The Railway Inn

Around 1830 the railway arrived in Gosport. It was a special line for the convenience of Her Majesty Queen Victoria who had a house on the Isle of Wight, Osborn House, to which she was inclined to visit on occasion, so a train from London direct to Gosport, for onward travel by ferry, was most…

Life is a circle

One of my early commissions, three years ago, was ‘The Shed’. It was the new workshop of Karen of @karensquilts. All sorts of 'additions' appeared - Cheryl, the crow; Lance, the good knight; Treacle, the family's late cat - and a strange dog who was who was, perhaps, a premonition of Arthur, the cockapoo. Karen has…

Lockdown lateness

This lovely house was ordered as a Christmas present to celebrate moving to a new home, but because of lockdown restrictions it wasn't received until until the person's birthday. So another happy customer, and I can post it for you all to see.Do you know someone who has moved to a new home?

Smashed it!

A tidy modern house, somewhere in central southern England, commissioned for a birthday. Unfortunately, the first picture not to arrive undamaged. Not me! The glass was smashed when the new owner received it. I sent it to the commissioning buyer, and it arrived safely, but the damage occurred when she sent it on. Luckily the…

You have to laugh

Last year I was fortunate to be asked to illustrate a book of humorous poetry, so I did. As an illustrator my job is fairly straightforward - read the poem, draw the picture. The difficult bit is with the writer. The author of these chuckle-worthy gems is Dianne Phillips-Zito, she lives in a rather bleak…

There’s no place like Home

There are records dating back to 1650 for this Devon cottage. The modern extension is what used to be 'the stick store', presumably where firewood was stored, now kitchen/diner with bedroom and balcony above. It is also recorded as being the place where 'the pauper in the stick store' resided, according to census records. Apparently,…

Special Birthday Gift

Last time I said there was another house awaiting imminent delivery, so here it is. The lovely, half tiled house is located 'somewhere in Hampshire', and incorporates its more recent extension. Have you got a special celebration coming up, or has someone just moved in to a new home? Contact me with details of your…

To infinity (well, 2020) and beyond …

The end of one interesting year and the beginning of another. And I'm ready for your commissions! 2019 was the year our son left home, two sets of rubber stamps were released, we moved to a whole new life in Devon, the new business (see previous posts) was closed, we met new people, joined in…

Catching-up : June 2019

Since my last post in January, there has been a lot going on - so much that I've forgotten to post!Our son moved out leaving Julie and I free to re-assess our situation. So we did. We moved house, from central southern Hampshire to north Devon. It has been a long process. We had to…

New stamp set release!

Another date for your diary! Thursday 3 January 2019 - 16:00 GMT (4pm) My second set of quirky rubber stamps will be revealed on the Hochanda TV Craft Channel. Lesley, from Chocolate Baroque (manufacturers of quality rubber stamps!) will introduce the new range, and include some of her super demonstrations. Sorry, there are no sneak…