From Black Holes to a Gaping Hole!

Last Saturday saw the start (or should I say "blast off"?) of the Barnaby Festival in Macclesfield; 10 days of events celebrating "Space" including music, talks, art installations and performance.
The Festival kicked off on Saturday afternoon with a space-themed parade through the town and the good people of Macclesfield rose to the challenge to create costumes and floats.

There will be events taking place all week until the grand finale of the Barnaby Festival on Sunday 26th June when there will be a special Treacle Market, (always a treat), a "Big Brass Bonanza", music and art.

                                               Treacle Market

On Saturday 25th, the cool and talented Marc Jackson from Makers' Place will be hosting Macc-Pow Comic-Art Convention in the the Old Sunday School Macclesfield, celebrating comic art from around the world. There will be some big-names from the world of indie comic book art so it will be a great opportunity to meet some of your super heroes!

The Makers' Place (where I work alongside fellow artists and sell my pieces) will be open in the Old Sunday school for the duration of the Barnaby Festival and beyond.

There is also a lovely, friendly cafe - The Tea Kitchen- serving great food so you could make a day of it!

Don't miss visiting this hub of culture and fun! I really enjoyed taking a break from stitching to watch the parade go past.

After a productive day, I was fast asleep in my bed on Saturday night when we were woken by an almighty crash! We dashed downstairs and were confronted with this sight and water dripping through the kitchen ceiling!

 It took several moments to comprehend what all the mess on the kitchen floor was and to register the gaping hole in the ceiling! It turns out there had been a build up of water leaking through the bathroom floor and with no warning it suddenly burst through the ceiling. Not the best start to Father's Day for Mr Dotty!

The dog sleeps in a crate just to the left of all this debris! Thank goodness it didn't land directly on top of him! As it happens, he was sitting very quietly in a wet, rubbly bed and he needed drying off and a cuddle. We turned the water off at the mains and had a calming cup of tea before settling the dog in another room and heading back to bed (not that we slept much after that).

Sunday was mostly spent clearing heavy, wet plaster and dirt (3 bags full) and mopping  and cleaning the kitchen. I guess the rest of the week will be spent dealing with insurance, plumbing and builders.

As I lay in bed on Sunday morning though, I really did think how lucky we are. Many people are suffering the effects of flooding to their homes and many more have no homes at all. A temporary lack of water can't compare in any way to the thousands of displaced people who are having to cope with poor shelter and little sanitation.  I am going to remain cheerful, counting my blessings in spite of the gaping hole and damp-plaster smell pervading my home, (well, at least for now!)

The rest of the week has to go better, right? Hope your week goes well....

 (He's fine!)

Sticky with Treacle

What an amazing and busy weekend. The weather here has been really hot and Mr Dotty and I spent a rather sticky day under a gazebo at Middlewich Food Festival.

(please excuse the photos- they were taken on my phone & I haven't quite got the hang of it yet)

I set up my "Dotty B" stall as part of the Makers Market. We had a fun day chatting to people in the sun.
Next to me was a lovely young lady selling interior decor- Kiki Interiors and behind me was a man from Vanilli's cafe wafting the smell of the most amazing chocolate fudge cake in our direction. (I'm not telling whether or not we resisted!)

We arrived home with tired legs and hot feet, so we sat in the garden with a cheeky drink to recover!

On Sunday we went back to the Treacle Market at Macclesfield and had a lovely day out. It was buzzing- lots of sun, food, music and stalls selling beautiful wares.

We hadn't been there long when I spotted this little fellow...

I think he was hoping for some cool water in his bath. Lying in the basin just to the right was his friend...

I have quite a few collector's teddy bears, all traditionally handcrafted and I had decided that my collection was complete, but there was something about this little guy. I knew straight away I needed to give him a home. He looks like he'll make a great sewing assistant.

The pads of his paws are very worn, so he won't be doing any walking. The stallholder thinks he may have been made in the 1920s and he came all the way from France.

I'm going to find a comfy spot for him to sit and think of a name. Any ideas?

Oh, and Vanilli's had a stall at the Treacle Market too so we did succumb and shared a Manchester Tart (the ones on the right with a cherry on top). It was delicious and no mean feat to eat it on a bench in a public place- we had cream on our noses and jam dripping down our wrists, much to the amusement of the passer's by! Very sticky, but worth it!!

Hoping for a quiet day today. have a good week.xx

Treacle Market

I have been very tardy about this post, partly because I couldn't work out how to get my photos from my phone to the computer. It's not too difficult, I know, but sometimes where technology is concernes I just have a mental resistance!

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago we visited the Macclesfield Treacle Market, which is a regular treat for us.

There is a great range of stalls selling handmade goods, vintage goods and food.

I love this stall- Shabby Cheek- it is full of curios

and unexpected objects!

We haven't taken Alfie yet as I suspect he'd get really over-excited, but dogs are always welcome

and there are usually lots of dogs of all types

(and penguins and owls and horses...)

I dream of having this beautiful hut in my garden and every time I see it I wonder how they get it there!

This weekend we may visit the Vintage Village at Stockport.

Hope you have a lovely weekend. Do you have plans?