Piper pullovers and sketchbooks

Eye and Camera, Plate II, 1983

After visiting my mother and celebrating her 90th birthday, it's back home to Kent, a weekend of hacking back the jungle (at least the weather was superb), then to the Tate Archive today. I got through 52 of the 58 Piper sketchbooks and notebooks in the collection before they closed for the day, looking for relevant images which we could film. What struck me most forcibly was that our whole premise for the film is that Piper lived in a romantic unpopulated dream-like landscape and we've waited patiently at venues until people have moved out of the way - and yet his sketchbooks from 1968 onwards become almost exclusively figure studies - mainly recumbent half dressed women with black stockings but also crossed legs with lace up boots, hand studies, copulating couples and 3 somes, together with photographs from life and lots of images from magazines of models. I get the feeling he preferred a rounder type of female. Studies for the Eye and the Camera series I suppose, but even so rather a plethora.

I enjoyed the comments Piper wrote about the Sitwells:

'I was an extremely late developer. Osbert, Edith and Sacheverell really (what you might call) brought me up. That is, they made me believe in a life I had always wanted to live but which, until I met them, I hadn't thought was possible ... they 'sophisticated' me.'
Edith was, apparently, an inveterate knitter and made at least 3 pullovers for Piper.

The next couple of days I must get my stained glass lecture finalised, then the 2 day conference is Thursday/Friday. Meanwhile Charles dashed off to Wales on Sunday to film the brilliant Welsh potter Phil Rogers opening his kiln Monday - this is the final piece for the film commissioned by Goldmark Gallery (see http://www.philrogerspottery.com/). He then has a guest Thursday to Monday, Jobear returning Tuesday to Friday. No rest for the wicked.

PP4 - Renishaw

Sir Reresby Sitwell and Renishaw Hall from the south

A rather pleasant, obviously lived in and loved, country house, without the heaviness of dated furnishings which one sees in so many of these grand houses, and a beautiful garden which was landscaped by Sir George Sitwell (the present incumbent's grandfather) but Lady Penelope has added colour. Sir Reresby and Lady Penelope a charming couple and Sir Reresby granted us an interview before he dashed off for a lunch date - we placed him by the fireplace in the entrance hall above which is a Piper triptych of Venice which made a good setting. After they left we were placed in the hands of David Bateman, the housekeeper, a sterling chap who took us round the house to photograph relevant Piper works from the HUGE collection, on to the roof of pinnacles and battlements with superb views over the surrounding countryside, round the gardens and the Gothic Temple (aka dog cemetery), into the museum, and then explained how to get to the lakes and Triumphal Arch - and all done with a sense of humour. By the end we were rushing like mad things trying to get all our filming completed in the allotted 4 hours before the penalty charges clocked in.

David Bateman and Charles outside the north front of Renishaw

And I discovered more about David Horner, known as 'Blossom' - Osbert's boyfriend - which was interesting!

crown of glass

Drive to Film Farm - in the evening we watched an excellent film about Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and the way in which the stained glass in the tower was part of the structure. The process was evolved in collaboration with the artists (Piper and Patrick Reyntiens), architects and engineers and the film (a Shell production) explained all this in an approachable manner without cutting out the more difficult concepts. Why oh why cannot we have in depth reports like this these days on television instead of the vapid meanderings with which we are served. And many thanks to Janet Moretta for sending us a copy.

