Mrs Deakin Castle Inn ~ Knucklas

I have had a varied experience of life and have visited many hostelries. From drinking clubs in Upper Parliament St, Toxteth, Liverpool 8 where the windows and doors were corrugated iron and you only bought beer in an unopened bottle standing with your back to the wall. To the other extreme the Castle Inn Knucklas.


It is some thirty plus years since I last went to the Castle Inn. It was run by Mrs Deakin a widow who must have been in her eighties? The bar or lounge was her front room. It had a wooden floor with a few seats around the walls. She had a barrel on a stand that she needed help tapping. It was most engaging and she was full of lovely tales. On the wall she had a train ticket purchased by her late husband during the war that was from a small station in Italy to Knucklas. She had also I recall a glass case with a fox in it. These types of Pubs are long gone and we are the poorer for it.


The Castle Inn is still going but under new ownership. Still I will remember with a smile the evenings I walked to the Castle to have a pint in Mrs Deakin’s front room.

Last night I went to a presentation by Terry Morris the new Ambassador to the Arts for Carmarthenshire. It was refreshing to hear someone with new ideas and a real positive attitude.

David Cowdry Exhibition

Okay so yesterday was one of those days. We went to the DOT Foundry to get some prints and everything there was fine. Sian is excellent and does a superb job at colour matching, no wonder they have won awards as best fine art printers.



We then fetched my mother from hospital and then the problems started. There were two issues with regard to her care and wealth fare that had been messed up. I won’t bother with the details but it took us all night to sort out. Also we discovered a large financial matter that we had to deal with, not of our own making. So although none of it was life threatening it was all disappointing and downright frustrating.


Today was another day and that started with a power cut. I stretched some paper and then varnished a couple of paintings. Alex went to the Bank and I picked up granddaughter number 3.

Now things began to look up. We went to the David Cowdry Exhibition, fantastic, brilliant artist. We had lunch with him and caught up on the news. His opening night was hugely successful with over 200 people cramming in and a majority of the paintings being sold that night. This is no mean feat with average prices over £1000 a painting plus a few little ones to suit the smaller purse. He deserves his success he works hard and is supremely talented.


The painting above is by David Cowdry and is an example of his work.

Eagle Tower ~ Caernarfon Castle

The picture above is from one of my sketchbooks and shows Eagle Tower, part of Caernarfon Castle. I don’t tend to keep my sketchbooks for long. I like to sketch but unless it is for reference purposes that is it. It has served its purpose. I am a bit of a minimalist at heart. I like order and don’t hoard or keep things. Alex is pretty much the opposite.


I like my studio to be reasonably tidy with everything in its place. At one time I shared studio space and it was pretty difficult for me. I would see other artists leaving tops off tubes of paint and brushes left dirty, which to me is a real waste. What was worse was the chaos of clutter left to fall over.

I could spend hours on a painting to come back and find new additions in the form of spray and splatter from someone else’s “creative moment” that had extended from their Jackson Pollock over the floor or walls to my canvas and sometimes my coat, glasses or sandwiches. They were lovely people but they had a different painting regime to myself.

I am disciplined and can paint without waiting for any inspirational moment. As soon as I pick up a pencil or brush I am as they say in the zone.

Today we went to the DOT Foundry near Bridgend to pick up some more prints.

Llansaint

Friday was a bit unfortunate. My mother was quite ill and I spent 12hours with her in A&E. She is a lot better now and hopefully home soon. We had been going to the Private View of David Cowdry’s Exhibition in Aberglasney but that obviously went by the wayside. We will get along to the exhibition this week anyway. I recorded the Scarlets game and have to say that having watched it now they were very unlucky as the referee made a lot interesting decisions which happend to go against them. It was the best they have played for a long time as well.


The painting above is one that sold yesterday of Llansaint to a lovely couple from Cardiff.

I have a couple of watercolours to do next week so am keeping busy.

Cross Guns

The watercolour sketch above is of “The Cross Guns” as I remember it. This was the Pub next to the Tram and later bus garage in Washwood Heath. It was my nearest Pub as I grew up and I would go there with my best friend for a quiet pint. It was quiet as you can see. The place hadn’t changed from the time it was built and probably had the same customers. A few locals, bus drivers and clippies having finished work. It was pretty dark with yellow wall paper a tile floor and a few tables and chairs mostly unoccupied. There was nothing in the way of decoration other than an old disconnected gas lamp on the wall and a few beer mats.


A pint of bitter then was about 1 shilling and 10 pence about 7p in today’s money.

There was no décor, no music no crisps, just beer and a fire. It was a place to talk and enjoy a couple of pints I don’t even think there was a dartboard. The beer was draught came from a wooden barrel and was warm. There is no other way to drink beer, is there? There was a Saloon and a Lounge. The only difference between the two was that women were allowed in the lounge although I never saw one in there.

Of course times change and the pub was knocked down and turned into an eighties pub. I believe even that is closed now.

The “clippies”, bus conductors were real characters men and women. It is funny how these days the use of words like “love” and “darling” are viewed as sexist yet in my day the clippies all used lovely words of endearment. What is wrong with a sixty-year-old women calling a schoolboy “love”, "darling", or “sweetheart”?
I am not sure but I obviously belong to a different, more innocent era. It wasn't what you said. It was how you said it that mattered.

I'd rather be sailing!

Had a long day today unfortunately spent the whole day in A&E with my mom. So just the painting of our old yacht tonight.

No place like Gnome

There the still life is finished bar any details when I look at it next. The background is actually slightly greyer than blue but it gives you an idea. I had thought about the crab’s whiskers but probably won’t add them as they are normally absent when you buy a crab. I did some tuition this afternoon so a good day’s work. Alex has finished off 8 pictures as well.

When we lived in Welshpool we had a friend Neil who was quite hilarious. He had a very dry sense of humour and generally took all that life could throw at him with a smile and an off the wall comment. Neil had in his front garden a large cement gnome who he affectionately called Norman. One day he informed us in rather a lather that Norman had been stolen and he obviously quite put out about it.


Nothing more was said until about a month later when he showed us a picture postcard of Rio de Janeiro, which read,



“Dear Neil,


Sorry I left without saying goodbye but I have decided to see the world so don’t worry about me. I am having a wonderful time. I hope you are all right. The beaches in Rio are super. I haven’t met any other gnomes here yet.


Love Norman”

Sure enough it had been posted in Rio. There followed a series of postcards from all around the world much to Neil’s and our amusement.

We never did find out who was responsible but one night Norman re-appeared having apparently had enough of globetrotting.