Open Writing

… Our visit to Cobh, near Cork was interesting for the wrong reasons. We were trying to get to the museum of emigration housed in an old railway station there, but the town was clogged with traffic because the largest cruise ship in the world, the Spirit of Independence, had docked there in its deep harbour as part of its maiden voyage from Southampton. It is huge – people buy apartments on it and live there, I believe. It is also very ugly…

The exuberant Liz Robison enjoys what she sees on a visit to Ireland – excepting that which floats.

Do visit the Web site of Liz’s internationally famous potter husband Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "The World's Largest Cruise Ship" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:28 PM | Permalink

Liz Robison enjoys an evening with Yorkshire-born Simon Armitage, one of the leading poets of our day.

Do please visit the Web site of Liz’s potter husband Jim Robison
http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "An Evening With A Poet" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:28 PM | Permalink

...I can hardly believe that the Robisons have entered the twenty first century to the extent that we have bought a slim-line, digital TV. We don’t watch a lot of television, mainly news and documentaries, but we did eventually come to realise that it was not normal for us to see only the hand, nose and chin of the weatherman as he stood alongside his chart. On the Luddite side of things, though, we did buy it from a small local retailer and not a giant chain, and it was probably the smallest screen on offer...

Liz Robison's diary of a busy life is always a delight.

Do please visit the Web site of Liz's potter husbgand Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "The Hand, Nose And Chin Of The Weatherman" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:26 PM | Permalink

… My friend’s grandson came home from playgroup and announced that there were two Ethans in the group, ‘But they’ve got different faces so you know which is which.’…

Liz Robison brings further news of events in a well-filled life.

Do please visit the Web site of Liz's husband, internationally known potter Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Two Ethans" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:28 PM | Permalink

…In the 1980’s Jim had one of his first public commissions to make a mural piece for Oldham Art Gallery to commemorate the men from the town who had died as volunteers in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. I enjoyed doing the research for the piece, which recorded the names and the battles in which the men died – many, many along strategic rivers.

The piece features figures in relief with rifles, weaponry and airplanes. (The Spanish Civil war was the first conflict in which civilians were bombed.) At the bottom of the panel there is a quotation from a poem by C Day Lewis:
We came because our open eyes
Could see no other way…

Liz Robison visits the new Gallery Oldham and art galleries in Sheffield.

Continue reading "In Praise Of Municipal Art Galleries" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 11:48 AM | Permalink

… Our local Welsh society held a Noson Lawen recently. Literally it translates as Happy Night, where anyone can get up and do anything. We had singing, poems, jokes and an exposition of the history of the song Men of Harlech , including it being featured in the film Zulu. It was a very entertaining evening and the youngest performer was in his late fifties. Here’s to Grey Power….

Here's another ebullient column from Liz Robison. To read more of them please click on A Potter’s Moll in the menu on this page.

And do visit the Web site of Liz’s husband Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Men Of Harlech" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:26 PM | Permalink

...My wise friend knew from past experience that the café in the Stable block sells mainly crisps and Kit-Kats, so had had the foresight to prepare a flask of delicious cream of onion soup which we enjoyed with fresh granary rolls as we watched the sunlight play about the, nevertheless, cold landscape from the warmth and comfort of her car...

Liz Robison tells of memorable winter picnics.

Do please visit the Web site of Liz's potter husband Jom Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Winter Sunshine And Cream Of Onion Soup" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:26 PM | Permalink

...Work with teachers and with schools is important – I’ve lost count of how many teachers’ retirement presents have been bought here, generally paid for with a huge bag of coins from the whip-round. Mainly work with schools goes smoothly but Jim was non-plussed to be bombarded with e-mails from every member of a Year 10 class from a local high school asking for help with an Art project. Some promised ‘luv and hugs’ at the end; one began: ‘Yo, dude.’...

