Thank you David Howe

It is with great regret that we announce that David Howe has left the Polytechnic cohort to explore new horizons. He has been a stalwart for the last nine months, bringing his skill and hard work to a number of projects. We can strongly recommend Dave for almost everything. He can cook, chainsaw, fix machinery, entertain, but is also self-contained and self-motivated and works like a demon. Thanks Dave for everything. We’re coming to stay in your dome.

DSC04467 - Version 246 Dave

Field Trips



The Blackwater Polytechnic faculty took three field trips this summer. The first was to the far North of Scotland – Achiltibuie to be precise. The second was a solo trip by Freddie Robins to Shetland to catch up with the World’s knitters. The third was to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in Southern India.

We love it here in the beautiful Blackwater Valley but it’s essential to get away and refresh our eyes with new textures of land and city scape. It is very good to be reminded of how irrelevant we are in a place like India which is so vast and self-sufficient. I love Indian Vernacular Modernism in architecture. It is generally a joyful cluster of styles, textures and colours. Amongst many highlights of our trip the wonderful Kerala Folklore and Theatre Museum in Ernakulam stands out.

07 Achiltibuie tin shack

 

22 Royal armouries panoramaThe Royal Armouries, Leeds

23 Bowes Museum

St. Francis – The Bowes Museum, Castle Barnard, County Durham

Below: a vibrant church and a disused cinema, Sultan Bathery – Wayanad – Kerala

10 Ice Cream Church Sultan Bathery

11 Cinema Sultan Bathery

Folklore Museum – Ernakulam – Kerala

25 Horse and elephant (1)

26 two heads

27 two heads

 

28 knees

29 breastplates