Retro fun !

When we were kids we lived a very Janet and John lifestyle, summer hols in the cottage in the country and home made ginger beer, with jolly memories of fun in the sun and innocent enjoyment with families and friends. There were a group of about 5 families all with kids about the same age and when we all got together we kids would disappear out into the wilds shrieking and building camps and the adults would sit together sharing jokes , cheap wine and putting the world to rights in good company.




Each year one of the families trotted off to France for the summer hols camping which in those days was very chic and daring and on for that they had a state of the art brand new and fresh from the production line, mint green VW camper complete with striped awning and a pop up roof. I remember when they first bought it and we crawled all over it, oohing and awing in awe it was so cool and so trendy and we had never ever seen anything like it before. I was as smitten as Mr Toad was with his gypsy caravan and I have been smitten with VW campers ever since.


Now it seems they are very much back in fashion with their retro design and 1960's style and I am still very much a fan so here is my small homage to that Westphalia wonder van

Two new VW Ceramic Tiles with an original hand painted design Available from my shop on Not on The High Street at £10 for the small tile and £15 for the larger one ( including postage and packing) they make great gift for a VW Fan anywhere! Oh and I am happy to customize the tiles with your own colour and number plate at no extra cost to you!

A drum roll please for the Christmas Give-Away!!

Well here we are then, the time has come to make the prize draw, the names are in the hat and some more than once , all legal and honest and no slight of hand...everyone ready.. no pushing at the back!..Firstly may I just say that I have really enjoyed doing this so Thank You ElizabethD for encouraging me to join in and meet lots of new interesting bloggers whom I might have never met otherwise. Thank you too to each one of you who entered and made such kind comments about my work, they are much appreciated.


Alright its not really a hat but Brigitte here was not willing to donate her hat and insisted she hold the basket instead as it matches her hair...vain creature...


Widdle, one of our cats, decided he'd help and act as ajudicator just to make sure everything was above board. Here he is checking all the names against the list of entrants in case I have forgotten anyone.

He wanted to take the names out of the bag too but, being a little lacking in poseable thumbs as he is, I thought I had better get a human to do that....

And the winner of my Glazed Expression Christmas Give-Away draw is.....oops sorry dropped the paper.... now where are my reading glasses? You'd think I could read my own hand writing wouldn't you.. sorry, as I was saying the winner is....are you sure you want to do this? You wouldn't like a nice cup of tea or something instead? Or something stronger? No? oh well if you are sure then lets get on with it.

The winner is... or should I say are ...

Jan and Tom from Jan and Tom's Place ( http://jt-jantom.blogspot.com/) Well done you...!

Oh look do stop looking so miserable not everyone can win everytime. Oh now stop it at once I hate grumpy faces... go on then, I shall be kind and draw a few more Christmas Give Aways as well to get you all in the holiday spirit ( I know its months away yet but as I said before some of us have to plan early!)

Here we are then another drum roll but smaller this time..3 small give aways just because I hate dissapointing people... and the first ones goes to Fennie ( do read Fennies very funny blogs http://corner-cupboard.blogspot.com/) and thank you Fennie I see you have linked to my glazed Expressions that was very kind.. .. Carolien who does the most amazing stitching see http://caroliensstitches.blogspot.com/and finally but not least to Debbie of Debbies English Treasures who has a real conrucopia of floral china on her new website and blog http://d-e-t.blogspot.com/

Now if all you lucky winners would like to email me with your postal address and your real names so I can send your giftees to you I will pop them in the post on monday..sorry to those who didn't win this time but if you are interested in anything that you see on this blog but you don't see on my website then email me and I will be happy to let you know prices and details.

I am really sorry I couldnt give everyone who entered a little something....perhaps I will do another one later to make up for it. I do love giving things away..Any if any of you haven't tried Give Aways on your blog then I hope you will soon. Its great fun !

Must go now as I have some very important parcels to prepare! I haven't taken photos of the prizes as I do not want to spoil the surprise but hope the winners will be kind enough to display their well earned gains on their blogs so everyone can see them when they arrive.