Potter's moll Liz Robison tells of publicising the work of her husband, Jim. Do please visit Jim's Web site http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Spreading The Word" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 11:52 AM | Permalink

…Our friends met us there and they were a mine of information about everything we saw on our fifty- minute journey to their village, including the border town of La Joncquera which is virtually a huge lorry park, complete with the Lady Dallas lap-dancing club and the La Madam brothel.

We were unfamiliar with this area of France called Pyrenees Orientales and quite unprepared for the mountainous beauty. From our bedroom window we had a spectacular view of a snow-covered range called Les Alberes…

Liz Robison and her potter husband Jim enjoy a winter break in the France-Spain border region.

To read more of Liz’s sparkling columns please click on A Potter’s Moll in the menu on this page. And do visit Jim’s Web site http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Pyrenees Orientales" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:18 PM | Permalink

...One favourite is a large tin with a hinged lid which contained Colman’s mustard which came from my grandmother’s grocery shop, where mustard was weighed out from the tin and then wrapped in a screw of paper. The tin is beautiful, colourfully embossed with a woodland scene of nymphs lounging around – mustard on their ham sandwiches?...

Books, teapots, ceramic hot water bottles... Liz Robison recognises that sentiment rather than acquisitiveness has led to accumulations of amusing, nostalgic and beautiful objects.

Continue reading "Mustard Tins And Hot Water Bottles" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:24 PM | Permalink

...The funeral I attended produced a lovely story from one of the other mourners. The previous time she had attended the Crematorium, the deceased was a second hand dealer and a bit of a joker and when the coffin arrived it had big stickers on it saying ‘THIS WAY UP’ and ‘Lot 59: BOX & CONTENTS’. Apparently everybody burst out laughing and clapping...

The inimitable Liz Robison tells of humour where you would least expect to find it.

Do please visit the Web site of Liz's internationally-famous husband, potter Jim Robison
http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "This Way Up" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:28 PM | Permalink

...We have teapots by David Lloyd Jones, David Leech, Jane Hamlyn, Charles Bound, Derek Emms etc, and they all sit on the shelf above the Aga like gentle presences. ( The teapots, I mean.)

Jugs. We’ve somehow acquired ones by Wally Keeler, Alan Caiger Smith, Richard Dewar, Ruthanne Tudball to name but a few. One little jug that I treasure is a German salt-glazed one with a vine-leaf motif and the reason I love it so much is because our daughter brought it back from her German exchange all those years ago.

I am beginning to see that sentiment has as much to do with my collections as acquisitiveness...

Liz Robison considers the collecting habit.

Continue reading "Collecting Delight" »

Posted by at 12:26 PM | Permalink

...The American Way of Death seems like another world with its open caskets, visitations, oleaginous funeral home attendants, hugely opulent flowers, cortege, etc. I found it very strange that all the mourners accompanied the coffin/casket to the cemetery only to leave it there on a hydraulic lift device and not bury it at all. What happened to Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust?...

Liz Robison flies to the United States to attend a family funeral.

Continue reading "The American Way Of Death" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:26 PM | Permalink

"I am still seething about having been caught out when I parked in B&Q car park in Dewsbury so I could go and sing in a choir concert in the nearby Minster.'' writes Liz Robison.

Liz had a more than ample reason to be annoyed. Anyone parking there after hours can be charged as much as £125!

Please do visit the Web site of Liz's internationally-famous potter husband Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Still Seething" »

Posted by Liz Robison (Huddersfield U3A) at 12:26 PM | Permalink

Gargoyles and penguins, misprints and massage, praise for parks and Paxton...

What a treat to travel with lively Liz Robison through her varied week.

For more of Liz's columns please click on A Potter's Moll in the menu on this page. And do visit he Web site of her potter husband, Jim http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Physio-terrorists And Penguins" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...Potter Jim and I are not what you would call fitness fanatics so when we saw pictures on TV of a gym full of toiling sweaty people, I said that I could not imagine us ever going into such a place. Jim surprised me by saying he had been in such places in hotels in the USA when he goes to his annual ceramics conference.

