Hall of Mirrors-Fairground show

A couple of years ago, my Mum rang me to tell me that she thought she saw some of my fairground painting on a Littlewoods TV advert. I looked at their site on the internet just to see ...and there it was...'The Hall of Mirrors'. I haven't seen it for quite a few years, but it looks as though it is wearing well..

I initially painted it for Andrew Harris, who at the time travelled with Carters Steam Fair . He asked me to paint it with an Art Nouveau theme.... which I did , painting four ladies representing the four seasons. Hidden on the front is a Trompe l'oeil Robin and a ' Painted lady' butterfly. At the time my workshop was the upstairs of an old barn near Stanway, Glos. The front came apart to get it up the stairs ,so I didn't see it all together until Andrew came to collect it.I remember being very relieved to see that all the pictures did actually fit together !

To see the advert please click on the following link.

.http://www.littlewoods.com/web/en/shopthead.page

Fred Fowle 'The master' fairground artist

This is the wonderful painter 'The Master' Fred Fowle. Years ago I kept seeing a particular style of painting at all the fairs and I loved it...It was always signed by Fred Fowle. At college I mentioned Fred's name to one of my tutors Mike McInnery, I was as pleased as punch when he said that he had met Fred, that Fred was still about and that he could give me Fred's telephone number and address! I wrote to him and got a reply saying that I would be welcome if I thought it was worth it.

The original letter that Fred sent to me that kicked everything off for me.

I visited Fred and found him very friendly and approachable, and it was definitely a very rewarding visit. He was happy to explain in detail how to do the painting techniques and answer all my questions. I tried to visit as often as I could and was lucky to meet Mark Gill another fabulous painter now working in Australia, I believe...he had a very cheeky and contagious smile. I also met Roger Vinney a champion woodgrainer and cartoonist..he had a woodgrained fridge in his kitchen along with grained glass milk bottles! I wrote my degree thesis all about Fred.

They were all a total inspiration to me and  that is why I do what I do now.

George Codona's Waltzer..Side of a waltzer car being decorated by Fred Fowle.

Self portrait of Roger Vinney from a Ghost Ride.

Gypsy Lee boards in background painted by Mark Gill..At least I'm pretty sure they were his.

A daft thing happened due to the top Black and White photograph. One day I noticed it being used on a fairground website, I was pleased and surprised and asked if they could just add a caption saying that I had taken the photograph...well talk about a misunderstanding another ladies name was mentioned and they said that they would remove it completely because of goodness knows what...very silly so I thought I would share it with everyone again plus some other pictures because Fred was 'MAGIC' and I was extremely privileged to meet him and see him at work.

An interesting website with photographs of the completed waltzer can be found at http://www.fairart.co.uk/

Ice Cream Music

Crammond, Edinburgh Scotland

Tonight the local ice cream van came down the road, I'm not sure how good their business is...most of us have freezers but I do love hearing its chimes. I have an awful thing to admit though...I am one of those Mothers who used to tell their child that if you can hear the music then the van has run out of ice cream....the shame of it ! We can all have ice cream in the freezer but you can't beat a '99'...

Charles II started the rage for Ice cream in this country but the hey day of the van was in the 1950's. The earliest vans had a hand bell but the motorised vans could use the vans electrical system to power a type of Swiss musical box. It was designed by Ray Harris and Bob Vickers for the Toni Bell Organisation in 1954. The traditional loudspeaker a ' Grampion horn' was pointed down to the road so that the sound would surround the van evenly. Favourite tunes were and still are 'Greensleeves', 'Teddy Bears picnic ' and our local one ' The merry widow '. If you click on the following link there are a selection of tunes to hear-

 .http://menmedia.co.uk/tamesideadvertiser/news/s/1060219_does_this_chime_with_you

The 'mobilers' as the ice cream people call them can now play all sorts of tunes, with crystal clear clarity all on a chip...as long as the tune is out of copyright. One manufacturer is having talks with a record producer so who knows what the future holds !

The following link is to an ice cream van orchestra ...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/video/2009/may/04/whitechapel-ice-cream

In Belfast the police while trying to stop a crowd of teenagers decided to broadcast ice cream music through their tannoys ! Apparently the teenagers stopped throwing and began laughing...

http://www.policespecials.com/forum/index.php?/topic/107973-police-cool-belfast-trouble-with-ice-cream-van-music/

No photos today ,I didn't get out fast enough with my camera but if you are into old time music you might like to listen to the following link...Flory FForde singing 'Oh, Oh Antonio ' kindly shared by Gramaphoneshane.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdaXZEbHi88

In quaint native dress an Italian maid

Was seeping distress as the streets she strayed

Searching in every part for her bold sweetheart

And his ice-cream cart

Her English was bad It cannot be denied

And so to herself In Italian she cried

Oh! Oh!  Antonio, he's gone away Left me alone-ee-o,

 all on my own-ee-o

I want to meet him with his new sweetheart

Then up will go Antonio and his ice-cream cart

Oh! Oh! Antonio, he's gone away Left me alone-ee-o,

all on my own-ee-o

I want to meet him with his new sweetheart

Then up will go Antonio and his ice-cream cart

Oh Francis Rossi fro Status Quo isfrom an old Ice Cream Family...perhaps their song  ' Whatever you want ' is actualy about ice cream !

