a penny in the foundations

 The underlying theme of my recent musings grew out of an interest in ordinary, domestic architecture and design. The new residential communities of the 70s and 80s changed the way we live, where we live and the landscape around us.  But, taken house by house, estate by estate we don't recognise just how big those changes were, yet the lure of the 70s villa and its successors have had dramatic effect. We just need to stand back and take in the sheer scale the changes. Especially in the current political and economic climate, which can feel as though it is replaying the darkest moments of earlier decades, it is tempting to suggest that in reality 'nothing much changes'. If there is truth in that, maybe it is because we are scared by the breadth of possibility which lies before us and convince ourselves that tiny, incremental change is all we can cope with.  I moved out of my cosy, domestic interests to visit an exhibition of the work of architect Zaha Hadid. Known the swee...

 As I walked past the site of my primary school the other day, the school now gone and replaced by machinery for the building a new car park, I'm sure I heard the sound of old playground games long forgotten. One of those involved groups of us, arms round each other, shouting 'join on, join on for...' encouraging others to join the line until it was as long as the yard was wide. I can't remember what we wanted our friends to join, no doubt something to do with whatever we had been talking about, or perhaps had seen on TV the night before. That bit was irrelevant, what mattered was the length of the line we formed. Then the bell rang and we dispersed to our classrooms, our kinship was short-lived. I was on my way to a meeting of Co-op Member Pioneers, whose ranks I have recently joined. The ice breaker for the day involved us standing in a line across the meeting room arranging ourselves in order of how long each of has worked for Co-op. I was at the very start of the li...

 Colour and style define eras. According to a recent article about trends in interior design the defining colour of the last few years is 'greige'  It’s not beige, it’s not grey: it’s greige – and it’s why all our houses look the same | Interiors | The Guardian  There are many subtle variations, and I admit our current house is painted throughout in 'Egyptian Cotton', definitely a variety of greige.  The other day someone was talking about a book of household management from times gone by. It was published in 1976 and I muttered under my breath - 'that's not history, I was there' - and 'I remember it well -it was hot!' In my memory the long, dry, hot summer of that year was the absolute antithesis of greige. Of course, it was more than the weather, so much about the early 70s was set against a backdrop of bright, primary colours, especially our homes. My on-going project is about reflecting on how the contexts in which we have and continue to live, s...