a penny in the foundations

It had to be done. A trip in search of the house in the foundations of which I placed the penny which has given the title to these ruminations. So here it is: The visit of course was a bit of an anti-climax, I was hardly going to ask the current occupants if I could pull up their kitchen floor! But, it was a necessary act of pilgrimage. The house we eventually lived in (several years later!) can just be seen in the background - there is more about that in a previous post. The house with the penny was built in 1973 and as a family we finally moved to Cramlington in 1977 calling it home for four years. Though I have visited the town frequently over the years it was interesting to take this moment to think about the way it has developed and continues to grow. Built round a number of existing communities, even in early 70s it felt like a well established place, with a sense of coherence. Perhaps those who had lived in the old villages felt less sure about the new estates which were filling

 Some of the places I am visiting begin unexpected trains of thought. This little selection of brochures, plans and contemporary photos from my Kent and Northumberland trips are nothing more than a record of my collection! Nothing profound, I promise!  It includes a couple of site plans - why not try to match the photos to the exact location on the developments. A challenge I still love ;) Starting in Kent: Good to see a 50 year old house looking so close to how the builders left it! These are on the site plan above Now heading north, to Tintagel Close in Cramlington. My brother was the first owner of this one (c.1976), the builders messed up and had to build the garage down the street. Interesting to see that it is currently being extended.  Now to Morpeth. Lancaster Park was a slightly upmarket development which was developed right through the 70s. It features on the main Leech brochure, providing an interesting historical snapshot. And here's one I knew well, where my best frien

                                                                            Ordinary things contain the deepest mysteries... This Royal Institute of  British Architects exhibition could not have been better timed for me! Radical Rooms: Power of the plan (architecture.com) 'This exhibition explores the power relations embedded within the layout of our domestic spaces. It uses stories from architectural history and highlights moments when the architectural plan has challenged or changed the conventions of domestic life.' Though the exhibition takes a much longer historical view, the curators start with much the same assumption as I did this sabbatical journey; that the spaces in which we live and how they are laid out shape our perspective on life. It does not focus on the external appearance of the houses it reveals, but on how the spaces are divided and laid out. This focus on the layout offers me a way of introducing another home in which my family lived during my teenage yea

I love it when a simple item evokes a very special memory. This little whisky glass has done that for me in the last couple of weeks. It was free gift which came with the purchase of a couple of ‘wee drams’ in a Scottish pub a good number of years ago. I was with Gary, a good friend and amazing colleague during an overnight stay in Dunblane. We spent the evening in intense conversation, touching on the deepest issues of family, faith and fragility. We drank enough of the whisky to receive a souvenir glass each! The glasses have a rounded base – so they wobble, no doubt designed to enhance the tasting experience. I have found another significance in the shape. In the first few days of my sabbatical I attended Gary’s funeral. In recent years he had struggled more and more with the complexities of life. In the end he couldn’t find the strength to go on. His passing is a tragedy, but the funeral reminded us all of the profound love and insight which marked him out as a very special perso