It's A...?

My latest hand-built work in progress...

Not sure yet what it will be LOL.

Lantern

Took LL down the road to Maidenhead to take part in the Christmas lantern parade through the town centre. As you can see below images*, it was extremely well supported with home-made lanterns of many shapes and varieties.

* Please excuse the relative poor quality of the camera phone pictures. My hands were getting quite numb from the cold LOL!

Recipe Of The Week?

Skittles Vodka.

Just don't use the blue ones LOL!

Ummm...?

Latest hand-built creation.

Decorated with Purple Iron Oxide and the following stoneware glazes: Copper Red, Light Oatmeal, Fiord Blue and Bright Orange Red.

Poor Show

1 Nov Blackburn 3 - 1 Reading
4 Nov Reading 3 - 0 Rotherham
8 Nov Reading 0 - 1 Charlton
21 Nov Cardiff 2 - 1 Reading
29 Nov Norwich 1 - 2 Reading

Another Import?

In addition to being encouraged to wish everyone "Happy Holidays" not "Merry Christmas" here in the UK we now have the joys of the Black Friday sales.

Given its apparent alleged origins, do we really want another imported "tradition"?

All About Alan

Just back from the cinema where we saw The Imitation Game, the story of Alan Turing and his work at Bletchley Park cracking the German Enigma Code.

The film stars Keira Knightley and the man who has a voice like treacle, Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing, father on the modern computer. An absolutely brilliant film, based on a true story, well worth a trip to your local multiplex. 

Upcoming?

Have you noticed in recent years the rather strange habit the media has of referring to something as "upcoming"?

Whatever happened to or what's wrong with describing something as being "in the future" or "coming soon"?

Ah yes for today's dumbed down society that's seen as using far too many words!

Smile!

Think this might hurt...

Poor boy.

Remember

Bright Orange Red And Marbled Green

Double joy this week, having got this Stoneware pot back from glaze firing.

Missing No More

Look what turned up after all this time! As reported here I have been expecting this pot back from firing for quite a number of weeks...

Not Good For The Royals

1 October Leeds 0 - 0 Reading
4 October Brentford 3 - 1 Reading
18 October Reading 0 - 3 Derby
21 October Bournemouth 3 - 0 Reading
25 October Reading 3 - 0 Blackpool

You Know It's Autumn

...When the trees start doing this:

And this:

Fireworks can be seen in the sky, celebrating Guy Fawkes:

And like this:

Oh and don't forget to put the clocks back tonight.

Woody

Woody Woodpecker paid a visit to my garden this afternoon and stayed a while, quite content to peck around on the lawn for grubs. That is until the fox appeared and started stalking him/her LOL. Needless to say Woody didn't get caught, far too quick!

Vascular

Time to share an sneak peak of my current ceramics project...

...but what can it be LOL..?

Decoding

Have today watched the first two episodes of the Aussie political thriller The Code featuring the lovely Lucy Lawless*.

The official title page from the series. 










This show from Australia's state broadcaster ABC owes whole lot of its style to (the BBC series) Sherlock- text and email messages float into view in front of the characters, so the viewer reads them as if personally addressed. The gripping story so far has been split between a small outback town in beautiful New South Wales and the striking Federal Parliament building in Canberra, ACT**. Unusually (at least compared with this country), the scenes in Parliament were apparently filmed around and inside Parliament House.

Well worth watching and I can't wait for episodes 3 and 4 tonight.






*Not an actual Aussie. **ACT, Australian Capital Territory.

Dip

Following my previous posting, here's a piece I'm quite pleased with. This is a stoneware clay dipped in a Marbled Blue glaze.

Drip

To prove I don't only post images of work I consider to be "perfect" or at least has gone to plan, below is a recent piece fresh from the kiln. This is a prime example of why you have to be careful when applying a glaze, to ensure that it isn't too thick.

Wycombe Swan

Simply awesome.

September Football Round Up

13 Sept Reading 3 - 0 Fulham
16 Sept Reading 3 - 2 Millwall
20 Sept Sheffield Wed' 1 - 0 Reading
23 Sept Derby 2 - 0 Reading
28 Sept Reading 3 - 3 Wolves

After 9 matches this season, the Royals are 10th in the Championship.

MIA

Reported Missing In Action.

If anyone sees this pot, in its finished glazed form, please contact me at the usual address. Last seen in mid July being sent to the kiln for glaze firing.

