No photo this week as I'm at a plodding stage. Working away but nothing to show for it yet. Have spent the week constructing pieces from thrown components and hope that things will come together in this coming week. I have the feeling that I'm making pieces that will ostensively be useable domesticware but are the type that might get used once a year, require hand washing up and not sell because they will take up too much cupboard space and collect dust. I really do make things to be useful and want them to be used but sometimes I fear they are also structures on to which I can perch a nice bird. The dilemas of a domesticware potter.

Have not been following the story but read a letter in the newspaper today and am guessing that the Wedgewood factory's private collection is in danger of being split up and sold. I have all sympathy with the needs of the pension fund but please don't let this be another Royal Doulton scenario where the collection was autioned off, scattered around the world and they made less money from it than the offer the Stoke Museum had put in for the whole collection. Will try and keep my eye on this story. I just hope it can be kept together in a permanent display.

Am preparing myself for my lenten tasks and bought a sketch book today. Instead of giving something up I shall do what I did last year and take somthing up, i.e. to play a tune everyday and do a sketch everyday. I had no problem with the tune playing but it was a long 40 days on the drawing front and quite a few scraped in just before midnight. It always seems such a shame to spoil a beautiful, clean white sheet with one of my daubs. Will have to stoke up with pancakes on Tuesday to see myself through.