Month: November 2024

Unfiltered photo taken about 2pm today. Talk about grey…. Rather surprised to see that the Giant Loo Roll Holder was apparently operating its ‘flights’ earlier. Definitely not up for that one, but I did venture outside briefly – quite hard to stay upright in the wind tunnels near the sea.

I was taking a break from today’s business of sorting out my daughter’s flat. We’ve put it off for so long, but has to be done. Short bursts at a time seem the best answer.

I deliberately included those cast iron shells in the photo above. They are protected structures! Apparently they once stretched the length of the terrace but now only half a dozen remain. (Usual stories of being grubbed up for the war effort etc – I’m never so sure). I have seen admirers of Victorian cast iron taking careful photographs from the steps. I can’t say I see great beauty in them myself – but I do really love the passion and enthusiasm of humans with special interests in almost anything!

Images from the Argus. Not taken by me – I haven’t crossed the threshold all day. Definitely indoor time. I’m listening to Bert even now, though he has stopped the worst of his roaring. I’ve been keeping a sideways eye on the tree opposite – never seen it bend so low and would definitely reach us if it lost the battle…

The centre of the city was gridlocked earlier. Cars were taking over an hour to leave the car parks, just as people were trying to get home with their shopping. NOT fun. Apparently scaffolding had collapsed and the area was unsafe.

Much better to be in bed listening to the elements on the roof. Quite an improvement on noisy seagulls anyway- they are remarkably quiet..!

Anyone who is aware of how much time I spend messing with the dye pots (let alone with all the natural roots, flowers and bark I use in France) would not be surprised to discover that I choose the colours I work with extremely carefully.

So the apparently random selections in those three items above came as something of a surprise. It all started with an ever growing basket of leftover sock yarn, much of it trendily variegated. I simply separated out the pinks and purples, then assembled most of the blues together, and finally collected the rest. All I had to do then was swap in and out a few strong contrast colours and knit it all up at random. Three very different items, but they all make a strong impact. I’m not at all sure which one I prefer!

Working all day, then straight out to Sussex University for a rather special lecture by a very special academic.

Each time I go back to the campus it seems to have stretched in every direction. The familiar original Basil Spence sections are now dwarfed by new (and I have to say, mostly much less interesting) additional blocks. But it is still a strange emotional experience – walking back through a past life, with shadows round every corner!

The lecture met expectations on all levels – so glad I got there.

So I gave myself a day off. Just a bit of Etsying in the morning (finishing off a cowl and some leg warmers and making up an order). Since then – ignoring the potential HOURS of work on the house – I have just been reading. All day. Curled up upstairs, with the occasional coffee raid.

I actually dipped into half a dozen books- more than in the photo, but those are the ones I settled on. I enjoy being a butterfly – I often have several different books on the go at once. There is always one in my bag – but that has to be a smallish paperback or it wouldn’t fit in the zip….Then there are quite a lot (!) around my bed. Heavier tomes stay in piles near the sofa…in fact it occurs to me that I don’t move my books that much, rather I seek them out by joining them wherever they happen to be!

Today I made a start on the two smaller books above but spent most time on the middle one, which I finished. A History of Ignorance (or, in fact, of ‘ignorances’). I had not realised how many historians were currently considering this topic, which turns out to be massive. Peter’s book above has such an impressive range of detailed examples – and elegantly written as always. A great read!

PS – he is giving a lecture on the same topic at the University (Sussex) tomorrow so I may learn even more!