‘Well, what did you do there? I asked.

‘Walk out again,’ he said...

Count on columnist Liz Robison to make you chuckle.

For more of Liz's columns please click on A Potter's Moll in the menu on this page. And do visit he Web site of her potter husband, Jim http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Walking Out Of The Gym" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:26 PM | Permalink

…I asked if I would have to make another visit the next day even though it only necessitated taking a box of tablets down off the shelf – I could see them. The answer was yes.

It’s hardly as if the pharmacist is grinding away with a mortar and pestle for twenty four hours! Next day when I went I was told to take a seat for ten minutes while they got it ready – slow motion to move a box into a paper bag.

While I waited I allowed myself to be further annoyed by a badly-worded notice which read: ‘Please would patients queue to the left for your prescription.’…

A trip to the local health centre pharmacy can be an irritating experience, as Liz Robison reveals.

To see samples of the work of Liz’s internationally-famous potter husband Jim Robison please visit
http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "A Soft-Top In The Rain" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:14 PM | Permalink

...One place which I will always treasure the memory of, is Ty Mawr in the remote Wybrnant Valley above Betws y Coed. The setting is so quiet and beautiful that one can imagine life there when it was built 600 years ago with a brook running nearby and a drover’s road passing the door.

The house was the birthplace of Bishop William Morgan who translated the Bible into Welsh and presented it to Queen Elizabeth 1, who was his patron...

Liz Robison revists her beloved Wales and is again entranced by the magical beauty of a very special land.

To read more of Liz's ebullient words please click on A Potter's Moll in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "Wonderful Wales" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 02:16 PM | Permalink

Potters have unusual mealtime habits, as Liz Robison reveals. They can hardly wait for a dish to be empty so that they can turn it upside down to see whose maker’s mark is on he bottom.

Continue reading "Upside Down Dishes" »

Posted by Lis Robison at 12:24 PM | Permalink

...The choir I sing with recently acquired new uniforms which the ladies think are very smart – black trousers, black top with a gold and black brocade short-sleeved jacket over the top. We gave a concert last Sunday afternoon and when I came out there was a young boy riding his bike on the pavement. He asked me: ‘Why is there a load of people wearing them funny shirts?’ Beauty, as ever, is in the eye of the beholder!...

Despite a sombre start to Liz Robison's week she found plenty of reasons to be cheerful.

Liz's fortnightly column is a joy to read. Please click on A Potter's Moll in the menu on this page for more of her words.

Continue reading "Listen Twice, Talk Once" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:14 PM | Permalink

Liz Robison this week writes of art festivals, Latin Mottos , Fryup and Slack Bottom.

For more of Liz’s engaging take on life please click on A Potter’s Moll in the menu on this page.

Continue reading "Slack Bottom" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:12 PM | Permalink

…I visited a friend recently and when I was leaving she insisted I go out by the back door, even though the front door was nearer. ‘Always go out the way you came in,’ she said. This made me think about superstitions and proverbs. Youngsters these days look blank if you quote a proverb, especially as we often only say part of it:

‘A stitch in time……’
‘Too many cooks…..’
‘A rolling stone…….’

I guess proverbs are from an older pre-industrial, certainly pre-computer/digital age…

The effervescent Liz Robison considers proverbs, fledglings, fletchers, retirement cards – and more!

Do please visit the Web site of Liz’s husband, potter Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Proverbs, Fletchers And A Sitooterie" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:24 PM | Permalink

Now I like oxymoron (coupling opposites together) as much as anyone and the language would be poorer without ‘bittersweet’ and even ‘sweet and sour’. If ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow’ was good enough for the Bard, it’s good enough for me. (Cliché?) But I have noticed a trend that has spread from Art criticism to book reviews. On the blurb of the novel I am currently reading, I read:

‘savagely funny and authentically tragic’

‘both familiar and extraordinary’

‘very funny as well as heart-rendingly sad’

To coin another cliché, could this be called ‘sitting on the fence’?

