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Apr. 15th, 2011 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
girlofpreySo. I've had a busy week. Sort of. I managed to get to Nottingham on Tuesday, which I wasn't exactly expecting. Through a cunning combination of going to bed early-ish (1am), not setting my alarm, and then being so stressed I guess that I woke up at about 6am and couldn't get back to sleep. So I managed to get out of the house and get a train at 9-ish. It was weird being in Nottingham and knowing I was going back later that day. But still. I managed to get out to Southwell and to Southwell Minster, despite some confusion with the buses, and Southwell Minster's quite lovely on it's own. I found the art exhibition I wanted to see, and it turned out to be a lot smaller than I was expecting. 12 mid-sized canvasses in a little chapterhouse. But it was worth going to see them, because I love his paintings, and the colours are always amazing on the originals. I think there was something going on at the Minster though (not in a sinister way. Well, not really), because there were a bunch of primary school groups there having talks about Easter. And in the chapterhouse where the paintings were, they'd done different bits of it up and they kept bringing kids in and having them do things, like put rocks in a basket and look at the fountain (read: cellophane). And I was there in the middle of it, confusing the kids probably and getting some mucky looks from the adults. But I have every right to go to a Minster an hour's journey out a city and look at some publicly displayed paintings if I want to. EVERY RIGHT IN THE WORLD, MINSTER PEOPLE. AND, I got a card from the exhibit with one of his paintings displayed on it, which is nice because even the prints of his work, of which there aren't that many, cost about £60. Score.
And it was nice generally. I was a bit out of it because I hadn't had much sleep, but I went to the Bead Shop and got enough beads to make a couple of the bracelets I've been meaning to make for ages, and a pair of wire cutters. That came to £20, and I was a bit "aaaaaaaahhh", but I paid for it anyway. It's better than just thinking about it for another year or so. Except that it turned out my plan for how to put clasps on the bracelets was not really that workable, and I got a leaflet that showed that the way the Bead Shop had been suggesting was a lot easier than I'd thought it was, but I do now need some crimp beads, a pair of pliers and possibly some round-nosed pliers. Curse you, arts and crafts. And your ENDLESS DEMAND FOR SKILLS AND TOOLS.
And I went up to the Focus Gallery, where I always used to go when I was living in Nottingham. I went in just as another woman went in with two kids to talk to the woman who runs it about a piece of jewellery she'd commissioned, and some other pieces of jewellery she might be commissioning, and some other things in the shop I think. I didn't evesdrop. Much. So I had to hang around for ages until I could talk to the woman who runs it. Happily, I noticed that the £640 sculpture I love is still there, and the £450 painting (also by Michael Cooke). It's a little bit scary to think that if someone gave me £1000 right now, I could spend it on specific pieces of art in about a second. But oh well. Anyway, I finally got to talk to the woman who runs it, and she totally still remembers me, and we got talking about me and whether I was working yet, and I ended up telling her I had OCD. And she went "ohh!" and gave me a hug. Which was quite nice of her. She seemed quite worried about it really, but also quite positive. And it's nice that she cares. Then, I was going to buy a £2.50 card by an another artist I like there, and she said it was on the house and wouldn't let me pay for it. She says next time I come down to Nottingham I should give her a call and we should go for a coffee and catch up on things. She's really quite a nice woman. And I got a card for free, woo! I probably will contact her before I come to Nottingham next, but I don't know how long it will be before I go again.
Anyway. I went to Wakefield as well yesterday for the second session of my Confidence Course. At which there were a few less people than last week. But I'm still enjoying it, it's still pretty good. The guy running it is nice at least, and while he does put you on the spot a bit sometimes, you don't have to do anything if you properly don't want to or don't feel like you can, and he often apologises for putting you on the spot if you feel like that as well. And then after that I went to Leeds, because my dad had asked me to pick him up some gas for his old fancy cigarette lighter the next time I went, and because there's an exhibit at the Craft Centre I've been wanting to go see. It's got jewellery in it by Nick Hubbard who I quite like, and Becky Crow, who I found out about on google a few months ago, and quite like. So I wanted to go see their stuff before it possibly sold. Nick Hubbard is as expensive as ever, and Becky Crow (who you may notice doesn't have prices anywhere on her site that I can see) turned out to be in a slightly lower but still similar price bracket. Which is a shame, because she has jewellery with wolves on. Although after looking at those diamond jewellery websites a few months ago, it all seems pretty reasonable actually. But still personally pretty unaffordable though. Oh well. I did see a new range of jewellery I really like, and picked up a porcelain sculpture that was half price due to the shop people having dropped it and having to superglue it back together. So it wasn't all bad.
