Ironbridge Gorge

Ironbridge - isnt it pretty

Views of the Gorge

The glass blowers

Some of the commissioned pieces of glass

Working on the Islamic piece

The Coalport pottery with kiln in background

The river Severn running through the Gorge

An early piece of Coalport China -gorgeous detail

More china with amazing detail

The canal running along the pottery site

Weather is still yuk and wet for the second week of May which makes if difficult to get any gardening done, but it does allow us to explore all the places we singled out but did not get to last year.

 Ironbridge Gorge was one of those places.   It is located up in Shropshire which is North West of us and the drive there was through gorgeous rolling farmland.   It became one of the major centers during the industrial revolution because of the proximity of the river and the ability to deliver coal to industrial companies.   The location is also famous for its pretty bridge (not a word usually used to describe a bridge).  Abraham Darby (yes David Austin named a rose after him)  was the first man to smelt coke with iron for strength  and built this bridge.  This exercise was the forerunner to all high risers and sky scrapers built in the 20th century.   The gorge is very pretty being lined with trees running along the banks of the river  Severn and has 10 museums which include a model village, the pipe museum (as in smoking - you would have thought it would have been iron ones),  the museum of the gorge, the Coalport China museum  and the Coalbrook Dale Museum which gives the history of the smelting process and the making of the bridge.

The famous china 'Coalport', which is now part of Wedgewood became one of the most productive enterprises in this area  until 1926 and  the museum details the history and has fabulous displays showing the exquisite painting techniques.

We came upon a glass blower also who is commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum to do historical pieces.  He and his guys were working of a piece for Islamic art and we were fascinated by the way they used gold leaf and rolled it on to the hot glass and how it transformed into an interesting and realistic pattern when pressed out.

Susie and her man Thomas came up for lunch on Sunday 20th.  We had a productive time talking about the garden and prospective visit by the American family staying here in July. Lunch for her was a simple roast chicken and lots of vegetables.  

Our  English friends Barry and Wendy Winson who now live in Bergerac in the south of France stayed with us for a night.  It was lovely to be able to return their hospitality as we have stayed with them a few times in France and being there is like being at the Ritz.  They have a fabulous new french style house,  new but fits in to the landscape there like it has stood for hundreds of years.

Veronica, our neighbour,  suggested I might like to join her at art classes on a Tuesday evening.  Have been twice and really love it.  The two hours flies by as you get lost in drawing.  The teacher is lovely and very encouraging.  (She needs to be in my case).

Looking forward to a visit from Carol and Graham King later in the week and also Michelle McDonnell.

The sun has come out of hiding and we have gone from 10deg daily highs to 24.  Love love it.

The Cook and the Gardener.