blethering in belgium

a last few images from my 'day off' in London...those above from an architectural salvage firm near the old Cremorne pumping station

here's my mudlarking haul. that spotted egg is a nice addition to my collection of darning stones

after London i went to Belgium, a place i'd only ever shot through on a fast train. now that i've discovered just how delightful it is i'll be back often, i hope. travelling to London City Airport [arguably the nicest airport i've yet graced with my presence] on the Docklands Light Railway i spotted this splendid sinuous structure...is there someone out there who'd care to tell me what it is, please?

these friendly furries allowed us to collect leaves in their domain

my friend Marina organised a workshop to be held in her lovely garden...a labyrinth of delight full of trees and flowers, ponds and hidden corners

not to mention luscious weathered paintwork [which reminded me of the Rosalie Gascoigne exhibition in Melbourne a few months ago]

 

hard to believe this garden was coaxed from piles of rubble and metal left by a former ironmonger

the usual suspects, bundles full of promise...

we discovered that my oft-repeated phrase "time is your friend" was particularly relevant to strawberry leaf prints when they'd been made in the presence of iron. without any mordants they printed bright green, with iron [scrap, NOT ferrous sulphate] present they were first a gentle gold, but if kept moist would develop this lovely purple after a couple of hours

here's Wieteke, inspecting her woollen scarf [click on her name to visit her website, a wonderland of possibilities]

eucalyptus looking particularly gorgeous against the verdant green

and that lovely teal emerging in the dyepot is what happens to the dye made from red hazelnut leaves when it's allowed to lurk in an aluminium pot for an hour or so...