Osbert

Arrived home 14 July and return to Film Farm 21 July during which have set myself the impossible task of reading all 5 volumes of Osbert Sitwell's biography, Left Hand! Right Hand! since our next Perambulation will be to interview Sir Reresby Sitwell and film Renishaw. This in addition to the usual hunt the spider, hack the jungle, forage for food activities and visit two local collectors, one in Sandgate and one in Canterbury - plus have everything in readiness for the Renishaw trip - although it's up to Charles to charge the batteries of course.
Not entirely fair on the boy, it has to be admitted, since this week Charles appears to be running a B&B with not only Jobear visiting Monday to Friday but two other Charlotte Bach researchers arriving for part of the week, Charles not only running the house and cheffing in his own inimitable manner but also researching and editing.
Bad news from the wonderfully quirky Sanderson Hotel in London, where we hoped to film a Piper stained glass panel, a lovely plant abstract. Since they gained no editorial and they realised we had no budget worth speaking of - they decided against allowing us to film. What would they have lost by allowing 2 people into their building for an hour max? What do they lose - nothing in the immediate money sense, but think of the schoolchildren who may have benefited from the experience of seeing that window, perhaps future entrepreneurs who may think twice about paying for a room in such a short-sighted establishment. Money certainly does make the world go around - few of the groups, companies, organisations I contact can credit that Mike Goldmark is making this film for purely philanthropic motives and planning to give (as in freely) most of the production to schools. Or that most of the fixed budget Charles and I are working to will be eaten up by payment for reproduction rights and travel expenses. For some strange reason we seem to be out of synch with the remainder of the world in feeling it's more important to create than to fill the coffers - I guess the world needs nut cases!
Osbert is delightfully quotable, as can be seen from the following, and I am rather enjoying the books, although I did find the family tree at the
start rather yawn-making.

'Educated during holidays from Eton'
'No gentleman can be without three copies of a book, one for show, one for use, and one for borrowers'
'fashionable beauties, with psyches that resembled air-balloons, inflated, light and highly coloured.'
'a real seaside piano, which compared in tone withe the normal instrument as the face of a swimmer who has swallowed a lot of sea-water compares with that of an ordinary human being ...'
'They were all tall: for height was an ideal in this circle; everyone, especially the women, despised the undersized as elsewhere the talented look down on the half-witted ...'
'Extravagance has done more for the world than ever has thrift.'

Odd how one's conception of age changes, Osbert could write of himself at the age of nearly 50:
'Already I am nearing fifty and the grey hairs are beginning to show. I have reached the watershed and can see the stream which I must follow downhill toward the limitless ocean, cold and fearless.'
I'm now nearer 60 than 50 and yet life seems to have blossomed anew and there is so much I want to accomplish, and most of the time I'm whizzing and whirling Tigger-like!

His father once 'determined to have all the white cows in the park stencilled with a blue Chinese patter, but the animals were so obdurate and perverse as in the end to oblige him to abandon the scheme.'
British eccentricity at its best!

PP3 part 7

Last leg - phew! We depart for the Severn Valley railway upon which we intend to travel from Kidderminster to Bridgenorth and back, because it will give us good views of Shropshire and we feel JP and John Betjeman would have adored the steam trains. We take everything of huge value with us on the train, leaving the remainder in the boot and Megan carefully concealed on the back seat.
A great journey, lovely countryside and just something about the sound of the horn going 'Toot! Toot!' and the chugging of the hill climbs, and the steam floating past the carriage windows - a journey back in time.
And thence back to Film Farm arriving about 7.30, a scratch supper, and collapse! But only after placing Megan in the bathroom where she looks superb, fits the window perfectly and her colours match the tiling and rug. Just glad to have got her back safely in one piece.
A very hard week, early mornings, late nights, but some wonderful venues, people, places - can't wait to see the rushes!

PP3 part 6

Paddy's Wigwam - aka Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Fascinating seeing Coventry at the start of the week and this at the end. Oddly enough, whether because of being in the round, or the darkness and richness of the glass, it has a far more spiritual feel to it. We both loved the space, the light, the feeling of enclosure. BUT much more difficult to film and photograph. Staff tremendously helpful and chatty, and a visitor I chatted to turned out to be Piper's taxi driver at Fawley Bottom! Libby as usual was chief bag carrier (see image) but still smiling!

