TOTTIE AND TOM

 

Tottie reporting.

The in depth interview went down well with the boss, he thought I’d done a great job, but then he gave me a hard time about not getting a photo. “We need an image”, he literally screamed at me. I’d totally forgotten, and I couldn’t say I’d left the camera behind because my mobile phone would have done just as well. So, I told him Tom had refused, saying there were plenty of images of himself on line. I tapped his name in and hit images. I noticed one engraving from 1821, the obituary of Tom Hickman, a top bare knuckle fighter by all accounts who came to a sticky end. I wonder if he’s any relation.

 I can’t see Tom raising a finger let alone a fist to anyone. Maybe there’s another story there, particularly as I hear he’s had some peats stolen from out on the moor. The boss also got wind of that and now wants me to do a follow up, just the sort of thing he likes a bit of sensationalism and not past a bit of exaggeration and downright fabrication, well hardly surprising for someone who used to work on the News of the World. Anyway, I found this one of Tom in action, painting an enormous canvas, not quite the drama of Mc Taggart in high winds on Macrihanish beach, but he does seem to be almost jigging along with those Breton dancers, and perfect for the in depth article.

The cakes were a big mistake, you should have seen Tom’s face at that point it would have made a pretty grim picture. Still, once out in the studio Tom forget about the baking. He seemed to enjoy talking about himself, but then don’t we all.

Before starting the interview he showed me the chair he’d just finished out in the workshop, and I just could not believe it. I knew right away I had to have it, what the French call le coup de foudre. It seemed like it had been made especially for me, the colour, that wee folding shelf and the scratched childlike images. I felt I’d known it for ages and it was already a treasured heirloom. I freely admit I might have gone over the top a bit, but anyway he’s agreed to let me have it (on lone for now) before it goes on exhibition. He said he’ll make a tweed cushion for it and delivering it next week. I think I’ll stick to scones next time.

Tom. Tottie’s been texting me about doing an article about the stolen peats and that they could do a crowd funding or donations. I don’t think so, I’ve already said enough on the subject, and I’m more concerned about bagging up the rest and getting them in. She also said something about needing a photo for the article and had found something interesting about Tom Hickman on line. No doubt I will find out when I deliver the chair.

I’ve had just the one visitor this week (I don’t count Tottie). This woman after the briefest of glances around admitted she’d only come in from the ridding school looking for the toilets. They’d told her they were up the hill and to the right, and so she’d turned right onto the road and seen my open sign. I suspect she didn’t fancy using their eco toilets, and I was sadly lacking in any generosity of spirit after the peat incident. She wasn’t exactly hoping from foot to foot so I directed her back the way she came. She said on parting that maybe they’ll come back when the riding was finished, but I knew what maybe meant. I wonder what she’d have done if I said the £5 entry fee includes free use of the toilet.

I’ve at last finished a recycling embroidery project that seems to have been hanging around for months I finished the huntsman earlier in the year, but the two ladies was quite a bit bigger. They were both originally part of a pole screen that had been overstitched in Victorian times. When I removed the later stitching there really wasn’t much left apart from the 17^th century figures and various strange birds. Although now in two separate images I have managed to retain elements of the original design as well as the best of the early embroidery. I felt quite guilty initially about being unable to restore the original embroidered panel, but now I see the two completed works it seems worthwhile, and to live on in a different form is way better than being consigned to the bin. It always helps to have an old frame to put them in, even if they are not the same period. I’ve just cut down an old pillow, so must now look out a couple of bits of tweed for that chair cushion.