Temporary fence-strengthening against invasion by especially athletic sheep from next door.
I’d like to say that this is our latest purchase by way of riverside sculpture, but . . .
When ‘bindertwine’ is so effective for fixing a gate to its post, who would bother with new hinges?
When I first told myself that I should remove this post and wire support, the tree was just big enough to survive without them. A bit late now . . . so, if anyone questions, I go all serious and talk about long-term experiments!
Phew! It has been a busy old time. We went to the London Artists’ Bookfair (LAB 07) at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. This is the fair where are thought of as being staid and fuddy-duddy, as opposed to the Fine Press Fair in Oxford where we are regarded as dangerous radicals! Both shows were fun and successful.
I have finally completed the text and binding printings for Green Blades, with its poems by Thomas Hardy and wonderful lino and woodcut images by Mark Cazalet. We do not yet know how long The Fine Book Bindery will take over their job but I hope the book will be available soon after the New Year. Mark asked us to make a little leaflet for him to add to his Christmas Card mailing and already a goodly list has formed, including takers for more than half of the Specials. Watch this space for photos of the bound book as soon as it arrives.
We also went to the remarkable Spike Island complex in Bristol where (as mentioned last time) we could view Peter Reddick’s wonderful retrospective exhibition A Backward Glance. It will remain open quite far into the New Year and I can eagerly recommend anyone who is able to visit. Frances and I were ‘in conversation’ with Peter as you may have noticed on the Invitation I included last time. This was a great success as the substantial audience was very interested in what we do and very interesting too . . . happy, often, to discuss what they themselves did in relation to books and print-making.
Now we are able to stay at home for a bit, which is lovely. It is also extremely cold at the moment so I will concentrate on other (indoor) things for the moment rather than rush to start work on The Christmas Sequence which certainly beckons but my printing office has only rudimentary heating and my trusty Press does not operate happily when its metal is too cold. What a superb excuse!