In the afternoon we gave ourselves a break and visited the fabulous Klimt exhibition at Liverpool Tate which showed so many works I'd never seen previously plus those of Hoffman and Schiele and the inevitable Mackintosh. But why do they have to make the notes of each work so small and place them so low down - even I was having to stoop but my long legged colleague was bent double reading them and in agonies by the end.
This was followed by the inevitable 'ferry cross the Mersey' - how could one avoid such a trip and it afforded great views of the Liverpool skyline - plus I spotted a Mick Jagger look-alike having a Super8 session?! In the evening we chanced upon the Olive Press where the Maitre D was wonderfully friendly and helpful and even gave Charles a free Peroni glass with which he is highly delighted.

PP3 Part 5

Another run early morning, meet Charles for breakfast and a good fry up helps awaken the man. We set off on time to meet Jeremy and Pam (see 759 mile dinner date, 12 August 2007 on http://frankbrangwyn.blogspot.com but are held up by roadworks, a fuel stop, a level crossing and slow traffic so are 20 minutes late at the rendezvous in deepest Snowdonia. Now it so happens that in deepest Snowdonia there is no mobile reception - not that I normally rely on such contraptions - but it does not make exchanging information easy. Jeremy has changed his car since the last time we met and he can't recall what vehicle I possess, meanwhile he and Pam have hared up the road to look for us? The chances of us recognising each other were slim. Anyway, as I was wandering around aimlessly they turned up and we decided, given the rain, that we would decamp to Jeremy's house to discuss tactics.
The thing is, Jeremy is not only an artist in his own right, but hugely knowledgeable about the region and also a leading light in Gwynedd Museum. A real coffee - the best in the last week - revived flagging and damp spirits and Pam and I decided to make an itinerary of Piper locations. Meanwhile Jeremy had managed to contact Gwynedd and arranged for us to see their Piper sketch, assuring us meanwhile that the cloud cover would rise mid afternoon. So we all drove down/up/across/whichever way the map is pointing to Bangor where we photographed said image and then attempted a late lunch. The only place open and without a queue looked OK but it transpired that the kitchen staff had gone on strike and we waited and waited until Pam (every home should have one) banged on the desk (not metaphorically but actually), not once but twice, following which we were FINALLY served.
Thence back to Snowdonia and Piper's favourite places and Jeremy was just brilliant taking us along the valleys, pointing out roche moutonne, viewpoints, places Piper stayed etc - despite the fact that the mist hadn't lifted as promised and the rain hadn't stopped. I was elevated to A4 paper holder and stills, whilst Jeremy became tripod carrier and Pam umbrella attendant. Brilliant!
Eventually the afternoon turned out to be successful although the weather played with us continuously. Drove to Liverpool, arriving about 8pm.

PP3 part 4

Went for another drizzly morning run - the garbage collectors (or whatever their PC name is now) yelled out - 'Hey, Mrs, the bus stop's back there'.
The B&B has been inundated overnight with foreign students and, as with the tea room yesterday, we wondered what we were doing in a student B&B at this age - we feel we deserve better!
We booked out but left our luggage in a spare room and drove to Machynlleth to see the Piper/Britten exhibition at MOMA. We enjoyed the exhibition, although small, and were pleased to note that it had the support of Clarissa Lewis, Piper's elder daughter, from whom Mike Goldmark is still trying to gain copyright permission. The adjoining Tabernacle was a wonderful space - I'd love to give a lecture there! The town was fascinating, some individual shops, sustainable household and decorating goods, art shops, trendy clothes, organic food etc, presumably some rejuvenation from the Centre for Alternative Technology? We would love to have visited CAT but again time was of the essence. We did have time to pop into a Deli almost next door to MOMA and buy some flavoured vinegars, Welsh mustard (red, fiery and dragon-like since you ask) and a pork and apple pie for Charles' lunch - which he pronounced superb, best pork pie EVER, thin crisp pastry with a lattice top, tasty filling and not all fatty.
Back to Dolgellau to collect all our bags, sort out what we may need in the afternoon, and pack Megan in very carefully on the back seat, taking care to cover her with light waterproofs so no-one sees her - if it rains we'll have to get wet!
This time we drove almost back to the English border to a spectacular waterfall called Pistyll Rhaeadr, which, for reference, isn't near anywhere. Now if the romantic artists and writers were awed by Gordale Scar, what would they have felt faced with this. The fall is higher than Niagara, it was very fierce the day we were there because of the previous days rains, and quite majestic, with a fairy bridge half way down from which spray flew into the air almost reaching the top of the fall.
Feeling joyful to be faced with such a beautiful natural phenomenon, it was at this juncture Libby discovered she had lost her little bag containing not only the lens cloth, but more importantly her memory card with images of Coventry, Ironbridge and Sid.
Yes, you've guessed it, 'Libby's lost her memory' was the continual tease during the remainder of PP3!
And thence back north to our next B&B on the edges of Snowdonia.