Have a good weekend!

Avoiding the Evil Eye

When I lived in Egypt, long ago, on the Nile River, which ran beneath my balcony, every vessel from the tiny fishing boats to the ornate gold floating pleasure cruisers, bore painted eyes on their prows like those on the pharaoh’s tombs to ward off danger. Taxi’s and Lorries and the big people carriers , so prone to accidents they were known locally as flying hearses, held together with dust and rust all had brightly coloured eyes superimposed on a hand shaped design, plastered on them. Even the Zabbaleen, the despised Coptic Christian garbage collectors carts had them and in Upper Egypt, the women place hand prints on their mud walls with ochre pigment. Every shop, every office every handcart selling Coca-Cola had a hand and an eye hanging from it, even the Cairo Hilton had one above the front desk and the horses pulling the caliches on the Corniche wore them on their bridles . In shops everywhere you could buy self adhesive versions of varying degrees of luridness for a few pence. The goldsmiths make them encrusted with gems and sell them to the wealthy for a fortune.

This hand and eye symbol is the خمسة, Khamsa/Hamsa meaning “LIVE” in Arabic, a protective symbol used all over the world. Look and you will find it in Jewish houses sometimes inscribed with prayers; you will see it too amongst the Masonic symbols. Turks and Greeks paint it on their boats. In America and Europe between the wars it was worn by women on charm bracelets and was as common as a horse shoe or a four leafed clover as well known as a a wishbone.

It dates back before Christianity, before Judaism and before Islam so far back that its origins and full symbolism are hazy. Do the 5 fingers represent the 5 books of the Torah or the 5 pillars of Islam, is the eye the eye of Fatima Zahra, the daughter of the prophet Muhammad, or of Miriam the sister of Moses who hid him in the bulrushes to save him from the Pharaohs slaughter of all the Hebrew newborn infants? No one knows but across the world it has become a sing of the protecting hand of God, whoever that God may be, a magical talisman against the envious attentions of the evil eye, an amulet of protection and it crops up in the most unlikely places. Even Hollywood celebs are wearing them now, Nicole Richie for one, mind you with as a best friend Paris Hilton she may need all the protection she can get!



If you need a little protection yourself or just think these would be fun to hang up in your home have then email me.


Ceramic Blue Evil Eye


( 10cm wide handmade and cobalt glazed on a blue beaded leather thong.)
3.00 sterling plus 2.50 sterling postage.

Ceramic Hand of Fatima


(18 cm long handmade and glazed in bright colours on a beaded leather thong)
10.00 sterling plus 2.50 postage.

And yet more doves !

I know this is becoming a bit of an obsession but can I help it? Here I have some more doves all slightly, and one very, different from the last..Above one is the biggest 18cm tall, it hangs on a nylon thread and spins in the breeze. Slightly trickier to make and therefore slightly more expensive these are about to be launched on my website at 10 Sterling each although post and packing will still be 2.50 sterling.

Each of the other Doves are roughly 8cm wide and hand made and glazed to order with a choice of an incised Heart design as above or a raised Heart design as below.

You can choose whatever colour you like to suit your colour scheme and all come on matching ribbons . Price 5.50 sterling plus 2.50 postage and packing. I also do these doves with birth dates and names on for new babies. Email me if you are interested..

Doves seek drier ground..

New homes wanted for understated and housetrained doves. 8.5cm wide-ish, handmade in clay and majolica glazed in white, painted with a Scandinavian inspired design in dusky pink, blue, lilac and due to popular demand...red, all hanging on a matching gingham ribbon and very possibly any other colour you fancy wihtin reason. Blow the olive branch, if it continues to rain without abating for much longer, this item will soon be available wearing wellingtons and carying a minature umbrella.

Price 5.50 pounds plus 2.50 sterling postage( still unable to trace sterling symbol on French keyboard) to anywhere in Europe.