Bottle Kilns and Pretty pottery

Hey!

Today's post is really I guess about something that represents my regional identity in a way. Coming from a very 'Stokie' family (In that both my Mum and Dad come from Stoke-on-Trent, if you're not local, this is an unusually unorthodox 'city' in that it is formed of 6 towns), yet growing up in Staffordshire means that I'm really intrigued by the industries that shaped my family's past. This industry being of course, the pottery industry. If you drive around Stoke you can still see the massive bottle kilns that fill the sky line, but if you live local you'll know these are crumbling and most definitely few and far between. I'm a little strange, I guess in that when I see anything crumbling or disguarded, I need to know why something that used to be kept in really good condition, was left for ruin. This is the same for old houses, old public foot paths or even old doors with missing keys. I don't know why it just fascinates me- who used to use these things? Was it part of their day-to-day life? It makes me sad to think that maybe these little things that often go unnoticed in their decay, used to form the basis of  a person's working day. Anyway.. I digress:D. Apparently, in the hey-day of the pottery industry there were over 4,000 bottle kilns. As many as 2,000 were still standing in the 1950s, yet the 'clean air act' and cheaper pottery being available for import meant the ultimate death for bottle kilns. According to an online article, there are 47 kilns now remaining, some in good condition, some in poor- but all are listed and protected.
This weekend just gone was really the point in which I'm ashamed to admit I thought: 'woah, hold on, I need to take more of an interest here', after going to a craft fayre run from inside Middleport pottery. It was a really lovely event, with lots of local artists and craftspeople advertising their independant businesses, yet it was so interesting to walk around the actual place. In parts you could see local artists producing pottery and walk around a sort of museum area for my absolute fave pottery ever- Burleigh. (If you haven't seen it honestly look it up, it's so pretty!!). I loved that the cobbles we were walking on had been walked on by hundreds of pottery makers over hundreds of years and that this industry came from no where else but my City, I found it so humbling and pretty cool.


Thanks for reading,
Molly

Leaving HRS but how it changed me for the better

Tonight's post is really to mark a big event in my life I think and that's the end of one thing and hopefully the beginning of others.
When I was 17, after recovering from illness I wanted to get out and meet people. I'd done a short course prior to being home educated for a few years and although the people on that course we're lovely, I'm quite a sociable person and I felt like I wasn't meeting nearly enough people. I also felt like I wasn't doing enough to get into my chosen career. All through education you're told that exams matter but experience in the industry you want to go into is just as, if not more important. I feel this is true and so I wanted to give some of my new found energy to that. I've always wanted to become a journalist from as far back as I remember - except for that one year I had a career change and wanted to be either a makeup artist or a doctor... Must of thought they were similar? But from the age of six I remember drawing on a board at home and pretending I was presenting the weather or shuffling papers and pretending I was on the news.
My mum then suggested-  had I thought about volunteering at a radio station?-  as broadcast journalism seemed particularly fascinating to me. I hadn't.. Really because I didn't see how you could get into something like that without having experience, but this confused me as I realised you had to gain experience from somewhere. So I accepted this mission and I looked up local Hospital radio stations, finding my closest was only 15 minutes away. To cut a long story short, after sending off an application and attending a lovely warm and friendly interview, and had the correct vaccinations (as you go on medical wards), CBR checks and occupational health checks, I begun. Some would be put off by the process that you have to go through but I don't see why, it's all for your safety and the safety of the patients. The main thing the team informed me was that even though the radio is fun, the happiness of the patients is our priority.
After two amazing years of laughter and learning part of an industry I want to go into as a career, I feel joining hospital radio has been the best choice of my life outside of education so far. All the people I met and worked with  became good friends and I feel definitely better and broader as a person for the experience.
I'm only leaving now, more prematurely than I'd planned, through my health not being too good just at the moment  and the demands of A Levels meaning I have to, but I'd honestly recommend anyone interested in working in radio, even interested in learning skills on how to talk to many different people, to give it a go. Volunteering of any kind is so rewarding, so if you have even just a little time I'd say go for it :).

Footnote - This post is a little late! Started writing it about a couple of weeks ago but been ill, so infact should of been posted sooner if it seems random:)

Molly