December | 2017 | Creative Musings

Well this Christmas holiday has been defined by ‘the flu’. Two weeks ago I headed off to York for the day to see the cathedral and the ceramic collection at the York Art Gallery. An end of semester treat or so I thought. I felt tired on the early journey into York, but arrived with enthusiasm and headed straight to the cathedral. Whilst queuing for tickets (York cathedral charges an entry fee) I was persuaded to take a tour of the Chapter House roof. It was an incredible tour, well worth it, but very cold as we were up in the rafters built in the late 1200s. The oldest oak beam in the roof was cut down in around 950 AD. And its still standing. A unique roof because the Chapter House below it has no central supporting pillar – the ceiling is suspended from the oak structure.

We also saw the area where the architect/builder drew full size plans on a plaster floor as guides to the builders. Even footprints of apprentices in the plaster. Plus a room full of templates to repair the hundreds of stone carvings etc. that decorate the cathedral.

After that tour, the cathedral closed early for 2 showings of the animated film ‘The Snowman’ held in the main aisle. I headed to the York Art Gallery round the corner and a well deserved warming bowl of soup.

York Art Gallery has a very comprehensive ceramic collection, consisting of a main exhibit area, glass cabinets on the wall around featuring certain genres/periods, a vast long cabinet sorted by colour of every era of vessels and an excellent display of a a private collection displayed in room settings – my favourite. I had a long chat with the gallery attendant, himself a ceramic artist, who explained his changing views on ceramics after sitting with some of the works.

The featured artist was Sara Radstone who created for this show, fragile dried plants entwined in hessian and a commentary on books. Rather pleasing work to my surprise.

I managed to fit in a quick trip to the York Museum, but by this time the light was fading and the Christmas Illuminations were lit. A beautiful sunset. York is almost 54º north and so the days are short. York was packed with shoppers and visitors as were the trains. I had to standup for an hour of the hour and a half trip back to Sunderland. Crazy. I was even chatted up by Pete the Plasterer who entertained me until a seat became available.

Unfortunately the next day I came down with a wicked flu. I even suspect I had an allergic reaction to the flu jab as I developed a blister rash a couple of days after the jab. I didn’t think much of it until arriving at Kevin’s a few days after contracting the flu, the rash re-materialized with a vengeance. I managed to catch the train from Newcastle to Reading (4.5 hours journey) despite a fever and went to bed here immediately where apart from resting on couches during the day I have been ever since. Bloody nuisance, but obviously my body needed a rest…

I have an essay to write for the 9th of January which will most probably be done on time. I can still think and type :).

Here are a few photos from the York trip.