Ginger Beer Obsessive

Found another LOL...

... And very good it is too.

Billy Bargain

Can you believe this barely used 1000 W microwave oven was only £30 (around US/AU $50) LOL? A bit of a Billy Bargain as we say in these here parts.

Together

Blast From The Past

I was recently looking at some old music videos on YouTube, from my misspent younger years when I chanced upon British sister act Mel and Kim and their 1987 hit Respectable. Re-watching I was reminded quite why my impressionable twenty-ish, red-blooded male self liked this video so much LOL.

Anyway enjoy this hit from another time, complete with unmistakable Stock, Aitken and Waterman production values.



Disclaimer: This is a non profit making Blog. Copyright of the above music video remains with the respective authors and rights holders. No infringement intended. Content provided by YouTube.

Hundred Or One Hundred?

Have been quite enjoying the US drama The 100 (pronounced The Hundred and not The One Hundred apparently) on E4. It zips along quite nicely; a short (for US TV) series/season of 13 episodes seems to have concentrated the story rather than dragging things out over a full 22 instalments. I see a new series of 16 episodes has been commissioned for later in the year.

The official logo of the series.









It's not too taxing for sure but quite fun and no expense appears to have been spared. My only gripe is how impeccably turned out all the characters appear to be, even the savage "grounders" don't look too shabby. According to the story-line the heroes have been in orbit over a post-nuclear Earth for 100 years, with extremely limited resources yet their clothes are pristine and well fitted, and their teeth are all beautifully white and straight LOL.

Feeding Time At The Uni

The sun put in a welcome appearance today. Just right for stretching your legs around the grounds of the University of Reading. Good job we had bread at the ready- the ducks, geese and swans were remarkably hungry and pleased to see us.


"Those damn swans" (LOL) led the charge for bread.


















Elsewhere the Royals 2014-2015 Championship campaign has got off to a mixed start.

9 August Wigan 2 - 2 Reading
16 August Reading 1 - 0 Ipswich
19 August Reading 1 - 2 Huddersfield
23 August Nottingham Forest 4 -0 Reading
30 August Middlesbrough 0 - 1 Reading

Eagle

Following our visit to Roman Silchester we took a trip yesterday to the Museum of Reading to look at the artefacts they have on display. Of primary interest was the Silchester Eagle, discovered during the original Victorian era dig. This small eagle was the inspiration for the book by Rosemary Sutcliff "The Eagle of the Ninth" which in 2011 was adapted as the Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell (rather lack lustre) film "The Eagle."

The Eagle: it had detachable wings dontchaknow.

A postcard from the Victorian Time Team.

2000 year old Piggy Bank.

This mosaic is pretty large and now mounted vertically at the museum, so you can appreciate it in all its glory.

100

One Hundred years ago today, it was announced that Britain was at war with Germany.

Game Over

The competitions are over and only the closing ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow remains. I expect the closing spectacle will likely feature a fair amount of Tartan LOL.

The final medals table top four is made up of Australia, Canada, England and Scotland; pretty much as things were a week and a half ago, with the host nation Scotland having their best ever games and England their best for a number of years (yea!). All together I think a successful competition with many big names taking part and a number of records broken. Read more about the Commonwealth Games here.

Next will be the 2018 Games on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Wonder if I'll have better success there getting to experience the Friendly Games in person..?

Sulhamstead Police College

Spent a fun afternoon (despite the odd rain shower) at an event at Sulhamstead, where Thames Valley Police train and kennel their 200 or so dogs. I think it fair to say we didn't have enough time to see everything on offer, including mobile Forensic Investigation units, an Air Ambulance, the Police Museum, vintage patrol cars and of course the dogs to name just a few attractions.

A canine officer.














Doctor Who: The Anorexic Years.

Worthy of Gene Hunt?

Good for the roses.

Deep Breath

Feature length Doctor Who at the cinema... how could I resist..?

Can't wait until 'number 12' blasts onto the big screen. 












Am I just a little bit sad and geek-like? Probably LOL.

Up Close

Thought you might like this from the weekend.

Dig

Took a little drive out to the site of the Roman town of Silchester no more than half hour drive from Reading. For more than 14 or so years, a team led by the University of Reading have been re-excavating the site which was first unearthed by the Victorians. A number of interesting and quite rare finds from Roman and pre-Roman eras have come from the site, many of which are now held at the Museum of Reading. Oh and weather-wise, today was an absolutely fabulous day.