Liz Robison turns her thoughts to Bardic matters – and slugs.

For more of Liz’s delicious humour please click on A Potter’s Moll in the menu on his page.

And do visit the Web site of Liz’s husband, internationally famous potter Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "The Bard And The Slug" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 11:56 AM | Permalink

…As we travelled back through the Vale of York farmland, my companion told me of a sign he had seen by the roadside – a broom handle with a piece of hardboard nailed to it bearing the legend ‘POTATOES’. Some wag had added underneath – ‘Twinned with Pommes de Terres’…

Liz Robison shares more of her enthusiasm for life as a potter’s moll.

Please visit the Web site of Liz’s internationally-famed husband, potter Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Pommes de Terre" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 11:46 AM | Permalink

...Our little old caravan comes into its own on these occasions – hearing rain on the roof when you are warm and dry inside is one of the nicest sounds I know...

A potter has to go out into the world to sell his wares, as Liz Robison reveals. Mind you, there's also time for holidays. A luxury villa with a view of the Alpes Maritimes. Touring Ireland in an MG...

Do please visit potter Jim Robison's Web site http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "An Old Caravan And An MG" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:14 PM | Permalink

…I popped into the studio one day recently to find Jim looking a bit agitato and Ian Marsh standing nearby with a brush and dustpan in his hand…

There’s many a shattering experience in a potter’s life, as Elizabeth Robison reveals.

For more of Liz’s well-crafted columns please do visit A Potter’s Moll in the menu on this page.

Visit also the website of her internationally-famous husband, potter Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" »

Posted by Elizabeth Robison at 12:12 PM | Permalink

...As I used my ‘Screwy Lewy’ recently, (a rubber disc that enables you to unscrew difficult jar lids) I thought about my late friend, Bessie, who gave it to me. She was a great Mrs Malaprop. When I saw her next time after receiving said item, she said: ‘Do you still use your Grippy Lippy?’ She once described an unruly disco in the village hall in Northern Ireland where she lived as being like ‘Sodom and Gloccamoragh’...

There's more laughter in store in the latest column from the ebullient Liz Robison.

Do visit the Web site of Liz's famous potter husband Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Grippy Lippy" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:10 PM | Permalink

… I derive great pleasure from language. I love the way new words develop and how meanings change over time. I was taken by a column in The Guardian recently, that attempted to explain the language of the MySpace generation. So now ‘caj’, ‘dizzy’, ‘dope’ and ‘nang’ all mean ‘cool’, which is a slang word in itself. My kids used ‘ace’, ‘macca’, ‘brill’ and ‘skill’ fifteen years ago. Our eldest son returned from a family holiday to the USA with ‘totally awesome’ as his favourite phrase only to be told by his North London cousin: ‘We tend to say ‘wicked’ rahnd ‘ere…

Liz Robison delights in the English language's penchant to continually re-invent itself. For more of Liz’s ebullient words please click on A Potter’s Moll in the menu on ths page.

And do visit the Web site of world-famous potter Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Do You Know The Meaning Of The Word "Testiculation''?" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:24 PM | Permalink

…There was a lively, noisy party of Poles with two yappy dogs in pet-carriers, there was a magnificent kilted Scot, a very jolly old lady in a wheel chair. You do see life, I thought as I sat next to a young man who was reading about the Punic Wars and opposite a young woman who was studying The Complete Handbook of Clinical Medicine…

Liz Robison observes, and for the most part enjoys, both scenery and passengers on a series of train journeys, though she concludes “I do hate to be forced to listen to one half of mobile phone calls. As Old Amos, the cartoon character in The Dalesman magazine says: ‘Some folk don’t have much to say but tha’s to listen to them a long time to find out!’’’

