Gothic Monsters - Among Us!

Oof! Gap in blogging due to workload - apologies bloggers! However we are back and delighted to announce that we have a workshop coming up on December 4th at South Cave Castle. This time we are workshopping in the evening, and our theme is 'The Natural Environment'. If you're local and would like to join us, do get in touch!

And while we're here... been to the hairdressers lately? Been handed a magazine to read while you're waiting? 'Tis an extraordinary thing - the lengths some ladies will go to, to get themselves noticed. We saw images of huge, grotesquely inflated backsides, boobs and rubber 'trout pout' lips. Is this supposed to be attractive? Actually, our verdict is that it's inhuman. Ladies, you are bears gnawing at your own feet here.

Gothic monsters, it seems, are among us!

The poppies - bland sentimentality or evocative art?

Jonathan Jones (Guardian, 1st Nov) believes the 'ugly reality' of the First World War would be better represented by Otto Dix's worm-infested skull. But how many of today's younger generation, desensitised by the gore of 18+ gaming, would give it a second thought? As a teacher, sadly, I've seen too many students unmoved by the shocking imagery of Wilfred Owen's Dulce Et to believe in any enduring power, there.
The poppies at the Tower of London are beautiful; but back up a little - step away, and the impression is increasingly that of spilt, spilling, gushing, blood.Why does no one else seem to talk about the poppies in this way, when I found this overpowering?

We can no longer shock ourselves into remembering that the Great War was 'real'. And Jones' assertion that history is 'worth far more than the illusion of memory' fails to take into account the subjective nature of history - for what is it, if not delusional memory? All too often history will, it seems, inevitable move into nostalgia. The poppies don't 'muffle the truth', Jonathan, because the truth is no longer available to us - if it ever was.