Autumn in the Pottery

| November 5, 2019
With cold, crisp mornings and the first signs of frost in the ground, the wood burning stove has been roaring back to life in the pottery studio. The Happy Farmer heads over each morning after the feeding rounds to get the fire burning and top up supplies of coal and logs, ensuring the workshop is [...]

Islay Blog: Old Sandy Wilson

| February 5, 2019
A huge winter sun has been beaming in the sky over the past week. A snowy landscape. The most colourful of sunrises. Such a welcome start to each day. Then at sunset, pink and purple hues tinge the hills as the sun fades away into the winter skies. Dusk quickly gives way to darkness and [...]

The Summer House Lodgings

| September 18, 2018
The lovely landscape and environment of Persabus feed the creative spirit. Years of bracing walks in the autumn, and winter months, when the colours on the island are at their most vibrant, led to dabbling with paints at the kitchen table, which evolved into watercolour paintings, and then to my designs being hand painted, glazed [...]

And all it took was a tractor, trailer, horse box and a few Calmac containers….

| September 12, 2018
The Persabus Hebridean broadcasting blog is back on the airwaves. It was a rocky one. Away on the mainland we hit technical glitches in internet land. Happily though we managed to accompany youngest as she headed for the bright lights of university living. We followed in her wake with tractor, trailer and horse box, and [...]

Island Traditions…

| July 24, 2018
The Happy Farmer and I waved goodbye to the last of our visiting relatives on Saturday. On Sunday we headed to Machir Bay for a walk along the shore. It was a very warm, cloudy day, but even on cloudy days Islay does not disappoint. The colours in the waves and the gentle roar of [...]

The Persabus Islay Festival of Music and Malt

| May 28, 2018
There is a carnival atmosphere on the island as the Islay Festival of Music and Malt gets underway. The sun is splitting the skies as people from all corners of the world have travelled over the seas to Islay’s shores to join in the festivities. The Happy Farmer therefore feels obliged, duty bound in fact, [...]

Calm

| April 14, 2018
It has reached that lovely time of year when the days are getting longer and longer, meal times are getting later and later, as beach time and extended dog walks are calling. Once the pottery door closes Ruby and Bramble are poised at the back door waiting patiently for the dog leads to be lifted [...]

Potting Around

| February 19, 2018

I have missed painting pots. Today I left painting walls behind and was able to indulge in my ceramic art once more. I love this time of year. The vibrancy of winter feeds my creativity. The colours flow and new ranges evolve. I have been working on ‘Islay time’, scenic mugs. Cups of tea are […]