Spoons

Little Welsh love spoons to decorate my caravan :)

The milk bar

Barmouth milk bar, fantastic veggie breakfast!  There was a motorcross event on the beach, they had used a digger to churn up a track, the car park was packed with caravans and motorhomes !
But the decor in the milk bar was fantastic, very old fashioned, there used to be milk bars all over Wales but I have only ever seen two.

We stopped at a campsite not far out of Barmouth called Nanctol Waterfalls, it was recommended by friends Vicky and Tom, and was better than expected! the site was quiet due to the time of year but plenty of room and the washrooms and bathrooms were clean and had hot water. The waterfall itself was stunning and I have photos to post :-)

A fantastic couple of days and then on to Ludow..

Another dress

The 3rd dress/gown complete ish not happy with the neckline so may rework it. I am taking these away with us, for photographs . And will be explained more with them.

Work so far

Well here are the pics I received today of the work that has been done on the caravan, Mr and D. Have worked so hard and I hope the work I do complements what they have done so far. The bed is complete and do is the sink cupboard and the table reshaped so we can sit at it with ease. Very proud of the chaps, bottle of JD coming your way .

Second Ghost Dress

I am pleased with this dress ans have made it slightly shorter as if for a younger child

The new bed.

It's been a busy week, Colin and his trusty side kick D have replaced the small sofa bed with a fantastic small double bed, the mattress with arrive tomorrow so we can go away at the weekend. Then I can do the soft furnishing next week.

Memorial

In the 1960's approximately 3 miles from where I live the police evicted a Traveller site, this was known as the battle of Brownhills. I am still investigating this but found that 3 sisters had been killed during this eviction, the bailiffs had arrived and were moving caravans, the children were still inside ans as the caravan moved the stove fell over and sadly the children were burnt to death.
I can't imagine the grief and no one was prosecuted, so it was never closed. Dreadful.

Researching

Found some really interesting sites about the hop picking in Kent, some lovely photographs of the families together, also people's memories of them.

The Traveller.

Here are a few images of the caravan which is a traditional bow top, which is drawn by horse, she had 3 horses two of which she had for 7 years.  I asked about any problems with racism as this is something that I feel is important as part of my research,  she spoke of a recent event as she was coming towards Glastonbury, (which I have always considered a peaceful and accepting society to all) stones had been thrown at the caravan while she travelled along and name calling,  then realised that she was also travelling with her daughters, how must they of felt ? 

The lady with the baby had been a key worker with the travellers  and is self confessed fair weather traveller along with her partner who is on a site at the moment. She has offered to send me information which she gathered for her degree work, which I hope will increase my research.

The caravan is used for sleeping in and for storage, the living space is the seat and the land around, an old pallet had been used for firewood and the space was being tidied as we spoke, so no rubbish left around which is a common complaint with travellers.

Blogger ....behave !

Daft blogger app, failed my last post and I didn't notice doh..
Anyway a fantastic time has been had, the caravan is fab, no damp and keeps the warm in, some changes have to be made but that was expected. Firstly a decent bed, the sofa bed was ok but cosy and we have to get ourselves organized to were things are and where things should be. But in the whole a successful time was had.
The caravan site was small and the owner very helpful, the weather on ourside, a trip to longleat and a meal out at the fantastic Hundred Monkeys .
On our way home ( within 3 miles) I noticed a bow top caravan and  horses, we went over and had a chat with the lady traveller and her friend who had been a key worker with the travellers before settling down with a traveller herself and being a fair weather traveller.
More to follow.....

Planning a trip.

I have decided that the first trip out with the soon to be named caravan, shall be to Glastonbury! A favourite place to visit out of season, a campsite close to the tor and a Morrisons for brekkie :) more details to follow :)

Heading home ?

The caravan has been safely transported back to base and guided on to the drive, I will pop in tomorrow and have a look to see exactly what needs doing, I know the gas and water need hooking up and the shower room needs work but the living space is fab !

Why?

I love being somewhere else, even if it's a couple of miles away, I love to explore and gaze around the spaces,around me. I haven't mapped much before, in my HND I mapped the journey I took the cocoon on ,so my final degree work relates to that. I have chosen to make a quilt as the way to record the journey and it will be displayed along with the caravan at the end if the year. Along with other works I make en route, I shall also have a journal of any other work I made which may be site specific. I hope to also gave a campsite for a night get people to join me and discuss where they like to be and why.

The beginning of a Journey

~Today (3/10/2012)  My partner and I collected the caravan which is going to be a large part of my final piece for my degree show, it will part of the exhibition and be used as a display for the work that I shall create on my journeys. My main piece will be a quilt created with images of the places and emotions. This will be printed and embroidered .