Reawakening Pottery

 Re-awakening 

This was a difficult topic for me. I can remember being told frequently as a child, " You are in for a rude awakening my girl."  Is remembering the same as re-awakening? Returning to Kidsgrove my birth town after living in France I began a new blog which is called Living Life in Reverse because everyday I am reminded of the 60 years I lived here. The houses I lived in are still here. The school I taught in has been demolished and replaced. The Leisure Centre no longer exists.The shopping experience has completely changed. The old railway line has been transformed into a tree lined walkway. Some of this is positive and some negative.  I arrived just before the first lockdown and I was taken to a grand exhibition in Stoke called the British Ceramics Biennial. Then the pandemic arrived and all thoughts of exhibitions, eating out, theatre visits, sporting events and even shopping were put on hold. 

 Last week  however I experienced a true re-awakening  when I visited the Gladstone Pottery Museum. I am a Potteries girl. My sister was a figure paint-tress at Royal Doulton's. My mother and I always turned over the figures in shops to search for my sister's initials. My next door neighbour worked in the clay-end and frequently regaled us with stories from the clay-face. My first job when leaving school was lab assistant at the British Ceramic Research Association. I worked in the plaster lab. We were researching how to make plaster moulds last longer. I had to go to college to two afternoons and three evenings a week to study pottery. 

My main subject at college was pottery. In the college holidays I did a stint at Meakins, scrubbing gold off hollowware. When I was a teacher I went to pottery classes for teachers one evening a week. When I was in France I went to pottery classes. The corny cliché applies to me you can take the girl out of the Potteries but you can't take the Potteries out of the girl.

Oh and of course I have watched every episode of "The Great Pottery Throw Down" twice. Although I didn't cry not even once. 

I have considered pottery classes but--well-- you know the old arthritis in my fingers makes it a no-no.

P.S. The TV programme "What's my line" had a contestant who was a saggar maker and the following week he had a saggar maker's bottom knocker. I watched the programme in our next door neighbour's house. He said " Oh yes that's Jim Jones he knocks bottoms for Jack Hancock."