This sign explains why Charles keeps getting the navigation wrong!

PP3 part 3

Another run this morning in the drizzle but helped wake me up. Rather a mediocre breakfast and a drizzly day altogether, gradually maturing into rain and then full scale downpour. We arrived at Caernarfon to film the castle - unfortunately I had assumed that much of the land round the castle would belong to same but it turned out that Piper's views were from across the stream and up the hill. Across the stream was fine to accomplish except that Libby was again the donkey whilst Charles strode ahead manfully with the light meter. We had a cup of tea in a tiny tea shop inhabited by squillions of little old ladies in twinsets and pearls and permed remains of hair and began to feel out of place. Driving up into the hills behind the city we spotted some of the buildings in Piper's work but again they'd obviously irritatingly re-assembled themselves in a different order since his day.
We stopped at the Inhospitable Chip just before closing time so all they could offer Charles was chips (personally ugh! Tiny Belgian crisp chips fine, but British soggy, forget it) - Thence to Beaumaris where Charles had spotted a beautifully made model of a fishing vessel last year when we were filming Brangwyn's stained glass. And the shop was open for once and the boat was still there, which, by his reckoning meant it had to be - so Megan was purchased and placed carefully on the back seat - as if we have sufficient room for her as well!
From there to a beach somewhere near Rhosneigr to attempt to find an abstract in shells and detritus, a fabulous beach with seaweed of all colours and stones (the images were not orchestrated), great fun except that we both got hopelessly wet. On the drive back we looked in vain for a suitable stretch of wall to film (again to match one of Piper's) and finally found something near the Menai Bridge.
Thence a long drive back to Dolgellau - not the distance - but the rain was horrific by this stage, the light had gone, the spray was everywhere. Arrived back at the B&B, laid out our equipment to dry, donned raincoats once more and scurried into the town for a meal - which was really excellent - Y Sospan - very good, fresh produce, freshly cooked, relaxed atmosphere, no pretension. Highly recommended. And we drank an Australian red wine named Anglesey and felt much much better! (For some reason I could not persuade this page to accept the Y Sospan details so you'll find them on PP3 part 7!)

