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Time travelling…

Well hello Everybody. How is it Friday again already? How are you? Today I have tied my spectacles to a piece of string in an attempt to stop wandering away from them and finding myself unable to see what’s going on. In other news… It’s been a busy week and it’s not that I haven’t made anything. I have. But at the moment it’s a secret.I will let you in on it as soon as I can, I promise.

So this week I thought I might do a little time travelling with you back to Living on the Edge 9; the State of the Nation. An enormous piece that still has many nooks, crannies,peaks and corners I never got to show you…

This detail was in a particularly noisy part of the construction site and nobody got any peace at all for a good few weeks.Everyone was highly strung and, in retrospect, having them all hang out together was not a wise decision. And this was before the construction of the housing estate on the valley floor got underway. But there it is. We live and learn as they say. Have a lovely weekend… xxx

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Living on the Edge 144; Once Upon a Time …

Oh hello Everybody. I’ve wandered in a bit late today, sorry. But I have a fresh new piece, still drying himself in the evening sun to share with you. Part of the hold up has been me getting distracted by his stories… Living on the Edge 144; Once Upon a Time …

“Tell us about the olden days Granddad. Tell us…”

Sammy and Tina were twirling around the front garden, making Boris feel giddy. He wondered how tales of such terror could bring such joy. But, in its way, the act of speaking it all out loud was actually quite a release.

He had started telling the stories as a way of amusing the children whilst their mother was working but he had come to enjoy recounting them, weeding out anything too frightening and adding a bit of shine. The children began to hang around his doorstep badgering him to tell them the next instalments.

“Well” he began “did I ever tell you about the time me and your grandmother nearly got snipped by the wicked Blades?”

Their windows grew wider and they waited whilst Boris cleared his throat… xxx

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May 2021; work in progress…

Good Morning Everybody, happy Friday! The weeks seem to have taken to their horses and be galloping by. Yesterday I thought I’d do a site visit and met Jack in his hard hat who wouldn’t let me on site until I’d filled out a full risk assessment form and was fully togged up in protective gear by which time night was falling and the gates were closing. So all I have is this quick shot of work in progress taken from the other side of the road whilst Jack was shouting at somebody else. He really does bellow so I thought I’d wait until work was nearing completion before attempting another snoop. We’ll have to wait on… xxx

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Living on the Edge 143; Cliff Notes…

Hello Everybody, are you fine? Today’s little share is a new thing. A little scene in a frame. I thought if I put the little houses behind glass they might be a little less troublesome. Although now, if things do go wrong it’s not as easy to step in and avert trouble. And, I have to say, I’m slightly worried for Jocelyn…

Living on the Edge 143; Cliff Notes

Perched just above the shoreline Jocelyn had always loved their little plot. She knew it was small but the view was second to none. It wasn’t her habit to complain. But, lately, in the night, she noticed Len tossing and turning. Not only was he keeping her from sleeping, he was gradually pushing her over the cliff edge.

She had heard of couples who constantly complained at one another for stealing all the blankets over to their side in the night. A cold right side however was the least of her worries. She had better get to the bottom of what was eating Len before she found herself in pieces on the beach… xxx

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Living on the Edge 142; the Hermitage

Good morning Everybody. I’m sorry I didn’t turn up last week, there was a smashed phone/camera screen debacle and much going awry. There was a red mist and blue air. However, today I am back for the Friday catch-up as usual. How are you? On the table this week, and I hadn’t realised it was going on until one of the speakers dropped his microphone, there was a hermit conference. The Annual Hermitage Society Symposium to give it its full title. I snapped this quick shot of 3 delegates (they don’t like to be photographed so don’t tell them) and overheard (let’s not discuss the possibility that I might have been eavesdropping) that Clary and Brice were being ostracised because there were 2 of them and they were not what everyone else considered proper hermits…

Clary and Brice argued that they lived ‘together alone’ and hadn’t spoken to one another in years. They looked so crest-fallen that I nearly waded in with a question about why hermits were congregating at all but I held my tongue. Proceedings have ground to a complete standstill. Do you think I should say something?… xxx

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Living on the Edge 140; How Much Do You Know?

Hello Everybody, is everything fine with you? It’s not so great over here at the table. I have taken my seat but all is not well. Now, I have to warn you not to read any further if you’re of a nervous disposition. I had to have a lie down when I found out what was going on here… You think you know someone and then it all comes out in the wash… Living on the Edge 140; How Much Do You Know?

