous.
 here are three of my ladies
I think the fourth had gone for a wee!
 They were making small animals for a raku firing
 and I think they excelled themselves.
No classes next week as we will be holding our village event
party in the park.
as with the Marmite
your going to love it or hate it!

Monday 28 May 2012

Sunny Barrington

Well Summer seems to have arrived in Barrington
 The shot above is looking to the left from our gate
 and this one is looking to the right.
the Tratt brothers are putting a new ridge on the large cottage.
 These are the roses on the front of our cottage.
we've been working on making 60 Breakfast bowls
for the Diamond Jubilee for the kids in the village
I was going to show you a pic but it's on my phone not the computer.
we had to put some of them on the table in the showroom
so I added a sigh just to make sure people
didn't start touching them.
It worked! so I'm going to keep it.

 The same sign could also apply here!
Caddy has been struggling in the heat. 
we also took delivery of this old grocers bike circa 1930
with it's original basket. the idea was to put it
outside the workshop with some pots.
But having seen the size of my Belly in some of the shots.
I'm going to get it sorted so I can cycle to the workshop.

Thursday 24 May 2012

End of an Era - Start of a new one

 Well it had to happen some time.
We have had the Pajero for 6 years now
We got it for Marion's horses when we both had company cars
Then when I lost my company car it became my main mode of transport. 
here it is in action, collecting wood ash. 
 we could go anywhere in it.
 and considering it's 20 years old
I always thought she didn't look to bad.
 Great in all weathers.
Ok that's going a bit far " rose tinted glasses and all"
she hated starting on a cold morning.
and quite often I'd give up and walk into the workshop
 But being old she had issues
 But she always pulled through
the number of times we thought, OK that's it.
 she never got stuck in a field
 and she was a real work horse
 But as the years wear on and her joints started to ache,
she'd done 114,000 miles
Last year she blew a radiator
and Marion and Caddy were forced to resort to desperate
measures when we were given a Skoda courtesy car.
So Now that Marion has lost her company car
and the Hangover became our only mode of transport.
We decided to shop around for a replacement. 
and here it is a Saab 93 Aerodeck 1.9tdi sport 
she's 6 years old but looks like it's just rolled out of the showroom
twice as many miles per gallon
cheaper to run
and above all reliable.
we bought it from the Saab dealer in Yeovil
these guys did us a great deal, and took the Hangover in part exchange.
you can check out their web site here.
Thanks Guys we Love it.

Tuesday 22 May 2012

The Olympic Torch Relay

Nice early start this morning as the Olympic Torch
was passing through Ilminster at 6.57am this morning.
as you can see there was a great turn out.
 This is our good friend John Madge enjoying the moment.
This was one of the many support busses. 
and this bus was a cracker, a real blast from the past. 
This is the message of the flame
I realy like that
and my mind started thinking "Emm - Bowl logo ?

a local road sign to Barrington Court.

 and there it goes, the Flame.
another support bus with a map of the tour. 
we were lucky to be in a position that saw the flame come back up the road
this time with another lucky torch barer.

 This shot gives you a sense of the atmosphere that was just great.
I love the Olympics
I was in Trafalgar Square 7 years ago
when the annoucement was made that London had won the bid.
it was great!
and now here we are watching the flame go past us in Somerset.
Just Great!!

Thursday 17 May 2012

Big News Day Two at Barrington Pottery

Yesterday was a momentous day for us here
at Barrington Pottery.
Marion Gave up her full time job
to come and work with Me at the Pottery.
 It's a huge move for us and not something we have done lightly
so yesterday was our first day,
We decided to have a day out
and started by taking Caddy for a walk up on the hill.
We then went to Tintinhull Garden nr Yeovil

 This is a very calm and relaxing place, which gave us some
time to talk about the road ahead.
 Never miss a chance to see Rhubarb forcers in place
doing their job and looking Fab.
 I just liked the sense of scale this picture gives you.
 and these Huge Roses were a delight.
In the field opposite were a dozen or so sheep that had
 just been shorn
This little chap looked funny as he scrathed an itch
 against the gate.
We then went to Montacute House, 
a magnificent Elizabethan House
and certainly one of the most spectacular in England.
built between 1588 - 1601 

And talking of roads ahead, how's this for a drive way?
 Now that's what I call a hedge
 This is the side of the house.
 and this is the back or the front
I can't quite remember.
with so much going on it's hard to remember every thing.
 This is the back of the house I'm sure
 we loved this wood paneling, and if you look closely at
the chair they place teasles on them to stop people sitting on them.

and that's not all the news, while we were in Yeovil
we've also done a deal to trade in the Hangover
for a younger more reliable estate car.
Pics of that next week when we collect it.
I'm so excited about stuff at the moment it's all happening.
I know Marion is going to be great to have around, some one to work with
and discuss Ideas.
I can't wait!

Harvest on the Farm TV appearance

It’s great to be back on the Blog! The most exciting thing that’s happening right now, is that I’ve been asked to appear on Channel 5’s TV s...