Wednesday’s Wood Engravers …
Still celebrating early female wood engravers I discovered a couple more. Mary Betteridge who is a lesser known pupil of Noel Rooke (1881 – 1953) and Vivien Gribble (1888 – 1932) who became a leading engraver along with Clare Leighton, Lady Mabel Annesley and others. Her wood engravings while modern were in the black line tradition of Edward Gordon Craig and Lucien Pissarro.
Weekly Photo Challenge … Night-time
I was well prepared for this challenge ; for the last few weeks my husband and I have enjoyed having our meals in the garden. We have especially enjoyed having a brazier as the evenings got cooler. So I have some nice images at hand.
However, I have been overtaken by events and am able to celebrate with a super night time image.
My daughter and son-in-law had a motorbike accident 8 months ago; each suffering a broken leg. While my daughter has recovered almost fully, my son-in-law has taken a little longer. They live in a favela in Rio and notoriously they are built precariously on the side of a hill. Babilona is no different. So it has been very difficult for them both but particularly my son-in-law to make those first steps to recovery. Walking up and down a steep hill is not easy even for the able bodied let alone those with badly broken legs.
Nonetheless, without any alternative they have persevered. This week end I have evidence that my son-in-law made it down the hill to watch a football match and now he is walking up up. I have walked this route many times and know he is a third of the way up and has long way to go yet … but this night he is getting there.
Last Week …
Last week I went to London for the day. My first stop was Paddington from where I walked to Little Venice. Such a short way from one of the busiest stations in London is a little space of quiet and calm. I don’t suppose it was like always like this. The junction between the Grand Union and the Regent Canal completed in 1820 and provided an important industrial link between Birmingham and London in the the pre-railway era.
Now, it not so busy, the barges and horse gone leaving the only pedestrians and cyclists along the towpath. While its is mooring place for the narrow boats that come and go there a also a vibrant community of permanent homes.
Silent Sunday
Saturday and a salute to Snail Mail!
As a child I had pen pals; half a dozen or so in various countries near and far. We would send each other letters, snapshots and gifts to and fro; learning about family life and different cultures. The procedure was long, as the letters would take weeks to arrive. Air mail was quicker but more expensive and there was a weight restriction. Service mail was cheaper but much longer we would have to plan letters to coincide with birthdays and Christmas with care.
Then there was the time spent absorbing the new knowledge and dispelling more with a perfect hand, spelling and even better grammar!
My home life was not as happy and comfortable as I would have liked. Through these letters I was able to elaborate on the joys and not dwell too much on the less attractive bits. Looking back, my letters probably read little like ‘Swallows and Amazons.’ All the delights of living on a river, sailing and firewood collecting ; overlooking the discomfort and the post war shortages.
I also enjoyed painting and drawing I would spend hours in a world of my own imagining myself in colourful and rich surroundings. Sadly, my girlhood dreams to be an artist and or a writer were not fulfilled until 50 years later when my family had all grown up and left home leaving me space to be creative. I now enjoy losing myself in my blog or artwork. To add further joy I have found a pen pal she is a professional artist and lives in Wales. Not so far flung as I have previously enjoyed but still very sophisticated and able to share the delights and despair of being an artist.
To day, I make wishes for a long and lasting pen and paint friendship with Amy no 2! (my daughter is Amy no 1) And also a salute to a friend who devised this cunning plan; Jaz the one and only 😉
PS the image is further romance from Google for which I cannot take credit but remain grateful xxx
A snapshot of another library ….
On Wednesday this week I went to London; among other things I went to the St Bride Library. I have been wanting to go for a long time but I was ill prepared. I work in a library reading room I should know it is not the place to go without preparation. Fortunately, I was able to find my way around the database and look as if I knew what I was doing ; and locate books using a rather ‘different’ classification system. So although at first it seemed a pleasant place to rest after a long day in London ; I learned a lot especially that the reading room is only open to the public on Wednesdays ; other times is by appointment. So it was a happy experience. I am also interested in chap books and there is an extensive collection there so next time there will be no awkward moments for me in the hushed and holy surroundings.
‘The St Bride Library Reading Room is part of the St Bride Foundation. In the 19th Century, Fleet Street was the natural home for the printing school and the St Bride Foundation Institute was built both as an educational and social centre for the local workforce. They benefited from the substantial library, training facilities and many additional features including a swimming pool.
Now the newspapers and printers have moved away, the St Bride foundation remains as a proud keeper of a unique collection and items relating to the craft of printing from more the 500 years of publishing and communication.’
Alphabe Thursday S is for Simple Simon
Simple Simon met a pieman,
Going to the fair;
Says Simple Simon to the pieman,
Let me taste your ware.
Says the pieman to Simple Simon,
Show me first your penny;
Says Simple Simon to the pieman;
Indeed I have not any.
Simple Simon went a-fishing,
For to catch a whale;
All the water he had got
Was in his mother’s pail.
Simple Simon went to look
If plums grew on a thistle;
He pricked his finger very much,
Which made poor Simon whistle.
These are four verses heard in the nursery or at our mother’s knee. I can remember reciting this to my brother and thinking ‘what a silly boy.’ However, we was for centuries recognised as the simpleton in chapbooks that circulated in Elizabethan times.
A ballad called Simple Simon’s misfortunes and his wife Margery’s cruelty also know as Dead and alive dates back from 1685
Wednesday … without work
There will be no blog post today from the land of Nela Bligh. I am taking a day off. I am going to take a walk I am not entirely sure where yet but it will be in London. I hope to go to the Grand Union Canal and then to the Thames without using the Tube. Sadly, the much needed rain has come today so it may not be as dry as I hoped. Nonetheless it will be an adventure; and I hope to document it fully. So I wish you all well and look forward to sharing with you at the weekend perhaps …. Have a good day!
Weekly Photo Challenge …. Endurance
Doc Martens and endurance are synonymous
These little sweeties will probably out last me!
This week …
Just noticed that there is an autumnal feel this week. However, there is still some colour and late summer sun that reluctant to fade yet.
Coat Hanger Doll's House 