After nearly 6 weeks in hospital after several mini-strokes, my Dad came home the day before yesterday.  It's hard work nursing someone getting over a stroke - I never knew there was so much to it!  All his food has to be pureed, there's a whole list of things he can't eat, all his drinks have to be thickened with starch until they're like wallpaper paste (until his swallow function returns properly).  He's very weak compared to how he was before so he needs a lot of help.  But he's walking with the help of a stick and can wash and dress himself, so I guess he's a lot better off than many others.  In time, I'm sure he'll get almost back to normal.

Work has of course suffered over the last few weeks, but that's a sacrifice worth making for such a brilliant dad.
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Here's one of my latest pots - I decided to try something a bit different after being inspired at the Royal College of Art exhibition in June.  This vase is 10.5 inches tall; I also made a large cylindrical one about 12 inches tall and a small cylindrical one about 3.5 inches tall - they're all on the Shop page of this website - until someone buys them of course!

 
 
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Left to right:  my eldest son Tony, me, my dad, and my younger son Peter.

I went away at the weekend to my sons' annual family barbecue.  It was lovely to catch up with all the other members of the family who came along.

As I had to miss two selling events to go along, I took along half a dozen samples of my work and some business cards so that some of the more distant relatives could see what I do.  To my surprise, my sister-in-law bought a bowl, then the following day after I got home, my sister texted me to order three items!  So it all turned out quite positively.

Most of the people there had seen photos of my pots, but seeing things in real life is always better as they can pick up and handle the items, and see more detail.

Today it's back to work with a vengeance as I have several commissions to finish as well as the new ones to start!