No sun - no moon!
No morn - no noon -
No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! -
November!
November - By Thomas Hood (1799-1845)
November is here with a vengeance and after the glories of autumn colour, we鈥檙e now facing months and months of monochrome grey in the British countryside. But there鈥檚 still colour to be found and Richard鈥檚 in Cumbria to eke the last rainbow shoots from the landscape.
He鈥檚 being driven round by Blue Badge Guide .听 Tom鈥檚 an ex-policeman who loves his native Cumbria so much he wants to show it off to visitors 鈥 and has a fund of fascinating tales to tell 鈥 such as the one about Wordsworth being a real 鈥淣IMBY鈥!
At Whinfell, Richard meets Kelley Sproston, who鈥檚 part of听the , 听that鈥檚 Save Our Squirrels, and the squirrels themselves are red. Kelley takes Richard on a 鈥渟quirrel transect鈥 to log squirrels in this last bastion for the iconic creatures and he discovers that yes, squirrels really do forget where they hide their nuts. They鈥檙e looking for听volunteers to help, so if you鈥檇 like to join in please email Kelley via the .
The next colour on Richard鈥檚 list is green 鈥 and his next stop is at the which produces a distinctive green slate. Helicopter pilot and restaurateur Mark Weir bought and reopened the mine ten years ago, despite having absolutely no experience. But he was guided by his uncle, John Taylor, who鈥檇 been in the business all his life and they tell Richard how their difficult relationship blossomed into friendship.
And the last stop on Richard鈥檚 tour of Cumbria is in Grasmere. Here he meets artist Judith Dean, artist in residence at the . Judith, like all artists, deals with colour 鈥 but she鈥檚 also interested in the use of monochrome, working with a variety of media 鈥 sculpture, installations, photographs 鈥 whichever is appropriate to the place and the ideas that spring up. In particular, she鈥檚 fascinated by the combination of inspiration of the new place and the ideas and experiences that she brings with her.
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