If you’re anything like me, you probably eat meals whilst thinking of, or doing other things: watching TV, the computer, family chats, dining with friends. Either way, I wonder how often we actually concentrate on the food we’re eating?
The other day I decided to think of the food itself whist having breakfast. With each mouthful of my porridge, I thought of the bees that pollinate the oats, the farmers who grow and harvest it, the drivers who take it to and fro, the packagers, the shop assistants and managers who oversee this incredibly complex process that bought these oats to my plate.
Additionally, I thought about the added ingredients: the growing, sourcing, and international shipping processes of the sugars, fruit and the milk (in my case also oat) and even the water processing involved in nearly the whole chain. In that silent contemplation, I savoured every mouthful with huge appreciation and it really did make a difference to the taste of my food.
Our lives are filled with abundance in which so many complex jobs, businesses, nature itself and the people who handle every small element take a role. It’s mind boggling if you think about how our lives interconnect throughout the globe with the products we consume every single day without a second thought.
Taking a moment to think about those processes was a meditation I’m sure to visit again. I believe that having appreciation for all we have and the people who have been involved in bringing things like a simple bowl of cereal to our plate, makes us a little humbler. And also, how vulnerable the entire interconnectedness is. An island, we are certainly not.
Right, well a lot to get through again this month so let’s kick off with the fab Stephen Higton who sent down three corkin’ new paintings, like the one above of Towan. Lucy Davies painted two whopping new pieces and one sold before it even made it to the framers, so get in quick if you want the other here.
Our watercolour king, John Hopkins, painted this astonishing painting of the Curgurrell fleet moored up in Portscatho and Imogen Bone not only painted five brand new affordable 20cm beauties, she’s also got some biggies on the easel for us which should be in dreckly.
The ever popular Claire Henley painted this delightful iconic landscape view of Portscatho from Porthcurnick Beach and Philip Tyler has been painting like a good’un to replace his sales. Here’s just one of four new dynamic cloudscapes he’s blessed us with.
Our woodcrafting dynamo, Howard Moody, sent over a few new delights to replace his phenomenal sales this last month and the impasto prince, Ben Taffinder, brought in this mindbogglingly good whoppa of Marazion sea wall… bet that doesn’t last a heartbeat!
The Count of colour, Andrew Allanson is painting for us as I write and he’s sent down a couple for us to put on his page now; more will be added soonest! And our scrummy, Devon palletteknifeist (is that even a word?) Angela Uren added some mouthwatering new paintings, un’all.
To finish off the month, the Sultan of Salisbury, Jamel Akib, added an entire new collection and, boy, are there some astonishing paintings in there. Don’t take my word for it, tho, click here to ‘ave a butchers yourself! And Mike Hindle added three gorgeous blue oils to his page. We love ’em all!
So there it is. News next month of our annual Winter exhibition and street party which will be kicking off on December 28th at 6pm like every year. Gonna be a winner, mark my words, so put the date in your diary.
Have a cracking month ahead and we hope you’re enjoying our daily offers… a fresh one for y’all tomorrow.
Toodle pip!
Mark
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October 2021
As a non drinker who occasionally has a tipple, I woke up the other day with a nasty hangover from just 2 pints. In my past, that wouldn’t have even touched the sides but it got me thinking about the ‘treats’ we allow ourselves when we’ve achieved something or had a bad day.
It occurred to me that many of the things we ‘treat’ ourselves with are far from that for either ourselves or our worlds…read more