PP3 part 2

Went for a run along the river before breakfast, glorious, that warm wet smell after a night of rain, ducks and other waterfowl waddling about their business, the fishermen starting to congregate. Met Charles for breakfast and the cooked chirped him up greatly - yog for me!
Headed off to Ironbridge but sadly delayed by some interminable telephone calls. Spitting but not raining heavily so just about managed to film and photograph the narrow gorge, the elegant bridge and the amusing toll sign. Unfortunately there are substantially more trees now than there were in Piper's time let alone Fritter or Robertson whose view we were comparing with Piper's, and the Jackfield Museum view was obscured by huge building works on the river side. Charles bravely tackled the undergrowth in front of the Museum but reported back that the buildings aren't the same colours as in Piper's work and the church had moved itself - artistic licence I guess. there are so many museums in the valley we'd have loved to have visited but I hadn't factored in time unfortunately - and we were already delayed.
And on to New Radnor to interview Sid Burnard, an artist in Driftwood which obviously appeals since my podcast is titled DRFITWOOD (see www.libbyhorner.com and http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=277719748). Charles ate a pork pie en route which purported to have a world-wide reputation but to the expert wasn't much cop. I was finally persuaded to have a coffee at an OK Diner mid afternoon because I was flagging. We arrived unfortunately much later than planned but Sid was absolutely charming, gave us another reviving coffee and then started telling us about his long and varied career and showed us his wonderful driftwood sculptures - it's the birds I like, especially Deirdre made with some burnt wood which appears to replicate her feathers (Sid and Deirdre below). A wonderful enthusiastic good-hearted man. the interview should be launched in August hopefully. Oh, and New Radnor appeared to have some exceptionally old buildings - but it's only Norman whereas Old Radnor is Saxon! Age is, as noted yesterday, relative.
A beautiful drive over to Dongellau, stunning scenery. Arrived about 8pm, dumped our bags in the B&B and rushed into town for much needed sustenance.

PP3 part 1

Drove up to Film Farm yesterday and this morning we loaded up the car with all the film, sound, lighting and camera equipment, just managing to squeeze our bags our bags on the back seat - not mushroom inside. The meteorologists are threatening the 'worst weather week' this year so we also have the HUGE umbrella.
Succeeded in getting Charles out of the house by 9am and off we set for Coventry which we reached without too many wrong turnings (the navigator and not the driver being at fault you understand). Staff very friendly and allowed us to park right next to the Cathedral which made unloading the bags a trifle easier - said bags were left by the entry desk where staff were most vigilant, one old dear (88 if a day) reprimanded me sharply for opening a bag and asked if I was with 'the nice young man with the camera' which pleased youthful Charles no end. Mind you, age is all relative.
Luckily there weren't too many people about which helped our thesis that Piper's works are unpopulated. However the rain was more of a problem (glad of the BIG BROLLY) and there were long spells when we were standing around waiting for an organ recital to finish, school children to retreat or the rain to cease. I've always loved the ruins of the old cathedral but this time looked more closely at Basil Spence's architecture and of course the Baptistery window which we were there to film. It is a frightful shame that some pieces of glass have been broken and covered over with duck tape! The work that must have gone into those windows, Patrick Reyntiens appears to have painted on almost every pane of glass, and of course all the cutting and placing and leading was his work - I'm in absolute awe. Just before we left a visiting American soul choir were given permission to sing - what a treat, the bass notes were glorious, they were so happy to have the opportunity to perform spontaneously in such a glorious building, and all the visitors were in raptures.
We finished at Coventry about 3pm and had a leisurely drive to Bewdley where we stayed the night in a B&B by the river - delightful town with a fabulous old(e) world(e) sweet shop, and an off licence with a selection of ciders the like of which I have never seen before.

Ketchup

Arrived home 29 June hoping to catch up on mail etc and in doing so discovered a note from the BSMGP, organisers of the 2 day conference at the end of the month - Aspects of 20th Century Glass, that they require the digital images for each talk by 10 July - since I am due to leave 6 July for another week's long filming - this means that I have 6 days in which to write the lecture I'm giving on Brangwyn's stained glass, plus learn a completely new programme, never having given a digital lecture previously! Plus catch up, rid the house of encroaching spiders, attempt some sort of gardening, and prepare for the next PP - thoughts of re-reading June Osborne's book on Piper's stained glass faded into insignificance. Somehow, by dint of working until about 9pm each evening all deeds were accomplished, together with a batch of raspberry jam (our own fruit), and invitations to a 180 NOT OUT! bash in August to celebrate the 90th birthdays of my mother and father in law.
Unfortunately it does mean that I am not feeling as refreshed as I should do for this next week, and Charles is similarly hard pressed and somewhat exhausted having had Jobear Webb staying all week working on the Charlotte Bach film (see http://www.charlottebach.org