MissM reported the following conversation to me
What shall we do first?
I grew up in Cornwall which was then, and is now, a place of great artistic energy. My mother collected pottery - jugs, bowls, pots and mugs - made by the pupils of Bernard Leach. They were wonderful, strong, utilitarian objects in deep earthy colours and warm glazes.
Very few of them survived the rough and tumble of our family life because pottery is more vulnerable than china.
I do not have many pieces of pottery but I think it is fitting that this, my salt pot, is a link to that past. I have had it all my married life and every pot of potatoes, pasta or rice has been seasoned with salt from the little spoon.
I love the simple shape and shades of colour. It fits into the curve of my hand. The handle of the little spoon has the patina of use. It is too big for the pot and so the lid is permanently at an angle. It sits on a shelf in my kitchen, a constant companion to my cooking.
Breadbox invited me to write about reading.
My immediate response was
I am a haphazard and slow reader.
I read for pleasure and not for self-improvement.
I love audio books.
MissM is the intellectual in our family.
Too many.
This is a picture of the books
I have just removed
from MrM's bedside table.
Mr William Shakespeare's Plays
illustrated by Marcia Williams
which MissM knows off by heart.
Badger's Parting Gifts
by Susan Varley
which deals with bereavement.
The Treasure Hunters
by Enid Blyton
which was the first book that my children read by themselves.
A Traveller in Time
by Alison Uttley
which I read and reread as a child.
Dean's Gift Book of Fairy Tales
given to me by a very dear friend.
And before I go and lie down
and rest my weary hand
if any of you would like to do this interview too
do let me know.
Here are my pansies
in their white polystyrene cells
waiting patiently
to be upgraded
to a terracotta windowbox.
Important Footnote
MissM has given permission
for these pictures to be published.
