Tag: travel
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Lincoln University’s art collection
This week a visit to Lincoln University library led to the campus collection of art. The University, the oldest agricultural teaching institution in the Southern Hemisphere, was created in 1990 when Lincoln College, Canterbury, was made independent of the University of Canterbury. There was no collecting policy in place but after the sale of cigarettes…
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This week’s Spotify playlist
Each week a list of music that relates to the blog or to current events is curated on Spotify. Readers can listen to the songs by following this link or by clicking on the play button on the player above. Paid subscribers will hear all the music, free-to-listen subscribers will hear the music with advertisements…
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The shape of wool
Fire! The word sometimes is warming and comforting, and sometimes it is terrifying, especially when it comes to the power fire has to destroy lives and livelihoods. In 2021 a fire ripped through a large area of land in the Xhariep District of the Free State of South Africa, destroying, amongst others, a merino wool…
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Madras check
The familiar sight of Madras check has a long heritage, and has its origins in everyday casual wear. Born in what was Madras, now Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the hand-woven cotton cloth was originally dyed with vegetable colours that ran together when washed, giving a blended look to the soft fabric. It…
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This week’s Spotify playlist
Each week a new playlist of music related to the blog contents and to world events is created. All the playlists in the series can be seen here and this week’s one can be heard via the player below or directly from the link. If you are a subscriber to Spotify you can hear all…
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Men of the Trees
Trees feature heavily in this week’s blog. Perhaps it is because the first part of the week was spent planting new trees where the studio-on-the-hill is nearly complete, perhaps it is because of the less-than-judicious pruning and cutting out of invasive trees on the land, or perhaps it is just the zeitgeist. Whatever it is,…
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This week’s Spotify playlist
Each week a curated set of music on Spotify accompanies the blog. The pieces relate to the blog contents and you can listen via the player below or by clicking the 3 … on the bottom right of the player and then clicking “Play on Spotify”. If you have a paid subscription to Spotify you…
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Textiles of the Mbuti
Over in the northeastern rainforest, the Ituri, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo live the Mbuti people who make unique barkcloth. Pounded out by men and decoratively planted by women, these cloths are worn or used to hang inside huts. If they are worn for ceremonial purposes they are called Pongo. This example in…
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The Rugby
South Africa’s Cape Town Camerata perform a song for the Rugby World Cup and the All Blacks perform their haka before The Big Game kicked off today. Now, who to support…
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This week’s Spotify playlist
Each week a selection of music is compiled into a playlist on Spotify, the music streaming app. The mix is related to items on the blog and to current events, and you can listen to it by clicking the play button on the Spotify app below. This week the music selection is based on songs…