Also, I went to Yum Yum Beads. I got quite annoyed when I realised I would need some new crimping beads and pliers and stuff to make those bracelets, frankly, because I thought I was going to have to go to Nottingham again, or order them off the online website. But then I remembered that actually, there's a bead shop in Leeds, it just didn't have the particular materials I wanted, but would probably have pliers. So I went on in. And they do indeed have pliers, and I assume crimping beads or whatever. Although I could either buy two sets of pliers for £5.95 each, a slightly more expensive set from the range I got the wire cutters from for £6.95 and £7.95 (I think), OR, a set of pliers, round-nosed pliers and wire cutters for £12.95. Which I think is cheaper, or only slightly more expensive than getting just the two I don't have. And to return the set I bought in Nottingham would cost me £16.00 in train fare. So. Hmph. The ones in the set-of-three look a bit smaller than the others though. But they are colour-coded to make picking up the wrong ones less easy. I'm debating whether it's worth an extra pound to have a spare set of wire cutters. We'll see.
Anyway. Then today my mum came back from her holiday with my sister and my two nephews. I was invited on this holiday, but I said no in the end, because I remembered what happened last time we went on holiday to Filey with my sister and my two nephews in April, and I didn't feel like I'd be up to doing it at the moment. She got back tonight at about half past seven, and she looked shell-shocked, and I asked her how it had been, and she said "Put it this way, this morning I bit a hole in a football." Which I think says it all. She's glad to be home, I think.
And it was nice generally. I was a bit out of it because I hadn't had much sleep, but I went to the Bead Shop and got enough beads to make a couple of the bracelets I've been meaning to make for ages, and a pair of wire cutters. That came to £20, and I was a bit "aaaaaaaahhh", but I paid for it anyway. It's better than just thinking about it for another year or so. Except that it turned out my plan for how to put clasps on the bracelets was not really that workable, and I got a leaflet that showed that the way the Bead Shop had been suggesting was a lot easier than I'd thought it was, but I do now need some crimp beads, a pair of pliers and possibly some round-nosed pliers. Curse you, arts and crafts. And your ENDLESS DEMAND FOR SKILLS AND TOOLS.
And I went up to the Focus Gallery, where I always used to go when I was living in Nottingham. I went in just as another woman went in with two kids to talk to the woman who runs it about a piece of jewellery she'd commissioned, and some other pieces of jewellery she might be commissioning, and some other things in the shop I think. I didn't evesdrop. Much. So I had to hang around for ages until I could talk to the woman who runs it. Happily, I noticed that the £640 sculpture I love is still there, and the £450 painting (also by Michael Cooke). It's a little bit scary to think that if someone gave me £1000 right now, I could spend it on specific pieces of art in about a second. But oh well. Anyway, I finally got to talk to the woman who runs it, and she totally still remembers me, and we got talking about me and whether I was working yet, and I ended up telling her I had OCD. And she went "ohh!" and gave me a hug. Which was quite nice of her. She seemed quite worried about it really, but also quite positive. And it's nice that she cares. Then, I was going to buy a £2.50 card by an another artist I like there, and she said it was on the house and wouldn't let me pay for it. She says next time I come down to Nottingham I should give her a call and we should go for a coffee and catch up on things. She's really quite a nice woman. And I got a card for free, woo! I probably will contact her before I come to Nottingham next, but I don't know how long it will be before I go again.