This is who was there, this is what they did…

They were siblings. Ludo was the tallest, and a gentle soul given to reciting poetry and rescuing woodlice who had turned onto their backs. Valentina came next. She was more feisty but usually fair in her judgement and fun to be around. Last was Mina who was the smallest, the quietest and the one with the troubled, haunted expression. But no one ever thought to check why she was this way. That’s what the villagers said when the TV reporter asked questions…It was only after it was too late for Mina and Ludo and Valentino were placed under house arrest and awaiting sentencing, that the neighbours looked more deeply into what on earth had been going on next door……Who could have guessed Mina’s drinking water was carefully laced with brick acid on a daily basis? Who could have known that the fatal death-watch beetles had been introduced into her rafters? Who would believe that Ludo and Valentina would stand by callously watching as she became weaker and weaker year after year? How had nobody noticed?… xxx

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Living on the Edge 139; Growing Pains…

Good morning Everybody. I hope you’re having a happy Friday. Today is very springlike here, albeit cold, with a blue sky and high clouds. Just the sort of day one might venture out into the garden to see how things are doing and wonder if the plant you can’t remember the name of survived the recent frosts… Living on the Edge 139; Growing Pains…

Marlon was a noticer of things. He had been all his life. He paid close attention and made careful mental notes. If you were to meet him for a second time he would remember, for example, that your shoelaces were frayed when he first met you or that you always left the last word off your sentences when speaking.

Each autumn he would enjoy perusing the seed catalogues, marking the pages and thoughtfully deciding what to grow in the coming year. Then he would place his order and wait patiently for it to arrive. When the little packets landed on his doorstep he followed the planting instructions and, come the summer, he would reap the benefits. Except this year he was getting concerned that what was sprouting from his plot wasn’t quite as expected. It was large. Very large. And colourless. His neighbours hadn’t seemed to give it a second thought but Marlon, of course, had. And he wasn’t really sure what to do. After some thought he decided he would use his loppers to do some judicious pruning and find his colouring pencils to remedy the missing colour.

He also vowed he would never again place an online order at midnight. And, in future, he would go to the shop to buy seeds in person… xxx

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Find A Maker by Craft Festival

Well Hello Everybody! A surprise extra post this week! I don’t appear in front of the camera very often as you may know. I’ve been selected to join the lovely people at find a maker by Craft Festival, created by Sarah James, which launches this week. It’s bringing together a diverse new family of makers. To kick-start we’re doing a ‘meet the maker’ portrait introducing ourselves and our work. Some of this you might know, some might be new…So this is me and some of my paper birds discussing thermals and who will lead the next migration. I describe myself as a designer/maker/storyteller. I live and work in a little village in rural Suffolk, UK making paper sculptures.My work is made from pieces of damaged, discarded books. Mistreated books, defaced books, water-damaged books, books with pages missing, books that had something to say but have reached the end of their life in that form. I welcome them all. I take them in, listen to their tales of woe and give them a new raison d’etre.

Just so you know, we are talking about tiny work. Houses that have only approximately one centimetre squared footprint. They stand in their own little landscape telling their tale. Some are argumentative, some are sad, some are jubilant, many are simply lost. They all have a story to tell and they are hardly ever shy of talking back. The one thing they all have in common is that they are all living on the edge in some way as I think most of us do… I work to both commission and to the beat of the drum in my own head. Thank you for following along with me. Stop by on Fridays for the latest gossip and a cup of tea… xxx

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Living on the Edge 130; Full Circle…

Hello Everybody, how is the world treating you today? Over here in the workroom there’s an air of anxiety that no one can quite pin a name on. There are unfinished things and half thoughts scattered all over the table, spilling onto the floor and a sense of… Is it foreboding? I’m not sure. But I can tell you it’s most unsettling… Living on the Edge 130; Full Circle…

It was her own fault. She had eaten cheese too late the night before and past experience had taught her that it was not a good idea. And so this morning Biddy had woken with bees in her bonnet. Loud, annoying bees that she simply had to share with someone. That default someone was Gertie on account of the fact that there wasn’t room for anyone else on the small hillock they called home.

She looked across at Gertie half to check if she was awake, half to check she had her hearing aid switched on.

Gertie had lit a cigarette and was staring into the middle distance. Something large was moving towards them at great speed. The trees sensed something too and leaned in closer as if trying to hide themselves… xxx 

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Living on the Edge 136; Star Signs…

Good Morning Everybody, happy Easter and thank you so much for all your suggestions for last week’s title. In the end I went with ‘The House on the Strand’ (thank you Kathy Baysdon!) The extra good news is I now have a list of other inspirational titles for future times. Thank you.

Today, whilst I’m not wanting to bring the Easter holiday mood down, over in the corner of the workshop I’m afraid things are not so happy. I thought I would share this tale with you, just in case you happen across any of the characters involved. I don’t know anything for sure, so don’t say anything, but I have a feeling it’s not going to end well… Living on the Edge 136; Star Signs…

“Don’t tell anyone” whispered Delores “but I think I’ve been looking at the stars so hard that they’ve fallen into the water…”

She had been waiting for Sean at the chapel since mid-afternoon with Kate and Jodie and dusk was now fraying the edges of the sky. As the time marched on and Sean’s arrival looked less and less likely her mind had begun to run riot imagining all kinds of scenarios… Where could he be? Had he forgotten? Had he got the date wrong? Didn’t he love her anymore? And, on top of all this, where was her chief bridesmaid?… xxx