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The day after the great storm the telephone came back on so that at least we could make contact with the outside world. Mike’s dad came up the lane as far as he could get in the car and we trekked down clambering over the debris and managed to make contact and it was likeContinue reading “The Great Storm, final part”

I must have dozed off eventually as the next thing I heard was Mike shouting up the stairs. It was finally morning and thankfully the house still seemed to be in one piece. Mike said “Take a look outside!” Stepping outside, I gasped: where was the brick path which leads up to the house? WeContinue reading “The Devastated Forest”

I was awoken one night by a loud rapid banging and crashing. Initially I tried to ignore it, rolled over and tucked the blankets over my head. After a few more minutes I realised I couldn’t really leave it and curiosity got the better of me and I wearily got up groping for the light.Continue reading “After the Storm”

Life at Greendene settled into a pattern. Weekdays were divided between teaching and pottery making. Weekends were generally quiet as Michael spent a lot of time with Betty. I had the place to myself and found the silence and the seclusion overwhelming at times, profound at others. I took long walks up into the beechContinue reading “Castles and Classes”

The other big thing that really started to change things was that, first of all my father got a job for a year in Java and was based in Jakarta. For that year I was involved in looking after my mum as my brother had moved away and was living in Dorking with his girlContinue reading “The Lodger”

Up until 1982 I was travelling to Greendene to work on my motorbike through all sorts of weather. Whatever nature could throw at me I soldiered on battling the elements to get to the pottery. In summer the biking was an absolute joy. As I zoomed up the verdant lanes, I could smell the softContinue reading “The Old Morris”

I must mention enrolment evenings for the classes, as it is very different now when we all communicate so much via the internet and everyone appears to be too busy to meet in the flesh so to speak. Enrolment evening was where school desks were set up in the main hall of the school. EachContinue reading “Enrolment Evening”

It was getting colder now and as we were up on the North Downs near the Pilgrims Way, so it was a degree or two colder than down in the valley. I could feel it as I motorcycled up the lane, the air getting icier as I climbed the last half mile up to theContinue reading “Teaching”

In the weeks after Denis die, we started in earnest to try and make a go of the pottery, his legacy. In the weeks before his death things had slowed up, but I had continued to try and build up speed and skill on the wheel and began various experiments with design on plates, storageContinue reading “Going To Market”