Do read more of Liz’s appetising columns by click on A Potter’s Moll in the menu on this page. And visit the Web site of Liz’s husband, internationally-renowned potter Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "The Train Takes The Strain" »

Posted by Liz Robison (Huddersfield U3A) at 11:12 AM | Permalink

…Saga magazine plopped through the letter- box this week and I always look forward to the mixture of entertainment, nostalgia and tips that the magazine contains. It occurred to me though – is the name Saga an amalgam of Sage (wise) and Gaga?…

Liz Robison – Open Writing’s laughter-maker in residence - presents another chuckle-filled
chapter recounting her busy life.

Do please visit the Web site of Liz’s husband, potter Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Sage Plus Gaga Equals...?" »

Posted by Liz Robison (Huddersfield U3A) at 11:24 AM | Permalink

Liz Robison brings us another rich slice of a potter’s wife’s life. (And try saying that sentence after a glass or two of malt whisky!) This column is brought to you by a lady with very relaxed armpits. Do read on…..

And do visit the Web site of the potter, Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Relaxed Armpits" »

Posted by Liz Robison (Huddersfield U3A) at 12:22 PM | Permalink

So you think a potter and his moll lead quiet, contemplative, creative lives. Read Liz Robison's account of a recent day in the life of her internationally famous husband, potter Jim Robison - then ask yourself whether you could ever muster the energy to be a creative artist.

Do please visit Jim's Web site http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Another Day In The Life Of..." »

Posted by Liz Robison (Huddersfield U3A) at 12:12 PM | Permalink

…It’s coughs and sneezes season again. Picking up a prescription at our local Health Centre recently, I bumped into an ex-colleague who regaled me with more or less his whole medical history. When I said: ‘I’ve just got a bit of raised blood pressure.,’ he said: ‘Oh, I’ve got that as well.’ It reminded me of a Dawn French/ Jennifer Saunders sketch where the two women were in the waiting room trying to outdo each other in describing their ailments. Dawn French eventually clinched it by saying: ‘Actually, I’m dead.’…

Potter’s wife Liz Robison presents another bright, breezy and guaranteed germ-free page from the diary of a busy life.

Do please visit the Web site of her husband Jim Robison http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Happy To Be On Tenterhooks" »

Posted by Liz Robison at 12:08 PM | Permalink

…This year my friend Lesley sent a card that was in the shape of a triangular Christmas tree with phrases and mottoes that got longer as the triangle got wider. So it began with JOY at the top, and the last line was: ‘Be always at war with your vices and at peace with your neighbours.’ – a good rule for the new year …

Liz Robison looks back with pleasure on Christmas, 2006.

Liz’s husband Jim is an internationally-renowned potter. Please do visit his Web site http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Be Always At War With Your Vices And At Peace With Your Neighbours" »

Posted by Liz Robison (Huddersfield U3A) at 12:44 PM | Permalink

…Children often misinterpret the words of Christmas carols – Gervaise Phinn has made a book out of it: A Wayne in a Manger. I remember my niece singing: Away in a manger, no crisps or a bed. And a friend’s son warbling about ‘Jesus Christ the son of Bod’…

If you are not already in a festive mood, read Liz Robison’s joyful column – and begin smiling. If you are already filled with Christmas cheer, then read it and laugh out loud.

Liz is the wife of Jim Robison, an internationally renowed potter, hence the title of her column. Please visit http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "Do You Know What King Wenceslas's Favourite Pizza Is?" »

Posted by Lis Robison (Huddersfield U3A) at 12:58 PM | Permalink

Liz Robison is the wife of Jim Robison, a potter of international renown who is based in Holmfirth, Yorkshire.

Liz, who will be writing regularly for Open Writing, calls herself a Potter's Moll - and the first to hear that soubriquet was Melvyn Bragg, the novelist and TV personality.

Here is Liz's sparkling self-introductory column. And do please visit Jim Robison's Web site http://www.jimrobison.co.uk/

Continue reading "An Encounter With Mr Melvyn Bragg" »

Posted by Liz Robison (Huddersfield U3A) at 12:12 PM | Permalink