Thursday

 Hot sunny start to our last day in Puerto. Mt Teide visible for the first half hour of our trip up to Oratava to see the town architecture, the balconied houses and the Museum of Spanish American Crafts.

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 By early afternoon the weather had closed right in again with quite heavy rain and low cloud. Travelling west by bus tomorrow, hoping to find accommodation in Garachico, with plans to walk on the Teno peninsula.

Wednesday

 Brighter by the sea but still very low cloud inland so we're walking along the coast in the opposite direction to Sunday's walk - west towards Icod. Started the walk with a good drenching when the sea wall we were walking along got breached by a tsunami. Good job we're Cumbrians and used to a bit of damp. Speeding up the walking pace soon dried us out.
The Rambla del Castro path winds along the coast past several dramatic black sand beaches,
 

 

past the ruined Fortin de San Fernando



to the old estate lands of del Castro. Returning to Puerto in late afternoon the cloud cleared for twenty minutes and we got our first glimpse of Mt Teide in the distance

Tuesday

Tuesday - Information gathering and exploring around town today as the cloud level is very low again. Did the tourist info, Archaeological Museum and 2 botanical gardens. The Jardin Botanico in Puerto was outstanding

Monday

 Overcast - still haven't seen Mt Teide. Heading off up into the hills today into the mist to walk in the Oratava Valley above Aguamansa. We missed the right place to get off the bus, hadn't taken enough clothing and it was absolutely freezing above 1000 feet. We got completely lost and walked for miles and miles through forest. Not the best of days. I have a life threatening blister and Geoff seems to have dislocated both hips. Hot baths and linament called for.

Sunday

Minimal sun, overcast but still warm. Short walk along the coast took us through banana plantations and past some stunning coastal views. Our picnic furthered the cause of scientific research when we discovered lizards like to eat chorizo salami and banana skins. Rather than returning by bus we decided to find our own route back. Needless to say we had to retreat from an overgrown barranco on our shortcut, but that led us past a wonderful sculptors studio - he must have been away on a siesta but we peeped around anyway. Found one of his bronzes in town later on that night

Saturday

A 3am start from manchester to Liverpool airport meant we were landing on Tenerife by 10-30am - met by 33C heat and brilliant sunshine - a far cry from Cumbrian weather. By 3-30 we'd travelled by bus to Puerto de la Cruz on the north coast of the island, checked into our hotel and started our first wanderings around to get our bearings, and of course the sun had disappeared. Black sand seems wrong on so many counts but our first foray onto the beach showed us landscape hand-wedged from lots of different clays,with boulders thrown in for good measure then fired by the kiln god .The whole place looks like the product of an overfired anagama.Clinker meets cinder toffee. Just the place for potters on holiday.

Where's the week gone?

One of those god-awful weeks where you look back on it and know you've been doing stuff all week but there's nothing memorable to report. Geoff's been computer-bound most days, getting out final invoices and setting up a group for the Pens potters in LinkedIn so they can all talk to each other on pot and show-related matters. I got the first glaze-firing of the year out of the kiln on Friday - nothing drop-dead gorgeous but a few steady teabowls that will go in the box for Rufford or Hohr-Grenzhausen in June

After three and a half weeks of snow I finally got back behind the wheel today and managed to drive myself into Penrith. Thank god for the thaw ..... I was getting stir-crazy

The Road less travelled .........

A welcome appearance by a man in a small lorry with a shovel and a cargo of grit meant that we finally got the car out on Friday and ventured gingerly into Keswick. The first mile along our country lanes was quite hairy as I'm not a great fan of going sideways in a car, but we survived the trip, replenished food supplies and I purchased new walking boots and trousers for my 2010 project. I'll be 60 this year, and not being a great one for parties I'm treating myself to a week off every month throughout the year to go walking. The highlight will probably be the 9 day trek into Petra in March - most months are a lot more mundane - some aren't even planned yet. The downside is that 4 weeks work has to squeeze into 3 every month.
The Potfest website  has been updated with all of this year's exhibitors -  we're currently deciding on the competition theme for the 2 shows, and planning the fliers and posters. I've managed to get into the workshop most mornings this week and am slowly getting back into the swing of making.
Some of this week's production drying out - could have been more but .....

The road less travelled .......... spot which doorway has had the heaviest traffic - the workshop on the left or the log and coalstore on the right

No contest.... toasty warm by the fire, or freezing in the workshop.
Disappointment of the week was not getting into the free Soda-firing workshop at La Meridiana centre in Tuscany in April, and finally getting to meet Canadian potters Tony & Sheila Clennell who are running a course there the week after.  Best laid plans and all that .....

Polar bears, penguins and grizzlies

Another three inches of snow last night - this necessitates having to run from the house to the workshop before snow blindness sets in, and this morning I think I saw a polar bear and some penguins sheltering behind one of the sheds. Its probably only a matter of hours now before Geoff will be wandering around with the axe shouting "Here's Johnny". I'm reasonably sure Cumbria have sold off all their snow ploughs on Ebay and have substituted them in the name of economy with one man, a wheelbarrow and a small shovel.
I'm undergoing workshop aversion therapy at the moment, whereby I force myself to go in there most mornings and hang around doing clearing up jobs till the muse strikes. Unfortunately I think my work ethic must only kick in at a higher temperature than we're experiencing presently.
The Park places are all allocated and I think we're in for a cracking show come summer. Applications to exhibit were way up on last year which meant disappointing a lot of people - but having a regular turnover of over twenty percent ensures a fresh look each year. 2010 will see exhibitors from Denmark and the USA for the first time. Hopefully I'll have finished the website images by the start of next week and you'll all be able to see who'll be there.
Just off to trap some dinner for the grizzly.

Resolutely into the new decade

I'm full of good intentions to keep you posted as to the goings on at Potfest and Cox HQ throughout 2010 - so here goes.

The run up to Christmas and the new year have been interesting. We've been snowed in since Dec.19th. and although we're only half a mile off one of the main roads in the region, I think our car's in till the spring thaw comes around. Cumbria seems to be economising on grit this year.

We walked out several miles to pick up our turkey a few days before Christmas and have been eating it ever since, as no-one else has made it through the snow to get here to help us dispose of it.

 Beautiful sunny days made for lots of walks from the house but then eight days mail finally got through and now we're back in Potfest mode with a vengeance as  the space allocation is under way for the Park. Geoff has application forms spread out all over the house and I'm hunkered down with the computer trying to get the website updated.

My year has started well with an acceptance to exhibit at Rufford in June - how great to be able to do a show where someone else has to do all the worrying. Happy New Year everybody!