  

Picture from Zacek Perri-Corgi photos

Wild Garlic at the Bothy Shop

The Bothy Shop

Down an old path behind my bothy workshop is a blanket of wild garlic....a fabulous smell and free food.

I've been making soup with it and now the flowers are almost over but there's just time to make some more wild garlic soup....and it's tasty and easy.

You just need a hand full of leaves, an onion, some potatoes and some stock.

fry the onions,add stock and chopped potatoes...boil for twenty minutes.... add washed and chopped garlic leaves , simmer a bit longer then eat or blend to make a smooth fantastically green soup.

Add a lovely swirl of cream and some fresh bread...of course made using the flour from the neighbouring Stanway water mill. To add to the colour sprinkle some finely chopped red pepper.

The smaller leaves earlier in the season have a more delicate taste but now that it's later you can always cook with half nettles and half garlic leaves.

If you'd like to read more about wild garlic then please click on Vegparadise.

My boho home with music from Moishe's Bagel

I've been having fun making small slide video's and uploading them to UTube. After taking masses of photos around my home I played with them on my computer to give them an aged look....this also meant that I didn't have to go round dusting !  The fantastic band 'Moishe's Bagel' very kindly let me use their music for the background...They are performing at this years 'Edinburgh Fringe Festival'

 Well here it is, I hope you like it....Thank you for watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDnsT9u2MH0&feature=youtube_gdata

My Spring garden plants and their Romany meanings.

Tulip: Love

Honesty : Sincerity, fascination

Scatter flowers around a childs' bed to protect them from nightmares.

Keep an autumn seedpod in your pocket to attract money.

cowslip : Pensiveness, winning grace

If a bumblebee enters your house it means a stranger will visit.

Apple Blossom : Temptation

Appleblossom when brought into the house or caravan will bring ill health to the family.

Bluebell : I am true,Constancy

Healing powers and bring calmness

Ivy : I will cling to you

'On Hallowe'en,October 31, Romany girls divine using ivy leaves. Each girl picks an ivy leaf, scores it with an individual mark, and passes it through a gold earing. The following morning, if black spots have appeared on the ivy it isa sign of romance with a dark-haired man, If black spots virtually cover the leaf, the girl will marry a dark-haired man within the year. If no spots emerge, no special lover will arrive within the next 12 months.' G.Kemp

Strawberry Blossom : Perfection

Children would make a wish when they ate their first strawberry of the season.

Daffodil : Good manners

Travellers would put bunches of unopened wild Daffodils into a bath of warm water to open them out and make them more attractive to customers when they went out calling .(Hawking/selling)

Violet : Faithfulness

Romanies often sold bunches of sweet violets in March. Why not make a love sachet with violets and lavender.

Words from the Canal

In the winter evenings I have always sit doodling, while keeping warm and watching telly. One evening I decided to make a project for myself and start to illustrate words....one day I might even string them together to make some stories!

My coloured version of one of my illustrations from 'Words from the Road'

I self published my first book 'Words from the Road' in 2014. This book is full of romany words and their meanings alongside my black and white illustrations. I've been told that they are great for colouring in. The wonderful Peter Ingram helped me enormously with the correct lingo.
Once I'd finished I set about illustrating my second book 'Words from the Canal'....perhaps I should have called it Words from the Cut, but not everyone would have known that the word 'cut' means the canal.

http://www.blurb.co.uk/b/7048207-words-from-the-canal

Years ago I used to visit friends who had beautiful working narrow boats. They delivered coal in the winter and turned their homes into 'trip' boats for some of the summer holidays. I loved staying on them and really loved it when I had the chance to spend a few weeks living in an original boat cabin.
Of course I found it quite magical but it would have been a very different story years ago for families living and working these boats.

Words from the Canal

When I have stayed and visited canals and boat museums I found myself collecting words used on the canals ....there are lots, too many for me to use in my little book.

I have now published this book ' Words from the Canal'. Once you've read it you will know that I could have called it 'Words from the Cut' and my first book could have been called 'Words from the Drom'. My third book is under way....fingers crossed it will be ready to publish by the end of the year. If you do purchase them, I hope you enjoy them and perhaps add some of the words to your own vocabulary...oh and if you like to colour in pictures...then I'd love to see what you have created.

Both books are available to purchase from my bookshop on Blurb http://www.blurb.co.uk/b/7048207-words-from-the-canal

Books and cards are also available via The Bothy Shop