h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Christiane when I lived in Ashington in Northumberland, I would go to the seaside at Newbiggin where there was a brass band player at the bandstand. I think they were the miners collery brass band and I think they also played at the local park in Ashington. There were also miners cottages in Newbiggin but I do not know if they are still there.

It must been wonderful to have seen all the artists putting out their pictures out for the outdoor exhibition, with the Channel as a backdrop.

I hope that K's wonderful pottery will be displayed at an exhibition and that he will be able to find a pottery studio.

I hope that you will more of these lovely days.

Take care

Dear Thinker,

Your memories are rich indeed. thank you for sharing them with me. I realise than when we experience lovely events like yesterday, we are continuing to create memories.

as long as we can, life is wonderful. !1

With affection

Christiane
AlsoRan80

Dear Christiane Sorry long time coming back here , for the first time in many years I made a few pot's last week , a nice group of people working / renting space together from an old retired salary man .
It felt good to sit at the wheel again and as usual not happy with my work just need to glaze my stuff then will see if I will do it again in the future perhaps in the wintertime .
I do hope K will find some nice people to work with even when I worked alone I always found time to have lunch/ chat with other potters as it is important to share ideas / help each other

Dear anoldgreymoonraker,

If only you lived here. What a difference it would make. K. was interested when I told him that you were also a potter and that you suggested that he try and find a studio where he could work.

The problem is, and this sadly is a very real one, he is simply unable to do this on his own.

When he was reading for his Masters degree in Psychology in 1973, at the University of Cape Town, a "friend" spiked his drink with LSD. Sadly our family has a genetic heritage of a chronic mental illness, and when K. surfaced from this devastating experience he was a full blown chronic mentally ill person.

I have cared for him for 35 years and the progress he has made is quite remarkable. He not only is a fine very original potter who apparently has a very good idea oof glazing, but is an abstract artist and also, when young , won the Poet of the Year Award in Southern Rhodesia where we were living at the time.

However the wretched illness and all the medication has left him totally unable to make decisions. I have made enquiries about classes, and as he is a very friendly kind and quite wonderful person, he would love to be with others. However, life being what it is, the prejudice and stigma against sufferers of mental illness is only marginally less than when he was first afflicted.

But when he gets online, he has his own computer and now tht the deicsion has been made, by him, that he would like to transfer to living at this channel port, we can find suitable accomodation and hopefully, maybe a little house with a garden where he could have his kiln and wheel. anyway, Thank you for inspiring both of us.

Go well, and keep at it.

Christiane
AlsoRan80

LSD +mental health probs=DISASTER!

Dear Christiane
I think pottery making would be very good for him and his problems, I don't know where to look but I do know that their is a small reasonably cheap gas kiln for sale in england.
If he likes glazes , then he might enjoy Raku firing ,I suggest books on Raku

How totally true Strangely Strange,

The tragedy is that the guy who slipped the LSD was the son of one of my father's friends. He, the friend, was a real hipppe. He did not care what he did. It was at the time when LSD was the rage. That is fine as long as you do not have have a genetic mental illness lurking in the background. but how is one to know when it was not yet known to science?

O kept telling him never to take it - he never did - he had one which was slipped in his drink, and then two nights later his girl friend visited him and gave him one. That one finished him off. But he such a loving wonderful person, and I just know somehow that he is going to be alright after I am gone. Now fortunately that HE has decided to stay here, there is love and care in this town which there is not where we used to live.

Go well,

Christiane
AlsoRan80

community mental health team might know of an art group suitable

Dear an oldgreymoonraker,

Thank you so much. we shall order a book on Raku and make more enquiries.

Must
Christiane

Dear Strangely Strange,

You must be joking.

That is why mental health problems are at the bottom of the Health pile- Literally no-one cares.

Anyway, fortunately I get my courage back when I get support from people like an oldgreymoonraker and others on this site whom I have told about the problem. There are not many of them in whom I have confided. Now, I have told everybody.

But I was quite desperate as we were getting nowhere, and the local team were supposed to come on Monday to give the medication. When I phoned, the CPN who was supposed to come was not at work. So they said they would come yesterday.

When I phoned up yesterday they could not get hold of a CPN. Eventually yesterday afternoon a new person phoned up and has asked him to go to their offices today. There is noway that he will be able to do it.

Now do you understand why I get so upset and jolly disappointed in the local teams?

There is the strange belief that bad parenting is the cause of evaything. How tragically untrue for all those so afflicted. and for their families. I have a lot to write about, but I am not sure that when I am angry that it is the right time to do it.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestion, .

CME
AR80

Good morning Christianne,

You now have a bunch of hoo-too-ers wondering about pottery faciloites for your son. I assume you have looked on internet for clubs and night classes in the area, but have you thought about getting in touch with the education authorities. Some clubs are very well hidden.
Years and years ago my son went for pottery classes. He was a child at the time, and we heard about them from somebody at the school. Adults also used with club but it was very well-hidden from the usual information circuits. I only ever saw it mentioned in extracurricular activites for pre-schoolers despite the fact that adults definitely used the same facilities.

I must admit I've been thinking about developing my 'artistic' talents. I've never been particularly interested in photography but some of the beautiful pictures of flowers various people have posted on this site have made me think 'I'd like to do that'. More specifically, I was thinking of finding out whether it is possible to 'do your own' poster-size pictures for framing. I've feeling a little too lazy to get down to it right now but it's a definite item on my 'must get round to doing that someday' list.

It sounds as if you are both enjoying living in your 'new' town and I hope the situation with your ex-carer has worked out fine. Have a good day

Christiane,

As I'm sure you've guessed I wrote my previous post before seeing yours.

Keep your chin up ! as i'm sure you most always do

sinecere regards

Thank you so much.

I am afraid that I am a little down at the moment. three days late with his medicstion. And once again I shall have to be up in arms about it.

Anyway, thanks I shall look on the Internet.

And thanks of course for my most beautiful s They always arrive at the right time to cheer me up.

what i suggested exists
as Doorways here and d
oes arts for mental hea
lth. 0208-890-9538. The number is my area but might help. I found it at Teams office.

Thank you so much. The problem is that he has improved so much and one would never think that there was anything the matter. He would dearly like to be accepted for what he is -as improved as he can be., and he hates the label which he has had to carry for 35 years.

Still no sign of my carer - so |I had better get on with the day. I shall try that number and see if they have anything here.

Many thanks

CME
AR80