Anyway. I went to Wakefield as well yesterday for the second session of my Confidence Course. At which there were a few less people than last week. But I'm still enjoying it, it's still pretty good. The guy running it is nice at least, and while he does put you on the spot a bit sometimes, you don't have to do anything if you properly don't want to or don't feel like you can, and he often apologises for putting you on the spot if you feel like that as well. And then after that I went to Leeds, because my dad had asked me to pick him up some gas for his old fancy cigarette lighter the next time I went, and because there's an exhibit at the Craft Centre I've been wanting to go see. It's got jewellery in it by Nick Hubbard who I quite like, and Becky Crow, who I found out about on google a few months ago, and quite like. So I wanted to go see their stuff before it possibly sold. Nick Hubbard is as expensive as ever, and Becky Crow (who you may notice doesn't have prices anywhere on her site that I can see) turned out to be in a slightly lower but still similar price bracket. Which is a shame, because she has jewellery with wolves on. Although after looking at those diamond jewellery websites a few months ago, it all seems pretty reasonable actually. But still personally pretty unaffordable though. Oh well. I did see a new range of jewellery I really like, and picked up a porcelain sculpture that was half price due to the shop people having dropped it and having to superglue it back together. So it wasn't all bad.
Also, I went to Yum Yum Beads. I got quite annoyed when I realised I would need some new crimping beads and pliers and stuff to make those bracelets, frankly, because I thought I was going to have to go to Nottingham again, or order them off the online website. But then I remembered that actually, there's a bead shop in Leeds, it just didn't have the particular materials I wanted, but would probably have pliers. So I went on in. And they do indeed have pliers, and I assume crimping beads or whatever. Although I could either buy two sets of pliers for £5.95 each, a slightly more expensive set from the range I got the wire cutters from for £6.95 and £7.95 (I think), OR, a set of pliers, round-nosed pliers and wire cutters for £12.95. Which I think is cheaper, or only slightly more expensive than getting just the two I don't have. And to return the set I bought in Nottingham would cost me £16.00 in train fare. So. Hmph. The ones in the set-of-three look a bit smaller than the others though. But they are colour-coded to make picking up the wrong ones less easy. I'm debating whether it's worth an extra pound to have a spare set of wire cutters. We'll see.
Anyway. Then today my mum came back from her holiday with my sister and my two nephews. I was invited on this holiday, but I said no in the end, because I remembered what happened last time we went on holiday to Filey with my sister and my two nephews in April, and I didn't feel like I'd be up to doing it at the moment. She got back tonight at about half past seven, and she looked shell-shocked, and I asked her how it had been, and she said "Put it this way, this morning I bit a hole in a football." Which I think says it all. She's glad to be home, I think.
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Date: 2011-04-15 11:12 pm (UTC)I hate Southwell and PRETTY MUCH everything to do with it. Was it terrible? Was it full of weird tweeness, and was everyone there slightly horrible and smug and ugly? Maybe it's not as awful as I remember it.
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Date: 2011-04-16 02:23 am (UTC)There was a woman in the Minster who jumped up when I came in and seemed to be expecting me to tell her what I was doing there. Then I said I wanted to see the art show, and she said "Oh, it's in the Chapterhouse", and then stopped at thought for a minute before giving me directions, which were basically 'Go straight on, and look on the left for a sign that says 'Chapterhouse''. She was a little bit twee. I didn't notice too much ugliness. And there were the people in the Chapterhouse who seemed to be giving me irritated looks for being there. When they were trying to have children do godly activities in it. And the groups of schoolchildren everywhere were a bit creepy, they were having weird talks with them about Jesus and Easter, but not just like speeches, they were asking questions so the children had to respond and be a part of it. And there seemed to be some sort of stage set up in the middle of the Minster, and I don't know what that was intended for. Children, or possibly something else. On a less creeped out note, I was mostly sad they were starting the brainwashing so young. But that's the point of the church and religious schools I guess.
Then I went straight out, had a look in the Minster shop, and then got the bus again from outside the Minster. It was a slightly different bus from the one I'd gotten there, and when I got on and showed him my return ticket he said "You know that's not our ticket though, don't you?", not the same company or whatever. And I was like "Oh right, do you want me to get off?". And he said "No, you can get on, I just wanted to let you know that's not our ticket." Which was odd. It's hard to know if he was a Southwell person though. And then I just got the bus out of there. My experience of Southwell was LIMITED. Mostly I just quite liked the Minster. I didn't realise it was going to be so big, I think. I was expecting something more along the lines of 'church'. I did get a look at the high street from the bus stop though. It looked full of old-fashioned inns, and plenty twee. Aside from that, I didn't see much of it. I got out of there.